BeanDiet

Last week my husband had bronchitis. If you've ever had bronchitis, you know how awful it is: unrelinquishing fever, chronic sleep-impeding cough, and overall crappiness.

However, not one to go to a doctor, my husband went online to look for natural remedies. He found one calling for 1 teaspoon of turmeric in warm milk (he used soy milk) and juice from an onion. I admit it wasn't pleasant "medicine", but you would not believe how fast it worked! Five days of illness changed to feeling almost normal in less than one hour. He took his remedy for the next few days, saving himself a doctor's visit and drugs.

So I thought it was time to write about the health benefits of spice.

Spices are getting big press these days for lowering cholesterol, controling blood sugar and preventing age-related diseases like high blood pressure. Some of the spices receiving most of the glory are cinnamon, turmeric and garlic. But here's the deal: where do spices come from? Plants. All spices are derived either from a plant's root (garlic, ginger and onion), seeds (most "spicy" spices), leaves (oregano and rosemary), or even bark (cinnamon). And what do we know about plants? They're where antioxidants come from. Antioxidants fight free radicals, preventing all types of chronic diseases, including cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Spices are so concentrated with antioxidants - which is what gives them their potent flavor and aroma - they even surpass fruits and vegetables, ounce per ounce.

I'm not a proponent of "taking" single spices like cinnamon regularly to fight disease, because we really need all the various types of antioxidants found in different spices. In other words, we need to eat spices in our food; the more variety the better. That means cumin, coriander, cayenne, turmeric, onion, garlic, ginger, oregano, rosemary, peppers, paprika, basil, curry, dill and many more.

How do you find recipes using said spices? Again, my favorite cookbook is a good start: Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home. Just last night I whipped up a dish with ginger, lime juice, cilantro, onion, cabbage, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and coconut milk (called Caribbean Vegetable Stew). This cookbook is loaded with delicious, spicy recipes that are fast and easy. When dining out, go for Italian, Mexican (salsa), Japanese, Indian or Thai food to bump up the spice. Getting spicy is scrumptious and good for us.