Dear Nonie,
I really enjoyed the article on cinnamon. I was wondering if there are other spices that have value for our health. I know my mother takes turmeric for example. Can you tell us about any of these you might know?
Thank you!
Lynette
Dear Lynette,
I’m happy you enjoyed the article and thank you for writing in! A lot of readers seemed to enjoy the cinnamon information so I’m happy you brought this question up. Adding a little spice to our lives is such an easy way to help boost health. I’ll tell you now you are going to be amazed at the power of a few of these selections! I’m going to bring in spices from around the world. Let’s start with the one you brought up.
Turmeric
This bright golden powder is a staple in traditional South Asian cuisine. And it stains everything it comes into contact with, so be careful stirring a pot and putting a spoon on your white countertop if this is in the dish! But this tells us the spice is going to be nutritionally potent - as the brighter the colour the more nutritive the food. Colour, in fact, has a lot to do with which nutrients are present in foods. This is why some nutritionists advocate you make sure you have various colours on your plate for a balanced meal! It’s an easy concept for youth and adults alike and it’s actually true. Next week we’ll dive into this more, but for now, on to turmeric.
Turmeric is widely available in spice stores as a ground yellow powder, in capsules that are also bright yellow but are often called curcumin (an extract from turmeric), and as a dull orange-coloured fresh rhizome. It looks like orange ginger root and if you shop at Asian stores you will have seen it. All three have incredible benefits.
If you like making juices, add some of the fresh root to boost the nutritional value. If you like to cook, get yourself some fresh powder and store it in a glass jar - not the plastic bag it comes in - to keep it fresh. And if you like to take supplements for health you can get it in capsule form, often with piperine added. Just make sure the capsules contain no other additives and are fresh smelling. When you cook with it add black pepper to the recipe as well, as the piperine in peppercorn helps curcumin do its magic.
This spice has a bitter, slightly acrid, very slightly sweet taste. Over time the spice loses its flavour even though its colour will remain the same.
The plant it comes from is Curcuma longa and it’s a perennial rhizome (think peony roots) from the ginger family of plants, Zingiberaceae. 133 species of Curcuma have been identified worldwide, and most, not surprisingly, are used in medicinal formulations. India produces most of the world’s turmeric and it consumes about 80 per cent of it. Erode and Maharashtra are the cities that produce the most and highest quality. It’s used not only in foods, but also for dyes and in skincare and medicines.
Quick quiz. Which common foods are turmeric used to colour? Read on to find the answer below.
Despite its culinary use for centuries, turmeric continues to amaze researchers and nutrition gurus alike. It’s well known as an antiinflammatory par excellence - if you have joint pain you NEED to try this little wonder. Because of this it’s one of the spices I take daily and frequently recommend for clients. I suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and no one supplement or food has brought me greater relief than turmeric, taken two capsules a day. Let’s explore it’s many known benefits. It’s known to:
- decrease inflammation
- support detoxification
- improve blood sugar
- improve cognitive function
- improve kidney function
- decrease cancer risk
Now these studies are largely done on curcumin - only one of 3 substances in turmeric that are likely to be beneficial - so while capsules can help you experience the benefits listed above - the whole spice or fresh juice from the rhizome may be even more potent. The jury is still out on that.
Butter and cheese are two foods that turmeric is commonly used to colour.
Turmeric is widely used in medicinal formulas for encouraging blood flow and detoxification related to inflammatory conditions. Of course, most health issues have their roots in inflammation and toxicity, so this is an incredible addition to your diet if you suffer inflammation on any level. It also works wonders for blood sugar, so it can be used to help lower that as well.
Zaatar (Za’atar)
This spice blend is not as well known here as turmeric is, but if you have Middle Eastern relatives or you enjoy Lebanese or Middle Eastern foods, you are going to recognize this as the secret ingredient that makes these dishes pop. The flavour profile is bright, earthy, savory, tangy, and slightly nutty all at once. It’s unlike any other spice mix you know.
Ever had authentic hummus or baba ganoush at a restaurant or from a traditional home? Ever had kabobs or fattoush? If you haven’t you absolutely have to! These are sprinkled with zaatar and the flavour of a few shakes of this spice transforms the dishes incredibly! Until I discovered it I was buying up paprikas like a madman trying to figure out why I couldn’t get it right.
Warning: if you have a problem with overeating good food or obsessing about perfecting recipes don’t go to David’s mother’s house. She has a room in the basement for making her own cheese and flatbread. A freaking room for cheesemaking! This woman is in her 80’s and puts women in their 20’s to shame with how dedicated she is to feeding her family quality food. And once you try homemade, quality food, you can never look at junk food the same.
Zaatar, it turns out, is one of her secret spices. The blends change a little according to the region but they usually contain a combination of oregano, thyme and or marjoram, sumac, and toasted sesame seeds. Sometimes it also contains salt, orange zest, dill, and hyssop - the actual za’atar herb.
Today we’re going to focus on one unique ingredient and its medicinal properties.
Sumac
This dark red spice is made from the dried and coarsely ground berries of the wild sumac flower. It has a bright, tangy, sour taste, reminding you of lemon juice. And it’s fragrant, too. It’s often used as a garnish atop foods to add a pop of colour and flavour but it’s also a mainstay in zaatar, as described above.
What makes sumac so interesting, nutritionally speaking, is how it ranks on the ORAC chart. ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, and in layman's terms it’s a measurement of how powerful the antioxidant capacity of a food is. Antioxidants protect cells from toxins and from ageing. They are widely believed to help us fight disease and degeneration on a cellular level. Sumac is also known to improve health outcomes for type II diabetics.
Sumac measures 312,400 per 100g on the ORAC scale, making it second only to the 3rd spice I’ll cover below. It has a whopping 3x the antioxidant power of acai berries and 60x the power of blueberries!
There are about 35 species of Sumac that grow around the world - North America, Europe, Middle East, and the Mediterranean. They are flowering deciduous shrubs and small trees. Those familiar with this tree know it has dark red, upright fruit clusters covered in what looks like velvet fuzz. The name for these clusters is drupes.
Sumac are part of the genus Rhus from the Anacardiaceae family and Canada has several varieties, some edible (Staghorn Sumac or Rhus typhina) and some poisonous (Poison Sumac or Toxicodendron vernix) - related to poison ivy/ oak. So if you were thinking you’d like to forage for this spice, it’s best to be 100% certain of what you’re doing first. Here is a great resource online about this if you’d like to learn the difference and see Staghorn Sumac. I grew up on a farm prolific with Staghorn Sumac and was told it was poisonous. I was delighted when I learned it wasn’t and that it’s actually a culinary herb of value!
To incorporate this spice, you can use it in a spice blend, as in zaatar, or on its own sprinkled on things like devilled eggs, salads, meats, and fresh bread or veg. Try it on baked pita pieces with hummus sprinkled with it. You will be hooked!
Clove
If you guessed the last spice - the highest known antioxidant plant in the world - was clove - you were right! While sumac scored 312,400 per 100g on the ORAC scale, clove scored an amazing 314,446 per 100g! That makes it a superfood and a spice you want to learn how to use in your kitchen. Let’s unpack this nutritional powerhouse a little bit.
Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) is a tropical evergreen tree from the Myrtle (Myrtaceae) family of the genus Eugenia, originating from Indonesia’s Spice Island. It grows best in coastal areas, along the sea and takes 15-20 years to reach the fruit bearing stage. It has been used as a spice for thousands of years - as early as the 3rd-4th century BC and was important in the spice trade. In 17-18th century Europe, this spice was worth its weight in gold and was traded as a commodity!
The spice is an aromatic dried flower bud and can be purchased whole or ground. It has a warm brown colour and was historically used as a digestive aid for nausea and vomiting. 20-30 per cent of the bud is essential oil, with Eugenol making up the majority of that. It’s believed to be the main active constituent.
Early records tell that Chinese courtiers were instructed to place cloves in their mouths to ensure their breath was sweet when addressing the emperor. And in the Middle Ages, during the bubonic plague, it became famous because it was used by a group of spice merchants turned thieves who robbed dead victims but never got sick. When forced to reveal their secret, they shared that they used a mix of protective herbs in a cone on their face (sound interesting anyone?) to protect themselves. This mixture today is known as thieves oil and has been shown in studies to have antibacterial and immunity boosting properties.
Later, in 1834, eugenol was extracted from clove and was commonly used in dentistry for pain relief until the advent of modern pain medicines. Today herbalists know that essential oil of clove applied topically can help with the pain of an abscess or otherwise painful tooth. Try it for yourself and see!
Known medicinal properties of cloves include:
- antimicrobial/ antiseptic
- antioxidant
- antifungal
- antiviral
- anti-ageing
- anti-inflammatory
- decongestant
- analgesic (pain killer)
Herbalists frequently use clove for digestive disorders (dysbiosis), including SIBO, parasites, recurrent infections, and yeast problems. It has been shown to be effective against a host of gram positive and gram negative species of bacteria and can be used for food poisoning and H-pylori very successfully. To geek out on the medicinal qualities and uses of clove, go here.
Other uses include protecting the liver to help reverse liver damage, slowing cancer progression, and decreasing inflammation.
Cloves are highly fragrant with a spicy, yet pungent taste. They pair well with meats and baked goods and we recognize them in North America in many of our Christmas dishes. They are used around the world in other ways, like the Chai tea I mentioned last week from Pakistan. But with this spice a little goes a long way! You don’t want to overdo it, because it’s so incredibly strong in flavour.
Some ways you can add clove into your life include adding a bit to teas and coffees, cold or hot, adding the spice to baked goods, adding the spice to smoothies and meat dishes, adding the oil to your diffuser, and adding the oil to your diet even. If you want to start using the essential oil medicinally, be careful to only get the best quality food grade essential oil from reputable sources. Third party sellers may not be the best way to go. And only take a little at a time, following the guidelines of a master herbalist, like Todd Mansfield, whose work is mentioned above.
Well, this was a long one but I hope it has piqued your interest in food as medicine! As you can see, it truly is!
Thank you for writing in Lynette! As always, readers can find me online at askthenutritionist.ca. Reader questions can be directed to [email protected]. Have a lovely week!
Namaste!
Nonie Nutritionista
