Why I Stopped Taking Antibiotics

As the natural health movement grows, people across the nation and the world are learning the benefits of using food, herbs, and supplements to prevent and treat illness and disease.

Antibiotics are chemical therapy. Read any package insert or look up a pharmaceutical on the Internet and thoroughly read the possible side effects. Many drugs, even many over the counter drugs, warn of risks that include lifelong disability or death. These are the outcomes the companies either freely admit or are forced to admit.

Why I Stopped Taking Antibiotics

I didn’t realize throughout the years I followed conventional medicine that antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals were damaging my gut and my immune system – not until I crashed headlong into auto-immune disease after my second anaphylactic reaction, a reaction to an antibiotic.

The next time I became ill, I took supplements. One day my chiropractor did a kinesthetic test and told me I had strep throat. He recommended a supplement: Spanish Black Radish.

I decided to follow his treatment plan, but I wanted to prove to myself and to my medical doctor that this form of therapy worked. I asked her to give me a step test and yes, it was positive. She immediately argued with the plan, saying strep was too serious for alternative treatment. I brought her around by promising I would do a follow-up test and then take antibiotics if needed. A week later, the test was negative.

Another month passed, and I developed pneumonia. I went straight to my doctor. Pneumonia always scared me since it had nearly killed me twice, and I wanted the “big guns.” This was the day that changed my life. My doctor, my brilliant, conventional, medical doctor suggested I go back to my chiropractor and ask what supplements to use for the pneumonia since his treatment had worked so well for the strep. She was right. It worked great. That was 20 years ago. I have never taken another antibiotic.

Our Immune System Without Antibiotics

The amazing differences people discover when they stop taking antibiotics are how they recover from illnesses faster, how illnesses are less severe, and how they don’t become ill as often as they did back in the day they took antibiotics. All of these changes are signs of a healthier immune system. In time, you stop becoming sick. Your immune system works so well it defeats attacking pathogens before they can get a foothold and cause you to feel ill.

I believe several things are at play here. First of all, it would be unlikely for anyone to follow alternative medicine without also learning that food is our primary medicine. Better nutrition and alternative medicine go hand in hand. But as soon as you stop taking antibiotics, you stop the utter destruction of the good bacteria in your gut. And your gut is responsible for 80% of your immune system! So of course you are going to respond better to pathogens than you did before your gut was healing.

If you are making the switch from conventional medicine to alternative medicine, start with diet. The healthiest diet is a plant-based diet where 80% of the food you eat is fresh, raw, organic produce, more vegetables than fruits (see the first source for an awesome recipe). If you choose to eat meat, make sure it is organic, and do not overcook the meat or cook at a high temperature. Avoid pasteurized and/or homogenized dairy, all artificial flavors colors, and preservatives, MSG, GMOs, and trans fats. Limit or eliminate gluten, sugar, and caffeine. This is a diet filled with real, whole foods, not processed garbage devoid of nutrition.

With this kind of diet you will soon find that your immune system fights much better on its own than it ever has before. But when it needs help, choose high-quality supplements proven to aid the immune system, not tear it down. For those who have taken antibiotics and have not addressed their gut health yet, see After taking antibiotics, this is what you need to do and Balance Your Inner Ecosystem.

Recommended Supplements:

FDA Investigation: Four Major Retailers Sell Supplements Consisting of Cheap Fillers and Allergenic Compounds

On Monday, the New York State Attorney General announced that testing found four major retailers sell supplements consisting of cheap fillers and allergenic compounds instead of the herbs they claim to contain. Walmart, Walgreens, Target, and GNC are taking full advantage of the lack of regulation in regards to herbals products and selling the public supplements that do not contain the herbs on the label. Instead they are made up of cheap fillers like powdered rice, asparagus and houseplants. Who is supposed to make sure that we’re not ingesting cheap pills that have no medicinal value whatsoever? More importantly, why would these retailers take advantage of their customers like this? It’s dangerous, irresponsible, and ethically wrong. Who does that?

Are you surprised?

Big Business Does Its Thing

If you’ve been paying attention to any alternative news, you’re aware of Big Business’s shocking lack of concern for the public in ways large and small. Subway puts a chemical used to construct yoga mats and other rubber products in its bread. Walmart blithely continues to cheat workers of overtime hours, when it already pays the lowest possible wages. When you look at the lack of ethics repeatedly displayed by corporations, is there any doubt that they would take every advantage to maximize profits?

What’s the next step here? The NY state attorney general has issued a cease and desist letters for all. Walmart has stated it will remove these products. A spokesperson for GNC has promised “appropriate” action in response to the letter, but claims it stands behind the quality of its supplement overall. This seems to be the corporate equivalent of a sorry-not sorry. There is a lack of transparency and communication here that should make us all think twice you about doing business with these companies.

So What Can You Do?

Full Disclosure: I like knowing the FDA has minimal involvement in my supplements. The FDA sits comfortably in Monsanto’s back pocket, choosing to intervene for money rather than morals. Their track record is littered with approved Big Pharma drugs that they were then forced to turn around and ban. I whole-heartedly believe that no one is perfect, but it feels like our government’s food and drug administration isn’t even trying.

Do your own research and take control of your health. Supplements can make a difference in your health, but you need to be careful about where you choose to purchase them. Look for small companies that use quality herbs and are transparent in their practices and products. There are resources available to you like the Natural News Food Lab, which definitively tests food and supplement products. Support with your dollars the businesses that want to take care of you. Taking the easy way out leads to picking up a bottle of rice powder and house plants from your nearest big box corporation. Don’t ever buy supplements from stores like Walmart or Walgreens. Even Whole Foods carries a lot of questionable supplements. If you’re looking for the best multivitamin, try making it at home. Check out Make Your Own Homemade Multivitamin And Mineral Formula.

Sources:

B Vitamin Food Sources – Because A Deficiency Can Drive You Insane

A teenage boy is admitted to a mental hospital. He screams in fear, begging to be saved from the thousands of spiders climbing up the wall – spiders no one else can see.

A middle-aged woman is anemic.

An elderly man is depressed.

A young woman dreads her monthly cycle, knowing she will become moody or angry – mood swings so severe they may jeopardize her relationship or her job.

What do all of these people have in common? They are all suffering from a B vitamin deficiency.

The B vitamins are a group of water-soluble vitamins crucial to many of the metabolic processes in the body. All eight B vitamins, or several of them, are often found together in a particular food- a helpful occurrence since many of the B vitamins work together.

The B vitamins are: B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B7 (biotin), B9 (folate or folic acid), and B12 (cyanocobalamin).

B vitamins help carbohydrates break down to glucose and they aid in the breakdown of fats and proteins. Without them, we would not have fuel for any tissues in the body. They are absolutely essential for neurotransmitters and nerve tissue. They help our bodies form red blood cells. B9 and B12 are required for normal fetal development during pregnancy.

B vitamin deficiencies run the gamut from decreased energy all the way through to acute psychosis or death. Every bodily function requires B vitamins or the glucose it provides.

The best source of any vitamins is food. B vitamins are found in the following foods.

Foods High in B1

Asparagus, Brussels sprouts, green peas, beet greens, spinach, sweet potatoes, navy beans, black beans, pinto beans, lima beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, unpolished rice, barley, oats, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, watermelon, oranges, and liver.

Foods High in B2

Beet greens, spinach, asparagus, crimini mushrooms, collard greens, sweet potatoes, green peas, eggs, turkey, tempeh, sardines, and tuna.

Foods High in B3

Asparagus, crimini mushrooms, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green peas, tuna, chicken, turkey, salmon, lamb, beef, sardines, shrimp, peanuts, sunflower seeds, brown rice, and barley.

Foods High in B5

Avocado, crimini and shitake mushrooms, sweet potatoes, green peas.

Foods High in B6

Sweet potatoes, potatoes, spinach, cabbage, turnip greens, garlic, winter squash, bok choy, bell peppers, avocado, green peas, tuna, chicken, turkey, beef, salmon, lentils, lima beans, pinto beans, bananas, and sunflower seeds.

Foods High in B7

Sweet potatoes, onions tomatoes, carrots, oats, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, eggs, salmon, and bananas.

Foods High in B9

Asparagus, spinach, turnip greens, broccoli, Romaine lettuce, bok choy, cauliflower, green peas, avocados, leeks, fennel, summer squash, Brussels sprouts, lentils, pinto; garbanzo; black; navy; and kidney beans, papaya, and quinoa.

Foods High in B12

Sardines, salmon, tuna, cod, lamb, shrimp, scallops, beef, yogurt, and milk.

It can be difficult to meet the daily requirement of B12 if you are a vegetarian or vegan, or if you are elderly. It is also more difficult for anyone suffering from digestive diseases that inhibit absorption such as celiac disease.

Conclusion

If you do choose to supplement with B vitamins, it is important to take a full B complex. Taking one or more B vitamin over an extended period of time can cause deficiencies in other B vitamins.

Remember a healthy diet is one that consists of 80% raw, fresh, organic produce – more vegetables than fruits along with healthy omega 3 fats. To properly absorb and assimilate B vitamins, you must have balanced healthy fats in the body and a healthy gut that’s not overrun with Candida. Check out Balance Your Ecosystem.

Recommended Supplements:

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Gut Health

Gut health. Catchy phrase, isn’t it? Of course the first thing it brings to mind is diarrhea, constipation, bloating and gas, right? But gut health is so much more.

It’s not just whether your bowels regularly move or whether you have runny stools. It’s whether you have the right balance of good bacteria to bad bacteria and yeast that determines whether many functions of the gut work properly including assimilation of nutrients.

A sick gut is overrun with “bad” bacteria and yeast. We label bacteria as good when the bacteria benefit us. Good bacteria help us further digest our food, they produce serotonin (a necessary neurotransmitter), and they create byproducts through their metabolic processes that are either beneficial to us or benign. They also play a very important role in keeping both bad bacteria and yeast in check.

Bad bacteria cause inflammation of the tissues in the gut and they release harmful toxins through their metabolic processes. Yeast does the same. In addition, it burrows holes through the protective inner lining of the gut allowing food particles and proteins to pass into the bloodstream. We refer to this process as leaky gut syndrome. This corruption of the normal digestive process sets the immune system into overdrive. Many now believe that leaky gut syndrome may very well be the common denominator and precursor for many kinds of autoimmune disease.

Antibiotic use and gut health

Antibiotics kill bacteria. That’s what they are made to do. The problem is, they usually kill a wide variety of bacteria, both good and bad. After using an antibiotic, you not only need to increase or repopulate your good bacteria, the yeast in your system has had a chance to multiply since the good bacteria that normally keeps it in check has died off. You need to kill the yeast and replenish the good bacteria.

How to increase the good bacteria in the gut

So a healthy balance of good bacteria in the gut is essential to health, especially since our immune system requires good gut health. How do we go about ensuring we have an abundance of good bacteria?

First of all, build them a home and they will come. Good bacteria thrive in a fiber-rich environment. It makes them happy – so gloriously happy they multiply like crazy. The foods that promote this environment are prebiotic foods- raw, fresh, organic, fiber filled vegetables and fruits. The best thing we can do to create an environment that feeds, houses, and promotes good bacteria is to eat a large salad every day filled with dark leafy greens and 10-15 types of vegetables.

Probiotic foods (fermented milk products and vegetables) can also help to increase the amount of good bacteria in the gut, but their significance is often highly overrated. First of all, sugar filled kefir and yogurt products do not promote health. And most of the time, the probiotic bacteria do not survive the stomach acid. But there are supplements made to get past the stomach acid and eating sugar-free probiotic foods on a regular basis will help to some extent. Just remember, the primary method to increase good bacteria is through raw vegetables.

Recommended Supplements:

How To Make Kimchi

Eating to establish and maintain healthy bacteria in the gut may be the most important action we take to maintain and enhance our health. Once we understand how the good bacteria in our gut aids us—in digestion of our food, protecting us from pathogens, how it’s essential to our immune system, how it creates 95% of our serotonin, and more—it’s easy to understand how crucial gut health is to our overall health.

Prebiotic foods are the first and most important step. Raw vegetables and fruits feed the healthy bacteria in our gut and provide the insoluble fiber that not only moves waste through our system, it provides a structure for the bacteria to cling to as it multiplies. These foods should comprise 80% of our diet.

Though stomach acid may kill the majority of bacteria in fermented foods, many believe that regular consumption of these foods adds to the healthy bacteria in the gut.

Not long ago, I drove across town to buy kimchi, one of my favorite probiotic foods. A pint was $6.99. A quart was $12.99. I was so excited to a gallon jar for $20.00 I forgot to read the label! MSG. Need I say more? So I decided it was time to learn how to make kimchi.

The first step in making any fermented food is to thoroughly wash the jar you are using for the fermentation, all of the utensils and dishes, and your hands. Just make sure everything is good and clean. Running things through the dishwasher or sterilizing is an option to consider.

You Will Need:

1 large Chinese cabbage – 2 lbs (Napa seems to be the most common choice for kimchi, but you can use bok choy or any other cabbage)
1 cup kosher salt
2 cups of pure water
I daikon radish
5 green onions or scallions
1 Granny Smith apple
2-3 carrots
1 head of garlic
1/4 cup of sliced ginger
1 tablespoon organic sugar
1 ½ cups of Korean red chili flakes or hot pepper powder
soy sauce, fish sauce, or vegetable culture
Jars or a fermenting crock

Chop Up Your Cabbage

There are hundreds of recipes for kimchi. One of the variations involves how you cut up the cabbage. You can cut it into bite size pieces or cut a Napa cabbage into four pieces, core the pieces, and separate each leaf that you will eventually spread with your spice mix and roll it up. Or you can leave the entire cabbage intact. In this recipe, we are going to cut the cabbage into bite size pieces.

Soak Your Cabbage

First wash the cabbage. Now you will soak the cabbage in your brine mixture.

Again, the directions vary widely on this step. Some say massage the salt into the cabbage leaves others say soak in salt water from 2 hours to overnight. My preference is the quick method that only takes an hour.

Separate the cabbage into 2 bowls (unless you have one great big bowl).
Sprinkle half a cup of salt on the cabbage in each bowl.
Pour one cup of water into each bowl.
Using very clean hands, massage the salt into the cabbage. Do this every twenty minutes for an hour.

Cut Your Other Vegetables

The other vegetables (and the apple) need to be cut into small pieces – thin enough to ferment well and become soft, but not so thin that they dissolve into the mixture. You can cut your radish, carrots, and onions into matchsticks or slices. Aim for bite size pieces that are no more than ¼ inch thick and 1 inch long. Set aside. (Remember to toss the cabbage after 20 minutes).

Make Your Paste

Use a food processor to process the ginger and garlic until it is a paste. Put it in a bowl and add the red chili flakes and organic sugar. Add a few tablespoons of non-chlorinated water to make the paste a spreadable consistency. Add two teaspoons of soy sauce or fish sauce or use a vegetable culture according to directions. Mix well. (Once again, massage and toss your cabbage.)

Rinse and Drain Your Cabbage

When you have massaged and mixed your cabbage three times, rinse it well to remove the excess salt. Make your final rinse in filtered or non-chlorinated water. (Chlorine inhibits the fermentation process). Rinse and dry your bowl. Drain cabbage in a colander for 20-30. Squeeze out excess water (or use a lettuce spinner).

Putting It All Together

Once your cabbage has drained, put it back in the dry bowl and add the other vegetables and apple. Mix well.

Rubber or plastic gloves are a good idea. If you don’t use them, the red pepper will burn sensitive skin. But you don’t have to use them. Just make sure your hands are really clean and don’t touch your face or eyes.

Add the paste and really work it in to coat every surface.

Pack the coated produce into jars or a crock. Pack it tight. Leave an inch or two at the top of the jar. Push down on the cabbage mixture to make the brine rise above it.

Put a lid on the jar and store in a dark place for 1-5 days. You will need to burp the lid once a day if you use a standard jar. Or you can use a lid with an airlock. Or you can use a crock. Your kimchi will be ready when the cabbage looks a little translucent and tastes right. Usually 2-3 days. Refrigerate it at that time to slow down the fermentation process.

Remember, kimchi recipes will vary in ratios and ingredients. The amount of ginger and garlic vary widely and whether or not to use fish sauce or to add carrots or apple. Ratios will vary as well as ingredients. Experiment. Discover your own perfect recipe.

Fermented foods are just one of the ways to improve gut health. An 80% raw food diet is essential to gut health as is ridding the body of Candida.

Editor’s Note

Contrary to popular belief, fermented foods are not a great source of probiotics. The bacteria, while numerous, mostly dies in the stomach acid. There are tons of other benefits to fermented foods, and some of the bacteria do reach the gut, but for people suffering from Candida, fermented foods are not your best defense. The supplements below and garlic are better for balancing gut flora. A “trick” that some do is to use certain foods like black strap molasses or baking soda to lower the acidity of the stomach acid and then eat sauerkraut.

Also, most of the probiotics you find in stores have weak bacteria that don’t make it past the stomach acid. FloraMend and Bio-K have exceptionally strong bacteria strands that pass through stomach acid fully functional. Also, vegetables make great prebiotics. They ferment in the gut (in a way) as they are digested.

Recommended Supplements:

Sources:

Dangerously High Arsenic Levels Found in Rice

What is Arsenic Anyway?

Arsenic is a naturally occurring, toxic element found in the earth. It is found in over 200 different minerals. There are two main types of arsenic: organic and inorganic. Organic arsenic compounds are primarily found in marine life, but they are also sometimes found in terrestrial life forms. Exposure to arsenic from organic sources is widely considered to be less toxic than exposure to inorganic arsenic.

A Poison Fit for a King

Arsenic has been used as a poison for centuries. Assassins have historically been very fond of arsenic because symptoms of arsenic poisoning resembled other sicknesses like food poisoning. The resulting death would look like natural causes. In low doses, arsenic poisoning could cause diarrhea, confusion, paralysis, or weakness. Arsenic was difficult to detect as it has little odor, almost no taste, and it doesn’t affect the color of food. How many kings and queens have died of arsenic poisoning? No one knows, but many historians speculate that kings and queens who died young rarely died of natural causes.

Where Does All This Arsenic Come From?

The majority of arsenic that we are exposed to is not of natural origin. Natural processes can bring arsenic into the atmosphere (such as volcano eruptions), but only one third of the arsenic in our atmosphere is of natural origin. Arsenic can be found in the earth’s crust, in deeply drilled wells, and in rocks, soil, air and water.

We Have Industry to Thank for This

Industrial activities such as mining, smelting, and the burning of coal in power plants all play a role in contaminating our environment with arsenic. Arsenic is produced commercially from arsenic trioxide, which is one of the leftover byproducts of smelting copper and other metals. Arsenic is commonly used by the timber industry as a preservative for treating wood. Arsenic is also an active ingredient in many insecticides and herbicides, and it is a common additive in chicken and swine feed (apparently it is used to fatten them up). The timber industry and agriculture industry account for over 90% of environmental arsenic pollution that is not due to natural processes.

No One Would Want to Die This Way

Consistent exposure to even small amounts of arsenic has been linked to several diseases, many of which are fatal. Arsenic is so toxic that it causes many different cancers, including skin cancer, lung cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer and prostate cancer. Over consumption of arsenic has also been linked to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, reproductive problems, and it is known to compromise the immune system.

How Arsenic Gets into Rice

Many plants can absorb arsenic from its environment and rice is one those plants. Rice absorbs high amounts of arsenic from the soil, from water and from pesticides. Unfortunately, with so much arsenic contaminating the soil and water, organic rice can contain dangerous levels of arsenic even though it has not been exposed to pesticides. Counter-intuitively, there are actually higher levels of arsenic found in brown rice than in white rice. This is because more of the arsenic is found in the outer layers of the grain. The outer layers of the rice are removed during the processing that turns brown rice into white rice. (This processing also removes the majority of the nutrition found in rice).

While the FDA Does Nothing, Consumer Reports Steps Up

Consumer Reports has been doing the job that the FDA should have been doing for a long time now. On their website, you can find recommended weekly allowances for rice consumption based upon the levels of arsenic that rice contains. There is no federal limit for levels of arsenic in rice (but there is a biological limit, and one of its many names is cancer).

Since 2012, Consumer Reports has been asking the FDA to set a limit for arsenic in rice, a request that has been ignored. Over the past couple of years, Consumer Reports have tested over 700 foods containing rice, and they have tested hundreds of different samples of rice grown in different regions. It turns out that knowing where your rice is grown is very helpful if you wish to avoid high levels of arsenic in your food.

Not All Rice Fields Are Created Equal

Rice grown in California, white basmati rice grown in California, India and Pakistan and sushi rice grown in the US typically has almost half of the arsenic content as rice grown elsewhere. Rice that is grown in the US (with the exceptions being Californian rice, quick cook rice and sushi rice) contain the highest levels of arsenic. Rice labeled as having been grown in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas also stood out as having very high levels of arsenic in it.

One company in particular stands out as being proactive on this issue. Lundberg Farms is located in California. Their CEO, Grant Lundberg, recently issued a statement about the high levels of arsenic found in rice.

“We recently updated the published levels of arsenic in our rice, which now covers three consecutive years of data. I am happy to report that the levels of inorganic arsenic continue to remain low, and average less than half of the standard established by Codex. We are also actively engaged in the development of a code of practice through Codex to help develop ways to reduce arsenic levels even further.”

Codex is an international standard. Once again, we have no standards to rely on from the FDA.

Conclusion

According to the USA Rice Federation, you should eat rice because the benefits outweigh the risks. These are the people who are selling us rice, so no surprise there. The FDA recommends that Americans consume a variety of grains, and they say they’re looking into the arsenic problem. We recommend that you limit the amount of grains in your diet, especially rice. Also when you eat rice, eat rice that is grown in California. A healthy diet consists of 80% raw produce, with more vegetables than fruits as the main staple of your diet – not grains of any variety.

Recdommended Supplements:

The Health Benefits Of the Curry Spice Blend

India is a country with over 1 billion people spread over five large regions. This population is incredibly diverse. Indians speak more than 122 different languages and their cuisines vary greatly among the regions. Despite these differences, there is still something Indians have in common – their love of curry.

The word curry means sauce. Curry is not a spice; it is a combination of spices. Although the combination and ratio of spices varies from one curry to another, many health promoting spices are standard in most curry mixes. Here are features of the most common spices you will find in a curry and how they benefit your health.

Cumin

Cumin is excellent for digestion. The scent alone is enough to kickstart saliva enzymes in the mouth, the essential first step of healthy digestion. Cumin also alleviates gas, acts as a natural laxative, and exhibits anti-fungal and anti-microbial powers. Interestingly, cumin is both a relaxant and a stimulant, and certain components in its essential oil have been said to promote a hypnotic tranquility.

Turmeric

Looking for another reason to start eating turmeric besides its anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant rich, brain boosting, heart healthy properties? Turmeric is also an essential ingredient in most curry powder mixes. To get the maximum benefit from turmeric, pair it with freshly ground black pepper.

Coriander (Cilantro seed)

The benefits of coriander (after the cilantro plant flowers and develops seeds, it is referred to as coriander) are numerous. Like cumin, coriander improves digestion as it relieves gas, prevents nausea, and combats diarrhea. It also acts as a natural anti-histamine, treats mouth infections with its antiseptic powers, helps heal skin conditions, lowers blood pressure, and is a natural source of bioavailable iron. If you feel you might be coming down with a case of food poisoning, grab a handful of coriander. This spice is twice as powerful as the leading salmonella antibiotic – and it tastes a whole lot better.

Ginger

Ginger is a great herb to have in your kitchen, as it gives great flavor to both food and drink and possesses serious medicinal attributes. It’s an anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, antioxidant with a soothing effect on the digestive tract. Health begins in the gut, and ginger helps eliminate gas, relieves nausea, and treats motion sickness. If you’re pregnant and have given into not-so healthy, nausea-inducing cravings, ginger settles the stomach and relieves vomiting. Be careful though! With great (healing) power comes great responsibility. Ginger treats the symptoms, but a healthy diet eliminates the need for ginger in the first place.

Cardamon

When it comes to the price of spices, cardamom has to be content with the bronze medal. While both saffron and vanilla cost more, of the three, only cardamom can claim a place of great prominence in Indian cuisine. Cardamom is a great breath freshener, fighting tooth and gum disease as well as soothing sore throats. It also flushes out toxins, leading to better blood circulation, a better functioning urinary tract, and improved cardiovascular activity.

Cinnamon

An anti-viral, anti-bacterial spice loaded with anti-oxidants, cinnamon can help take down some heavy hitters, disease-wise. Cinnamon is toxic to cancer cells, reduces the growth of cancer cells, protects neurons from degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, and helps keep heart disease in check. Cinnamon is exceptionally beneficial for those who suffer from or could potentially suffer from diabetes, as it combines reduced insulin resistance with lower blood sugar. There are two types of cinnamon, “true” cinnamon and cassia cinnamon. The cinnamon found in the United States is usually cassia cinnamon. True cinnamon is frequently labeled as Ceylon cinnamon. If possible, try to get Ceylon cinnamon as it contains less coumarin, a naturally occurring chemical compound that acts as a blood thinner.

Cloves

The active, healing component in cloves is called eugenol. Eugenol is anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and a natural detoxifier. Aside from its use in cooking worldwide, clove has found a place for soothing gum pain and treating root canals in dentistry, as the eugenol and other components in this spice combine to form a mild analgesic. Cloves contain iron, calcium, and manganese and are also an antioxidant. If you want to check the quality of your cloves, squeeze them with a fingernail. If they’re good quality, they will release some of their essential oil. Good quality cloves also float when placed in water, whereas stale cloves sink.

Conclusion

The benefits of cooking with these spices are numerous, and there is no reason you can’t experiment with adding a little bit of Indian flair to your kitchen. Whether you start slowly with adding cumin or clove to your famous rice and beans recipe or you jump in feet first and produce a fabulous curry, the flavors of Indian cuisine are waiting for you. If you aren’t hitting the stove just yet, there are still ways to get the health benefits from these spices. Ginger and curcumin (the active ingredient in turmeric) are both available in capsule form.

See Foods, Vitamins, and Herbs That Kill Cancer for more on how adding black pepper to turmeric increases bioavailability of curcumin about 2,000%. Also, see our two other favorite herbs, garlic and cayenne.

Why I Stopped Taking Antibiotics