Homemade Pumpkin Spice Recipe with Many Health Benefits
It’s that time of year: Pumpkin spice season. But, did you know pumpkin spice goes beyond a craze and flavor? There are many health benefits of homemade pumpkin spice.
From antioxidants to anti-pain, to anti-inflammatory properties, homemade pumpkin spice is no slouch in nutrition.
Here’s an easy recipe to make it, use it, and what it does in the body.
Homemade Pumpkin Spice
Ingredients:
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions:
1. Make a Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte with MCT Oil Powder: Simply mix 12-16 oz. of your favorite coffee with 1 tablespoon organic coconut oil and 1 scoop MCT Oil Powder (any flavor). Add 1/4-1/2 teaspoon homemade pumpkin spice. Whip together by hand or in a blender.
2. Add Homemade Pumpkin Spice to Homemade Whipped Cream. Eat as is (if looking for a flavorful Keto Fat Bomb), or with desserts and drinks.
3. Use Homemade Pumpkin Spice in our spiced nuts, in place of cinnamon.
5. Stir Homemade Pumpkin Spice into Keto Pancake or Waffle Batter: Use about 1/2 teaspoon per cup of batter.
Amazing Health Benefits of Homemade Pumpkin Spice
This is no ordinary “flavoring.”
Homemade Pumpkin Spice is full of ingredients that boost powder healthful compounds. Each of the four spices is beneficial for human health.
Cinnamon
To start, cinnamon is a powerful antioxidant food.
In fact, cinnamon is:
- Highly Anti-Inflammatory (1)
- A Strong Antioxidant
- Reduces Insulin Resistance (2)
- Promotes Healthy Blood Sugars
- Fights Bacteria
Read more about these amazing benefits here.
Ginger
In addition to fighting joint pain, ginger is (see full details of 7 Reasons this Wonder Spice is Great for Your Whole Body):
- Effective Against Nausea (perhaps more than medications) (3, 4)
- An Anti-Cancer Food (5, 6)
- Full of Anti-Inflammatory (whole-body) Compounds and Antioxidants (7)
- Anti-Bacterial to Fight Infections (8)
- Beneficial to Cholesterol and Heart Health (9)
- A Pain-Fighter for Muscle and Menstrual Pain
- A Superfood with Functional Medicine Properties
Cloves
Cloves are another powerful spice. Take one look at them and you’ll realize its deep color and strong aroma come from poignant compounds. In the human body, cloves:
Help Balance Appetite and Hunger: To start, cloves contain more fiber than most spices. In addition, it’s strong flavor reduces the sensation of hunger.
Help Maintain Healthy Blood Sugars: If you are concerned about blood sugars, cloves can help. Simply add cloves to your foods and meals (alone or in Homemade Pumpkin Spice), for a blood-sugar-balancing effect. Cloves contain manganese, a mineral known for its blood-sugar-regulation properties.
In fact, a new, small pilot study has shown a formulation with cloves caused statistically significant reductions in post-meal blood sugar levels in participants with diabetes (10).
Cloves are Highly Anti-Inflammatory: Studies have shown they display anti-inflammatory properties, especially when eaten consistently or daily. In fact, they may help with inflammatory-pain conditions such as arthritis (11).
Cloves are Anti-Bacterial: Studies have shown that using a mouth rinse with cloves, basil and/or green tea oil helps fight plaque and bacteria (12).
Cloves May Also Help with Tooth Pain: A great clove benefit is its pain-relieving attributes. Researchers have found that cloves worked better at relieving pain, inflammation, wound healing, and infection than another common option.
Nutmeg
Much like cloves and the other spices listed here, nutmeg has compounds that work at the cellular level to improve health. Nutmeg:
Relives Pain: Nutmeg contains volatile oils including myristicin, elemicin, eugenol, and safrole. These oils have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-pain properties (13).
Can Help You Get a Better Night’s Sleep: Nutmeg has a calming effect when consumed in small doses. Ancient medicinal practices used it to improve sleep and provide relief from stress.
Blood Pressure and Circulation: Nutmeg contains calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, and more. Its minerals are good for reducing blood pressure and relaxing the blood vessels while keeping the heart functioning efficiently.
Aides Digestion: Nutmeg’s oils also provide a carminative effect on the digestive system. It can improve diarrhea, constipation, bloating or gas when added to foods or tea before bed.
Oral Health and Bad Breath Treatment: The oils in nutmeg are anti-bacterial, and can improve oral health and breath. Its antibacterial compounds are so potent it is being researched against multidrug-resistant Salmonella strains (14).
Brain Health: Nutmeg stimulates the nerves in the brain and may reduce symptoms of depression, fatigue, and stress. In fact, studies are being performed to investigate its anticonvulsant effects (15).
Toxicity Warning
Some spices, such as nutmeg and cloves, can have toxic effects when used in very large amounts, and especially in the form of volatile oils (rather than dried spices). When used in small amounts culinary preparations such as our Homemade Pumpkin Spice, there is very little risk. But if using them in other formulations, speak to an expert in the field or your health care professional to make sure you are not getting too large a dose (16).
Yes i will definitely try that pumpkin spice, also the nutmeg and ginger.
Thanks so much for your advice.
God bless
Beryl
You’re very welcome Beryl! Thank you for reading!