Today I’d like to plug a fascinating book…a book that every household should possess, even a cancer-less household. It’s an A to Z guide to FIFTY (!) spices that have been shown to possess healing potential for more than 150 (!) health conditions (even wrinkles, no kidding).   

Since I haven’t had the time (yet) to read it all, I’ve just skimmed through it and checked out some of the 50 recipes (hey, how about some cinnamon and banana French toast or some roasted tomato soup with fennel and mint or some spiced vegetable fritters? SLURP!) and the descriptions of some of these spices and their healthful properties…

“Healing Spices” is super well-organized…Each spice has its own section, which includes helpful charts illustrating which specific healthful properties the spice possesses and other pertinent information. This means that you don’t have to read the entire text if you don’t have time…all you have to do is glance at the charts. For example, opening the book at random, let’s see what we get–ah, horseradish, which may help prevent and/or treat cancer, bronchitis, cholesterol problems, ear infections, the flu, food poisoning, bacterial pneumonia, sinusitis and urinary tract infections. The chart tells us how to use horseradish, which goes well with apples, eggs and potatoes, for instance. Another chart in the horseradish section gives us a recipe for a Bavarian apple and horseradish sauce. Yummy! 

Oh, the book also provides the history and medicinal use of all the spices. Absolutely enthralling, let me tell you. 

The author of this fabbbbbulous new book is Prof. Bharat Aggarwal. No need to introduce this wonderful man…a true pioneer! It is thanks to him that I began taking curcumin in January of 2006, and for that, as well as for his ongoing kindness, support and helpfulness throughout the years, I will be eternally grateful to him. He changed my life.  

But let’s get back to his book. On the back cover we can read that rosemary is one of the most powerful antioxidants on earth, that black pepper protects brain cells and that chiles can help relieve the symptoms of arthritis. If you’re serious about making some positive dietary changes, Prof. Aggarwal tells you to include SPICES in your diet. They are loaded with health-enhancing compounds. Much more so than herbs, fruits and veggies. How about that?

And did you know that the Japanese super-hot condiment called wasabi may help you say sayonara to (at least some of) your cancer cells? Watch out, though, this stuff is super HOT! 

I really urge you to buy this book, which is also sprinkled with interesting, paragraph-long stories. The book will tell you how to use the spices, and which spices go well together. Yesterday evening, after reading some bits here and there, I felt so inspired that I made what turned out to be a lovely dish (my own creation)–scrambled eggs (which go in last) with chopped up tomatoes, onions and zucchini (from our garden), Nigella sativa (the spice that “cures everything but death” and that has anti-myeloma effects), cumin, turmeric and paprika. I also added a bit of leftover mozzarella cheese at the end. As with all Indian dishes, you start out by frying the spices, then add the rest. Anyway, it was yummmmmmy. 

In conclusion, let’s follow Prof. Aggarwal’s suggestion and add spice to our lives! 🙂