In the distant past, salt was so treasured and important that it was used as a currency in various parts of the world due to its many uses, especially in preserving food before the advent of refrigeration.
While salt is essential in small amounts for maintaining the body’s balance of fluids, influencing muscle movement and helping transmit nerve impulses, today many Americans eat an overabundance of salt in their foods. Fast food restaurants are notorious for serving up high-sodium foods. The dangers of a high-sodium diet include risk for osteoporosis and high blood pressure.
In order to avoid eating too much sodium, you can remove salt from recipes when possible, check the labels to look for low-sodium products and eat more fresh foods rather than processed or prepared meals. Or, if you’re cooking at home, you can season your food with combinations of various spices rather than salt. Here is a list of some excellent spices, many of which research has shown have particular health benefits:
- Cumin is a spice that originated in Egypt and is very important in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine, and it adds a distinctive flavor to curries. Cumin contains some magnesium and a fair amount of iron, both essential nutrients for our bodies. Some research has supported the idea that cumin can aid in digestion and that it might play a part in reducing hypoglycemia.
- Tumeric is a bright yellow powder from the ginger family used to color and flavor Indian and Asian dishes. It contains curcumin, which might possibly inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
- Paprika is a spice ground from sweet red peppers that is typically mildly hot and a bit sweet. It’s used in everything from tomato sauces to baked fish and is important because it contains capsaicin, the chemical that gives peppers their hot flavor. Capsaicin has been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
- Oregano is a very common spice used in Italian dishes like pasta and pizza. The ingredients thymol and carvacrol in oregano have an anti-fungal property that inhibit bacteria growth and may reduce one’s chances of getting sick from a food borne illness. It also has been shown to have more antioxidant properties than various other spices and contains various vitamins and nutrients.
- Cayenne, which is made from ground up hot chili peppers, also contains Capsaicin, which is an anti-inflammatory and might potentially reduce cholesterol.
