Healthy Ways to Spice Up Your Food & Boost Your Diet
If you love fresh hot peppers and always pick the spiciest foods wherever you are, you may be making a naturally healthy move. It turns out those spicy tacos and pungent soups may do more for us than we thought.
According to new research from Harvard and Peking people who eat spicy foods every day have a 14 percent lower risk of death than those who eat spicy foods less than once a week. This was true for men and women. The health effects showed up in a lower risk of death from cancer, heart or respiratory diseases.
Capsaicin, the powerful compound in chiles can rev up your metabolism, increase your body’s fat burning abilities, lower cholesterol, clear up congestion and boost immunity.
If you are already a hot pepper fan, this news is perfect. If you are less experienced with hot foods, start slowly and try a little in soups, stews, tacos, meatloaves and dips. As you get used to them you may want to add more and look for more ways to use them.
Ginger & Turmeric Check In as Healthy Choices
Ginger and turmeric have also been cited in Livestrong as British researchers say they are strong cancer fighters that may inhibit the growth of cancerous tumors.
Both ginger and turmeric also have anti-inflammatory properties, according to University of Maryland researchers. They may help fight ulcerative colitis and arthritis. Stomach and digestion may be helped by turmeric and ginger. Ginger helps reduce nausea and vomiting for cancer patients doing chemotherapy. Ginger also helps reduce motion sickness and turmeric may reduce indigestion problems such as bloating and gas. If you have ever run into motion sickness in the car or out on a boat, you may already know ginger can be a big help in settling stomachs.
Cinnamon Proves to Be A Health Booster
Cinnamon is applauded by nutrition researchers. They say the cinnamon you sprinkle on your oats can assist your body in its response to insulin and prevent blood sugar levels from spiking. They believe it may also prevent unwanted blood clots, relieve indigestion and possibly help heart health too.
Overall, spices are proving to be a great option for individual health boosts. But health experts also remind us they are one of the easiest ways to add flavor to our foods without calories. Anyone who diets knows the more flavorful you can make low calories foods the better chance you have of sticking with them.
So the best advice might be to watch for more health news in spices and keep building all of them into your menus.
As always when you are making changes to your diet, talk with your doctor first to see how they might affect medications that you are taking.
Used under Creative Commons Licensing courtesy of Richard Elzey