Spices don’t just add zip to your food – they also provide zing to your health. Cultures worldwide use spices in their cuisines – but most also regard them as central to their medicines. It’s no surprise why: the various plants classified as spices possess powerful compounds that can promote a variety of protective responses in the body. Some spices have been shown to prevent blood clots and stroke, while others have been demonstrated to prevent fat deposits from collecting in the arteries. Some contain anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic and antimicrobial properties, while others can help stave off diabetes.

Luckily for us, healthful spices are easy to work into a variety of everyday foods, and add not only delicious flavour, but myriad nutritional benefits. In fact, studies have demonstrated that including spices in daily meals can help reduce our intake of sodium and processed foods (who needs table salt and artificial flavors when you can sprinkle on a little of nature’s finest taste enhancers?).

Here are seven spices you can embrace as part of a delicious and healthy diet:

Cinnamon

Not only is cinnamon a powerful antioxidant, it has been shown to help control blood sugar and improve insulin resistance. It helps the body process carbohydrates and makes for a great sugar-free sweetener. Feeling a little under the weather? Turn to cinnamon, which contains potent antimicrobial compounds.

Turmeric

Turmeric is receiving lots of buzz lately, thanks to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It can help halt or reverse tissue degradation throughout the body, including the heart, lungs, brain and digestive tract; and aid in the healing of wounds, as well as alleviate menstrual cramps.

Black pepper

Black pepper might seem rather commonplace, but it’s actually a superfood spice. It stimulates the breakdown of fat cells, and as a result, can help lower the body’s overall levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. Plus, it can aid in improving the firing of heart muscle neurons.

Parsley

Because diseases tend to thrive in acidic states, adding alkaline herbs like parsley to your diet can prevent the formation of ailments. Parsley is also rich in apigenin, a compound which prevents and slows the growth of cancerous tumors.

Fenugreek

Like cinnamon, fenugreek can improve fasting blood sugar and insulin sensitivity, particularly in people with diabetes. It’s common in Indian dishes and has an anti-inflammatory effect similar to turmeric.

Sage

A ‘sage’ is someone wise… so it’s fitting that the spice has been shown to protect brain chemicals used in memory and learning. It does so by acting as an anti-oxidant, preventing free radical damage.

Ginger

Ginger is widely used to combat everything from nausea and indigestion, to systemic inflammation and muscle pain from strength training. It contains powerful compounds to help the body heal and reverse swelling caused by impact, infection and irritation.

From an article published in the world’s first meat-free lifestyle platform, www.kindmeal.my