Mayo clinic November health letter advises to add herbs and spices to food, for good health

The Mayo Clinic November health letter (Mayo Clinic Health Letter; Nov2007, Vol. 25 Issue 11, p6-6) advises it’s readers to add a dash of herbs and spices to their meals for good health: “Research is increasingly showing that many herbs and spices have health benefits. Although the amount of herbs and spices that you'd use in cooking may seem trivial, there's likely some benefit to be gained. Just as with eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, regular use of herbs and spices exposes you to a wide array of bioactive substances that are easily worth their weight in functional nutritional value”, the newsletter claims.

According to the newsletter, herbs and spices in foods may offer various benefits:

Serve as a salt substitute, provide antioxidants (allspice, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, oregano, sage, thyme and turmeric), may play a role in helping prevent conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease, and mildly lower blood sugar.

The newsletter recommends using the herbs and spices in the small amounts typical of flavoring food.  They do not recommend using the herbal supplements that give higher amounts of the herb and spice, as these higher doses are not proven effective, and may pose risks.

See:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2007-mchi/4333.html

Ayala