Spice for Life
Dr.s MIKE ROIZEN and DR. MEHMET OZ
Spice up your life — and live longer
What do spicy Indian curry, zesty Italian pesto, refreshing Spanish gazpacho, Mexico's chocolate-rich mole sauce and other ethnic specialties have in common?
They'll all get your taste buds dancing. But we're pleased to tell you that they do a lot more than that.Tasty ethnic culinary allstars like these deliver a heap of phytonu-trients that make you younger by protecting against cancer, heart disease, high blood sugar, dementia and more.
What are phytonutrients? They're compounds found naturally in fruits and vegetables ("phy-to" is the Greek word for plant), and some research suggests there maybe 10,000 phytochemicals in nature that could help protect against those aforementioned diseases.
That's an excellent reason to visit the ethnic street fairs going on in most cities across North America at this time of year and make liberal and creative use of the herbs and spices hiding in your kitchen cabinet
Don't eat ethnic-only sometimes — sprinkle more of this good stuff on the foods you munch every day. How? Think outside the box, like Dr. Mike does. He dusts steamed broccoli with cinnamon and spreads bright-yellow mustard (a great source of the super-healthy spice turmeric) on everything from celery to grilled salmon and whole-grain pasta.You should go for this gold with all the gusto Michael Phelps brought to the Olympics!Giving your spice rack a workout ranks up there with eating fruit and veggies. They are all gold-medal winners.
Take oregano .Prized Italian and Greek cuisine,these tasty little leaves boast 30 times more poly-phenols than potatoes, 12 times more than oranges and four times more than blueberries.True, you'd never munch a bunch of oregano leafs as big as a potato, but even a pinch of this herb packs a wallop.A tablespoon of fresh oregano has got as much antioxidant power as a medium-size apple. And it outranks the antioxidant power of 27 other herbs that are used in cooking and botanical medicine.
Here's the lowdown on a few other herbs and spices that punch up the flavour of popular ethnic cuisines — along with ways you can use them to get healthier (and smarter) as you spice up whatever you're cooking tonight:
Turmeric: The compound curcumin, found in the turmeric in yellow mustard (not so much in brown) and yellow curry powder has anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial and anti fungal properties.
It offers some protection from cancer, diabetes, arthritis and Alzheimer's disease. A premiere flavour in Indian cuisine, don't hesitate to use it on veggies or sauteed chicken, or in salad dressing.
Cinnamon: In this tasty spice, a compound called hydroxychalcone makes receptors on your cells work better so your body absorbs blood sugar more easily. Getting !/2 to 1 teaspoon a day, sprinkled on food, could lower blood sugar 10 points.
A favourite in German baked goods and Greek main dishes, like hearty moussaka, cinnamon is als odelicious on oatmeal, in hot cocoa aid sprinkled on fresh fruit, such as apples and bananas.
Ginger: This popular flavour in Thai and Japanese cuisines may also cut your odds for inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, as well cs cancer and migraine headaches. (Another good use: Eat some if you're prone to motion sickness or general nausea.) Try grated fresh ginger in salad dressing, and shake powdered ginger on to whole-grain muffins.
Garlic: Munching a clove a day could help lower your cholesterol by as much as 9 per cent. Garlic contains tons of tangy compounds that may help protect against cancers of the breast, stomach, colon, esophagus and pancreas — and soothe high blood pressure a bit, too. Garlic's a favourite from Scandinavia to Spain and Korea Use it to spice up veggies, fish and your next pot of brown rice. It seems to make everything taste better — even fruit.
Rosemary: A top seasoning in Mediterranean cooking (the French roast it with almonds, the Italians add it to herb mixes), rosemary's antioxidant capabilities make it a must for 21st-century grill masters. Adding this herb to meat, fish and veggie marinades before grilling reduces flame.
So use spices to keep your body and brain younger — after all, using your brain to imagine new flavour combos keeps your brain sharp. Drs. Oz and Roizen advise it.
Spice up your life — and live longer
What do spicy Indian curry, zesty Italian pesto, refreshing Spanish gazpacho, Mexico's chocolate-rich mole sauce and other ethnic specialties have in common?
They'll all get your taste buds dancing. But we're pleased to tell you that they do a lot more than that.Tasty ethnic culinary allstars like these deliver a heap of phytonu-trients that make you younger by protecting against cancer, heart disease, high blood sugar, dementia and more.
What are phytonutrients? They're compounds found naturally in fruits and vegetables ("phy-to" is the Greek word for plant), and some research suggests there maybe 10,000 phytochemicals in nature that could help protect against those aforementioned diseases.
That's an excellent reason to visit the ethnic street fairs going on in most cities across North America at this time of year and make liberal and creative use of the herbs and spices hiding in your kitchen cabinet
Don't eat ethnic-only sometimes — sprinkle more of this good stuff on the foods you munch every day. How? Think outside the box, like Dr. Mike does. He dusts steamed broccoli with cinnamon and spreads bright-yellow mustard (a great source of the super-healthy spice turmeric) on everything from celery to grilled salmon and whole-grain pasta.You should go for this gold with all the gusto Michael Phelps brought to the Olympics!Giving your spice rack a workout ranks up there with eating fruit and veggies. They are all gold-medal winners.
Take oregano .Prized Italian and Greek cuisine,these tasty little leaves boast 30 times more poly-phenols than potatoes, 12 times more than oranges and four times more than blueberries.True, you'd never munch a bunch of oregano leafs as big as a potato, but even a pinch of this herb packs a wallop.A tablespoon of fresh oregano has got as much antioxidant power as a medium-size apple. And it outranks the antioxidant power of 27 other herbs that are used in cooking and botanical medicine.
Here's the lowdown on a few other herbs and spices that punch up the flavour of popular ethnic cuisines — along with ways you can use them to get healthier (and smarter) as you spice up whatever you're cooking tonight:
Turmeric: The compound curcumin, found in the turmeric in yellow mustard (not so much in brown) and yellow curry powder has anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial and anti fungal properties.
It offers some protection from cancer, diabetes, arthritis and Alzheimer's disease. A premiere flavour in Indian cuisine, don't hesitate to use it on veggies or sauteed chicken, or in salad dressing.
Cinnamon: In this tasty spice, a compound called hydroxychalcone makes receptors on your cells work better so your body absorbs blood sugar more easily. Getting !/2 to 1 teaspoon a day, sprinkled on food, could lower blood sugar 10 points.
A favourite in German baked goods and Greek main dishes, like hearty moussaka, cinnamon is als odelicious on oatmeal, in hot cocoa aid sprinkled on fresh fruit, such as apples and bananas.
Ginger: This popular flavour in Thai and Japanese cuisines may also cut your odds for inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, as well cs cancer and migraine headaches. (Another good use: Eat some if you're prone to motion sickness or general nausea.) Try grated fresh ginger in salad dressing, and shake powdered ginger on to whole-grain muffins.
Garlic: Munching a clove a day could help lower your cholesterol by as much as 9 per cent. Garlic contains tons of tangy compounds that may help protect against cancers of the breast, stomach, colon, esophagus and pancreas — and soothe high blood pressure a bit, too. Garlic's a favourite from Scandinavia to Spain and Korea Use it to spice up veggies, fish and your next pot of brown rice. It seems to make everything taste better — even fruit.
Rosemary: A top seasoning in Mediterranean cooking (the French roast it with almonds, the Italians add it to herb mixes), rosemary's antioxidant capabilities make it a must for 21st-century grill masters. Adding this herb to meat, fish and veggie marinades before grilling reduces flame.
So use spices to keep your body and brain younger — after all, using your brain to imagine new flavour combos keeps your brain sharp. Drs. Oz and Roizen advise it.
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