Turmeric

As you will have seen in the local coffee shops near you, Turmeric Latte’s appearing on menu’s worldwide. The small little yellow spice that would normally sit at the back of the cupboard or be used in a curry, is now seen as HIP and COOl.

So here are some benefits of having this magical spices in your daily nutritional plan:

1. As effective as Ibuprofen for pain management (Clin Interv Aging. 2014; 9():451-8)

2. Reduce inflammation and degeneration in eye conditions (Clin Ophthalmol. 2013; 7():939-4)

3. Supports the health of the kidneys (Redox Biol. 2013 Sep 17; 1():448-56)

4. Inhibit the growth of H.Plyori (Anticancer Res. 2002 Nov-Dec; 22(6C):4179-81.)

5. Strong antioxidant effects such as increasing serum superoxide dismutase (Int Urol Nephrol. 2014 May; 46(5):947-61)

6. Improve systemic markers of oxidative stress (J. Funct. Foods. 2015;18:898–909. doi: 10.1016/j.jff.2015.01.005)

7. Scavenges free radicals such as ROS (Adv Exp Med Biol. 2007; 595():105-25.)

8. Curcumin is a lipophilic compound therefore making it exceptional as a scavenger of peroxyl radicals (Free Radic Biol Med. 2003 Sep 1; 35(5):475-84)

9. Anti-inflammatory through blocking NF-kB activation and suppressing the downstream inflammatory cascade (Biomed Pharmacother. 2016 Aug; 82():578-82) and lower CRP (Clin Nutr. 2015 Dec; 34(6):1101-8.)

10. Anti-arthritic effects (Springerplus. 2013 Dec; 2(1):56)

11. Improves insulin sensitivity (Mol Nutr Food Res. 2013 Sep; 57(9):1569-77)

12. Reduce elevated blood pressure (Nutr Metab (Lond). 2011 Oct 17; 8():72)

13. Lower cholesterol and triglycerides (Phytother Res. 2013 Mar; 27(3):374-9)

14. Elevate HDL-cholesterol (Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 1992 Oct; 36(4):273-5)

How would we use it:

You can toss it on some cauliflower, root vegetables or potatoes, this will add a warm peppery note to these foods when cooking.

Alternatively…

You can always blend it into your smoothie and enjoy the warm peppery notes and all the benefits above.

Rosemary

Ok so Rosemary is our next herb, this is a fragrant evergreen herb native to the mediterranean.

Here are the benefits of consumption:

1. Improve memory by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase, thus preserving acetylcholine (the main neurotransmitter responsible for memory, recall along with stimulating the vagus nerve and also playing an essential role in the ability to contract muscles)

2. Reduce EMF damage

3. GABA transaminase inhibitor

4. Anti-bacterial

5. Anti-thrombotic

6. Reduce the risk of ulcers

7. Anti-diuretic

8. Anxiolytic (reduce anxiety)

9. Protects the liver

10. Yields anti-depressive effects

11. Protect cells by scavenging ROS

12. Stimulate NRF2 pathway which is essential for phase II biotransformation for the elimination of toxins, such as xenoestrogens, along with supporting the production of glutathione

13. Reduce a metabolite from improper oestrogen conversion, quinones, from binding to DNA and creating adducts and mutations

14. Reduces neuroinflammation (inflammation in the brain) through stimulating anti-inflammatory activity in the microglial cells

15. Lower blood pressure

16. Anti-ulcer properties

17. Anti-viral

18. Liver protection from lead toxicity

19. Reduce bio-film formations

20. Reduce tumor cell proliferation

Our suggestion of how to use Rosemary:
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It tastes amazing with Lamb, steak and even put on some roast potatoes with Thyme too!

Cinnamon

Cinnamon, this little spice will hide in your spice rack and be a staple for most houses. Unfortunately this little fellow doesn’t get used much, but I am here to change that and get you all onboard with this badass spice.

Here are the benefits of consumption:

1. Good source of chromium

2. Rich in Antioxidants

3. Stimulates insulin-independent GLUT-4 receptors to uptake glucose into muscles, thus improving insulin sensitivity (Med Food. 2009 Jun; 12(3):467-72)

4. Astringent (anti-diarrhoea)

5. Anti-fungal effects against various fungus such as (Aspergillus flavus, Mucor plumbeus and yeast species such as (Candida lipolytica). It’s combination along with clove oil has been effective against A. flavus. (Int J Food Microbiol. 2006 Mar 15; 107(2):180-5)

6. Antibacterial effects against various bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus), as well as against Gram-negative bacteria (Salmonella choleraesuis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Yersinia enterocolitica) (Food Chemistry. 2009;116(4):982–989)

7. Anti-inflammatory particular with supressing, iNOS, COX2, TNFa and IL6 (BMC Complement Altern Med. 2012 Nov 28; 12():237)

8. Reduce blood pressure (J Med Food. 2011 Dec; 14(12):1505-10)

9. Improve the health of the colon, thereby reducing the risk of colon cancer (Molecules. 2010 May 7; 15(5):3338-55)

10. Improves menstrual health by increasing the blood circulation in the uterus and advances tissue regeneration (Minich St, Msom L. 2008)

11. Reduce the likelihood of Alzheimers (J Alzheimers Dis. 2009; 17(3):585-97.)

12. Reduced LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides (Diabetes Care. 2003 Dec; 26(12):3215-8.)

So how to use cinnamon:

Well we like to use this with any high carb meal due to its insulin sensitivity properties - sprinkling cinnamon powder onto your carb sources (sweet potato, oats, post workout cereal etc) are all great ways to utilise nature’s gift.

We hope this helps and you love this ingredient as much as we do!