Why Are Spices So Good For You? | Here Are 9 Incredible Benefits
Spices are an essential part of Middle Eastern cuisine but they are packed full of health benefits. They not only make our food taste delicious, aromatic, and yes, spicy. But they cater a lot of goodness to enhance our health, immunity, and overall well-being.
There is no better term other than “Food is medicine” that describes the healing and rejuvenating power in its true essence.
In this article, I will discuss what are the main components of spices that make them so powerful. And how they have revolutionized health and scientific research to look deep into our foods for attaining optimal health and wellness.
Spices are added to our meals in quite a negligible amount but their nutritional profile is very promising.
What makes spices so good for us
- They are loaded with phytochemicals — chemical compounds produced by plants to help them resist microbial infection, or getting consumed by the predators.
- They are a powerhouse for antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer compounds.
- Not only that, but they also help reduce damage to our body’s cells and repair DNA damage.
- They improve the bioavailability of other nutrients in our food.
- They are good beneficiaries in treating many metabolic diseases.
Here are some of the major benefits of spices in improving our overall health.
1. A potent source of phytochemicals
In today’s day and age, we are faced with so many toxins and pollution in our environment. And this has directly impacted our quality of life. These toxins create a great amount of damage to our cells and DNA. To live a healthy life we need a healthy body. And phytochemicals boost our immunity, repair cell damage, reduce inflammation, and even reduce cancer cells from proliferating.
Turmeric is the most prominent example as it helps in a variety of problems. From cooking food to maintaining a good skincare regimen, it has a multitude of benefits under its belt.
2. Enhance the bioavailability of other nutrients
The consumption of food for nutrition and vitality is not enough. Until it provides us with all the nutrients (macronutrients and micronutrients) that are present in it, and are required for proper bodily functions.
Therefore, practitioners in traditional medicine around the world have always used herbs and spices in combination with each other. To enhance the properties, absorption of nutrients, and increase the function of food and natural remedies.
Black peppercorns help to increase the absorption of nutrients in our bloodstreams. Many studies have proved its nutraceutical bioavailability.
3. Spices help to increase longevity
The quality of health governs how happy and fulfilling our lives will be. And longevity is a perk of good health that lets us discover the bounties of life with our loved ones.
In a study from Harvard, they found that people who ate spicy food regularly had a lower death rate. They also had a reduced risk of cancer and heart diseases. The study linked these benefits to chili peppers. There is a compound in chili peppers called “capsaicin” that has shown numerous health benefits in many studies.
Fresh chilies have a high content of Vitamin A, C, K, B6, and potassium.
4. Spices help to treat metabolic diseases
According to Mayo Clinic:
“Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. These conditions include increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels.”
In many scientific studies, spices have proven to be very beneficial in increasing metabolism, enhancing the secretion of bile acids in bile, reducing cholesterol levels in the blood, improving insulin sensitivity, and controlling obesity by targeting the fat deposition in our midsections.
Some of the prominent and all-rounder spices include:
- Ginger
- Chili peppers
- Cinnamon
- Fenugreek
- Turmeric
- Black pepper
- Cumin
5. Spices can help in weight loss
Many studies have suggested that certain spices like cinnamon, cumin, ginger, chili peppers, and turmeric can boost your metabolism which helps to decrease your appetite.
These spices provide additional health benefits for example:
Cinnamon helps to reduce blood glucose levels and thereby reducing insulin resistance.
Cumin is an effective spice to boost metabolism. You can use ground cumin seeds or drink cumin water daily to reduce belly fat and to achieve overall fat loss with visible results within a month. Cumin helps in burning more calories and helps to increase digestion.
6. Spices help to reduce inflammation
Inflammation is the root cause of many illnesses. If not treated it can start damaging our cells, tissues, and organs which leads to many chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and even cancer.
Spices play a key role in lowering inflammation. For example,
Turmeric: It has been used for centuries to treat colds, heal wounds and bruises, and its paste was applied for many skin conditions like smallpox, to remove blemishes, and included in skincare regimen.
Curcumin, the active compound in turmeric has proven to reduce inflammation in the body.
7. Spices protect against microbial infections
Spices provide some amazing antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties. Some of the examples include:
Garlic is a strong natural antibiotic against MRSA infections. It contains the powerful element called allicin which exhibits a wide spectrum of benefits against microbial infections.
Ginger has the active compound known as gingerol in it. The regular consumption of ginger through our diet can help prevent fungal infections and even treat some existing ones.
If you want to learn in-depth details about the historical uses, and importance of spices, check out this article.
8. Role of spices in DNA repair
Climate change is an inevitable threat to our existence. And the increasing levels of pollution have impacted our health in many aspects. These pollutants in the environment cause stress and damage to our cells and DNA.
In an article published in Nature , they observed that “Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric activated the DNA repair pathway in bone marrow cells to improve carboplatin-induced myelosuppression and did not affect the kidneys.”
In another study published in PubMed , they observed similar results of DNA repair potential, in a vast population in West Bengal India where people were exposed to arsenic. Long-term exposure to arsenic causes oxidative stress in the human body and ultimately inhibits the ability of DNA to repair itself.
9. Spices help against cancer
Spices are filled with compounds such as polyphenols, antioxidants, and immunomodulatory effects that help to combat free radical damage in our bodies. Several spices such as:
- Black cumin
- Black pepper
- Chili peppers, to name a few, are filled with bioactive compounds such as piperine, curcumin, and capsaicin. Their mode of action include apoptosis (a process of programmed cell death) and inhibiting the spread and migration of cancer to other cells.
Conclusion
Spices provide us with many health benefits. They can enhance the taste of our foods and make bland dishes more palatable. They help improve digestion, increase metabolism, boost immunity, fight viral and bacterial infections, and protect us against cell damage. They also help in weight loss and protect us from chronic inflammation which often leads to cancer.
Add spices to your diet and make them allies in your journeys toward better health and happier lives.
Have you experienced the uses or benefits of spices in some aspects of your life?
If you liked this blog post or have something to share, don’t forget to comment down below. I would love to hear about your experiences.
Originally published at https://quratulainsadia.com on February 25, 2022.
