16 Most Powerful Healing Herbs and Spices in Your Kitchen

Your spice rack does more than just look pretty – it contains some of the most powerful healing herbs and spices on the planet!

These natural healing ingredients not only make your food taste great, they can help reduce inflammation, ease upset stomachs, completely eliminate headaches, improve your immune system and more.

16 of The Most Powerful Healing Herbs and Spices

Here are 16 of the most powerful herbs and spices that you must keep in stock at all times:

Bay Leaves

Useful for: digestion, anti-cancer, wound healing, anti-viral

This spice contains many volatile active compounds that are antiseptic, anti-oxidant, digestive and contain anti-cancer properties. They’re also an incredible source of vitamin C and vitamin A, which respectively help remove free radicals from the body and improve eyesight and maintain healthy hair, skin and nails.

Basil

Useful for: gas, stomach upsets, cancer prevention

This carminative can relieve gas and stomach upsets. It contains eugenol, which calms and relaxes the muscles of the stomach and intestines. It has also been found to be useful in the prevention of cancer.

Cardamom

Useful for: digestion, detox, halitosis, cancer, blood pressure

This beneficial spice not only improves flavour and makes chai tea taste great, but it helps counteract digestive problems, and helps the body eliminate wastes through the kidneys (acts as a powerful diuretic). It also helps to freshen breath, and significantly lowers blood pressure.

Cayenne Pepper

Useful for: headaches, migraines, metabolism-booster, appetite, nausea, indigestion, thins phlegm

Have a headache? Supplement with cayenne pepper! Take 1 tsp. of cayenne pepper in 1 cup of water and drink immediately at the first signs of a headache. Cayenne pepper contains the alkaloid capsaicin, which relieves pain by blocking pain messages sent to the brain. Cayenne is great for revving the metabolism, improving digestion, getting rid of gas, relieving nausea, and improving appetite. It also helps get rid of mucus and phlegm from the lungs, making conditions like bronchitis, bad coughs and colds get immensely better.

Cinnamon

Useful for: anti-bacterial, anti-viral, regulates menstrual cycle and relieves anxiety and stress

This spice contains a chemical called cinnamaldehyde that kills illness-causing bacteria like E.coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureas. Cinnamon is great for helping regulate the menstrual cycle, and acts as a powerful anti-viral. The mere smell of cinnamon also helps lower feelings of anxiety and stress.

Cloves

Useful for: toothache, muscle spasms, insomnia, acne and warts

Cloves have an ORAC value that is over 290,000, making it one of the strongest antioxidants on the planet. It contains more manganese than any food, which helps with lipid metabolism (getting rid of fat) and keeps the nervous system stable. It helps relieve toothaches and muscle spasms, has been used to treat insomnia and is great for getting rid of acne and warts.

Coriander

Useful for: heavy metal cleansing, skin inflammation, high cholesterol, diarrhea, indigestion

Coriander, otherwise known as cilantro, is great for chelating heavy metals from our body acquired from the environment, our food and products we use on a day-to-day basis. Cineole, an essential oil of coriander, has powerful anti-inflammatory properties and is great for those suffering from arthritis. It also helps clear up skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis, and reduces high cholesterol levels in the blood.

Cumin

Useful for: memory loss, damaging effects of stress, anti-cancer, anti-asthmatic

Cumin is a good source of iron, manganese and helps stimulate the production of pancreatic enzymes, which improves digestion. It is even protective against memory loss and reduces the effects of stress on the body. It contains a high amount of anti-oxidants, making it a great anti-cancer spice, and works as a bronchodilator, helping asthmatic patients.

Ginger

Useful for: cancer prevention, morning sickness, nausea, digestion, inflammation

One of my favourite spices, ginger, is a miracle root! It contains powerful cancer-fighting properties, provides morning sickness relief, treats nausea and fires up the digestive tract to ensure less constipation, bloating and gas. It is also a great anti-inflammatory, thanks to useful little compounds called ginger’s that inhibit production of nitric oxide, which normally form damaging free radicals.

Nutmeg

Useful for: relieving pain, indigestion, improve blood circulation, insomnia

Nutmeg contains a compound similar to menthol, which possesses pain-relieving characteristics. It can therefore help reduce pain associated with injuries, wounds, and chronic inflammation. It is also great for stimulating the digestive tract, and improving blood circulation thanks to its high potassium content.

Allspice

Useful for: digestion, nervous system, inflammation, fungal infections

Allspice is a carminative, meaning that it helps prevent or relieve flatulence. It helps benefit the gastrointestinal tract and digestive system, and improves appetite. It is also used as a tonic for the nervous system to help treat nervous exhaustion, convulsions and neuralgia.

Turmeric

Useful for: inflammation, anti-cancer, fat metabolism, coughing, wound healing…

If you haven’t yet heard of turmeric, then you’ll be shocked to discover its incredible healing power. The benefits are endless, mainly thanks to the active compound in turmeric, called curcumin. It’s most renowned life-benefiting property is it’s ability to relieve pain. In fact, it has been proven just as useful, if not more effective than ibuprofen for pain relief. How cool is that?

Garlic

Useful for: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, natural antibiotic, anti-cancer

Raw garlic has been prescribed for many different illnesses ranging from the common cold to respiratory problems, parasites, weak digestion and fatigue. It contains anti-hypertensive effects, and can help reduce cholesterol. It stimulates production of intracellular nitric oxide which helps our body control vascular tone and regulates blood pressure. It is also one of the best all-natural antibiotics on the planet.

Rosemary

Useful for: inflammation, improving memory, stimulating the immune system

Rosemary contains anti-inflammatory compounds that help reduce the severity of asthma attacks and helps increase blood flow to the head and brain, improving memory and concentration. It is also great for improving digestion, increasing circulation and strengthening the immune system.

Thyme

Useful for: lung health, wound recovery, mood enhancer

Thyme contains the compound thymol, which increases blood-flow to the skin and speeds wound healing and recovery. This special little herb also relaxes respiratory muscles and helps treat bronchitis.

Oregano

Useful for: reducing body odour, soothing coughs, digestion, blood pressure

Oregano is an incredibly powerful herb that improves the functioning of the immune system and helps reduce body odour (thanks to its amazing anti-bacterial action). It also contains compounds that ease the digestive tract, and help lower blood pressure too!