Embrace the Season: Exploring the Health Benefits of Festive Seasonings

December 22, 2023 TruthUSA

Many herbs and spices used during the holiday season are gifts of ample health benefits, adding to the appeal of your favorite holiday meals and drinks.

One of the most wonderful things about the holiday season is the delicious aromas wafting from the kitchen. Cinnamon, orange, nutmeg, and allspice fill the air and are among the quintessential flavors of the season.

The herbs and spices we choose to enhance our meals tend to change throughout the year—and Christmas has its own unique set of aromas and flavors that many of us look forward to. Along with their delectable flavors, most herbs and spices have a variety of health benefits, too.

Let’s look at some of the most popular holiday spices and how—along with enhancing the dishes we love—they can improve our health this festive season.

Cinnamon

During the holidays, the scent of cinnamon infuses coffee shops, bakeries, and local restaurants offering holiday fare. Cinnamon is the perfect combination of sweet and spicy and goes well with chocolate, coffee, and almost every dessert. Like all the spices on our list, cinnamon has an impressive list of health benefits and has been used in cooking and as medicine for centuries.

According to historical accounts, cinnamon was once more valuable than gold and was, at one time, the most profitable spice in the Dutch East India Company—a trading company founded in 1602.

Cinnamon has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-parasitic, anti-diabetic, anti-lipemic (used to treat excess fats in the blood), and anti-cancer properties.

A 2020 study published in Molecules tested cinnamon’s chemoprotective and therapeutic effects on breast carcinoma in rats, mice, and different cell lines. The study concluded that “C. zeylanicum L. [cinnamon] showed chemopreventive and therapeutic activities in animal breast carcinoma models that were also significantly confirmed by mechanistic evaluations in vitro and in vivo.”

Studies show cinnamon helps lower blood sugar as well as blood pressure. Multiple studies also show it lowers cholesterol and is beneficial for the heart.

Cinnamon was once more valuable than gold. (rawf8/Shutterstock)

Cinnamon is also known as an antifungal, with a 2016 study demonstrates.

A 2020 study evaluated cinnamon essential oil and showed it was effective against strains of Candida albicans. The study found that cinnamon oil had a better antifungal effect than nystatin—a common drug used to treat fungal or yeast infections of the skin.

Studies also show that cinnamon is beneficial for sexual dysfunction. A 2013 study validated this use, finding that cinnamon improved age-related sexual dysfunction in rats.