Spices are delicious aromatic seasonings for your dishes. But do you know what they are good for and why they help you take care of and improve your health?
If you cook regularly, it is quite likely that you use them every day in your dishes, since they undoubtedly serve as almost essential ingredients when it comes to enhancing the flavors of a wide variety of foods, as they are useful for seasoning. Obviously, we are talking about the spices.
As you surely know, spices are the vegetable part of a certain natural product that has flavoring or spicy properties. This aroma or flavor is due to the different essential oils they contain, which were developed by the plant itself as a defensive means in order to combat the attack of herbivores.
Although spices are used above all in the kitchen, in order to flavor dishes or even give them a spicy flavor, the truth is that since ancient times our ancestors used them from a more natural medicine point of view, due to their different qualities. , properties and benefits. And it is that depending on the spice that is going to be used its virtues vary, so that while –for example- pepper is good for preventing thrombosis, garlic prevents bacterial development.
To decrease blood coagulability:
Certain spices help positively when it comes to reducing blood coagulability, so that we could consider them as preventive foods for diseases and disorders that appear due to blood clotting problems.
In this sense, spices such as pepper or chili peppers are ideal for preventing thrombosis and myocardial infarction.
To lower cholesterol:
High cholesterol levels pose a risk to heart health, and ultimately to health in general, since they increase the risk of suffering a cardiovascular accident.
A regular consumption of spices helps positively to reduce the accumulation of fat in the arteries, as for example is the case of pepper and turmeric.
To decrease gas and prevent indigestion:
Many spices also have interesting digestive benefits, being also particularly interesting when it comes to reducing the meteorism that comes from intestinal fermentations.
Spices such as marjoram, thyme, cumin, basil and oregano stand out above all.
On the other hand, they also help improve digestion and fat absorption. This is the case of curry and mint, which promote the secretion of bile. The same happens with mustard, cayenne, garlic and chilli, thanks to the presence of capsaicin, which causes the heart to expel a greater amount of blood in each contraction, in a way that favors a greater blood supply to the body’s tissues.
To eliminate toxins and avoid fluid retention:
Certain spices are useful to purify our body, helping us in a natural way when it comes to eliminating toxins and, therefore, also avoiding fluid retention.
This is the case of bay leaves, parsley, garlic and rosemary.