Last week, I went over project managers to help your business. This week, I’m going to talk about spices and herbs for better health because tomorrow happens to be National Herbs and Spices Day. Ready to celebrate and spice things up? Before we begin, let me give you my usual disclaimer that I’m no expert and some of my knowledge may be proven to be false when looked under a microscope… but at the very least there is the placebo effect.
I snapped the photo above a few years back while visiting Morocco. At this spice shop, both the spices and the man behind the counter were super colorful. He was like a pharmacist, giving me a whiff of every spice and explaining benefits of each, from improved digestion to lowered blood pressure. I was familiar with some of the spices such as turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, but they never smelled as pungent before or since that day. I bought little bit of too many of them, and even though they were triple bagged, I could not get the scent out of my luggage for weeks. While shopping, an old man pointed towards the mountain range and said our medicine come from there. He said he cleans, toasts, and grinds them daily before the market opens to maximize their aroma & benefits. I began to understand why food in that little village tasted so good and felt nourishing.
In the documentary Food Matters, Andrew Saul said “One quarter of what you eat keeps you alive and three quarters of what you eat keeps your doctors alive.” This statement was very powerful when I heard it but seeing how everyone lived in this little Moroccan village helped me understand it better. Seeing what we consume as food and the pharmaceuticals that just keep symptoms of real health problems at bay feels like a vicious cycle not invented for our benefit. It is hard to explain, but the scent of the spice market combined with the colors and the fresh morning air was a healing experience even before I consumed anything. As if my body knew what’s good for me and was pulling me towards it.
So, this weekend, go buy fresh cumin seed, gently toast it in a pan, and grind it. You will be amazed by the aroma and surprised to know it’s beneficial for weight loss, cholesterol, stress management, and more. What will you do with fresh cumin? Here is a an idea. Looking to spice things up even further? These are 10 of the healthier herbs and spices and their benefits to check out.
As Hippocrates said, “Let food be thy medicine”.
– Burak Sarac, Team Lead
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