Top 7 Seasonings for Health

In this article we’re sharing our top seven seasons for not only flavor, but more importantly, your health. Read below to learn more about the valuable properties of each as well as how to use them in recipes from our Powell Performance Cookbook!

 

Cinnamon 

Why we love it:

 

Lowers blood sugar levels	Anti-inflammatory properties
Powerful anti-diabetic effects	Lowers risk of heart disease
High in antioxidants	Improves insulin sensitivity
Fights neurological diseases (Parkinson’s)	Anti-cancer effects
Can help fight infections

 

The active ingredient taken from the tree bark is called cinnamaldehyde. This is found in all types of cinnamon and when you use the cheap and easy store-bought kind, there is definitely some in it. The more specific variety you want to make sure to take more of is called “Ceylon”. You can find more of this variety on Amazon and in health food stores if you want to get more specific and have even better health results from your seasoning.

 

Ways to implement it: Sprinkle it in your coffee or other drinks, serving sizes do not need to be large (1-2 teaspoons goes a long way), flavoring in cooking or baking, adding it to Greek yogurt is also a tasty option.

 

Recipe from our PP cookbook as an example-

 

 

Sage 

There’s an easy wisdom pun in here, I just can’t put my finger on it. Sage has been used for a long time to not only help with flavor, but also to aide in health. The biggest benefits that sage has on your body can be found below.

 

High in Vitamin K	Eases menopause
Supports oral health (fights plaque)	Reduces blood sugar levels
High in antioxidants	Supports memory and brain health
Lowers LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol)	Anti-cancer effects

 

Most people will use sage as a fresh addition to a drink, marinade or serve on top of a protein source. Some others will fry it to help mute some of the strong aroma and taste. We recommend keeping it as fresh as possible and to use it as a topping to an already well-made meal. 

 

Peppermint 

Peppermint is another great thing to grow in your garden (if you have one), or to add into the mix of ways to improve foods you cook with and drink. This is a long time flavoring that people have enjoyed with many great health benefits.

 

Eases digestion for upset stomach	Fights bacterial infections
May help with headaches	Improved sleep
May help with clogged sinuses	Increased energy

 

Adding peppermint to meals may be somewhat more difficult, because of the somewhat overwhelming smell and taste it provides. We often recommend to people wanting to get more of this into their diet to use it with tea or other drinks. There are plenty of products out there for you to try and you can certainly make your own at home, but we recommend trying a couple different Teabag options to see if you enjoy it.

  

Basil

Many people don’t know, but there are many different kinds of basil. The one that we most commonly use and that are found in supplements, teas, or other health foods is called Holy Basil.

 

One of the more interesting things about basil is that it is actually more bioavailable as a dried or crumbled leave than when it is freshly chopped. The bioavailability of Vitamins A, K, calcium, iron and manganese all increase dramatically. This goes back to our other article, Should I Track My Macros, and why it’s so important to understand that different ways of preparing foods, or cooking foods (LINK) is so important and can change so drastically.

 

Helps fight diabetes & lower blood sugar	Repels insects if used as lotion or planted
Reduces general stress symptoms	Inhibit dental decay
Reduce Blood Pressure for hypertensive	Reduce risk of cancer

 

A great recipe we love from our PP cookbook is this one below, that has a ton of both basil and garlic mixed together!

 

 

Cumin  

This is a common seasoning for a lot of Central and South American dishes and has quite a few health benefits.

 

Improves symptoms of IBS	May help lower cholesterol
Anti-inflammatory effects	May help control blood sugar
Used to help with diarrhea	Reduce risk of cancer

 

When cooking with cumin, most Americans will have it in more traditional Mexican cuisine. Foods such as burritos, tacos, enchiladas, etc. will often use cumin as a seasoning. From our cookbook is this vegan burrito dish that can easily have chicken or beef added to it for more protein and can be served over rice or with tortillas to add more carbs and calories.

 

Garlic  

Having been used for centuries by just about every major civilization from the Babylonians and Romans until modern day, this seasoning has many proven health benefits. The amounts of vitamins and minerals it provides for so few calories is very impressive. It is high in Vitamin B6, C, selenium, fiber and manganese, all of which show great health benefits. 

 

Improved bone health	Potential performance enhancement
Held reduce blood pressure	Detoxes certain metals in the blood
High in antioxidants & linked to preventing Alzheimer’s & dementia	Improves cholesterol & lowers heart disease risk

 

One thing the Cajun people in Louisiana definitely get right is adding tons of veggies, garlic and seafood into their diet. A great meal is to serve this over your choice of high-quality carb like a rice or potato:

Ginger 

Most of us remember mom giving us some Ginger-Ale on the couch when we were sick with a tummy ache, watching Price is Right, staying home from school. As usual, mom had a good idea and was on to something smart. Ginger specifically contains the bioactive ingredient gingerol, which is responsible for most of the positives we see from consuming ginger. It has been shown in the research to limit nausea and improve digestion along with other health benefits.

 

Reduces nausea	Eases morning sickness from pregnancy
Helps prevent colds and flu	Reduces pain from osteoarthritis
High in antioxidants	Lower blood pressure & heart disease risk
Has been shown to help with weight loss	Anti-cancer effects

 

Below, find a delicious way to incorporate ginger into your diet and soak up all the benefits!

 

 

Remember, like all parts of fitness and specifically nutrition, improving your seasonings, condiments and toppings is a habit you slowly build over time. Improving your education on the topic and then applying it will be what helps you be consistently successful for a long period of time. Click Here to sign up and get someone on your team to help you create and reinforce better habits for your health and performance.

 

References:

 

Agah, Shahram et al. “Cumin extract for symptom control in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: a case series.” Middle East journal of digestive diseases vol. 5,4 (2013): 217-22.

 

Bayan, Leyla et al. “Garlic: a review of potential therapeutic effects.” Avicenna journal of phytomedicine vol. 4,1 (2014): 1-14.

 

Hariri M, Ghiasvand R. Cinnamon and Chronic Diseases. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2016;929:1-24. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-41342-6_1. PMID: 27771918.

 

Jayasinghe C, Gotoh N, Aoki T, Wada S. Phenolics composition and antioxidant activity of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.). J Agric Food Chem. 2003 Jul 16;51(15):4442-9. doi: 10.1021/jf034269o. PMID: 12848523.

 

McKay DL, Blumberg JB. A review of the bioactivity and potential health benefits of peppermint tea (Mentha piperita L.). Phytother Res. 2006 Aug;20(8):619-33. doi: 10.1002/ptr.1936. PMID: 16767798.

 

Sá CM, Ramos AA, Azevedo MF, Lima CF, Fernandes-Ferreira M, Pereira-Wilson C. Sage tea drinking improves lipid profile and antioxidant defences in humans. Int J Mol Sci. 2009 Sep 9;10(9):3937-50. doi: 10.3390/ijms10093937. PMID: 19865527; PMCID: PMC2769154.

Wang S, Zhang C, Yang G, Yang Y. Biological properties of 6-gingerol: a brief review. Nat Prod Commun. 2014 Jul;9(7):1027-30. PMID: 25230520.