The Fusion Tea comes in a Healthy Package

Spices and herbs may help you avoid disease

Imagine going to your doctor with joint pain and leaving with a prescription for ginger. Before the advent of synthetic drugs, that might have happened. Herbs and spices have a long history as folk medicine, and not without merit. Today, researchers are working to quantify their health benefits.

"We don't have enough evidence to say herbs and spices are 100-percent disease-preventing, but several have positive outlooks," says Milton Stokes, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.

Oregano: The strongest health benefit for oregano, shown at left, is that it's been linked to food preservation. In 2003, researchers found that applying a concentrated oregano extract to prepared meats may destroy Listeria bacteria. "The same chemical constituents that give herbs and spices their pungency are also powerful bacterial inhibitors," says Catherine Donnelly, Ph.D., professor of nutrition and food science at the University of Vermont. "Oregano is one of the best bacteria killers." Its phenols -- a type of antioxidant -- destroy the cell membranes of bacteria.

Ginger: In 2001, a headline-making study found highly concentrated forms of ginger helped reduce osteoarthritis-related knee pain. "Ginger improved pain to a degree almost the same as anti-inflammatory medications," says researcher Roy Altman, M.D., professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. There is a catch, though: " Altman says. Ginger's most consistently proven benefit is its ability to relieve nausea.