The herb linked to reduced inflammation, lower anxiety, and reduced blood sugar
For many, a sprig of cilantro can add much-needed flavor to a salad or in homemade guacamole. For others with a certain gene, it just tastes like soap.
"It is estimated that four to 14 percent of the U.S. population has this genetic variation, making cilantro taste like soap," Brooke Baevsky, a private chef and CEO of In the Kitchen with Chef Bae, previously told marthastewart.com. "For everyone else, the leafy green tastes like a fresh herb."
But, eating cilantro can provide you with some surprising health benefits. For one, including it in your diet can help to reduce inflammation that may result in autoimmune, neurodegenerative, gastrointestinal, and heart diseases, as well as certain cancers.
Together, inflammatory diseases account for more than half of all deaths globally, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Rich in vitamin C, the plant, which produces coriander as well, has compounds that researchers say act as antioxidants.
'Due to the bioactivities of coriander extract, this herb can be considered a valuable functional food against obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes,' Italian researchers said in a 2023 study.
It can also fight high blood sugar, which is one of the causes of inflammation. If you have diabetes, high blood sugar can trigger an immune response that damages tissues, nerves, and the heart.
'Type 2 diabetes and inflammation are intricately connected, with each condition exacerbating the other,' the University of Utah explained.
Other research has pointed to cilantro as an effective tool for delaying epileptic seizures.
'Specifically, we found one component of cilantro, called dodecenal, binds to a specific part of the potassium channels to open them, reducing cellular excitability. This specific discovery is important as it may lead to more effective use of cilantro as an anticonvulsant, or to modifications of dodecenal to develop safer and more effective anticonvulsant drugs,' explained Dr. Geoff Abbott, a professor at U.C. Irvine, explained.
While cilantro is a boon for the brain, it also comes with potential positive mental health effects.
One animal study suggests that it may be as effective as Valium at reducing symptoms of anxiety. Although, more research is needed to understand how that may manifest in humans.
Cilantro has been consumed for at least 8,000 years, and was found in the tomb of Egyptian King Tutankhamen. One of the oldest known herbs, its was used in Chinese potions, who believed it to provide immortality, according to the University of Wisconsin.
While eating cilantro may not make you immortal, Abbott said it also has reported anti-bacterial effects.
'And, the best part is it tastes good!' he exclaimed.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Epoch Times
2 hours ago
- Epoch Times
Don't Let Communist China Poison Our Path to a Healthier America
Communist China isn't just trying to compete with the United States in pharmaceuticals—it's trying to overtake us. Backed by massive state investment and regulatory shortcuts, China has quickly emerged as a global powerhouse in drug development. In 2024 alone, China conducted more clinical trials than the United States and is now developing almost as many new drugs as America is. While U.S. innovators are bogged down by bureaucratic red tape, Chinese companies are racing ahead, often with far less oversight. China's rise isn't just about innovation—it's about infiltration. Increasingly, unapproved and unregulated Chinese-made compounds —including weight-loss drugs—make their way into the United States through online compounding pharmacies, social media sellers, and sketchy e-commerce platforms. Many of these products evade scrutiny by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; yet they're being consumed by millions of Americans who assume what they're taking has been properly vetted. This is more than a public health risk—it's a national security threat. The Chinese regime is exploiting the United States' regulatory gaps and consumer vulnerabilities, flooding the market with untested therapies while positioning itself as the world's next pharmaceutical superpower. Meanwhile, U.S. manufacturers face stricter standards and longer approval timelines, creating an uneven playing field that punishes American compliance and rewards Chinese circumvention. Take knock-off weight-loss treatments. More than 9 out of 10 Americans worry about what's in these drugs and where they come from. Indeed, such compounded medicines aren't coming from your trusted neighborhood pharmacy. They're being manufactured with ingredients often sourced from China, with little to no transparency about what's actually in them. No FDA approval. No clinical trials. Just chemical cocktails dressed up to look like legitimate treatments. The FDA has already issued strong public warnings about the risks of these unapproved GLP-1 drugs being used for weight loss. In fact, the agency has gone out of its way to warn doctors, patients, and compounders that these products are neither tested nor safe. But rather than heed those warnings, some of these compounders are thumbing their nose at federal regulators, ignoring the law, and continuing to crank out untested drugs. Fortunately, Congress is paying attention. Last month, a group of 80 lawmakers sent a letter to the Trump administration demanding a crackdown on these foreign-made, non-FDA-approved knock-off drugs. They rightly warned that this shadow market not only puts Americans at risk—it threatens to destabilize our entire pharmaceutical system. This isn't just about health. It's about sovereignty and security. While American companies play by the rules—undergo rigorous testing, FDA approval, and years of research and development—Chinese labs and compounders cut corners, flood our market, and profit off Americans trying to live healthy lives. Allowing compounders to churn out copycat GLP-1s creates a 'Wild West' in our supply chain, outsourcing critical medicines and bolstering a Chinese pharmaceutical industry that aims for global dominance. That undercuts U.S. manufacturing jobs and cedes strategic advantage to a geopolitical rival. The United States can't afford to sleepwalk into pharmaceutical dependence. When unregulated drugs from overseas flood our market and compounders openly defy FDA warnings, it sends a dangerous message: that we're willing to outsource public health to geopolitical rivals. China understands the stakes—that's why it's investing billions to become the world's medicine cabinet. Let's recognize China's pharmaceutical surge for what it is: a deliberate strategy to dominate the world's medicine supply. If we allow rogue compounders to undercut FDA standards and flood the market with unvetted weight-loss therapies, we're not just enabling a regulatory loophole—we're accelerating a dangerous shift in global pharmaceutical power. America must decide: do we want to hand our medicine supply over to a geopolitical rival that plays by a different set of rules? The more we tolerate this gray market, the more we erode the integrity of our pharmaceutical system and outsource our health security to a strategic competitor. We must make it absolutely clear that the United States is not open for business to unapproved drugs, whether for weight-loss or any other condition, especially ones built on foreign shortcuts and bad faith.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
This herb can improve brain function, slash stress, and even reduce inflammation
It's a herb with several names. Some know it as brahmi. Others call it water hyssop. It's also referred to as bacopa, or bacopa monnieri. But, many don't know 'the herb of grace' at all. Still, the perennial herb has been used for centuries in Indian Ayurveda traditional medicine, according to the Cleveland Clinic, and boasts brain boosting benefits, among others. 'Bacopa monniera protects the brain through antioxidants,' registered dietitian Sarah Thomsen Ferreira previously told the clinic. 'It helps to stimuli enzymes in our body's own antioxidant defense system.' Antioxidants include vitamins and minerals that prevent cell damage and are found in many foods. A diet high in antioxidants can help to reduce the risk of chronic disease. Bacopa's brain impacts haven't been studied in humans, but trials in animals have 'established a biological rationale for protective properties,' according to the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation. The small trials have made it challenging to draw firm conclusions, but a systematic review of the research reported at least one statistically significant improvement on at least one neuropsychological measure in the majority of trials it analyzed, the non-profit said. But, that's not the only reason you may want to use the tropical herb in your next cup of tea or protein shake -- after consulting with a doctor, of course. Bacopa is an adaptogen, the clinic notes. Adaptogens are groups of plants and herbs that can reduce stress. It is believed they work by interacting with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis: a group of three endocrine system organs that initiate the body's stress response, according to UCLA Health. The organs include the brain's hypothalamus and pituitary gland and the kidneys' adrenal glands. All of the organs regulate hormones, which cause stress. Lastly, several studies have found that bacopa can reduce inflammation in the central nervous system and related pain. Inflammation, which is our immune system's natural response to invaders, can be harmful when it persists. Chronic inflammation has been linked to heart disease, respiratory illness, autoimmune disease, arthritis, dementia, cancer, and other conditions, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Bacopa is generally considered to be safe, but not all of its risks have been studied and may vary by individual. The foundation warns that some sources could be unsafe, depending on where the plant is grown. 'Consider choosing supplements whose content has been verified by a third party,' it said.
12 hours ago
Americans consume more than half of their calories from ultra-processed foods: CDC
Adults and children in the United States are getting more than 50% of their total calories from ultra-processed foods, according to a new federal report released early Thursday. Among Americans aged 1 and older, an average of 55% of their total calories came from ultra-processed foods, according to results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between August 2021 and August 2023 and run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Children aged 18 and younger consumed a higher percentage of calories from ultra-processed foods at 61.9% compared to 53% for adults aged 19 and older. "That's excessive," Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic, who was not involved in the study, told ABC News. "That's concerning. It's way too much. … We don't have guidelines, because why would we provide guidelines for junk food, but about 10% would be reasonable." It comes amid Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s crusade to rid American diets of ultra-processed foods. Recently, the White House's Make America Healthy Again Commission, led by Kennedy, released a report blaming ultra-processed foods as one cause of the rise in chronic disease rates, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. The report described ultra-processed foods as "hyperpalatable," containing little to no whole foods and being low in dietary fiber while being high in salt, sweeteners and unhealthy fats. Examples include most, but not all, chips, candy bars, breakfast cereals, sugar-sweetened beverages and ready-to-eat meals. "They're high in sugar, high in carbohydrates and high in fat," Zampano said. "When you combine those, the taste is an explosion in your mouth and you think, 'Wow this is good.'" Studies have shown that consumption of ultra-processed foods has been linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality, the report said. When breaking children down into smaller age groups, the report found that children between ages 1 and 5 consumed fewer calories from ultra-processed foods than children between ages 6 and 22 and pre-teens and teenagers aged 12 to 18. Among adults, those aged 19 to 39 consumed the highest percentage of calories from ultra-processed foods at 54.4% compared to adults aged 40 to 59, who consumed 52.6%, and adults aged 60 and older, who consumed 51.7%. However, there was a silver lining in the report. Data showed that between 2013 and 2014 and August 2021 through August 2023, average calories from ultra-processed foods fell among adults and children. Average total calories from ultra-processed foods decreased from 55.8% in 2013 through 2014 to 53% from August 2021 to August 2023. For children, it fell from 63.8% to 61.9% over the same period. "It's good that we see a decline of the percentage of ultra-processed food in both children and adults," Dr. Fang Fang Zhang, a cancer and nutrition epidemiologist and Neely Family Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, who was not involved in the study, told ABC News. "I wish that there could be some analysis to see which [food subgroup consumption] is declining," she continued. "I didn't see that. It might be the sugars and beverages because we have done a lot of work to try to lower the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages." To lower the percentage of total calories Americans are getting from ultra-processed foods, Zumpano said she would like to see less marketing of the products on television and make sure schools and parents are educated on the negative health effects of ultra-processed foods. "If kids get a packaged snack or a dessert at school lunch every day, they think it's okay," she said. "Or if their parents are eating ultra-processed foods every day, then they think it's okay. It has to come from schools, parents educating themselves and then educating their children." Zhang agreed, saying the reduction of ultra-processed foods in schools and workplaces "could have a long-lasting impact on the overall population level health."
