Keep away all Christmas spices – they are powerful antioxidants known as “nutraceuticals” Aitrend

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The smells of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove have different uses around the world, but when the scent of these South Asian spices wafts into an American kitchen, it almost invariably means one thing: it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Mulled wine, gingerbread cookies, and pumpkin spice lattes are just a few of the holiday treats that include these super aromatic spices, but where tradition has relegated them to seasonal cuisine in Europe and North America, their historical use in Asia is medicine.

Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves are neatly classified as “nutraceuticals,” a scientific shorthand for foods so rich in fitness-promoting compounds that they mirror the pharmacological potential of designer drugs and medications. Numerous studies have examined the effects of the cocktails of antioxidants and other nutrients found in these Christmas spices and found that they demonstrate powerful protection against pathogens through their antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal effects.

They are commonly cited as powerful antioxidants, which deserves some explanation. Antioxidants get their name from their function of donating a spare electron to molecules produced when our body’s billions of mitochondria generate energy. These molecules are known as free radicals, or reactive oxygen species, and are one of the main factors responsible for aging and many other diseases, a condition known as oxidative stress.

However, not all antioxidants are created equal and the potency of some, for example oranges, pales in comparison to the potency of others, for example garlic.

Scientists at the NIH National Institute on Aging have developed a scale to measure the antioxidant potential of foods, known as the ORAC values. Among the top-ranked compounds, high-calorie foods are conspicuously absent from the top 50. Ground clove is the 8th largest in the world and is probably one of two or three ingredients in the top 10 that you’ll have even heard of. Cinnamon ranks 16th and nutmeg 34th.

With an ORAC value of 290,000, ground clove is 10 times more potent than cranberries, nearly 19 times more potent than raspberries, and nearly 30 times more potent than an orange.

Oxidative stress was once thought to be the reason we age, highlighting the extreme importance of including high-quality antioxidants in the diet.

In a review of the literature published at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Vanderbilt, spices have been shown to have great value as functional medicines. Some of the products highlighted in the review, like garlic or turmeric, are not universally loved, which is where Christmas spices come in.

Cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves are popular for their pleasant smells and the warming sensation they impart, making them an easier suggestion for someone who doesn’t cook with herbs and vegetables often enough. spices.

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Cinnamon has been shown to slow gastric emptying, thereby reducing the rise in postprandial blood sugar. The volatile oils in cinnamon, called cinnamic acid, exhibit antifungal and antibacterial effects, and may even help patients with type 2 diabetes after being shown to cause a 0.83% decrease in hemoglobin A1C levels. Cinnamon is a key ingredient in what is known in America as spiced chai tea and makes a perfect after-dinner drink for these reasons. Cinnamon is also great to add to yogurt, sweet potatoes, squash, and baked bread.

Ground cloves are one of the most important spices in Ayurvedic medicine in India, and only a tiny amount of the oils contained have been shown to kill tuberculosis B. The oils have been studied for their potential similarities with the common medication, paracetamol, to reduce inflammation via Cox-2.

Clove also acts as an iron chelator and is effective in eliminating hydroxy radicals. It has been theorized as a treatment for breast cancer and prevents damage to the retina of the eye. As mentioned earlier, aside from sumac, a spice commonly eaten in Turkish cuisine, and a few other things you’ve probably never heard of, ground clove is the most powerful and edible antioxidant that we knew.

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Nutmeg has been studied, like the other two, for various therapeutic effects. Nutmeg essential oil has been found to eliminate the Gram-positive pathogenic bacteria species Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermis and the Gram-negative bacteria Shigella Dysenteriae and Salmonella Typhi. Continuing the theme of medicine, nutmeg has been recorded as a constituent ingredient in treatments for rheumatism, sciatica, malaria, dysentery, nausea and even the early stages of leprosy.

In India and China, nutmeg is an important and proven antidiarrheal agent, and has also been identified as a potential antidepressantwhile another literary magazine
found that The phytonutrient composition of nutmeg contains compounds known to enhance anabolic action in bone metabolism, allergenic reactions and improve repression of lipid peroxidation.

A study I found this nutmeg alcohol extract remarkably decreased liver function indices, blood sugar, lipid accumulation, cholesterol levels and inflammation levels in mice.

Two studies also found that nutmeg may or could help treat colon cancer, breast cancer and skin papilloma, while a third found that non-small cell lung cancer was suppressed in vitro thanks to a herbal formula containing nutmeg.

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