Benefits of a balanced diet.
I might be a bit repetitive here, but allow me to be clear at the beginning of this blog. There are no magic individual foods.
Sure there are good and bad foods that might tilt your habitual diet towards being more beneficial or detrimental to health. But it is the overall balance that is most important for a healthy life.
With that caveat in mind, we are going to look at purported health effects of rosemary, a perennial woody herb.
The ageing population of Acciaroli
There’s a little village in Italy called Acciaroli that has been doing the rounds in the international press during 2016. The reason: an unusual number of the small southern Italian township’s population is over the age of 100. And they have the micro-circulation of significantly younger people. These are the small blood vessels that send nutrients to the brain and organs and pull out metabolic waste products, but which tend to deteriorate with age.
Could it be something about the air, the ocean, the mountains, the hills, the olive and berry trees?
Or maybe the food. Scientists found that at every meal they’re eating anchovies, and they eat them fried and greasy. Typically, that will be washed down with a glass or two of wine. Greasy anchovies and wine – maybe a little far fetched for supporting a long life.
What about rosemary? Well, research recently released showed the almost daily consumption of rosemary by the Acciaroli population – infused in the local olive oil, cooked in pasta dishes and chewed raw. And this habit has been linked to improved micro-circulation and a concomitant effect on longevity.
The benefits of rosemary
Potential health impact of rosemary consumption.
The first benefit – rosemary tastes great. Italian cooking uses rosemary in abundance. It’s an easy and reliable herb to grow. A light prune once a year will keep the rosemary bush in shape. One plant will provide more than enough for regular use. It works in both savoury and sweet meals. Rosemary, along with roughly chopped garlic, onion, carrots and celery sautéed in olive oil and cooked, forms ‘soffrito’ – the basis for many different stocks, soups, sauces and other dishes. It can also be used in desserts, like a panna cotta, with some grappa.
The second benefit – rosemary contains a number of phytochemicals, including rosmarinic acid, camphor, caffeic acid, ursolic acid, betulinic acid, and the antioxidants carnosic acid and carnosol. A lot to take in, but let’s focus on rosmarinic acid. Research has shown that it has a number of interesting biological activities, e.g. antiviral, antibacterial, antiinflammatory and antioxidant. The presence of rosmarinic acid in medicinal plants, herbs and spices has beneficial and health promoting effects. In plants, rosmarinic acid is supposed to act as a preformed constitutively accumulated defence compound. If you don’t like rosemary, rosmarinic acid can also be found in many other culinary herbs such as basil, lemon balm, marjoram, sage, thyme and peppermint.
The third benefit – it is also a good source of iron, calcium, and vitamin B6. Although as a herb it is consumed in such small amounts that this might not be important enough to influence health.
No harm done
Convinced yet? Maybe not and the researchers also kept an open mind. Further studies are underway to further explore the findings. But in the meantime there’s certainly no harm in increasing your consumption and use of rosemary or related herbs.
Focus on food safety 