Healthy Food Choices: Spices

Herbs and spices are a great choice if you're looking to reduce your calorie and sodium intake. Learn some healthy tips on choosing herbs and spices in this video.

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No calories or sodium
Good for maintaining blood pressure
Ginger can reduce cell damage

About this Author

Alice Merritt is currently the Campus Dietitian at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She has a masters degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in public health with a concentration on nutrition. Alice has worked as a registered dietician for four years, and believes that helping people reach their nutritional goals will lead to a long and healthy life.

ALCIE MERRITT: Now I am going to talk to you about spices. Spices are a very healthy way to increase seasoning to your favorite dish. Herbs and spices do not have any calories and no sodium or salt. So they are great alternatives to use if you have high blood pressure or at risk for coronary heart disease to reduce your sodium intake. Some healthy herbs and spices are, cinnamon, basil, oregano, dill, ginger and black pepper, just to name a few. Important things to remember about spices, they are great to use as an alternative to salt. You want to be careful of seasoning blends, because a lot of blends have added salt in them and it is kind of hidden, you do not really see it unless you check the ingredients list. Some spices have a lot of health benefits too. Like cinnamon has been shown to help lower blood sugar levels. Ginger has been shown to help reduce cell damage and paprika is a powerful antioxidant. So feel good about adding these things to your food liberally to increase your health. These are some great things to know about spices.

Healthy Food Choices: Spices Video

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