Spices are a gift that nature has given us. They allow us to re-energize with full potential and with all the energy we have. I do not claim that spices are a miracle that will save us from everything wrong, but I do believe that spices have a potent effect on the functions of our body and affect our health and well-being. Let’s discover the healing power of spices!

Spices today

Today, spices are available everywhere, at a lower price than at any time in the past, but in poor quality as a result of mass production, machine harvesting, and the use of protective agents. Natural aromas are cheaper to replace today with artificial ones derived from oil.

Today, we don’t have a clue about what spices are capable of. How much they can help us and how smart it is to use them.

Get rid of Stomach Ache

The stomach works not only with juices but also with movement. Muscle movement is his primary tool. Just soaking the steak in acid would not make it porridge. It is essential to chew the food thoroughly. The stomach must rely on the correct motion to keep the mass always turning to be evenly soaked in acid to complete the first decomposition phase as soon as possible. However, the following problems may arise;

• excessive stomach contraction
• too much stomach slack and thus food stagnation
• too much or too little acid secretion

Depending on the type of problem, the measures are different.

Of course, no spices will help if you sabotage your stomach with an excessive amount of food! The natural volume of the stomach is somewhere between 0.8 and 1.2 liters.

The problem that arises is that we do not take into account the natural rhythms of the stomach. After eating lunch, the food begins to digest in the stomach, and if you add another snack 15 minutes after a meal, the metabolized food will go into further processing. That can cause food to stay in the stomach and thus boil over, promoting the growth of Helicobacter pylori.

Stomach sabotage also includes extinguishing the “digestive fire” by drinking cold drinks after a meal. Once the stomach reaches the working temperature and eliminates just the right amount of acid, a bottle poured half an hour after eating will stop the process, dilute the acid, and lower the working temperature.

Spices to calm down the stomach

 

Ginger has the status of medicine in many parts of the world. It works by optimizing the movement of the stomach. If the stomach is too restless, ginger gets it in the optimal motion. It does the same thing if the stomach is too loose. It is like a personal fitness trainer for the stomach.

Basil is known as a good stomach aide. It facilitates fat metabolism and works against the nervous stomach. Like ginger, it has the property of healing wounds and relieving inflammation of the stomach. It also acts as a disinfectant, preventing complications from continuing digestion. Talking about the healing power of spices, eh?

Cinnamon soothes excessive gastric contraction. It promotes digestion and warms the gastrointestinal tract, and is most useful in the winter when eating sweet foods. In the summer, however, cinnamon is used as an antibiotic, antiseptic, and antifungal as it is added to meat preparation in many countries, especially when hygienic conditions are not in place.

Saffron, lemon balm, and marjoram are also a good help in the over-nervous stomach. We use them as herbs or as a tea after a meal. Meta has a soothing effect and helps with hiccups.

Spices for more digestive juices

Cardamom helps the stomach by promoting the secretion of gastric juices. So it will be the right spice for you if you think there is not enough acid in your stomach. Alternatively, do not overdo cardamom if you have too much acid already.

Cumin performs gastric disinfection. It is a powerful natural antibiotic and inhibits the development of various pathogens.

Digestive system cleanse with spices

If you have a sleepy stomach, then you need the healing power of spices that can stimulate it. In addition to ordinary ginger, there are a variety of spices known as sleepy stomach accelerators.

Chilli or. Cayenne pepper accelerates digestion. It shortens the amount of time it takes to process food in the stomach. At the same time, as a powerful natural antibiotic, it helps the stomach to overcome the pathogenic bacteria that accompany protein foods.

Cinnamon works similarly, so its role is not limited to desserts. It is with meat products that its antibiotic and disinfectant properties come in handy!

Nutmeg has been respected for millennia precisely because of its digestive effect. It relieves spasms, reduces the feeling of tension, disinfects, and soothes inflammation. It is perfect for individuals who are under a lot of stress. Stress causes the stomach to contract.

Rosemary dramatically increases the blood flow to the stomach. It is an excellent spice for a sleepy tummy. Rosemary also reduces cramps and helps with duodenal ulcers.

How spices regulate blood sugar

Diabetes is a genetically conditioned disease…or is it? how can the healing power of spices combat it?

Indeed, sugar problems are often accompanied by several generations in one family, but this is also primarily related to different factors that can be changed. If a mother had been eating poorly and was burdening her body with thousands of worries every single day, she would probably have passed on that to her children. And if the children accepted it, then they also received all the diseases involved with such behavior. The modern diet is the main reason why this disease occurs. How has the ideal of human health, represented by whole tribes in the Himalayas or the Amazon, succumbed to this disease with the advent of industrially processed food?

We should watch what we feed our bodies with and what habits we create, as this also affects everyone around us. How to strike back at diabetes?

Stop promoting heavily sweetened beverages and teas for children and start promoting wholemeal, freshly prepared meals, and not croissants, biscuits, cakes, and all kinds of pastries. Of course, we can go berserk here and there, but most of the diet must contain energy-filled nutritious food, as it will satiate us and help us to restore balance in the body.

With that being said, let’s try to spice things up.

Assistance to the pancreas

According to studies, coriander promotes the production of digestive enzymes and supports the creation of insulin in the pancreas. Turmeric is in this group, which helps the pancreas to break down carbohydrates. It is also essential for people with diabetes to add turmeric to rice, potatoes, and pasta, thus facilitating the work of the pancreas while even slowing the passage of sugar into the blood.

Slowing down the absorption

Some healing power of spices is useful in this process, thus at least partially correcting the biggest mistake of our diet, namely the consumption of refined foods with a high glycemic index. Those include;

• onions,
• garlic,
• ginger,
• cloves,
• coriander,
• cumin,
• laurel
• and blueberries,

Accelerating the absorption of sugar into cells

Cinnamon primarily helps with the uptake of sugar into cells by stimulating insulin receptors. That makes it easier for the pancreas to cope with too much blood sugar. At the same time, it also strengthens it directly.

Cinnamon allows the body to properly regulate its sugar level even when the pancreas is unable to secrete enough insulin.

It is this area of cinnamon that has triggered the most panic in pharmacy as people resort to the use of cinnamon, which has been scientifically proven to help regulate blood sugar. Start using cinnamon!

Spices and Libido

The word aphrodisiac is said to come from Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

All substances called aphrodisiacs is classified into three groups;

• Those who give energy
• Those that release blocked energy
• And those who use up the power we have in our bodies.

The first group includes foods, spices, essential oils, herbs that raise energy potential. The consumption of such substances is not risky. It is even more desirable since it works in synergy with the body.

Such useful substances include;

• pepper,
• saffron,
• cinnamon,
• cloves,
• and nutmeg.

 

Particularly noteworthy is a study conducted at an Indian university comparing the effects of Penegra (actually a generic Viagra form) with nutmeg or clove extracts. In this case, male mice were interested 430% more than usual with clove extracts, and nutmeg stimulated them more than seven times (743%)!

Cinnamon is found in the list of aphrodisiacs and is useful in increasing the abundance and motility of sperm.

Chili is also a common ingredient in aphrodisiac cuisine. It releases endorphins in the brain, creating well-being, and is very stimulating. Therefore, many cannot resist it and are forced to consume more chili for the same effect, even at the cost of damaging the gastrointestinal tract. So just be careful with the consumption of chili.

Another great thing is ginger, again!

Loss of interest in sex is a sign of an excess of no energy, so it is not surprising that hot spices are recommended. Ginger is one of the few spices that has an excellent effect on the balance of body fluids. Ginger is strongly recommended for exhausted people. They say that ginger has the power to resurrect people from being dead.

Antioxidants

Why are antioxidants so important?

If free radicals can damage cells and cause them to collapse, degenerate, or prematurely age, antioxidants do just the opposite. Spices are one of the most potent antioxidants on the planet.

How is the antioxidant potential of food determined?

Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity or short for ORAC is a recognized methodology that measures the capacity of how many free radicals can neutralize 100 grams of a substance.

You can find the ORAC table on this website;

https://www.phytochemicals.info/list-orac-values.php

The table shows that cinnamon and cloves are at the top of the scale. By consuming just two grams of cinnamon, more antioxidants are introduced into the body than with 100 grams of fresh apples!

Adding only 10 grams of parsley to baked or cooked potatoes will produce 5 to 7 times more antioxidants than 100 grams of vegetables. So use spices! Not only it tastes great, but it also strengthens our body against free radicals in the body that can cause cancer.

No purity of spices?

Sometimes spices grew in their natural habitats. But today, plants are adapted to different habitats, and if they require more moisture or heat, they are placed in greenhouses. Indigenous vegetation thus replaced monocultures in almost all spices. Where there is a lot of good in one place, pests are also worth visiting. Especially when it comes to permanent crops such as vanilla, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, that is why they have started to use more and more protective agents and chemicals just to protect against unwanted bacteria.

Plants have also been adapted to machines and increased earnings in terms of shape and style of growth. Thus, cinnamon grows no higher than 2 meters, and in nature, reaches up to 15 meters!

Herbs are sown on fields and harvested by machines. Those that bloom in summer, present problems. They are prepared with hormones to bloom at the same time as others. Otherwise, it would not be worth picking up.

Transport has become a problem as well, as spices have to travel long distances and are protected from rodents, molds, and bacteria with various insecticides and fungicides.

Use the healing power of spices!

Most of us don’t have a clue how many illnesses we can cure with just a pinch of spice we might already have in the kitchen or garden. The power of spices is not only cosmetic. A myriad of scientific studies confirms that, in many cases, spices are equivalent, if not more powerful, to synthetic drugs! So don’t hesitate and overthink, start spicing your food, it even tastes great. Enjoy your diet and be healthy! Start benefiting from the healing power of spices!

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• ŠČEPEC REŠITVE, Zamolčane zdravilne moči začimb by Sanja Lončar, Sabina Topolovec and Marija Kočevar Fetah was used, to publish this article.