After the holidays, health tips are coming in on the web to help people with dangerous Body Mass Indexes and Blood Sugar problems. These are serious problems for people who have high counts in these categories. Eating Well and Real Age articles have sent out articles on these two topics, which I would like to impart parts of here because they offer very good advice.

Real Age states: “Keep your heart strong and help your body get lean by jazzing up your morning beverage with a swirl of cinnamon.” For people who are more than just a little over weight and need to watch there blood sugar as well, this especially true.  This is not the only thing to do to keep your body weight at a good level and your heart strong. I will cover more about this later.

In the morning or evening when you brew a cup of coffee, cocoa or herbal tea add some cinnamon to your drink. You may find that this spice sweetens your morning drink more than you thought; and it gives an added taste to your coffee, cocoa or herbal tea. I have been adding this spice to my oatmeal in the morning. I am not overweight, but cinnamon is also a great spice to keep your cholesterol count down as well. So, if you have a high cholesterol count, you get twice the benefit from one spice.  Cloves and allspice do the same as cinnamon, but not to the same degree. They do add different flavors to your beverages. Be adventurous and try out some of these spices. 

Eating Well states that “cinnamon along with cloves and allspice are anti-oxidants that may inhibit the formation of bad-for-your-body high-blood-sugar compounds.” They go on to say that “other spices seemed to have a similar, though weaker, effect: sage, marjoram, tarragon, and rosemary.”

Diets that contain leaner meat and more vegetables spiced with the spices mentioned above are great New Year resolutions to keep. A spiced diet along with exercise is a great present to your self. Give it a try and you will be surprised and proud of your results. 

It is interesting to note that the three stronger spices were the first spices used when man began brewing coffee and later brewing it in coffee houses. The drinkers of coffee were men, mainly merchants. Some of them were men who traveled to get the spices and sell them where coffee was first made and sold.

Starting today spice up your life and with exercise and spices in your food and drinks. You will like the spicier you. Bon apatite!  And, don’t forget you can add spices to the ground coffee beans in your coffee maker or tea infuser.