In The Spice Cabinet

It's a safe bet to say that there aren't too many people in the world who haven't experienced the warm soothing smell of cinnamon as it slowly bakes into your grandmother's extra syrupy sweet potatoes, or as it blends with the apples and buttery crust from your mom's apple pie. What most of us, particularly in the Western World, fail to realize is that we are victims of a very cruel irony.

By F.R.E.E. Will, LuxEco Editorial Assistant, Author of In The Spice Cabinet series A member of the same family as the more known ginger plant, the rhizome, or root, of the tumeric plant has quite the storied history. Native to the Indian subcontinent tropical regions of Southeast Asia, tumeric has been used in both ancient Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for its anti-inflammatory properties and has been used for ailments ranging from jaundice to various forms of arthritis. Also well documented are the antiseptic properties of the volatile oils contained in tumeric making it quite effective in dealing with skin afflictions from minor cuts to more severe conditions like eczema and psoriasis; not to mention undeniably cheaper than the vast amounts of antiseptic sprays and creams on the market that serve the same function.

By F.R.E.E. Will, LuxEco Editorial Assistant, Author of In The Spice Cabinet series The purpose of this article and the series as a whole is to examine the ingredients that go into some of your favorite dishes, particularly the benefits some of the more familiar (and some not so familiar) herbs and spices contain.