Expert says three spices in your kitchen can control diabetes, inflammation and arthritis

A health expert says most people have three 'powerhouse' spices in their kitchen cupboards without realising. From helping to control blood sugar levels and diabetes to easing a sore throat and lowering inflammation, various spices boast of some seriously impressive health benefits.

Speaking to Jonathan Wolf on a recent episode of Zoe Health, molecular biologist Kanchan Koya explained the benefits of eating more spices. Koya is a food scientist, founder of Chief Spice Mama and the author of Spice Spice Baby: 100 Recipes with Healing Spices for Your Family Table.

Koya says spices are great for the body because they contain polyphenols - a type of micronutrient. "Polyphenols are linked to all sorts of improvements in health," she said.

"Whether it be cancer, whether it be type two diabetes, cardiovascular disease or any inflammatory-related disease." Koya went on to outline why cinnamon, ginger, clove, star anise and cumin are important to have in your kitchen.

She said ginger can help with easing nausea and star anise could reduce pain, like toothache. She also said cloves can be used to treat a cold thanks to its antioxidant and antiseptic properties.

As for cinnamon, curcumin and turmeric, Koya says they have the potential to tackle some of the most serious health conditions.

Cinnamon

Koya says there have been quite a few studies looking at the impact of cinnamon on blood sugar. For example, one study that came out recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, looked at the impact of cinnamon over four weeks in culinary amounts on blood sugar control using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM).

In the study, the results showed cinnamon - a widely available and low-cost supplement - may contribute to better glucose control when added to the diet in people who have obesity-related prediabetes.

Koya explained: "What they found is that using the continuous glucose monitor, they observed reductions, statistically significant reductions in 24-hour glucose concentrations in the group that was exposed to four grams of cinnamon a day for four weeks. Versus the placebo."

Commenting on the findings, Koya stated: "I think overall, the message is, if you want to work on more balanced blood sugar, obviously you do a lot of things for that. You should never think of a spice as a silver bullet solution to anything, but within the context of otherwise health-promoting behaviours and a healthy dietary pattern, it can be a great idea to add more cinnamon."

Curcumin and turmeric

When discussing the benefits of cumin, Koya says it can help reduce inflammation. Explaining why too much inflammation in the body can be bad, Koya said: "It's actually inflammation that we think underpins the link between diet and many chronic diseases."

She went on: "We now know that inflammation chronically, if it's in the wrong place, the wrong time, and excessive, can increase our risk of so many diseases. Referencing a study that looked at the ways adding cumin to a meal can impact health, Koya said researchers "found reductions in inflammatory markers right after the meal when the meal had the spice blend."

Other studies have looked at the impacts of specific spices on inflammatory conditions, like arthritis. One study by BMC stated: "Curcumin has similar efficacy to diclofenac but demonstrated better tolerance among patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA).

"Curcumin can be an alternative treatment option in the patients with knee OA who are intolerant to the side effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs." Koya concluded: "I think it's not clear that you can achieve the same therapeutic effect with turmeric in the diet if you have full-blown arthritis.

"But if you are looking to lower inflammation and you know, just prevent an inflammatory condition. I think that a case can be made for just adding more of these anti-inflammatory spices to your kind of regular rotation."