Herbs and Spices and Their Health Benefits

Tagged with food, health, herbs, hypertension, plants, spices on December 4, 2023

Information regarding herbs and spices is abundant, if you know where to find it. They can cure or slow conditions and diseases, and some of them are already commonly consumed. Although they may not be able to help us live longer, our quality of life can be maintained or improved well into old age.

Cancer

Although there isn’t a cure for cancer, certain herbs and spices can be used to fight it or prevent it. The National Foundation for Cancer Research mentions several that can be used to treat cancer. I already eat things that contain most of them, but not nearly often enough.

The yellow mustard I put on my hot dog contains turmeric. While I don’t like the taste of garlic alone, most of the Filipino cuisine I consume contains crushed garlic. My wife is Filipino, and her dishes are delicious. The only time I purposely eat ginger is when I eat it with congee (rice porridge). I use black pepper with many dishes, especially with eggs. The reason I love buffalo wings is that the hot sauce contains cayenne pepper. I only consume oregano in my spaghetti sauce.

I don’t have any experience with allspice, saffron, thyme, or lavender, although I’ve probably consumed all of them at one time or another. My father died of multiple myeloma when he was 85. I’m trying to incorporate all of these herbs and spices to make sure I don’t suffer from it as well.

Hypertension

The National Library of Medicine mentions several herbs and other plants that can alleviate hypertension. I suffer from hypertension, and I’m interested in incorporating as many as possible in my daily diet. I would much rather lower my blood pressure naturally than take the medicine I take everyday.

Of all the items mentioned, I only consume a few of them regularly. I try to eat oatmeal and oat cereals as often as I can. Garlic can work with hypertension as well as cancer. I eat carrots and celery when I eat salads, and not regularly enough. Although I love tomatoes, I tend to only eat them with salsas and sauces. I don’t have much, if any, experience with all the rest.

Herbs, Spices and Other Plants

I haven’t touched on many of the plants that some people think can cure almost anything. While they may be good for me, they’re more likely to involve vitamins and minerals I get from other sources. Folk medicine, practiced in the Philippines as well as other Asian countries, includes plants I would never willingly consume. Soursop, called guyabano in the Philippines, is sickly sweet and reminds me of cactus fruit.

Regardless of what they taste like, I’m willing to try (at least once) anything researchers have proven to fight the conditions or diseases that may plague me over the course of the next 20 to 25 years. I hope to have a high quality of life until the very end.

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay. This article was updated on November 13, 2024.