Aniseed
Many spices are a match for herbs when it comes to treating disease, healing wounds, soothing irritation, and easing pain. A number of medicinal spices can be obtained as essential oils, others can be found in supplement form.
ANISEED
This flowering plant, Pimpinella anisum, has been cultivated in the Mediterranean and western Asia for thousands of years. Reaching two feet in height, the herb’s leaves are lobed at the base and feathery on the stem. The tiny white flowers form umbels and mature into small gray-brown fruit. The spice possesses a licorice flavor that is aromatic and fruity, the result of the compound anethole. Aniseed was highly regarded for its healing qualities—the Egyptians took it as a diuretic, the Greeks for pain. Today it is used to improve digestion, relieve asthma symptoms, reduce phlegm and inflammation, soothe skin irritations, increase metabolism, and improve heart health.
Aniseed
BLACK PEPPER
This “king of spices” was once used as a form of money and was presented to the gods during religious rituals. Black pepper (Piper nigrum) originated in Kerala, India, and is a woody vine that produces clusters of small white flowers, which form small red berries known as peppercorns. The spice was once applied medicinally against scourges such as scarlet fever, smallpox, and cholera, but today it is used to stimulate circulation, ease respiratory ailments, treat joint or muscle pain, increase metabolism, and improve immunity. The piperine in the plant acts as a painkiller, while its antioxidants combat free radicals, and the alkaloid capsaicin increases sweating and urination, speedily removing toxins from the body.
CARDAMOM
This densely aromatic spice, the third most expensive after saffron and vanilla, is made of seeds from plants native to India, Bhutan, Indonesia, and Nepal. True or green cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) has a sweet flavor. Black cardamom (Amomum subulatum) has a dark, smoky flavor. Part of both ayurvedic and Chinese traditional medicine, it’s been used as a remedy for tooth and gum infections, throat ailments, inflamed eyelids, and gallstones. It is known to protect the gastrointestinal tract, control cholesterol levels, and treat urinary and respiratory infections. It can help control muscle spasms, inhibit the growth of microbes, and may have cancer-fighting potential. This spice is also rich in vitamins and minerals.
CAYENNE
This fiery gift to Europe from Central America has a long list of health benefits. Cayenne peppers can be red, green, or yellow and are the fruit of the chili plant (Capsicum annuum), a small perennial shrub with off-white or purplish flowers. First grown around 5000 BC, they are among the oldest cultivated plants. Indigenous people used cayenne to treat heartburn, fever, sore throat, paralysis, hemorrhoids, and nausea. The capsaicin in cayenne eases aches by depleting the pain-causing neurotransmitters in nerve endings. In studies, capsaicin also reduced heart arrhythmias, stimulated blood flow, and inhibited the growth of prostate cancer cells, and its beneficial compound, CAY-1, suppressed more than 16 fungal strains.
Alternate names include cow-horn pepper, red hot chili pepper, aleva, bird pepper, and Guinea pepper. The common name is taken from Cayenne, the capital city of French Guiana.
Cayenne peppers
CELERY SEED
Once valued by ayurvedic and Asian physicians, celery seed (Apium graveolens) was also part of early Mediterranean and medieval European folk medicine. The vegetable is native to southern Europe, displaying sturdy fleshy stems, wide segmented leaves, and airy umbels of white flowers. The aromatic oval seeds are used in the cuisines of Germany, Italy, and Russia. The herb has been used to improve cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure, and treat arthritis and liver ailments, colds, flu, toothache, backache, and indigestion. The seeds possess carminative, antibacterial, antiseptic, sedative, aphrodisiac, stimulant, and diuretic qualities, and are rich in antioxidants and in the beneficial, vanilla-scented compound coumarin, which is the source of their scent and taste.
Celery seeds
CINNAMON
This warm, sweet kitchen favorite is harvested from the bark of two evergreen trees: Ceylon cinnamon, or true cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), and cassia, or Chinese cinnamon (C. aromaticum). Early medicinal use dates back to at least 2000 BC. The spice is rich in antioxidants and effective for treating muscle spasms, vomiting, diarrhea, colds, infections, loss of appetite, and erectile dysfunction. Research indicates the spice may also lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and triglycerides, improve glucose and lipid levels, treat bacterial and fungal infections, slow the development of Alzheimer’s disease, combat HIV-1 and HIV-2, and help stop the destructive onslaught of multiple sclerosis.
Cinnamon
CLOVES
Now synonymous with the winter holidays, cloves (Syzygium aromaticum) have been a valued remedy for thousands of years. The clove itself is the unopened flower bud of the clove tree, a smooth-barked evergreen that reaches 50 feet in height. These natives of the Indonesian Maluku Islands were introduced to Europe in the fourth century and used to cover the taste of spoiled meat. Cloves display potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties and are excellent for treating stomach ailments, maintaining bone density, lowering risk of GI tract cancers, easing joint and tooth pain, boosting the immune system, and possibly controlling blood sugar levels. They are rich in both vitamins and minerals.
CUMIN
Worldwide, earthy, nutty cumin (Cuminum cyminum) is the second most popular spice after black pepper. The oval, yellowish seeds come from a small, slender-stemmed plant that produces white and pink clusters of flowers. Cumin originated in the Mediterranean and was used by the Egyptians for embalming. It is a potent antioxidant that can heal acne, rashes, and boils; its vitamin E content preserves the complexion by combating wrinkles, age spots, and sagging skin. It also has antimicrobial and antifungal properties, acts as a natural laxative, breaks up respiratory congestion, and speeds up secretion of detoxifying enzymes. It contains vitamins B1, B2, B3, C, and E and is high in fiber and iron.
JUNIPER BERRY
Juniper berries are the female seed cones of various junipers, most commonly Juniperus communis, an evergreen that originated in Asia, Canada, and northern Europe. It can be a dense shrub or a tree that reaches 40 feet in height. These tart, piney berries, which are popular additions to European game dishes and a flavoring for gin, also provide medicinal benefits—their antimicrobial and antifungal properties can destroy widespread gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria; as a diuretic they can relieve bloating, reduce water retention, lower blood pressure, and remove extra salts; and they also flush out urinary bacteria and toxins. They contain high levels of antioxidants that can help combat cancer, heart disease, and arthritis.
Juniper berries
MACE/NUTMEG
Earthy, sweet nutmeg is the kernel of the nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans), while a powdered seasoning called mace comes from the waxy red covering of the seed, or aril. This tall evergreen is native to the Maluku Islands in Indonesia, also home to cloves. The tree produces large, glossy, oval leaves and apricot-like drupes. Nutmeg has been valued by healers for millennia, as a brain tonic and for treating depression and anxiety, abdominal pain and inflammation, sleeplessness, and nausea, and for cleansing toxins from the liver and kidneys. It contains the compounds myristicin and macelignan, which are known to shield the brain from degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Nutritionally, nutmeg contains potassium, calcium, iron, and manganese.
MUSTARD
Mustard (Brassica sp., Sinapis sp.) possibly dates back to Stone Age China. Mild white mustard was native to the Mediterranean region, spicy brown oriental mustard came from the Himalayan foothills, and intense black mustard originated in southern Europe and south Asia. All three have been called “superfoods” by nutritionists. They are a rich source of vitamin A, folate, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium. Mustard has been used to treat asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, clear congestion, lower high blood pressure, limit migraines, and even inhibit the growth of stomach, colon, and cervical cancers. The seeds stimulate production of enzymes that protect the skin against psoriasis and help to heal the lesions.
Mustard
SAFFRON
This delicate spice is made from the red-orange stigmas and styles of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), which are harvested by hand. This labor-intensive process makes saffron the most expensive spice by weight. Native to southwestern Asia, the plant ranges from 8 to 12 inches in height and bears narrow green leaves with white stripes and up to four purple flowers. Based on a Greek fresco, medicinal saffron goes back at least 3,500 years. Healers use it to suppress appetites, ease mild depression, reduce stress, soothe upset stomachs, and as an aphrodisiac for women with low libido. Its anti-inflammatory properties help reduce the pain of sports injuries and arthritis.
This versatile spice contains more than 150 volatile compounds and many micronutrients.
STAR ANISE
Sweet-scented star anise (Illicium verum) is native to southern China and northeast Vietnam; it grows on a medium-sized evergreen tree that bears large, glossy green leaves and decorative white flowers. The dark- brown pods have eight carpels (dried fruits) radiating out like a star. Early physicians used it as a stimulant and to treat coughs and colic, ease rheumatism and menstrual cramps, and for increasing libido. The essential oil contains shikimic acid, a key ingredient in virus-fighting Tamiflu, and two major antioxidants, linalool and vitamin C. Extracts have treated Candida albicans, and in lab tests, four antimicrobial compounds derived from star anise were effective against nearly 70 strains of drug-resistant bacteria.
Star anise
TURMERIC
Turmeric (Curcuma longa) epitomizes the flavors of the Middle East and India—it gives curry its distinct color and taste—while providing valued medicinal benefits. Native to southern Asia, the plant can reach four feet in height and produces large, oval, upright leaves on sturdy stems and spikes of pale pink or white flowers. The spice is processed from the yellow root. For more than 4,500 years, natural healers have relied on this spice to reduce inflammation, fight infection, and ease digestion. It contains curcumin, a powerful antioxidant that purges free radicals. There are indications that curcumin can inhibit certain cancers and may prevent subsequent heart attacks in bypass surgery patients.
VANILLA
This sixteenth-century New World discovery was soon delighting the courts of Europe and has never stopped pleasing dessert lovers. The tropical vanilla orchid vine bears oval green leaves and waxy, delicate, greenish-yellow flowers; these mature into narrow six-inch pod-like fruit with small black seeds. The word vanilla comes from the Spanish vainilla, meaning “little pod.” In pre-Columbian Mexico, it was used to treat indigestion and tension. Today, the flavor compound vanillin is known to reduce cholesterol levels, preventing hardening of the arteries and the formation of blood clots. Its high levels of antioxidants can heal damaged cells, protect the immune system, and diminish the damaging effects of free radicals.
Vanilla