Siam Tulips or Turmeric flower

“Let food be your medicine.” Hippocrates

This flower is one of the most beautiful flowers that you can see in North of Thailand. It is not a tulip, but it belongs to ginger family. When I was in Thailand, a good friend of mine took me to Siam tulip festival in Royal Flora Ratchaphruek, which I enjoyed it so much. The scenery was breath taking. This plant is used in Thai massage and of course it is a tropical food ingredient as well as a potent medicine. If you want to have a high quality turmeric, you can boil the roots, dry them, and grind them. It has been over 5000 years that turmeric is used in Asian countries such as China and India. It went to Europe and Middle East hundreds of years ago and recently it found its way to the West because of the result of the studies that they did and they revealed the health benefits of this amazing spice. Turmeric contains manganese, iron, vitamin B6, fiber, and potassium. It not only adds to the taste of any cuisine, but also it has numerous health benefits such as being a strong anti-inflammatory agent (as strong as Motrin, but without any side effects, which is suggested for Inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis patients), and anticancer agent, specially for colon cancer . You can add it to cauliflower and there you go, you have an anti prostate cancer side dish :). Turmeric is known for its benefits for both heart and brain as well as for gastrointestinal syatem. It lowers blood cholesterol and protects the health of cardiovascular system. It improves the function of liver and prevents brain from developing alzheimer’s disease. I am pleased that there are very few Persian cuisines that don’t contain turmeric. I hope you use this spice as a regular basis, but as always in moderation 🙂

“Let’s always eat and drink healthful food and beverages and do it in moderation.” Dr. Sii

 

Galangal or Siamese Ginger

“Let food be your medicine.” Hippocrates

Galangal or Siamese ginger or blue ginger belongs to ginger family and it is vastly used in South East Asia as both spice and medicine. It looks like ginger, but harder to cut and the taste is similar but also very different and sweeter. you can dry them and make galangal powder. It is used in tea, in Thai soups (Tom yum), and in many other Asian cuisines. It is also used for its health benefits such as; indigestion, gastric inflammation and ulcer. It helps joint pain, but ironically if you have allergy to galangal, it can give you rash and joint pain or it helps your digestion and bloating, but consuming too much of it can cause heart burn and indigestion. So as always, moderation is the key to getting the most health benefit out of any food and galangal is not an exception. In Thailand they use galangal oil for Thai massage to reduce body ache and create a soothing effect in muscles. Galangal with lemon juice is used for soothing cough and helping regular breathing. Galangal is known to improve blood circulation in hands and feet, which facilitates the circulation of nutrients and oxygen to these parts of body. When I was in Thailand, I learned that galangal oil and soap is used for breast enlargement and they used it in perfume and deodorants as well. Since galangal is good for bloating and regulates gastrointestinal system, you can use it fresh or dry and add it to some chopped pear and a little bit honey and water and cook it. This pear compote with yogurt is a fantastic snack and it is balanced in temperament.

“Let’s always eat and drink healthful food and beverages and do it in moderation.” Dr. Sii