Spices are very important as food and as medicine. They bring out the unique natural taste of cuisines and could be use to change the look of food to make it more attractive in colour. Some of them grow in the wild and are very good source of food preservative especially for industrially processed foods. As medicine or food, the importance of spices cannot be overemphasized. Spices are famous worldwide for their ability to add flavor, aroma and color to the food. Many of the major cuisines worldwide make use of the spices. And native spices are found to be playing an important role in differentiating the one country’s cuisine with others. Usage of spices in many of the food delicacies are coming as a tradition in many of the countries.
Spices in food
All the medical importance of species are not yet known. Nevertheless, we know certainty that species can be use in the treatment of various ailments like cancer, fever, malaria, stomach offset, nausea and many more. For example coriander is use to treat acne and other skin related conditions. Fennel is use in the treatment of glaucoma and other eye problems. Fennel boosts the supply of breast milk.
Industrial uses of species
Species are also use as natural food preservatives. Cinnamon can easily replace industrial preservatives, which are dangerous to the human health. Pharmaceutically they have been use to flavour medicines. Clove is process to produce Clove oil, which is very useful industrially for medicine.
Side Effect of Species
Spices are supposed to be use with care. Large consumption of any spice is dangerous to the human system. Side effect of consuming large quantity of any spice could range from panic to convulsion. They can also cause severe hallucination. Consumption of large quantity of pepper for example, over a long period, could cause stomach cancer. A single meal that contains much quantity of pepper can injures the wall of the human stomach.
To be on a safer side, spices should not be use for medicine without the proper guidance and recommendation from a qualified person. Alternatively, if one must consume spices for any medical reason, as the saying goes: ‘’virtue lies in the middle.’’ Take small quantity at a time.
