Tricking our Senses and Upping the Nutrition with Traditional Spices
Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Vanilla Bean, Turmeric, and Ginger can elevate a recipe, trick our brain, nourish our soul, feed the good guys, and enliven our senses.
In a recent study (Qing-Yi Lu, et al, 2019), people given a spice blend vs a placebo showed a change in their microbiota in only two weeks. And the most significant change was a reduction in the bacteria Firmicutes. The Jackson Laboratory highlights that these bacteria have been shown to have a "negative influence on glucose and fat metabolism, are commonly referred to as bad gut microbes, and increased ratios of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes species has been correlated with obesity and Type II diabetes." Whose rooting for Bacteroidetes now?
Cinnamon
Early on, I wanted to break my habit of adding something sweet to my coffee. Cinnamon did the trick. I don't know if it was because my brain associated cinnamon with sweetness or if the cinnamon took some of the bitterness out of the coffee flavor or I just liked the taste of cinnamon, but it worked!
I later learned that cinnamon eases digestion so I began adding it to certain dishes to make digestion easier for my daughter. Most notably, I modified my chili recipe to include some cinnamon. This study (on pigs...) goes deep into the details on how cinnamon can reduce the levels of carbon dioxide produced during digestion, making the whole process a little easier on our bodies. This begs the question, for someone who started a blog entitled, BiomeMama, what might cinnamon do to the microbiome? Well, the findings were interesting...to me. Research highlighted "evidence has confirmed that the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects of cinnamon essential oil (CEO) contribute to protection against inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)". This same study concluded that this protection was "closely related to improving the intestinal flora imbalance". I mean, I don't know about you but this kind of data makes me do a little dance!
Nutmeg
Oh nutmeg! I used to buy the nutmeg spice but learned that they often have some no-no ingredient added to help keep it from clumping so now I enjoy grating the fresh nutmeg myself. Nutmeg is special on both sides of my daughter's family. My mom used nutmeg as her secret ingredient in homemade mac and cheese (remade with aged cheddar, rice noodles and nut milk...). And, my husband's mom added 1/4 teaspoon of the real stuff to her famous sugar cookies. In both cases, nutmeg adds depth. As I have worked to remake her famous cookie recipe, I have learned that adding this 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg tricks our brains and makes it seem "more like Grandma's". She also added a little cinnamon but I think we have talked enough about that.
I'm sure you are wondering about nutmeg and the microbiome; Am I right? Well, until writing this article, I hadn't given it a thought. I was all about working the flavor. But, this NIH study "suggests potential use of nutmeg for treatment of pathogenic bacteria associated with gastrointestinal diseases" and that their "results demonstrate that the gut microbiota and its metabolism regulated by nutmeg may be of therapeutic value against gastrointestinal diseases, including colon cancer and colitis". Yowza! Bring on the nutmeg.
Vanilla Bean
When I hear "Vanilla Bean" I think of the vanilla ice cream that features "real vanilla bean" where you could see the little flecks of vanilla in each bite. Vanilla is another flavor that goes with sweetness so it can trick the brain. In Paleo recipes, it is not uncommon to see 1 Tablespoon of vanilla on the ingredient list. That's right! And when I make my own yogurt now (planning a future article on this 24 hour cultured low-to-no lactose creamy concoction), you can actually hear the "glug, glug" when I pour some vanilla in. I can't take credit for any of this; My sister was the one who advised the pour method of adding vanilla in yogurt making! I now buy my vanilla at CostCo because the stuff is not cheap. When I turn this yogurt into frozen yogurt by adding honey and churning, I also throw in some "real vanilla bean". I have also found a ground vanilla bean that allows me to include vanilla in our own version of a hot chocolate packet.
But is vanilla good for you? Again, I have used vanilla as a way to trick our brains. A quick search doesn't yield the level of cinnamon/nutmeg rigor but speaks to this same idea, that is, that it can help us reduce added sugar by its taste alone.
Turmeric and Ginger
I really believe that turmeric and ginger carry some ancient healing properties. Whether this is true or not doesn't take away from how nourishing it feels to the body and spirit to take the time to add these to a recipe or concoct a healing tea. When my daughter was first diagnosed, her GI doctor and Naturopath both recommended turmeric as a supplement. It seemed to almost immediately combat her inflammation. She no longer takes a supplement but we add turmeric liberally to rice dishes and soups of all kinds. Whenever she makes herself a rice bowl of any kind, she sprinkles on some turmeric. Les, of Nopales PDX, makes us rice flour empanadas and tortillas that include turmeric in her special recipe created just for us. Many studies, like this one, highlight the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric, and curcumin, a constituent of turmeric.
Ginger is well-known for its stomach-calming prowess. We like the flavor as well. What has changed for us is that we now routinely add some grated ginger into dishes--Sesame Ginger Green Beans, anyone? During bouts of stomach upset or at the first sign of a cold or other illness, we take the advice of a dear friend who makes her kiddos ginger, lemon, honey tea. I have three friends who weekly boil turmeric and ginger root into a syrup consistency and then add to recipes or sip as a tea through the week. I aspire to their commitment! And imagine our joy when we found the Tea Bar sells a Tea Toddy with ginger, lemon, honey, and cayenne (more on this hot ingredient in a future post). In the winter you can order it as a hot tea and in the summer, you can get it on ice with sparkling water. So good!
The bottomline is that spices are an easy way to up the nutrition in dishes, reduce our cravings for less nourishing ingredients, and make us feel good about our choices. I have come to a philosophy over the last few years that our health journey is really a lot of little choices. We don't need to put so much pressure on ourselves or ever feel food-shamed. It is all good. There is always another choice around the corner. There is always the opportunity to spice it up.