Seasonings: Add More Than Just Flavor

Besides providing taste, color, and aroma, certain seasonings can also add health to your meals. Herbs and spices contain phytochemicals which are natural health promoting substances and have been found to protect us against diseases such as cancer and heart disease. So here's to spicing up your meal and health!

Here are 4 herbs you can add for flavor and health.

Turmeric- is also called curcumin and may help protect against cancers including prostate, colon, skin, and oral cavity. It also may provide protection from heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and cataracts.

Rosemary- contains a compound called carnosol, which provides antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, as well as anti-carcinogenic agents. This can provide protection from heart disease, cancer, and may be helpful with decreasing painful inflammation with arthritis.

Oregano- contains Quercetin and may help protect against breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancers. It also provides antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. Studies have shown that oregano offers the most antioxidant activities of all herbs examined.

Ginger- Substances in ginger are believed to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and also can be used for treatment of nausea and motion sickness.

Herbs are delicate so it is important to store them properly to retain their nutritional value. Here are some tips on storage.

Fresh herbs- use as soon as possible! Store in perforated bags in the crisper for up to 4 days.

Dried herbs- should be used within a year of purchase. Keep them in airtight containers away from light and heat.

Use herbs generously in cooking to add both flavor and health to your meals!

? Meri Raffetto, 2004

About the Author

Owner of Real Living Nutrition Services, Meri Raffetto is a Registered Dietitian and a recognized professional in the area of nutrition and wellness. She has developed two online weight management programs, The Mini Diet Makeover and The Ultimate Diet Makeover, which focus on a healthy, non-diet approach to weight loss. For more information or to sign up for our free newsletter, visit http://www.reallivingnutrition.com.

Granger cool limo ...

In The News:

Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft successfully released a small capsule on Saturday and sent it toward Earth to deliver samples from a distant asteroid that could provide clues to the origin of the solar system and life on our planet, the country’s space agency said.

A New Mexico artist collective is taking responsibility for the stainless steel monoliths mysteriously cropping up around the world.

Two classified reports from the Pentagon's task force used to "detect, analyze and catalog" UFOs have been leaked, one of which includes a photo of an unidentified silver “cube-shaped” object.

After years of extensive research and not understanding why coho salmon were dying after heavy rains, scientists believe it's linked to a chemical found in automotive tires.

BEIJING (AP) — China said Thursday its latest lunar probe has finished taking samples of the moon’s surface and sealed them within the spacecraft for return to Earth, the first time such a mission has been attempted by any country in more than 40 years.

A fireball that rattled windows and was felt from southern Ontario to Virginia midday Wednesday is widely thought to be an asteroid, experts believe.

Life does not exist on Mars, but a new study suggests that if there were aliens on the Red Planet in its past, they may have lived "far below" the surface.

The space object that was captured by Earth's orbit is indeed a rocket booster from the 1960s, NASA confirmed.

The third strange monolith, possibly made of stainless steel, to appear out of nowhere all across the world was found Wednesday in California.

Scientists have discovered a new blob-like species of ctenophore, or comb jelly, off Puerto Rico.

Seasonings: Add More Than Just Flavor

Nutrition Nutrition