KTK-Nutrition

Many people love spicy foods.   Did you know that adding some spices to your foods is actually good for your health?   Not only do spices have almost no calories, they add lots of health benefits.   A class activity I did with students was to modify a lasagna recipe to make it healthier.   One group of students took out all the spices thinking this somehow made the lasagna healthier.   A good learning opportunity as we then discussed how you want to ADD SPICES to your day for good health.    Why are spices healthy? Think antioxidants , those healthy chemicals in plant foods.   There are over 100 different spices and these not only are a source of antioxidants but a concentrated source of antioxidants.   Different spices provide a varying array of antioxidants.   Health benefits of spices can include being anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, helping to lower glucose and cholesterol levels, and even boost your mood and brain function. Jo...

Cinnamon, does it have any health benefits?   Last week we talked about turmeric and the many health benefits spices have.   Cinnamon is a spice that also has health benefits.   Like turmeric, cinnamon has been around for a long time , “since 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt”.   In the U.S. cinnamon ranks just behind black pepper as a popular spice.    What can cinnamon do for your health? Diabetes- some research has shown that cinnamon can help those with type 2 diabetes.   How?   By lowering blood glucose levels and also improving lipid levels.   Researchers monitored 60 people with type 2 diabetes who added cinnamon to their diets for 40 days. Those taking cinnamon lowered their blood glucose, their bad LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol.   Another study found taking 1/4 th teaspoon of cinnamon a day lowered the LDL bad cholesterol.   However, other research indicates that adding cinnamon didn’t help lower blood glucose...