Thai cuisine is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. In fact, several Thai dishes, such as Tom Yum Soup, are currently under scientific study for their incredible health benefits. It's already known that many of the fresh herbs and spices used in Thai cooking—such as turmeric, galangal, coriander, lemongrass, and fresh chiles —have immune-boosting and disease-fighting power. Find out more about these and other ingredients that contribute to making Thai food one of the healthiest you can eat.
Each of the following Thai ingredients has numerous health benefits and immune-boosting power. To maximize these benefits, cook your Thai food from scratch, which means you are using only the freshest ingredients.
Turmeric
Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, is known as an anti-inflammatory agent, helping to relieve allergy symptoms as well as arthritis (or any condition caused by excess inflammation). It is also a powerful anti-oxidant, that can protect the body from damage by toxins and free radicals. Curcumin also protects platelets in the blood, improving circulation and protecting the heart.
As such, turmeric has been known to:
- Be a valuable digestive aid
- Helps those with arthritis
- Improve cardiovascular (heart) conditions
- Protect the body from bacterial infections (such as wounds)
- Fight skin and breast cancers in animal studies.
To add more turmeric to your diet, try to eat curry (the kind that includes turmeric, like yellow curries) at least once a week.
Galangal
Though unknown to most of us in the West, this relative of ginger has many of the same health benefits, most notably its ability to aid with digestion.
Galangal is now grown in most Southeast-Asian countries but was first harvested for use in cooking and medicine in China and Java. By the Middle Ages, galangal was already in common use throughout Europe. Referred to as “the spice of life” by St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), galangal was, in fact, one of her favorite remedies. This famous herbalist used galangal to treat everything from deafness and heart disease to indigestion.
Today, galangal is used extensively in Traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine and is often thought to be even more beneficial than ginger in some ways.
Galangal has been found to:
- Alleviate abdominal discomfort and pain
- Assist in digestion
- Remedy vomiting, seasickness and motion sickness
- Improve blood circulation in hands and feet
- Treat diarrhea
- Fight inflammation, thereby treating arthritis
- Treat ulcers and inflammation of the stomach
- Cure the hiccups
To Purchase Galangal: You will need to go to an Asian/Chinese grocery store. Although you may be able to find fresh galangal in the produce section, it is most often sold frozen, so look for it in the freezer section. Galangal is also sold in dried form as a powder, usually called Laos Powder. But note that, as with most herbs and spices, buying the dried form means you may not receive all of the health benefits of using fresh.
Note: If you can't find fresh galangal, fresh ginger makes a good substitute, and also provides many of the same health benefits.
Lemongrass
This fragrant lemony herb is used extensively in Thai cooking. It has also been used since ancient times in Chinese medicine for the following conditions:
- Flus and colds
- Fevers
- Headaches
- Abdominal pain and other stomach conditions
- Arthritis
- Fungal conditions
Coriander
In Thai cooking, coriander is used in two ways: in its seed form, and as a fresh herb. In the West, coriander is also known as "cilantro" or "Chinese parsley". While fresh coriander has nutritional value, coriander seed has been used since ancient times by healers in Greece, Rome, the UK, China, and India for the following complaints:
- Gastrointestinal trouble (including gas and bloating)
- Digestive problems
- Bacterial and fungal infections
- Loss of appetite
Chiles
Recent human studies show that eating chiles helps you keep your heart healthy and help maintain consistent insulin levels. Of all the chiles studied thus far, it seems cayenne pepper is one of the most powerful in terms of health benefits. It's available in flakes or powder in most grocery stores.
Coconut Milk
In recent years, coconut milk has somehow been given a bad reputation when, in fact, it is extremely healthy. Yes, coconut milk and oil contain fat—but this is good, not bad fat. Contrary to what you might believe, coconut milk:
- Lowers bad cholesterol (LDL), while promoting good cholesterol
- Boosts immunity
- Modulates metabolic functions
- Provides valuable fatty acids which most people in the West are lacking
- Fights aging
