Spice your way happy & healthy!

The spices that give our favorite cool-weather dishes their warm, comforting flavors are also a boon for our health!

- Brenda Kearns

A pinch of this tames high blood pressure! Cardamom has a spicy, citrusy flavor that works beautifully in both sweet and savory dishes. The best part? A study in the Indian Journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics found it relaxes artery walls the same way calcium channel blockers do, lowering blood pressure by 14 points in two months if you enjoy just 1/2 tsp. daily.

Soothe aches with a ginger compress

The spice that gives ginger snaps their signature flavor is also a powerful painkiller. To get the benefits, steep/2 cup of chopped ginger in 2 cups of hot water for 5 minutes. When comfortably warm, saturate a cloth in the brew and drape it over sore spots for 20 minutes. Australian scientists say this soothing remedy cuts stiffness, swelling and pain by 48% in a week. Thanks goes to the spice's gingerols, which ease inflammation, speed healing and calm overactive pain nerves.

OR LOUNGE AROUND! Carving out 30 minutes daily for a little R&R reduces even chronic discomfort by 30%, suggests a study in the journal Pain. Researchers explain that when you treat yourself to a well-deserved break, your brain responds by releasing painkilling hormones called endorphins.