5 Awesome Spices to Cook with for a Healthier Life
Cooking your own food is a great way to make sure you know exactly what goes into it, and adding a few health-boosting spices can make a home-cooked meal even more savory. Fortunately many of the spices we use to make our plates a gustatory and olfactory delight are also very beneficial to our bodies, too. Here are 5 awesome spices you should be cooking with all the time.
1. Cilantro
Used in numerous Latin, Asian and Mediterranean dishes, cilantro offers dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and essential oils as well as antioxidants that help to fight a long list of diseases. One ounce of cilantro provides about 38% of the daily recommended value of vitamin A and 109% of the RDA for vitamin K. It is also a rich source of Vitamins c and B-6, as well as numerous trace minerals like potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and manganese. Cilantro is an analgesic, and aphrodisiac, has fungicidal properties and also helps with digestion.
2. Ginger
Ginger in used in countless dishes for delectable taste, but the health benefits ginger may just outweigh its delightful flavor. Ginger can be used as a detoxifier and can even prevent stomach ailments from eating ‘bad’ seafood. Perhaps most notable is ginger’s anti-inflammatory properties, which helps to reduce pain and swelling, purifies the blood, and protects against anti-inflammatory-related disease. It has been used in the East for centuries for everything from increasing energy to treating a stuffy nose and head congestion.
3. Turmeric
If you love curries, then
Turmeric has been known to be better at reducing inflammation and pain in the body than Motrin. It is antiseptic and antibiotic, is a natural pain-killer and cox-2 inhibitor, treats depression in Chinese medicine, reduces many forms of cancer, slows mental dementia in Alzheimer’s patients, stops the growth of new blood vessels in unwanted tumors and speeds up wound healing. This powerful spice is a must-have for any health conscious cook.
4. Garlic
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5. Pine Nuts
Roasted pine nuts over baked salmon or drizzled on a salad are not only delectable, but also health-promoting. Pine nuts are a great source of non-animal protein that is full of magnesium for more energy, contain lot’s of vitamin D, C, and A, iron, pineolic acid, as well as lutein for better vision, strong bones, and boosted immunity.
Additional Sources:
I heard garlic can be poisonous. Anyone hear anything like that?
Never heard such thing. I've used garlic on almost everything.
http://rense.com/general76/Dpi.htm
Interesting but garlic can also be very very useful for killing antibiotic resistant bacteria and such. It also fights cancer. I have never really heard anything this article says elsehwere.
Cilantro in my salad just make my dinner more appetizing. Fresh Ginger with fresh mint, my afternoon tea at work. I cook meat and fish with ginger too, moy deliciouso 🙂
All close members of the onion family (shallots, onions, garlic, scallions, etc.) contain compounds that can damage dogs’ red blood cells if ingested in sufficient quantities. A rule of thumb is “the stronger it is, the more toxic it is.” Garlic tends to be more toxic than onions, on an ounce-for-ounce basis. While it’s uncommon for dogs to eat enough raw onions and garlic to cause serious problems, exposure to concentrated forms of onion or garlic, such as dehydrated onions, onion soup mix or garlic powder, may put dogs at risk of toxicosis. The damage to the red blood cells caused by onions and garlic generally doesn’t become apparent until three to five days after a dog eats these vegetables. Affected dogs may seem weak or reluctant to move, or they may appear to tire easily after mild exercise. Their urine may be orange-tinged to dark red in color. These dogs should be examined by a veterinarian immediately. In severe cases, blood transfusions may be needed.
http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-articles/foods-that-are-hazardous-to-dogs
Just because we can eat it doesn’t mean our Dogs can.
Not to worry guys….garlic can be toxic to dogs as Ron Walton stated in his post…..this does not apply to humans!
hi i’m jenny
i wonder what ‘pineolic acid’ means
i cannot find it in the dictionary
Andreas Mortiz said that you should never eat garlic! I believe that Hulda Clark said the same thing.
I just have to comment…because I have some truth that needs to be shared. I have 2 dogs 10yrs (mother pure bred red staffy) & 8yrs (son cross with border collie). I have fed these dogs 1 tablespoon of crushed or diced garlic mixed into every (once a day) meal since 4 weeks old. They are both still in excellent health. In fact the 8yr old son’s life was saved because he had garlic in his diet. I live a rural lifestyle & take great care that my dogs dont escape from home to cause trouble. As I feel they are fair target to any farmer protecting his stock. Anyway the sone went missing early one day & after 24hrs & no return I feared the worst & that he would probably never return. Shockingly a whole 7 days later I turned around to find him sitting behind me. He was looking very sorry for himself…upon closer inspection I found his back leg was severly broken & he had a few nasty gashes on him. So off to the vet where I left him so they could xray & decide on his options. The break was that bad that it was a choice of amputation or major pinning to save the leg with no guarantee it wouldnt give him more issues. He was only 12mths old at the time…so I chose amputation as he could adapt easily & the pinning could have ment more operations & pain in the future. So the vet was given the go ahead. Around 2 hrs later the vet rang me & demanded to know what I fed this dog? Why? I asked. The vet then explained that the leg bone had shattered terribly & torn up so much of the muscle…that after a week of this injury…he should have been dead from septicemia…instead the injury had actualy started to heal!!! Had never seen anything like it!!! I said “oh that would have to be from the garlic” & explained how I always put a tablespoon in his meal everyday. The vet was very impressed & excited with this finding. BTW it was discovered once my dog news got out in the community that a couple of christians had actualy witnessed my dog get hit by a car the very morning he escaped…but had thought he was a wild dog as he ran off howling…it took him 7 days to drag himself 400 mtres home to show me & a vet that garlic is good for your dogs!!! Not to mention us!!! I have proven garlic over & over again with my family as a number one medicine & delicious spice to boot 🙂
I just have to comment…because I have some truth that needs to be shared. I have 2 dogs 10yrs (mother pure bred red staffy) & 8yrs (son cross with border collie). I have fed these dogs 1 tablespoon of crushed or diced garlic mixed into every (once a day) meal since 4 weeks old. They are both still in excellent health. In fact the 8yr old son's life was saved because he had garlic in his diet. I live a rural lifestyle & take great care that my dogs dont escape from home to cause trouble. As I feel they are fair target to any farmer protecting his stock. Anyway the sone went missing early one day & after 24hrs & no return I feared the worst & that he would probably never return. Shockingly a whole 7 days later I turned around to find him sitting behind me. He was looking very sorry for himself…upon closer inspection I found his back leg was severly broken & he had a few nasty gashes on him. So off to the vet where I left him so they could xray & decide on his options. The break was that bad that it was a choice of amputation or major pinning to save the leg with no guarantee it wouldnt give him more issues. He was only 12mths old at the time…so I chose amputation as he could adapt easily & the pinning could have ment more operations & pain in the future. So the vet was given the go ahead. Around 2 hrs later the vet rang me & demanded to know what I fed this dog? Why? I asked. The vet then explained that the leg bone had shattered terribly & torn up so much of the muscle…that after a week of this injury…he should have been dead from septicemia…instead the injury had actualy started to heal!!! Had never seen anything like it!!! I said "oh that would have to be from the garlic" & explained how I always put a tablespoon in his meal everyday. The vet was very impressed & excited with this finding. BTW it was discovered once my dog news got out in the community that a couple of christians had actualy witnessed my dog get hit by a car the very morning he escaped…but had thought he was a wild dog as he ran off howling…it took him 7 days to drag himself 400 mtres home to show me & a vet that garlic is good for your dogs!!! Not to mention us!!! I have proven garlic over & over again with my family as a number one medicine & delicious spice to boot 🙂