5 Spices That Can Improve Your Heart Health, According To Doctors

Whether you’re baking an apple pie, jazzing up a bowl of oatmeal, or making hummus or a pot of curry, spices are important ingredients that give a dish its unique flavor. Too little and spices go unnoticed and too much — well, you can ruin a recipe. Spices make a dish sing.

Although these minuscule ingredients may seem irrelevant, not only do they add plenty of pizzazz to a dish, but many spices have beneficial properties that are good for our health, too.

“Spices are high in antioxidants, and antioxidants fight free radicals that can wreak havoc in our bodies,” said Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a preventative cardiologist in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and founder ofStep One Foods, a food company to help patients make healthier eating choices to minimize a need for medication. “For heart health specifically, antioxidants help reduce the impact of elevated cholesterol levels,” she added.

But spices can do even more than that. According to Michelle Routhenstein, a preventive cardiology dietitian, “Spices can add several antioxidant compounds that can lead to a decrease in inflammation and a positive impact on cardiovascular health.”

And because spices increase flavor, they can reduce the need for salt. “Adding spices to your food is a great way to improve the taste of the food without adding salt or sugar,” said Dr. Nieca Goldberg , the medical director of Atria New York City and clinical associate professor of medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine . “Salt can raise blood pressure and worsen heart failure symptoms. Sugar can lead to weight gain and worsen glucose levels,” which can also put a strain on the heart, Goldberg said.

Looking to strengthen your heart health? Here are five spices experts recommend for heart