What’s So Great About Rosemary?

Let’s see…. We’ve done parsley and sage so we might as well check out rosemary and thyme and wrap it all up with a big old hippy sing-a-long no? One of the things that has surprised me the most in writing these nutrition posts is herbs. They actually have nutrition!? And they add flavour? What more could we ask? Well, we could ask that they NOT be green… just for once, could something nutritious be a colour that kids love to eat. Nope.

According to Keri Glassman, author of The O2 Diet, “Rosemary is an herb that may help prevent damage to blood vessels and aid with cardiovascular health. The healing herb may also help with indigestion and memory function and reduce muscle and joint pain when applied topically”. (Source)

Even more promising, a study published in the journal Cancer Treatment Reviews found that “Rosemary’s active ingredient, carnosic acid or carnosol, might also prevent the spread of cancer”. That’s why rosemary and grilling should go hand in hand. Studies have found that the carnosol in rosemary reduce HCA’s (heterocyclic amines) created during grilling by up to 70%.(Source)  HCA’s are carcinogenic compounds that form when foods (especially fattier meat like burgers) are grilled. (And it’s time to grill soon right?? Please let it be time to grill soon!)

And good news if you don’t love the flavour of rosemary or simply don’t want everything you eat to taste of it…you can buy rosemary extract which has the same cancer protecting effects with little or no flavour. And especially good news for the kids…it’s not green!