Why You Should Add Spices to High-Fat Meals

Planning to eat a high-fat meal? Load it up with garlic and oregano. A new Penn State study finds that heavily spiced meals help to cut triglycerides, which put you at risk for heart disease—and that the effect is seen even in meals using lots of oil or fat. Subjects who ate a spicy meal saw the level of triglycerides in their blood cut by about one-third compared to those who ate the same meal sans spices, NPR reports.

The study used turmeric, garlic, oregano, paprika, rosemary, and ginger, and the lead researcher plans to continue her study and determine which spices, and how much of them, help the most. In addition to lowered triglycerides, which are a type of fat, subjects also saw insulin levels drop about 20%. A cardiologist who reviewed the research says low levels of triglycerides and insulin can help reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and heart disease. (More spices stories.)