The Medicinal Uses of 3 Common Spices
Cinnamon, ginger and tumeric are well known and are commonly used as culinary spices. They are all used in Chinese herbal medicine to treat illness and are also used to flavour dishes.
All of these spices are great to use in winter cooking to help retain warmth. Enjoy the benefits of applying this new information to your ongoing health preservation.
‘Food as medicine’ is a well-used statement currently, so please continue reading to understand more about each herbs medicinal nature.
Cinnamon
There are two forms the twig and the inner bark.
The twig (gui zhi) is very important when treating external invasions of wind and cold. It allows the exterior to be released and encourages mild sweating. Gui zhi hamonises the different aspects of the immunity warms the channels and is especially useful for warming cold shoulders.
The bark (rou gui) is warming and disperses internal cold this makes it ideal to use in winter. As it leads fire back to the source (in this case the low back) it could be thought of as preventing back weakness.
Avoid if you have internal heat.
Ginger
There are two forms fresh and old.
The fresh form (sheng jiang) gently releases the surface and can reduce cough. This is especially useful in wind cold invasion. It is also useful in stopping nausea and resolves toxicity.
The old form (gan jiang) expels cold from the interior and warms the channels. This herb warms cold and is beneficial for the lungs.
Ginger is useful for the digestion in general.
Avoid if you have internal heat or high blood pressure.
Tumeric
The root tuber and the rhizome are both used in Chinese Medicine.
The rhizome (jiang huang) moves blood and is especially useful for treating shoulder pain. It also has the ability to move qi downward and is therefore to be avoided in pregnancy.
Generally turmeric is most recognised as a golden powder. The tuber is not used as a culinary spice and is not discussed here.
Avoid if you are low in iron.
Disclaimer
The information in this publication is not intended as a substitute for professional advise (We would prefer to work in collaboration with your health professional, General Practitioner, Medical Doctor or Specialist). Mana Health expressly disclaims all liability to any person/organisation arising directly or indirectly from the use of or reliance on, or for any errors or omissions in, the information in this publication, including any references to third parties. Whilst efforts have been made by Mana Health to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, the adoption and application of this information is at the reader’s discretion and is his or her sole responsibility.
