The Spice of Life
By Kate Jackson
Today’s Dietitian
Vol. 7 No. 4 P. 36

Herbs and spices enhance food flavor but may also have health benefits and reduce salt and fat intake.

The healthful qualities of herbs and spices have long been the subject of lore. Explains Libby Mills, MS, RD, LD, a certified personal trainer and lifestyle coach in private practice, “Spices historically have been used to calm the stomach, cure bellyaches, settle indigestion, and even tame diarrhea.” In recent years, she observes, it’s no longer merely the substance of folklore or old wives’ tales. Information is increasingly emerging that not only substantiates the ancient claims but goes so far as to indicate that herbs and spices may pack a health wallop and may, for example, lower blood cholesterol, reduce blood pressure, and help prevent diabetes and cancer.

Melanie Polk, MMSc, RD, FADA, director of nutrition education at the American Institute for Cancer Research, agrees that although many spices haven’t gotten a great deal of attention yet from researchers, studies of certain spices point to significant health benefits. There’s solid evidence from individual laboratory or epidemiological studies of their healing powers, agrees Laura Pensiero, RD, a chef and owner of Gigi Trattoria in Rhinebeck, N.Y., but it’s difficult to measure the outcome of consuming spicy foods and the degree of risk reduction they may confer.

Health Benefits of Spices
Although it appears that most herbs and spices have beneficial effects, some are more powerful than others. The following are some of the qualities researchers believe this small sampling of the more potentially healthful herbs and spices have to offer. Keep in mind that researchers believe these substances also work synergistically to influence health.

• Basil: Antimicrobial

• Chili pepper: Antioxidant

• Cinnamon: Antidiabetic and antimicrobial

• Cloves: Antimicrobial

• Cumin: Antioxidant

Cumin is being studied for its role in cancer prevention, says Pensiero. “Cumin contains limonene, a type of phytochemical that is being investigated for its role in blocking cancers, specifically prostate cancer.” It may also reduce cholesterol.

• Garlic: Antimicrobial

• Ginger: This root spice, especially popular in Indian foods, says Polk, has historically been used to fight nausea and inflammation. Gingerol, says Pensiero, is also thought to help boost immune function, decrease cancer cell growth, and suppress enzymes and hormones related to cancer. Its nausea-fighting properties can also be helpful for people who are suffering side effects of chemotherapy.

• Marjoram: Antimicrobial

• Nutmeg: Antimicrobial

• Oregano: Quercetin, found in oregano, says Polk, has very strong antioxidant properties and may be protective against breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancer. One study, she says, indicated that oregano contained more antioxidant power than any other herb.

• Paprika: Stimulation of immunity; antioxidant

• Rosemary: Antimicrobial; antioxidant

• Sage: Antioxidant

• Saffron: Stimulation of immunity; antioxidant

• Thyme: Antimicrobial

• Turmeric: This yellow spice contains the phytochemical curcumin, says Polk. It has been studied more than many other spices and has been shown to slow down the growth of prostate cancer cells. Says Pensiero, this spice of East Asian origin has been used in eastern cultures to treat arthritis and dysentery. “It’s believed to lower risk for certain types of cancers because it has a very substantial antioxidant effect.”

According to Pensiero, coauthor of The Strang Cookbook for Cancer Prevention: A Complete Nutrition and Lifestyle Plan to Dramatically Lower Your Cancer Risk, herbs and spices act in four primary ways to promote health: they block potential carcinogens, stimulate detoxifying enzymes in the body that help dispose of potential carcinogens, bolster immune function, and reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Some spices work to promote health in more than one of these and other ways. Rosemary, for example, which contains carnosol, has both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, explains Polk. Certain spices, says Mary Ellen Camire, PhD, an expert in herbs and botanicals with the Institute of Food Technologists and a professor in the department of food science and human nutrition at the University of Maine, have antidiabetic properties, particularly those used in Indian food. Some contain gums that slow the absorption of glucose while others are active against aldose reductase, which causes some of the tissue damage associated with the disease. Some spices, says Pensiero, have an anticlotting effect, helping protect individuals against strokes, blood clots, and heart attacks, while still others influence the nervous and digestive systems. Researchers have found that a number of spices act on digestive enzymes of the pancreas and small intestine, as well as on bile secretion. These include black pepper, coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, garlic, ginger, onion, mint, red chili, and turmeric.

“Many spices have an effect on the brain,” says Camire, who points to nutmeg, known for its mild hallucinogenic effects. It’s not yet well-documented, she suggests, but it’s believed that spices affect the brain by contributing to endorphin release and arousing feelings of pleasure.

Tipping the Balance
Herbs and spices help people eat healthier not only because of their inherent beneficial properties but also because their use helps decrease or eliminate the use of less healthful substances, such as salt or fat. “They add so much flavor to food that they’re able to help us cut back on some of the things that we’re trying to consume less of,” says Pensiero. Mills encourages clients to use herbs and spices to create salt substitutes that can be sprinkled on foods, rubbed on meat to encrust it with flavor, used as marinades, and incorporated into salad dressings. “With a few variations, they can create dynamic and flavorful alternatives to salted and high-fat foods.”

Foods generously flavored with spices may have the added benefit of helping people eat less. “Highly spiced foods,” says Camire, “may lead to increased satiety and thus potentially less food intake.” When you enhance your dishes with spices, she explains, your nervous system is more stimulated, which affects satiety indicators, so you feel more satisfied after having a spicy meal. She observes, for example, that when people eat highly spiced ethnic foods, they tend not to overeat. She points in particularly to Indian foods, which blend a number of spices. “There’s a lot of flavor, so you get a lot of satisfaction.” It’s one of the benefits of the “slow food movement,” she says, explaining that if you have well-seasoned foods—rather than fast foods that are just high in fat, sugar, and salt—your satisfaction increases and your intake decreases.

Adding Spice to Your Clients’ Lives
RDs can inspire their clients to use herbs and spices to infuse their cooking with flavor and phytochemicals at the same time. When Mills has held workshops with that purpose in mind, she’s found that people find it amazing that items such as dips or stocks can be made delicious without the use of salt or fat through creative seasoning. Dietitians, she suggests, can help their clients as much by coaching them on culinary techniques that ultimately result in more healthful eating as by counseling them about nutrition. In her experience, says Mills, “tasting is believing.”

Therefore, whenever possible, she brings samples to show that the proof is in the pudding. In a workshop, for example, she’ll encourage the use of different recipes by letting participants taste the results. Dietitians, she insists, can spark clients’ imaginations by showing them simple tips and tricks to enliven foods that are nutritious yet often viewed as less than tantalizing. For example, she says, she loves to introduce people to new ways to use ginger—her favorite spice. “I find it very interesting to work with because it tends toward sweet, yet it has that biting spice at the end. Sometimes I’ll just take a spoonful to invigorate a marmalade, or add fresh ginger and garlic to steamed vegetables,” she says.

Clients, observes Mills, are often exceedingly busy, working and tending to many responsibilities. With our hectic lifestyles, trying to put a healthy meal on the table can be daunting. “Often, the easiest thing is to grab a pizza. Clients may not be able to fathom the idea that they can make something homemade, nutritious, and easy and they become accustomed to not cooking.” Because this habit of taking the easy way out has in many instances caused people to lose some of their kitchen skills, Mills tries to share some tried-and-true basics to help them find the way back—such as making stocks—and encouraging them to experiment with flavorings and build their spice collection.

Mills advises clients to begin with 1/2 teaspoon of a ground or dried spice for a four- to six-person dish and then progress to blending spices to build their culinary confidence. She encourages spice novices to experiment by blending a couple of mild herbs with one really strong herb or spice to create their own bouquet garni for flavoring dishes.
She describes chervil, parsley, and chives as mild; basil, tarragon, oregano, and thyme as medium; and garlic, bay leaves, and rosemary, for example, as stronger flavors. What’s mild to one person, however, may be strong to another, she observes, so she reminds clients to think about their own tastes and assess and use the spices and herbs they really like. “One good rule of thumb is to choose one that’s really strong and let that be the lead flavor, and pair it with lighter herbs—for example, one part rosemary or sage to one or two parts basil or parsley.”

Another general rule, Mills says, is to limit blends to three flavors. When people see how easy and satisfying it is, they won’t be tied to a recipe and will be able to be more creative, she explains. Blending spices leads to more than good flavor, suggests Camire. Spices, she notes, have many compounds, and by blending them, you stack the benefits. “A curry mix, for example, contains many different spices and thus various phytochemicals, all with different health benefits, so it gives you multiple benefits at one time.”

Why Spice?
“When it comes to making food choices that are going to benefit health,” says Mills, “getting plenty of fruits and vegetables and diversity of color will be more important and have more of an impact than focusing in on the health benefits of any one spice,” which isn’t to say that she doesn’t agree that herbs and spices improve health. On the contrary, she says, herbs and spices can boost consumption of phytochemicals and can make simple foods interesting and diverse. They can help individuals increase their intake of fruits and vegetables, for example, by helping to make those nutritious foods more intriguing and lending themselves to new ways of cooking that make people more eager to eat greater amounts of the most healthful foods. Increasing the levels of spice in your food, agrees Camire, is not a substitute for getting whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, “but it certainly can help, and it’s a lot more pleasant than taking an antioxidant pill.”

In the future, Polk envisions, research will reveal a great deal more about the health properties of a wide range of herbs and spices and allow us to identify the phytochemicals contained in each. “As we learn more and more about the protective effects of these phytochemicals and how they also work synergistically, we’re going to be encouraging our clients to add more spice to their diets.” In the meantime, she suggests moderation when adding any spice about which there’s debate, such as chile pepper, which contains capsaicin—a component that has been hailed by some and assailed by other studies. Otherwise, says Polk, “if it comes from a plant and it’s edible, it can serve a complementary role to protect health in a plant-based diet.”

— Kate Jackson is a staff writer for Today’s Dietitian.

Cooking to Prevent Cancer
According to the National Cancer Institute, the following herbs and spices are among those that may contribute to the prevention of cancer:

• anise;

• caraway;

• coriander;

• cumin;

• fennel;

• oregano;

• rosemary;

• sage;

• tarragon;

• thyme; and

• turmeric.

Cumin, caraway, fennel, and tarragon, which all contain terpenoids, may also combat tumor growth.

— KJ

McCormick Web Site Offers Flavorful Choices for Healthy Eating
Eating healthier doesn’t have to mean sacrificing great taste. McCormick recently launched A Taste for Health at www.mccormick.com/health, a one-stop resource for flavorful recipes and tips to suit any healthy lifestyle.

“No matter what type of eating plan people are following, spices, herbs, extracts, and seasonings are a great way to pump up the flavor of foods and satisfy your palate,” says Susan Corona, RD, with McCormick. “A Taste For Health was designed to help people make sensible, delicious choices.”

The site also features seasonally focused advice from the McCormick dietitians. This fall, parents can check out great-tasting, healthy suggestions for weeknight meals and after-school snacks. In addition, visitors can search recipes by category—low-fat, low-calorie, low-carb, and low-sodium—and exchange their own helpful hints on the site’s message board.

For more information, visit www.mccormick.com/health.

— Source: McCormick & Company, Inc.

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