It's smart to spice up your holiday treats

[Guest guest]

Washington Post

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Just a whiff of rosemary, thyme, cloves and other herbs and spices can make

it feel like the holiday season is here. They can give your health a boost,

too.

For instance, just half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon contains more

inflammation-fighting antioxidants than a cup of great-for-you pomegranate

juice. Studies suggest that eating half a teaspoon of cinnamon daily might

help keep blood sugar and triglyceride levels in check, which can help fend

off diabetes and heart disease. Another delicious flavor of the season,

allspice, is also packed with antioxidant power.

So this holiday season, while you're indulging in the bad stuff, Consumer

Reports suggests that you sprinkle on the healthful herbs and spices. Below

are some experts' tricks for adding them to your favorite dinners, drinks

and desserts.

Cloves

Why they're good for you: These aromatic little orbs are packed with healthy

phenols, phytonutrients that have been shown in studies to defend against

the cellular damage that can contribute to heart disease, diabetes and the

effects of aging. In fact, just one tablespoon of ground cloves is about as

potent in phenols as a whole cup of that superfood, blueberries.

Cooking tips: Cloves can add zest to breakfast, say Sara Engram and

Luber, authors of " The Spice Kitchen " (s McMeel, 2009). Try adding a

teaspoon or a half-teaspoon of ground cloves per cup of pancake syrup, or

stir a pinch right into your pancake or waffle batter.

Thyme

Why it's good for you: Studies have shown that essential oils in thyme can

help reduce food-borne bacteria such as E. coli, staphylococcus, H. pylori

and their lesser-known but equally unpleasant cousin shigella. Sprinkling

the herb on meat and fish or into salads and sauces along with black pepper

instead of salt adds flavor plus antioxidants.

Cooking tips: Add small amounts of thyme to scones, shortbread and other

baked goods for an herby richness that balances the sweetness. Engram loves

nuts roasted with thyme. Just mix a little of the herb with butter or egg

whites; toss with pecans, walnuts or almonds, and roast and serve over

vegetables.

Ginger

Why it's good for you: You might have heard of ginger as a remedy for an

upset stomach; research shows it can also help soothe morning sickness,

motion sickness and queasiness from chemotherapy. In one study, patients who

took half or three-quarters of a teaspoon of ginger with anti-vomiting drugs

during chemotherapy experienced 40 percent less nausea. And an antioxidant

in ginger called 6-gingerol might help ward off colon cancer.

Cooking tips: Krondl, author of " The Taste of Conquest " (Ballantine,

2008), suggests adding diced ginger to apple pie or sweet potatoes or adding

grated ginger to cranberry sauce to give it a little zing.

Rosemary

Why it's good for you: Research shows that a component of rosemary called

carnosic acid might help shield the brain's neural pathways from cellular

damage linked to Alzheimer's disease and stroke. Just inhaling rosemary's

refreshing scent might be good for you. In one study, when people sniffed

the scent for five minutes, their levels of the stress hormone cortisol

dropped and their bodies' ability to sweep damaging free radicals from their

systems increased.

Cooking tip: Throw a little fresh rosemary into mulled apple cider as it

simmers, suggest Page and Dornenburg, authors of " The Flavor

Bible " (Little, Brown, 2008).

Copyright 2009. Consumers Union of United States Inc.

For further guidance, go to ConsumerReportsHealth.org. More-detailed

information -- including CR's ratings of prescription drugs, conditions,

treatments, doctors, hospitals and healthy-living products -- is available

to subscribers to that site.