Best Spices for a Healthy Plant-Based Diet

“HOT! HOT! HOT, screamed LJ’s brain; he desperately looked around for water, “No, I need milk.” The refrigerator seemed miles away; the heat in his mouth and going down his throat was intense and getting worse. The top of his head felt like it was on fire. He yanked the fridge door open, grabbed the cashew milk Annie used for their morning smoothies, and drank all of it.

Annie took the empty bottle from him, “Babes, what happened? Are you okay?”

LJ leaned against the counter, “I’ve been experimenting with spices to see if I can make our meals more enjoyable, healthy, and well, spicey. I made vegan chorizo and probably added too much Cayenne.

Annie kissed him, “Oh sweetheart, Cayenne is 8 times hotter than chili powder. It is a medium-hot chili pepper that is a good source of capsaicin. This compound brings the heat but interestingly increases the amount of heat your body produces, boosting metabolism and helping burn calories. Capsaicin also reduces blood pressure, which lowers heart disease risk. And you’ll be happy to know capsaicin studies show it slows cancer cell growth in the prostate, skin, and pancreas. It’s a great topical cream for psoriasis too.

I like your idea. How about we work on this together because one of the common complaints of people moving to a plant-based diet is the food…