The 5 Must-Have Spices

Before you look in your medicine cabinet for the cure to what ails you, check your spice rack. 

I love explaining why you are what you eat, specifically, I like to highlight the health benefits (or lack thereof) specific foods offer. So, you can imagine my delight when I found the beautiful book entitled: Healing Spices: How to Use 50 Everyday and Exotic Spices to Boost Health and Beat Disease.
 It's a magnificent encyclopedia of spices. 

While it highlights everything from the exotic to the mundane, here are the five I think are the most practical and beneficial:

1. Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

Table salt has gotten a bad rap, and with good reason: It’s chemically cleaned and stripped of its minerals, leaving sodium chloride which they then mix with chemical anti-caking ingredients, which are hard for our bodies to break down and leaves us with excess fluid in our body tissue.

Pink Himalayan Salt, on the other hand, contains 84 essential minerals, alkalizes the pH of your cells, balances electrolytes, and is anti-aging. Many doctors and nutritionists believe an acidic pH is the cause of many diseases, so a sprinkle of this may help thwart disease by neutralizing your pH. Get the coarse crystals to grind fresh over your meals. The taste is phenomenal and will certainly enhance any dish or salad. 

Try : Himalayan Pink Salt in Grinder  

2. Fresh Cracked Black Peppercorns

Did you know most ground black pepper is blasted with radiation before it lands on store shelves? That’s done to keep the pepper fresher for longer, although it has the unfortunate side effect of making it less nutritious.

Instead opt for a whole black peppercorns and grind over a dish just before serving for the best flavor and the highest nutritional value. Black pepper improves digestion, promotes intestinal health, and has antioxidant properties.

Try: Whole Black Peppercorns from my friends at Pepper Passion. Extremely high quality, fragrant, and flavorful. (Lampong, Malabar, and Tellicherry varieties are my favorite).  

3. Turmeric

What can’t this spice do? Turmeric is a powerful detoxifier and anti-inflammatory that also exhibits antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer activity, which helps protect you against many diseases, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and other chronic illnesses. Add to soups or sprinkle over salads. 

Try: Organic Turmeric

4. Cinnamon

This aromatic and warming spice stabilizes your blood sugar, and helps lower your bad (LDL) cholesterol. In Ayurveda, cinnamon is used to treat indigestion, colds, and diabetes. Sprinkle over oatmeal, cereal, or in your tea.

Try: Organic Cinnamon

5. Cumin

Cumin is high in iron, a mineral needed for energy and immune function. You get 15% of your daily suggested value in just 1 teaspoon. It also helps digestion and has anti-carcinogenic properties. A potent antioxidant, research shows it can even help prevent cancer. Sprinkle over legumes, brown rice, or salad. Cumin pairs well with turmeric and black pepper.

Try: Organic Cumin

Sprinkle on daily!