A spice that absolutely beguiles me is turmeric. Before trying to become versed in all things herbs and spices, I had no clue about all the benefits that turmeric incorporates. I must admit, what I noticed first was the beautiful bright mustard color (It reminds me of the color I painted my room, which always seemed to put a smile on my face). Turmeric not only outshines most of its counterpart spices figuratively, but literally as well, with its many health benefits. Turmeric has been used in India for thousands of years as dye, a spice for cooking, and also in traditional Indian Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine as an anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory substance, to treat liver and digestive problems, wounds and skin diseases. Turmeric also has some of the world’s most powerful fat-burning qualities of any food or spice and that is due to its active ingredient curcumin, which helps to burn fat and aids digestion by breaking down high-protein foods.
One of the many reasons turmeric fascinates me is because of the studies that show it contains anticarcinogenic properties. Evidence from test tubes and animals show that curcumin may help prevent or treat several types of cancers, including prostate, breast, skin, and colon cancer. Who wouldn’t want to fight against the risk of developing cancer?! By adding turmeric into your daily diet you can possibly do just that. There are so many ways you can incorporate it into your meals, for instance you can add it to your eggs for enhanced taste and vibrant color, sprinkle it on your salads or veggies (it goes perfectly with sautéed onions) and another way is seasoning your meats with it as a substitution or addition to salt/pepper. You can even add it to your desserts, just by sautéing a few apples and then pairing it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or non-fat yogurt.
I hope you enjoy all the benefits of this wonderful spice. By making this tiny change you are giving yourself a better chance to living a longer, healthier life.