You will hear this repeatedly… Digestion is paramount in Ayurveda! One of the most redeeming benefits of herbs and spices is improving the digestibility of the food and the absorption and assimilation of nutrients from the food. The difference between herbs and spices is that spices are typically the dried seeds, roots, bark, and flower parts of the plant and herbs are thought of as the fresh, leafy part (sometimes dried IE. parsley). The drying process is what concentrates all the constituents of the plant. Think about the proportion of spices to the rest of the ingredients that we use in cooking. Spices are powerhouses packed with healing properties!
Spices are supportive of health in many ways, have no negative side effects and are generally beneficial for most people. In my practice, I can recommend medicinal herbs, but I prefer to teach my clients how to use common kitchen spices or spice combinations therapeutically to help with digestion, sleep, anxiety, bloating and gas or even to lose weight. We can choose spices according to taste or pharmacological effect.
Food and spice have a symbiotic relationship. Food is a delivery system for the benefits of the spices. Spices help deliver the nutrition of the food.
These common kitchen spices can be used to enhance digestion and metabolism, cleanse toxins from the body, and help prevent digestive disorders.
Turmeric
Cumin
Coriander
Fennel
Mint
Asafetida (hing)
Black pepper
Ginger
Cardamom
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Cayenne
3 Ways to take in spices.
Tea
Food
Churnas- this may be an unfamiliar word. A churna is a mixture of medicinal herbs and spices (recommended by an Ayurvedic Practitioner).
Every recipe on the A4ML blog utilizes the power of spices. Bland food is harder to digest and remember what I said about digestion! “We are not what we eat, we are what we digest”. Food becomes our tissues and spices will aid in the digestion process so that we get the most benefit from our food.
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Has this changed how you think about spices?
What spices would you recommend to help with sleep improvement? What would be the recommended timing/method to consume?