The Best Herbs and Spices to Help Reduce Inflammation
Inflammation is one of those symptoms of various conditions that can be anything from a minor irritation to a major issue. If you have an injury, you might experience inflammation while people suffering from conditions like arthritis will also see inflammation in the joints that have this.
Combating inflammation is done with medication and this is always the best route – I’m definitely NOT a doctor. But there are also foods that can do their part to help with inflammation. Top of the list is herbs and spices but what are the best herbs to reduce inflammation – and spices too!
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What is inflammation?
Before we jump into examining those herbs and spices, let’s take a moment to get to grips with what inflammation is. According to WebMD:
Inflammation is a process by which the body’s white blood cells and substances they produce protect us from infection with foreign organisms, such as bacteria and viruses.
WebMD
This means that inflammation can be a good thing, helping to protect the body against bad stuff like viruses. But sometimes, that defence system breaks down and there’s an inflammation response without any bacteria or disease to fight off. The cause of this is a set of conditions called autoimmune disease, where the normal immune response doesn’t work properly.
I mentioned arthritis as an example of a condition with inflammation at its heart. In fact, arthritis is a term that means inflammation of the joints. Rheumatoid, psoriatic and gouty arthritis all see inflammation when none is needed. Other conditions associated with it including osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, muscular back pain and muscular neck pain.
What does inflammation look like?
There are a few symptoms of inflammation that are quite easy to spot:
- Swollen joints that often feel warm when you touch then
- Redness on the joints
- Pain and stiffness in the joint, sometimes even loss of function (the joint doesn’t work properly)
It can also come with symptoms a bit like the flu such as fever and chills, headaches, loss of appetite and muscle stiffness.
Treating inflammation
There are lots of different ways that inflammation is treated depending on the cause and how bad it is. Age, overall health and how bad it is will also help doctors sort out what to do. It may be a combination of pain medication, physical therapy, changing activities that cause the inflammation or even using a cane or walking stick.
While the doctor is always the first port of call for anything like this, some foods have also been shown to help with inflammation. So if you can help to boost your body alongside the professional help you receive, this is worth considering, especially for milder conditions.
Herbs and spices that reduce inflammation
There are quite a lot of foods that can do their bit towards reducing inflammation, especially for short term illnesses or injuries – these are known as acute inflammation versus chronic inflammation from something like arthritis.
Omega-3 fatty acids that come in fish and some nuts are known for their anti-inflammatory properties. And there are also herbs that reduce inflammation as well as several spices. Let’s get to know them.
Black pepper
Black pepper is something most of us will have on the kitchen bench and use it to add a little extra flavour to food. It also has something called piperine which can reduce inflammation, even when you only use a little. It helps with arthritis symptoms and also with suppressing pain receptors – it doesn’t make the pain go away, but it helps the body ignore it somewhat and that can help.
Cayenne
Cayenne is another type of pepper that has anti-inflammatory properties due to the capsaicinoids in them. While adding the heat to it, it also helps to deal with inflammation and is also a great digestive aid.
Chilli peppers
Chilli peppers are natural anti-inflammatory foods due to something called capsaicin in them. This makes them hot when you eat them but also has strong anti-inflammatory properties. This means that any type of chilli pepper including jalapeno can help out and you can use them in all kinds of dishes. Some people even eat them whole but don’t look at me to try that out!
Cinnamon
Cinnamon comes with an impressive ‘anti’ list – anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, antimicrobial and anti-diabetic. It never met an illness it didn’t want to conquer! It comes from the bark of trees in Asia and has been used for dinner recipes, stews and curries, soups and desserts for generations. Good news – any premade apple pie or pumpkin pie mix will definitely include cinnamon!
Cloves
Cloves are great for mouth and throat inflammation as well as dealing with conditions such as nausea and diarrhoea. You can even use clove oil to deal with toothache by rubbing it straight onto the problem area. It is easy to include in a wide range of dishes as well as desserts and even warm drinks.
Garlic
Garlic is one of the herbs that reduce inflammation (or spice if you prefer) and is definitely an easy one to include in your diet because there are so many things you can do with it! It helps with arthritis symptoms and only a small amount is needed. If you aren’t a fan of the taste, roast a whole head of garlic and the taste is softer and a little sweeter.
Ginger
Ginger can out anti-inflammatory some anti-inflammatory drugs, according to some tests and also helps with the causes of the inflammation, effectively turning off the problem genes. It is used for things like osteoarthritis and heart disease as well as to stop motion sickness, nausea in pregnancy and after chemotherapy.
Plus I know first-hand it can help with coughs – we use a lemon and ginger tea for my Dad who is prone to bad coughs after lung cancer.
Green tea
Green tea is technically a herb because it is made from plant leaves! But it is worth including here because it is very good for anti-inflammatory properties and more. In fact, studies have shown it is good to help with cardiovascular disease and even some cancer. For anti-inflammatory purposes, it is particularly helpful for arthritis as well as inflammation in the digestive system such as Crohn’s Disease.
Rosemary
Rosemary is a popular herb with a great taste and also easy to grow in the garden. In one study, of the various herbs and spices given to the test subjects, rosemary shows the best effective against inflammation and oxidative damage alongside spices like turmeric and ginger. And the good news was that the portions were no more than you would normally use in a recipe.
Turmeric
Turmeric has become famous for its various health benefits and has led to whole ranges of anti-inflammatory herbal tea products centred around it. The anti-inflammatory properties come from something in the turmeric called curcumin – this makes it the yellow colour it is and has been used for centuries to help combat inflammation.
Curcumin is also an antioxidant to help with damage from those nasty free radicals and is great for digestive disorders. You can add it to curries and soups or even to vegetable marinades.
