Add spice to live better

In case you missed it, here is an article from NPR that will help all of us to live better. I quit the my job to write a book about the health benefits of Indian food because I knew that was my calling. I am glad the pundits agree with my philosophy.

To Cut The Risk Of A High-Fat Meal, Add Spice

12:01 am

March 12, 2012

 

by Allison Aubrey

 

Research from Penn State finds heavily spiced meals — think chicken curry with lots of turmeric, or desserts rich in cinnamon and cloves — may do the heart good.

No need to be stingy with spices. Research from Penn State finds heavily spiced meals — think chicken curry with lots of turmeric, or desserts rich in cinnamon and cloves — may do the heart good.
"Elevated triglycerides are a risk factor for heart disease," explains researcher Sheila West.
Her study found that a spicy meal helps cut levels of triglycerides, a type of fat, in the blood — even when the meal is rich in oily sauces and high in fat.
In fact, she documented a decrease of triglycerides by about one-third. This compares with people who ate the same meal, but prepared without spices.
"It was surprising," West told us. "I didn't expect such a large decrease."
  It's good news for those of us who love a rich curry made with lots of turmeric or bold amounts of garlic and oregano. During the study, they used a blend that included these spices, as well as paprika, rosemary and ginger.
West intends to continue with this line of research, and later this month will present the results of a second study that replicated these triglyceride findings. Next step: determine which of these spices — at what levels — may be most beneficial.
"To me, the biggest advantage [found in the study] is the lowering of triglycerides and the insulin levels [which dropped about 20 percent]," explains cardiologist Ravi Dave of he University of California, Los Angeles who has reviewed West's spice research study. He explains that keeping these levels low can lower the risk of metabolic syndrome — as well as diabetes and heart disease.
It's not clear whether these benefits of highly spiced meals lead to long-term reductions in the risk of disease. Dave says that as traditional healing methods, many of which come from Ayurvedic medicine, are evaluated using modern, scientific methods, more research is needed to nail down potential therapeutic effects
"What we have is more emerging data on the benefits of spice, so I'm excited," Dave says.
For now, Dave recommends traditional Indian spices — which he and his family use at home — such as turmeric, cumin and coriander, to jazz up food.
In the future, it's possible that spices will play an elevated role in medicine, with specific recommendations for preventing disease.

 For more memorable centerpieces, tablescapes, and recipes (including vegetarian, gluten free and vegan recipes), please check out my book, Entertaining From an Ethnic Indian Kitchen, at my website komalinunna.com.

I am joining Foodie Friday, Common Ground, Show and Tell, French Country Cottage, The Charm of Home and Seasonal Sundays.

In loving memory of Maria

The reason I have been absent from blogging for a while is because on New Year's Eve, I lost one of my best friends, Maria, after her two-year battle against pancreatic cancer. Before she got sick, I used to talk about turmeric and other spices and their antioxidant properties. She used to laugh about my home remedies. When she come to know about the disease, I went to visit her. It was an emotional visit as expected, but in the middle of all those emotions, I couldn't help laughing after seeing turmeric tablets in her medicine arsenals. If this many pundits are raving about turmeric and spices why not include them in your daily intake?


During her two years of battle with cancer, I used to visit her regularly. Each time before I visit, I would call her and ask what I could bring. The answer was always the same, lemon rice.  From time to time, I would joke saying that I published a cookbook with more than 260 recipes and lemon rice is not the only thing I can make. But her request would be the same each time- lemon rice. After going through all that radiation and chemotherapy, she would lose all of her appetite, but when she saw the lemon rice she always had a little appetite for lemon rice. It might be because of the sharp taste of lime flavor was stimulating her taste buds, or the anti nausea effect of ginger, and other spices used in this recipe. Whatever reason might have been, lemon rice always brought back her appetite and a smile on her face. 

Towards the end of her life, I used to cut down on chilies to make this recipe.
You can read about turmeric and get the recipe for lemon rice here.


 I don't know what causes cancer exactly, we can blame it on pollution, over processed food or lack of fiber in our diet and so on.

For now, how about eating a low fat, high fiber diet and exercising regularly for better health?

Needless to say I will miss making lemon rice for my sweet friend, Maria. 

For more memorable centerpieces, tablescapes, and recipes (including vegetarian, gluten free and vegan recipes), please check out my book, Entertaining From an Ethnic Indian Kitchen, at my website komalinunna.com.

I am joining Tablescape Thursday and Foodie Friday.

Virtuous Ginger

Ginger is known as the universal medicine in India's ancient ayurvedic medicine. I call ginger one of the super foods that you can find in nature. Not only is ginger a staple in Indian culinary world, but it has also played a major role in Indian ayurvedic medicine for centuries.

Since ginger thrives in tropical climates such as India, it was part of my life for as long as I can remember. While I was growing up, it was not only part of many curries and chutneys that my mother prepared but it also was a popular home remedy for the common cold and cough, indigestion, headaches and  upset stomach. When I  was pregnant with my first child, the only smell that could help me with my morning sickness was none other than the alluring aroma of ginger.
 
Ginger has been used as a spice as well as a medicine in ancient civilizations such as India and China. The Roman empire used to import ginger almost 2000 years ago. Ginger contains three powerful antioxidants: shogaols, zingerone and gingerols. These three compounds are linked to relief from cough, bronchitis, upper respiratory tract infections, migraine headaches, motion sickness, morning sickness, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, loss of appetite, diarrhea and especially chemotherapy induced nausea.

The spice ginger contains ultra-potent anti-inflammatory compound called gingerols. Many scientific studies proved that the compound gingerol can help reduce the inflammation. The compound gingerol is anti-cancer fighting agent. Many cancer patients experience stomach nausea after 24 hours of chemotherapy. Research indicates that cancer patients given a high protein diet with ginger can help reduce the symptoms of stomach nausea. According to ayurvedic medicine, grated ginger mixed with honey and lemon can help you with nausea and vomiting. Scientists believe that ginger’s anti-inflammatory compounds play a major role in the prevention of skin cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer and ovarian cancer. Ginger is known to help stimulate blood circulation. It will help reduce triglycerides and cholesterol and prevent plaque buildup in the arteries. People with osteo and rheumatoid arthritis are especially benefited by using ginger to reduce the swelling of joints. Ginger helps to break down the protein. After a heavy meal, drinking a cup of ginger tea  helps to digest food easily.

Given its many healing properties, it is no wonder ginger that was called a universal medicine and a wonder drug by ayurvedic practitioners.

In my household, a family of four consumes more than a pound of ginger per week. I have posted recipes featuring ginger for masala chai, ginger lemonade, coconut ginger scones, strawberry green salad, strawberry chutney and ginger-garlic paste in this blog.  My book, Entertaining from an Ethnic Indian Kitchen features around 150 recipes using ginger.
 
To get all the health benefits from ginger, consume fresh ginger.  You can great fresh ginger and add it to salads. Grated ginger can be a superb way to spice up your stir-fried vegetables.

Tips about ginger:
 1. Choose fresh ginger over dried ginger whenever possible to preserve the compound gingerol.
2. Use a spoon to peel ginger to avoid wasting any of it.
3. You can store ginger for up to a month in the refrigerator.
4. Peeled and grated ginger can be stored in the freezer for three months.

If you want to read about the health benefits of turmeric, you can read all about it here.

My blog is my humble way of promoting the health benefits of spices into one's life. I hope this article inspires people to include ginger in their day to day lives. How about the next time you are sipping tea, add a couple of slices of fresh ginger to your cup?


For more memorable centerpieces, tablescapes, and recipes (including gluten free recipes), please check out my book, Entertaining From an Ethnic Indian Kitchen, at my website komalinunna.com.

I am joining Foodie Friday,  Cindy for Show and Tell.

Indian Pantry

Today,I want to give the glimpse of my pantry. In future posts, I will show you all how to build an Indian pantry step by step. My pantry is my inspiration to cook on at the spur of the moment. My day to day cooking involves different types of dals (legumes), rice, spices, vegetables. In an Indian meal, meat is never the star of the meal, but it is a part of the meal. An another essential part of our meal is homemade yogurt.

Welcome to my pantry. 

Close-up of my pantry.

 Everything in the pantry is labeled for easy access.

 

For more memorable tablescapes, recipes, and entertaining ideas, please check out my cookbook, Entertaining From an Ethnic Indian Kitchen, at my website komalinunna.com

Please check out Susan's blog, Between Naps on the Porch, for Metamorphosis Monday.