Fall is the perfect moment to discover which herbs and spices keep the inner fire burning as we enter the colder months. In Ayurveda, we value herbs and spices as medicine. Let’s look at their lesser-known preventative health benefits.

TURMERIC

Did you know you can beat the beat the fall/winter blues with turmeric? Studies have found it helps to reduce depression. Turmeric owes its preventative and curative skills to an active ingredient, curcumin, a diverse compound with rich antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions.

For 1000s of years, curcumin has been shown to protect and improve the health of every organ in the body. This has been documented more recently in human and animal studies.

Curcumin combats over 70 maladies including some of our biggest health threats: cancer, heart disease, Type II diabetes and Alzheimer’s. It also helps alleviate asthma, blemishes, high blood pressure, gout pain, Parkinson’s disease, cystic fibrosis and cholesterol problems.

In India, turmeric is called the anti-cancer spice. It inhibits the action of genes that actually trigger cancer, curbs the proliferation of tumorous cancer cells, prevents the development of blood supply necessary for cancer cells to form and enhances cancer-destroying effects of chemotherapy in radiation.

Stir a dash of turmeric into kitchari, any rice dish or couscous and savor your meal’s delightful flavors. Continue reading →