Spicing Up Cold Days

JustHaving trouble with cold fingers and toes when you're out these cold winter days; or do you simply experience those moments when a chill from drafts in the house cause you to shiver and turn the thermostat up a degree?  Do you know that there are some spices that you can add to your food that will help your body maintain it's core temperature?

All the incredible and tasty Eastern spices like cinnamon, cloves, tumeric, ginger, fennugreek and others actually increase body temperature naturally and are great to have around the house any time, but especially during cold winter months. 

Many of these spices are able to expand capillaries (small blood vessels) in the body to allow oxygen and thus energy, producing heat.  These "warmer" spices can be taken in tea, capsule or tincture form or just added to meals for seasonings.  Just remember to buy fresh, good quality spices.  They also have great immune building properties of their own and are just another example of how your food can be your sustaining medicine.   I encourage you to taste and explore the many flavors and uses of these wonderful spices.  Many recipes can be found online. 
 
I love to do things like sprinkle my morning yogurt with cloves or cinnamon or even my morning coffee.  There is a drink that can be made with tumeric and ginger called golden milk that is simple delightful and non-caffeinated.  Try adding a sprinkle of cayenne to your favorite dark hot chocolate.

When we go skiing here in Vermont on cold days, we have some tricks to keep us going. Drinking a shot of an eighth of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper in a small glass of water a few minutes before you go out will establish a nice warming sensation as it opens up the capillaries in your extremities.  As your body is active, the warmth circulates through your blood stream and increases your body's warming capacity.  Try it some day before you go out for a walk in the snow.  You'll be pleasantly surprised.