Ayurveda says that the healthiest foods are those that have absorbed the sun. And spices are just a storehouse of solar energy (and vitamins at the same time). Because they mainly grow in hot countries, closer to the equator. It is no coincidence that sharp and tart spices have long been appreciated in our northern latitudes - they bring fire and passion into our lives.
Burning and beautiful
What are spices? These are herbal food supplements that contain many aromas, vitamins and minerals. Fruits, leaves, stems, roots, bark, buds of some trees, herbs or shrubs are used as spices.
Official medicine believes that spices give a special taste to dishes, aid digestion, and improve appetite. And she's absolutely right. However, Ayurvedic specialists treat spices with even greater respect. Spices are one of the main ingredients in Ayurvedic medicines, cosmetics and, of course, healthy food preparation.
Anyone who has visited India or ate Indian food will say that it is impossible for a normal person to eat it - various spices are added to almost all food, and in huge quantities.
At the same time, Indians are one of the happiest peoples in the world, despite their low standard of living. Perhaps the fact is that many spices improve mood. For example, turmeric, which is very popular in India, is an excellent remedy for depression. Ayurvedic treatises spoke of this many centuries ago, and recent scientific studies have proven that turmeric is more effective in treating depression than antidepressant pills.
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Ginger fire
By the way, if you didn't know, turmeric is the dried and ground rhizomes and stems of some plants of the Ginger family. This family also includes ginger, which is also a very important spice used in Ayurvedic medicine.
Ginger has many beneficial properties, especially for colds - it is believed to kindle a fire inside. Therefore, it is used for heating from the inside. For the same reason, it is used to improve metabolism, and also externally for warming up with radiculitis, rheumatism, etc. Ginger is healthy both dried and fresh. It is curious that ginger was once very popular in Russia - it was from it that sbiten was made. Interestingly, even the word "gingerbread" appeared thanks to ginger. Special cookies were made from it, which were very spicy - and they began to call it gingerbread.
Another amazing member of the Ginger family is cardamom. In addition to the fact that it gives a particularly piquant taste to pastries, tea, coffee, it also heals many diseases - bronchitis, asthma, improves blood circulation.
Magic cinnamon
Not only ginger spices heal and help people, but everyone else. For example, cloves are an excellent diuretic and antimicrobial agent, in addition, it has long been used for toothache.
Cinnamon is also used as an antimicrobial and antibacterial agent, as well as for relaxation. However, few people know that it is almost impossible to buy real cinnamon from us, and this is a very expensive spice. Instead, we buy Chinese cinnamon bark in markets and shops. Real cinnamon has a very thin and fragile bark, while cinnamon has a strong and thick bark. It has a less pronounced aroma, but it has an anti-diabetic effect.
Many people say that if the house smells of cinnamon rolls or cookies, it makes them feel comfortable and peaceful. Perhaps this is the reason why an experimentally proven fact can be explained - a woman who smells of cinnamon unknowingly arouses interest in men. By the way, many spices are aphrodisiacs - they enhance sex drive. These include, for example, cumin, anise, vanilla, as well as cardamom and ginger, which ignites the fire of passion too …
Natalia Trubinovskaya