Healing Spices: How to Use 50 Everyday and Exotic Spices to Boost Health and Beat Disease [Hardcover]

Bharat B. Aggarwal PhD (Author), Debora Yost (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 2011

Breakthrough scientific research is finding that spices-even more than herbs, fruits, and vegetables-are loaded with antioxidants and other unique health-enhancing compounds. Studies of dietary patterns around the world confirm that spice-consuming populations have the lowest incidence of such life-threatening illnesses as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's.
Bharat B. Aggarwal, the world's foremost expert on the therapeutic use of culinary spices, takes an in-depth look at 50 different spices and their curative qualities, and offers spice “prescriptions”-categorized by health condition-to match the right spice to a specific ailment.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bharat B. Aggarwal, PhD is a professor in the department of experimental therapeutics in the division of cancer medicine at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He has conducted groundbreaking research in the therapeutic uses of spices and been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, Fitness and Family Circle, among many other magazines and scientific journals. Dr. Aggarwal has been interviewed on ABC and NBC radio affiliates and has delivered more than 300 lectures in 30 countries.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Sterling; 1 edition (January 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402776632
• ISBN-13: 978-1402776632
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 7.2 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Alternative Medicine > Herbal Remedies
  • #34 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Alternative Medicine > Healing

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

105 of 107 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm recommending and/or giving this book to everyone I know January 12, 2011

By Laurie Doyle

Format:Hardcover

I purchased this book from a book store a few days ago, and am now planning a spice shopping spree. I had no idea, although perhaps I should have guessed, that spices provide such dramatic health benefits--and that's in addition to making my food taste delicious! Each spice has a dedicated chapter, which is part history lesson, part biology lesson, and part cooking lesson--going so far as to detail what other spices blend well with it, how to shop for it, how to store it, how long it lasts in various forms, as well as a tested recipe highlighting that particular spice.

I love to cook, and now I intend to diversify my spice rack, as well as use them more liberally!

87 of 90 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb up-to-date, evidence-based book on healing spices February 14, 2011

By Ex-pat Brit

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I looked at a bunch of books on healing herbs and spices and realized that the most important quality in such a book should be an up-to-date, evidence-based treatment of the various healing qualities of the herbs/spices, followed by instruction on how to incorporate the herbs/spices into one's diet. This book does a remarkably fine job of both, and is also attractively put together and entertaining to read.

You really appreciate the quality of this book when you compare it with inferior books on the topic. Other books typically provide useless speculation, typically along the lines of, "many old wives use this to cure that". It was strangely entertaining to compare different books and find them claiming different herbs/spices as effective for healing whatever ails you. Dr. Aggarwal, the author of Healing Spices, is always careful to quote studies to support his assertions. (As a researcher, myself, I would have liked to have the actual reference; however, I can live with "a study from the University of Tokyo found").

Dr. Aggarwal (who is a professor in the department of experimental therapeutics in the division of cancer medicine at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston) does provide some actual recipes that incorporate the "healing spices"; however, this is not his strong suit. If you find any useful recipes, think of them as a bonus.

I ordered this book after originally taking it out of the library. If found that I was keeping it next to my bed. Yup, this one was obviously a keeper and I have already changed my diet based on this book. If you want just one book on this topic, this book is the one to get.

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Healing Spices February 7, 2011

By Melanie Sachs

Format:Hardcover

This book is brimming over with real information backed up with reasearch into the benefits of spices for healing and maintaining health. It is presented in a digestable format and made accessable with fantastic recipes and resource connections. As an Ayurvedic Lifestyle consultant I am familiar with the benefits spices bring both in terms of taste and improving digestion. This book supports this view and offers so much more. It's time America, let's spice it up to get really healthy.