5 Spices That Should Be In Every Home

Maria Marlowe    November 28, 2012

Ditch the table salt and irradiated ground black pepper! It’s time to improve your spice rack with delicious and aromatic flavors that will not only enhance your dishes, but improve your health, too.

Here are 5 spices you should add to your table and sprinkle daily:

1. Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

Table salt has gotten a bad rap, and with good reason: It’s chemically cleaned and stripped of its minerals, leaving just sodium chloride, which is hard for our bodies to break down and leaves us with excess fluid in our body tissue.

Pink Himalayan Salt, on the other hand, contains 84 essential minerals, alkalizes the pH of your cells, balances electrolytes, and is anti-aging. Many doctors and nutritionists believe an acidic pH is the cause of many diseases, so a sprinkle of this may help thwart disease by neutralizing your pH. Get the coarse crystals to grind fresh over your meals. The taste is phenomenal and will certainly enhance any dish or salad.

2. Fresh Cracked Black Peppercorns

Did you know most ground black pepper is blasted with radiation before it lands on store shelves? That’s done to keep the pepper fresher for longer, although it has the unfortunate side effect of making it less nutritious.

Instead opt for a whole black peppercorns and grind over a dish just before serving for the best flavor and the highest nutritional value. Black pepper improves digestion, promotes intestinal health, and has antioxidant properties.


3. Turmeric

What can’t this spice do? Turmeric is a powerful detoxifier and anti-inflammatory that also exhibits antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer activity, which helps protect you against many diseases, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and other chronic illnesses. Add to soups or sprinkle over salads.

4. Cinnamon

This aromatic and warming spice stabilizes your blood sugar, and helps lower your bad (LDL) cholesterol. In Ayurveda, cinnamon is used to treat indigestion, colds, and diabetes. Sprinkle over oatmeal, cereal, or in your tea.

5. Cumin

Cumin is high in iron, a mineral needed for energy and immune function. You get 15% of your daily suggested value in just 1 teaspoon. It also helps digestion and has anti-carcinogenic properties. A potent antioxidant, research shows it can even help prevent cancer. Sprinkle over legumes, brown rice, or salad. Cumin pairs well with turmeric and black pepper.


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