7 Super Spices: Proven Healing Power

You've cut back on red meat. You're eating more fruits and veggies. What else can you do to increase the disease-preventing oomph of your daily diet?

How about paying attention to the spices you use to season your favorite dishes? Dr. David Heber, renowned expert on herbs and the author of "What Color Is Your Diet," says seven spices, in particular, are proven to have medicinal powers. And here they are...

Turmeric

Can turmeric and the bright yellow compound it contains, curcumin, help prevent Alzheimer's disease? It's way too soon to say for sure, but preliminary studies have shown that curcumin does seem to help prevent the development of the brain "plaques" associated with Alzheimer's. And Dr. Bharat Aggarwal, of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, has shown beneficial effects on immune function in people with diabetes.

Turmeric, of course, is a key ingredient of curry, a staple of Indian cuisine.

Thyme

Time to add thyme to your diet?

Researchers believe that thymol and other volatile oils in thyme may bring a range of antiaging effects. Some studies suggest that thyme can help maintain brain function and promote heart health. And several cups of thyme tea each day may help reduce coughing from a cold, according to Dr. Heber.

You can make it by adding one teaspoon of crushed thyme to one-half cup of boiling water, letting it steep for 10 minute, and then straining.

Chili Peppers

The same compound that gives chili peppers their heat also seems to give a lift to the body's fat-boosting machinery. Research suggests that adding three chili peppers to your daily diet will increase calorie-burning after a meal by 40 to 100 calories. Chili peppers alone aren't enough to solve anyone's weight-loss problem, but they might help.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is rich in polyphenols, natural substances that appear to act a bit like insulin in the body - and which may help regulate blood sugar levels. Dr. Heber says that's especially good news for people with diabetes.

Cinnamon also holds promise for people at risk for diabetes and heart disease: Dr. Richard A. Anderson, of the U.S. Agriculture Department's Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, has shown that taking the equivalent of one-quarter to one-half a teaspoon of cinnamon twice a day lowered glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels by up to 30 percent, Dr. Heber says.

Ginger

If you're feeling queasy, a little ginger may be just what the doctor ordered. And ginger seems to be effective against pain as well as nausea, thanks to the anti-inflammatory properties of one of its active ingredients, gingerol.

Some studies suggest gingerol works like aspirin and ibuprofen, which inhibit an enzyme that causes inflammation. In one recent study, a dose of 2 grams of ginger helped reduce post-exercise pain in the quadriceps (thigh muscle).

Oregano

Ounce for ounce, oregano is thought to be one of the most antioxidant-rich of all foods.

Oregano contains rosmarinic acid, a compound that appears to be a potent germ-killer as well as a powerful antioxidant. In fact, studies have shown the herb's antioxidant oomph to be 42 times greater than that of apples, 30 times higher than that of potatoes and 12 times higher than that of oranges.

Parsley

Looking to get more vitamin C in your diet? Adding parsley should help. It contains more of the nutrient than just about any other vegetable - three times as much as oranges, in fact, according to Dr. Heber.

What's more, parsley contains apigenin, an antioxidant compound that helps makes the platelets in the blood less sticky (and thus less likely to lead to a clot that causes a heart attack).