Nutritional Value of Spices and What They Can Add to Your Life

There is nothing better to enhance the flavor and variety in regular foods than the knowledgeable and subtle addition of various herbs and spices to the mix. Since before recorded history, people have found spices to improve the desire for even standard food sources.

Unlike herbs, which are the leafy green parts of plants and used to flavor or ornament, spices are dried and usually ground into a powered form. Spices are usually produced from the seeds, roots, bark, flowers or fruit of its source. Salt is not a spice however much misinformation suggests; it is a mineral additive for seasoning purposes.

While the amount of a spice used in any particular dish will add only a minimal nutritional value, the flavor enhancement can make the difference between eager consumption of your meal or bored acceptance. As well as flavor, many spices serve a much greater cause in the prevention and destruction of many harmful bacteria that could make you ill. Garlic has been proved in laboratory tests to be the only spice effective in killing 100% of the E. coli bacteria in foods. This was of especial importance in the sausage industry where many of their meat products do not receive the benefit that cooking can provide for sterilization

Of the twenty three spices tested for anti-bacterial properties, the effectiveness varied greatly among them. The capsicum found in hot peppers, however, has the added benefit of being able to attack and destroy intestinal parasites with regular use. Garlic's
bad cholesterol-dissolving properties will also help keep your heart healthy, when used regularly in your diet. A routine garlic laden diet works as a natural insect repellent, keeping the blood parasites at bay along with many other biting pests.

Spices are the defining ingredient for almost all the ethnic cuisine created around the world. From the subtle blends in oriental foods to the flaming intensity of Mexican fare, spice combinations have developed that produce the regional traditions that make the culinary arts so popular. To honor history and family traditions, meals can be spiced according to precise classic proportions to offer an exacting taste standard. Spices can also be used in the combination and mixing of various regional styles to create totally unique taste sensations as well.

Spices add to the overall quality of a person's life. Eating is a necessity, but eating the same thing over and over can decrease one's perceived enjoyment if it always tastes the same. Therefore, staple foods like potatoes, beans, lentils or rice can take on entirely different characteristics from day to day with the proper blend of spices. One day your bean dish may have that oriental bent with wasabi sauce and peanuts. The next day you can go around the world for a mix of red and green peppers with onion for a Latin American fiesta. Rice is an excellent medium for the taste varieties spices can effect. With a few choice spices, even inexpensive meals can be made to seem "fit for a king."

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spices