Herbs & Spices

Herbs and spices (even in their dried form) contain a huge amount of antioxidants. Just a pinch added when cooking can double the antioxidant power of the meal. Just another reason to add cinnamon to your porridge or oregano to your pasta.

Also, adding herbs to food makes the spikes in blood glucose after the meal less dramatic, so if you have blood sugar regulation issues try to always add some herbs to your cooking!

Cumin contains salicylic acid - the same compound found in aspirin, as do (in smaller amounts) turmeric, chilli and paprika.

• This helps decrease cancer risk generally and helps work as a semi blood thinner (this is why some people are prescribed aspirin following heart attacks).

• In TCM terms cumin is warming & pungent so promotes energy circulation and increases our metabolic rate (helping us loose weight).

• When cooking beans, adding cumin (or coriander/ginger) can help stop bloating/gas! Ginger also actually helps us break down protein (legumes contain plant based protein)

Peppermint is one of the most anti oxidant packed herbs. 

• It a carminative and anti-spasmodic so stops stomach cramps and (in small amounts) morning sickness and It alleviates gas and bloating.

• It is anti microbial (helps deal with bacteria in the mouth and with colds/upper respiratory tract infections) which is why its often in mouth washes,

• it’s an antiemetic (so good for nausea, travel sickness and IBS),

• a localised analgesic (painkiller), hence it’s often in topical oils that you can put on your forehead or temples for a tension headache or onto muscular/arthritic pain. You can mix peppermint oil with olive oil then put it into a bath to relieve muscle pain/cramps. Avoid in GORD/ heartburn/reflux as it relaxes the lower oesophageal sphincter

• Peppermint in TCM is cooling (so good with alcohol to counteract its heating effects), and helps move liver qi (PMS irritability etc).

Basil is warming and great for weak digestion, gas, bloating, IBS, and fatigue generally

• it helps relieve low moods, anxiety & focus the mind, clears coughs and gum disease (it’s antimicrobial again why its in mouth washes).

• supports the liver and is ‘anti wind’

Cardamom seeds are warming and said to light our digestive fire & clear damp - aka, promote good digestion and are ‘gastro-protective’. They are good for weak digestion, indigestion, nausea, bloating, and IBS. They also help promote circulation (and lower blood pressure), are anti inflammatory, improve low mood, and improve coughs and gum disease. Avoid with GORD/reflux/heartburn.

Sage is warming and an antioxidant.

• It’s antimicrobial: used in mouthwashes/gargling, good for tonsilitis/laringitis/colds etc

• Sage helps relieve hot flushes (great for those that come with menopause or PMS) and generally good for those with excess sweating. A menopausal hot flush remedy: 6 sage leaves soaked in lemon juice overnight in fridge, strain and drink lemon juice in water in the morning!

• Sage helps with indigestion, bloating and gastritis.

• Sage improves our cognitive function and memory so is also beneficial in Alzheimer’s.

• is ‘anti cancer’ (anti proliferative + angiogenic)

• Don’t take longterm (thujone can be neurotoxic). Don’t take in pregnancy + lactation unless to stop milk flow

Cinnamon - best to grind yourself from organic sources and store in the fridge !

• warming, moving and aids circulation + promotes sweating - helps warm the fingers and toes, especially in eg Raynaud’s or fibromyalgia!

• good for blood sugar regulation and downregulates testosterone - so very beneficial in PCOS! Caution if you are on anti diabetic drugs/metformin/insulin

• warming as a tea for sending blood flow to the reproductive organs, can therefore be beneficial in certain infertility conditions and PMS/PMDD

• is an expectorant (helps remove phlegm build up in eg a cold)

Fenugreek is  warming, moistening, bitter – caution with diabetic medications

• helps improve muscle strength and weight lifting power output.

• Its good for gastritis & constipation, and removes phlegm and is beneficial in asthma

• improves insulin resistance and so good in obesity, diabetes, PCOS etc.

• Aids with low breast milk prod (as its a galactagogue: it increases milk supply without being detrimental to baby - have fenugreek seed tea 2-3 cups per day, also helps babies colic)

• is a cholagogue meaning it helps improve bile flow - so helps us digest fats

Coriander - 

• helps reduce inflammation in people with arthritis and is good for gout.

• is a good source of iron (for those with anaemia)

• a heavy metal chelator: Binds to toxic heavy metals like aluminium in the brain and central nervous system and takes them out of our body

• liver supportive, good for IBS, gas, bloating

• is anti fungal and anti parasitic

Ginger helps with 

• migraine relief, pms cramp relief, is an anti emetic so helps with motion sickness, and vomiting and nausea during pregnancy or from chemotherapy.

• massively anti inflammatory especially helpful in arthritis pain

• promotes circulation (benefitting the cardiovascular system),

• is warming, aids digestive fire & clears damp.

• is pungent, benefits the lungs and respiratory system, induces sweating and gets rid of phlegm/mucus from colds

• helps bring on menstruation by promoting blood movement + promote blood flow to the reproductive organs generally.

• cholagogue improving bile flow (helping with fat digestion) and useful to help break down high protein food like meat or beans and lessen the effect of uric acids in the body from eating such foods (so also good for gout)

Some herbs deserve a special mention and these include:

Saffron is a particularly impressive herb thats anti everything bad…. It’s an anti depressant, anti convulsant, anti ischaemic, anti-alzheimer, antitussive, hypo-lipidemic, anti-pruritic (itching), emollient, anti inflammatory, anti oxidant.

• Most notably, saffron is an anti-depressant New studies have shown saffron to have almost equal efficacy to anti-depressants like Prozac and it can help boost cognitive function in those suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s.

• Saffron in TCM helps build yin and move liver qi stagnation, hence it’s helpful to treat symptoms such as night sweats, hot flushes, irritability, depression etc. all of which are particularly common during menopause and in PMS.

Oregano is protective against radiation, is anti inflammatory, an anti oxidant and is warming. 

• It’s an antifungal/bact/parasitic/helminthic - aka it kills everything, a bit like an all round natural antibiotic oregano oil pills can be taken for infections and illnesses of all kinds - for example it works wonders for tonsillitis and throat infections. Note, like antibiotics, oregano pills are strong and will also kill your healthy gut bacteria and can cause diarrhoea - take them with probiotics! This is also why oregano oil can be used to treat gut infections (candidiasis, E.coli, K pneumonia, B hominis, H pylori, salmonella, SIBO) too.

• Topical oregano oil can be put topically onto fungal infections (like on toes!), or even to help with acne (caution, it’s very strong and can burn your skin), or can be mixed with water and gargled for throat/mouth infections including oral thrush (why it’s often in mouthwashes)

• Avoid oregano oil pills in pregnancy, breastfeeding, for anyone avoid long term use.