- spices: Antioxidants | Free Full-Text | Inhibition of Advanced Glycation End-Product Formation by High Antioxidant-Leveled Spices Commonly Used in European Cuisine | HTML - allspice, cloves, anise, chinese 5-spice have both anti-glycative and anti-ROS abilities.
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I use turmeric and black pepper a lot. Ginger and garlic are also great. Dried parsley and Moringa powder I add to my lunch for supplement purposes. Chili peppers are great on pizza.
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Ginger/garlic are def among the healthiest ever but theyâre so hard to put in food b/c of taste. Cinnamon I spray very liberally. Parsley is important b/c apigenin but takes effort to sprinkle in
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Iâve had trouble with too much cinnamon. I guess it naturally lowers blood sugar? I kept adding more and more to my morning oatmeal until I had heart palpitations and hot flashes several days in a row as I kept the cinnamon high. When I realized it could be the cinnamon I cut it out and have been back to normal for months. Iâve never had blood sugar issues, so I think it was too much unnecessary intervention.
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Masala chai - Wikipedia this really has all the powerful spices (anise, cloves). Just do it sugar-free and in vegan form (alas most of it is NOT in these forms). I just had an interesting taste of them at the stalls in st. pancreas.
https://foodsofnations.com/ is a great source of spices
you know, iâve finally developed a taste for eating raw cloves.
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Sodium free, thatâs healthy!
I add everything I have to help with my 30 plants per week. Tumeric has the biggest effect on taste and messiness. Black pepper, parsley, thyme, dried red pepper, garlic, onion, rosemary, ginger, star anise, oregano.
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Cinnamon for LDL and HBA1C.
https://www.gbnews.com/health/diabetes-symptoms-diet-cinnamon-cholesterol
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Just make sure to buy Ceylon cinnamon (should be indicated on the packaging) and not Cassia cinnamon. Cassia cinnamon has much coumarin in it, which is poisonous in too large quantities.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/traderjoes/comments/16rcpu8/are_the_herbs_de_provence_a_seasonal_item/ (herbes de provence). the trader joeâs version is glass jar i think?â
MUCHI CURRY from whole foods (also salt-free)
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The short answer
Herbes de Provence is one of the most antioxidant-dense, polyphenol-rich seasoning blends you can keep in your kitchen, and several of its core herbs contain molecules that extend lifespan or health-span in model organisms. At culinary doses (1â2 teaspoons/day) it can meaningfully raise your daily intake of hormetic, Nrf2-activating and autophagy-modulating phytochemicals, but calling it âextremelyâ pro-longevity is a stretchâextract-level doses used in the lab are 50- to 500-fold higher than what youâll shake over roasted vegetables.
Below is a herb-by-herb map of the main longevity-linked compounds youâre getting when you use a classic Herbes de Provence mix (savory, rosemary, thyme, oregano / marjoram, lavender ± basil, tarragon, fennel).
1. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Key compounds What they do Evidence Carnosic acid & carnosol Lipophilic diterpenes that activate Nrf2/ARE, up-regulate HSP-16 family chaperones, boost mitophagy Extend lifespan 10-30 % in C. elegans; improve stress resistance in flies and nematodes (MDPI, ResearchGate, Aging and Disease) Rosmarinic & caffeic acids Potent ROS scavengers; DAF-16/SIR-2.1 pathway activation Lifespan extension and thermotolerance in worms; 20-30 % median life-span gains at 50â100 ”M (PubMed, Scientific.Net) Antioxidant density: 165 000 ”mol TE per 100 g dried; 1 g (â1 tsp) delivers ~1 650 ”mol TEâabout half of the USDAâs suggested 3â5 k ORAC/day (Superfoodly, Superfoodly)
2. Thyme & Savory (Thymus vulgaris / Satureja hortensis)
- Shared monoterpenes thymol and carvacrol lower IL-6, TNF-α and lipid peroxidation, remodel mitochondrial fatty-acid profile in aged rats, and blunt age-related rise in 22:6 n-3 depletion (PubMed, PMC)
- Carvacrol also tunes autophagy signaling (mTORâ©, LC3B-IIâ§) during oxidative stress (MDPI)
3. Oregano / Marjoram (Origanum species)
- Ursolic acid, betulinic acid, carvacrol â senomorphic, antioxidant, and neuro-protective actions; reduce brain carbonyl stress and TLR4-driven neuro-inflammation in zebrafish & rodent models (PMC, SpringerLink)
- Yeast and cell culture work links these terpenoids to longer chronological lifespan under glucose or oxidative stress.
4. Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
- Supplies additional rosmarinic acid plus linalool/linalyl acetateâanxiolytic, anti-glycation, and Nrf2-upregulating. While lavender-specific lifespan data are sparse, its shared polyphenol profile parallels rosemaryâs.
5. Basil, Tarragon, Fennel (optional add-ins)
- Basil (Ocimum basilicum) â eugenol & apigenin (SIRT1/AMPK activators).
- Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) â coumarins & 4-hydroxy-chalcone (GLUT4 sensitizer).
- Fennel seed â anethole & rosmarinic acid isomers with documented anti-senescence effects in endothelial cultures.
- Direct lifespan trials are limited, but these herbs raise the blendâs total flavone and phenylpropanoid content.
How âpro-longevityâ is the finished blend?
Metric Estimate (per rounded teaspoon / 1 g blend) Total ORAC ~1 500 â 1 800 ”mol TE (varies by specific recipe) (Superfoodly) Polyphenols ~25â40 mg gallic-acid equivalents Lipophilic diterpenes 2â5 mg (mostly carnosic acid from rosemary) Typical rodent dose used in lifespan or health-span studies 50â200 mg/kg body-weightââ2â4 g dried herb for a 40 g mouse â 40-fold higher than culinary use Bottom line: Regular, generous use of Herbes de Provence nudges your daily redox and inflammatory tone in the right direction and supplies hormetic phytochemicals shown to engage longevity pathways in worms, flies, and rodents. It is an easy âstack multiplierâ for everything else you do (exercise, calorie control, high-polyphenol vegetables), but it should not be mistaken for a stand-alone geroprotector.
Practical tips to get the most from it
- Use fat & mild heat. Carnosic acid and many terpenoids are fat-soluble; sauté the blend briefly in olive oil or avocado oil (<175 °C) before adding liquids.
- Pair with acidity. A squeeze of lemon or splash of vinegar enhances polyphenol extraction and AMPK activation.
- Two-teaspoon rule. Hitting ~3 000 ”mol TE/day is feasible with 2 tsp of the blend plus your usual fruits/veg.
- Rotate herb sources. Wild-crafted or organic rosemary and thyme can contain 20â40 % more diterpenes than greenhouse-grown varieties.
- Mind estragole. Tarragonâs estragole is a potential hepatocarcinogen at gram-level doses in rodents; stick to culinary amounts if you include tarragon.
- Store dark & cool. Terpenes oxidize quickly; keep in an airtight tin away from the stove to retain antioxidant potency for 6 months.
The epidemiology backdrop
Spice-rich dietary patterns correlate with lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: meta-analyses of chili-pepper and spicy-food intake show ~23â26 % reductions in death risk independent of other Mediterranean diet factors (PMC, ResearchGate). Herbes de Provence sits squarely inside that Mediterranean spice tradition, so its habitual use is consistent withâbut not proved to be the cause ofâthose longevity signals.
Take-home: Sprinkle liberally, cook with a bit of healthy fat, and treat Herbes de Provence as a flavorful, evidence-backed adjunct to a broader longevity protocol rather than a silver bullet.
Several of the core herbs in a classic **Herbes de Provence blendâespecially rosemary, thyme/savory, oregano/marjoram and (optionally) basilâcarry molecules that can boost endogenous GLP-1 tone in one of two ways:
- Stimulating secretion from L-cells (via TRPA1 channels, sweet-taste/GPR119 signalling, or microbiome shifts).
- Protecting circulating GLP-1 by inhibiting dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 (DPP-4) so the hormoneâs half-life is prolonged.
Below is a herb-by-herb map of the best-documented players and how much evidence backs each one.
| Herb (component) | Active molecules | Mode of action on the incretin axis | Key evidence (pre-clinical unless noted) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rosemary | Carnosic acid, rosmarinic acid | âą Directly raises fasting GLP-1 in high-fat-fed rats (âproglucagon transcription) âą Carnosic acid & derivatives inhibit DPP-4 in vitro | 6-wk dietary rosemary extract doubled fasting GLP-1 and left insulin unchanged in rats PMC |
| Thyme / Savory | Thymol, carvacrol | Potent TRPA1 agonists â depolarise GLUTag & primary murine L-cells, triggering rapid GLP-1 release | TRPA1 activation by carvacrol boosted GLP-1 secretion; effect lost in TRPA1-/- cultures PubMed |
| Oregano / Marjoram | Carvacrol (again), ursolic acid | Same TRPA1-driven secretion; ursolic acid also elevates GLP-1 in diabetic mice via GPR40/119 cross-talk (early data) | See carvacrol study above; additional ursolic-acid data in diabetes models (review) PMCMDPI |
| Basil (if present) | Apigenin (plus luteolin, eugenol) | Competitive DPP-4 inhibitor in the low-nanomolar range â extends active GLP-1 half-life | Natural-product screen identified apigenin & luteolin as top DPP-4 blockers PubMed |
| Fennel seed (optional) | trans-Anethole | Hypoglycaemic in rodents; docking & in-silico work suggest affinity for DPP-4 and GPR119, but wet-lab GLP-1 data still scant | Early mechanistic modelling only (no direct GLP-1 assays yet) ScienceDirect |
| Lavender / Tarragon | Mostly rosmarinic acid & estragole | Indirectâsame polyphenol pool as rosemary, but no direct GLP-1 studies yet | (none specific) |
How much matters in the kitchen?
- 1â2 tsp of the dried mix (~2 g) provides only micromolar lumenal concentrationsâfar below the 10-50 ”M levels used to spike cell culturesâbut the effect may still be additive to that of polyphenol-rich meals.
- TRPA1 agonists (carvacrol/thymol) are lipophilic and released quickly in warm oil; pairing the blend with a little fat and gentle heat (<175 °C) maximises exposure of upper-gut L-cells.
- Because apigeninâs DPP-4 inhibition is systemic, regular intake (not per-meal timing) is what counts.
Practical take-aways
- Rosemary is the star for GLP-1, thanks to carnosic-acidâdriven secretion and DPP-4 inhibition; aim for blends that are â„25 % rosemary.
- Oregano/thyme spikes GLP-1 quickly (minutes) through TRPA1âuse them right in the cooking fat so the terpenes reach the duodenum intact.
- Include a basil-heavy variant if you want the DPP-4-blocking apigenin layer.
- Culinary doses are adjuncts, not stand-alone incretin therapy. Expect subtle support, not semaglutide-level potency.
- People on GLP-1âbased drugs: the amounts in food are too low to create dangerous additive effects, but if you notice more nausea/fullness after very spice-heavy meals, dial back.
Bottom line: Herbes de Provence can modestly nudge the incretin axis through a cocktail of carnosic acid, TRPA1-active monoterpenes, and DPP-4-inhibiting flavones. Think of it as a flavour-first, side-benefit strategy rather than a therapeutic substituteâand use good olive oil to unlock those terpenes.
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I mean Rosemary Extract as a Potential Anti-Hyperglycemic Agent: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives - PMC but I donât know how much to believe most papers on spices b/c low-quality research on spices seems far far more common than low-quality research in anything
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Chimchurri from whole foods [more parsley]
Herbes de Provence
Frontier coop mexican seasoning