Did you know that herbs have a ton of enzymes which are great for our digestion?! They also pack mega disease fighting punches! Maintaining a diet rich in herbs, raw, and clean foods will keep our immunity strong thereby making our bodies stay healthy and recover from illness faster.
Whoohoo… with that being said, who wouldn’t want to eat some herbs daily?
Prior to my blog I really hadn’t given herbs a thought other than that they add taste to my meals! Well, the more I study and research the tremendous health benefits of herbs, the more I love them and want YOU and ME to incorporate them into our every meal.
It’s not always easy to include EVERY HEALTHY food into our daily lives. But we certainly can try!
Here are my MAGNIFICENT SEVEN top herb choices that I believe are essential to maintaining a healthy body and active lifestyle.
- TURMERIC: One of my all time favorite herbs, turmeric contains curcumin, a powerful anti-inflammatory. A decrease in pain and swelling due to arthritis is just one example of how turmeric can help. Recent studies have also revealed that turmeric’s curcumin MAY help fight alzheimer’s disease and colon cancer. What’s also very interesting is that India has one of the lowest alzheimer’s and cancer rates in the world… and Indian people eat TONS of turmeric. I totally believe in turmeric and sprinkle it on my salads, sweet potatoes and veggies every day. Oh and did I mention turmeric is a powerful teeth whitener? More on this later.
- CINNAMON: Yummy, this one just tastes so good! Plus cinnamon is believed to reduce blood sugar when taken daily and quite possibly lower cholesterol, making it a great choice for diabetics! I enjoy cinnamon in my coffee or tea, on a fresh apple slice or in my frozen banana blended dessert. The possibilities are endless!
- ROSEMARY: My favorite choice on grilled fish, rosemary provides powerful antioxidants which scientists believe work to destroy HCA’s, the potent carcinogens implicated in several cancers. It’s also shown a lot of cancerous tumor stopping potential. If you don’t like fish, I suggest you sprinkle this cancer fighting herb on your meats or mix with your marinade sauces, pastas and sweet potatoes!
- GINGER: I love ginger! It goes great in just about anything from salads to smoothies and pastas to vegetables. Ginger is helpful in nausea prevention and motion sickness. People treated with chemotherapy or women in their first stages of pregnancy take ginger to alleviate their nausea. Also a powerful antioxidant, ginger quite possibly works to decrease blood pressure, arthritis pain and inflammation, and cancer growth particularly in ovarian cancer patients. Try not to peel the ginger and always buy organic, the skin has a lot of powerful qualities you want to digest.
- GARLIC: I know, yuck it gives us bad breath but that’s what gum, parsley and mints are for, right?! Garlic is SOO good for us. It’s thought that garlic can lower the rates of ovarian, colorectal and other cancers. Garlic contains more than 70 active phyto-chemicals which may help prevent stroke by slowing arterial blockages and lowering blood pressure. I add garlic powder to my hummus all the time. And fresh garlic in my sweet potatoes and steamed vegetable dishes. I just always make sure I’m eating it when Anton is eating it, that way we both stink at the same time and can still cuddle!
- PARSLEY: Such a great word. “Rock celery” in Ancient Greek, parsley contains volatile oils shown to inhibit tumor formation in animals while also neutralizing particular types of carcinogens. I’m definitely giving my yorkies some parsley each day with their meals. Something interesting that as a woman, I did not realize, parsley has been used to help treat UTI’s and kidney stones. Hmm… cranberries and parsley? I’ll try anything over antibiotics! Parsley might also help with constipation, fluid retention, high blood pressure, anemia, indigestion and BAD BREATH. Yes, isn’t this just oh-so-awesome! Parsley neutralizes our breath all the way down to our stomachs so we stop smelling like garlic from the inside of our mouths to the pores of our skin. It’s also a great source of vitamins K, C, A and folate, iron, potassium, calcium and flavonoids.
- BASIL: Last but no least, my number one secret ingredient to the yummiest smoothies ever! Basil is super amazing because it not only contains phyto-chemicals that may lower cortisol levels in the body (you know, the stuff that helps us retain tummy fat) but it also keeps us calm and is a super source of iron, vitamin A and magnesium. If you’re feeling tired you may be low in iron. Eating two cups or raw basil or a tablespoon of dried basil is a good way to increase our daily iron intake.
My MAG SEVEN herbs are best eaten fresh or in powder form sprinkled on raw, organic food to maximize digestion of their powerful enzymes, vitamins, minerals and disease fighting properties. Your local grocery store is guaranteed to have a few, if not all of them. Whole Foods is another source. Of course, if you have your own organic garden, that’s even better. A few small pots on the balcony of your apartment or condo would do the trick.
Anyone else convinced that herbs pack a powerful punch and may keep us healthy and alive for many years to come?! I certainly do. I really believe in these herbs and believing is key! My yorkies, Anton and I all take our daily dose of herbs. I know there are so many more to talk about and I’ll be sure to continue the herb topic later.
Anyone else have a favorite herb they want to see an article on? 🙂
xx Shanna
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