Autumn is on its way; it’s time to swap delicate stone fruits for robust squashes and dark greens. It’s a time to embrace soups and curries, indulgent cheeses and rich chutneys. It’s also a time to start thinking about boosting our immune systems to ward off those nasty coughs and colds that seem to affect every single one of your coworkers. You don’t want to be the next victim.  

Integrating warming spices into our daily meals – whether they’re cooked at home or enjoyed out – is one of the best ways to prevent illness, keep our bodies warm and dynamically enhance the foods we eat. 

Ayurveda, a form of indigenous (and possibly pre-historic!) Indian health and wellness system teaches us to “let food be thy medicine” and by taking conscious care of what we put into our bodies we can maximise our health and feel like our best selves. One way of doing this is by using the right combination of spices and herbs to compliment, or even anchor, our meals. 

Warming spices not only enhance our food with aromatic intrigue, but they can have a range of benefits on our bodies. Most notably, they boost immunity, stabilise energy and blood pressure levels, and balance out those of us who are particularly sensitive to cold temperatures. Don’t be misled, warming spices are not limited to hot peppers, chillies and spicy foods, instead they include a range of spices with fragrant, dramatic and magical flavours. These include turmeric, black pepper, ginger, mustard seeds, cardamom, fenugreek and cinnamon. That being said, try and resist that Pumpkin Spice Latte. It’s probably not going to do you much good. 

Instead, consider new ways to engage with these spices and start including them in your meals: Look out for fresh turmeric in your local Indian grocer or health food store, and try grating the tasty anti-inflammatory gingery root over plain basmati rice, or chop into matchsticks and pickle in lemon juice with black peppercorns for weeks of crunchy enjoyment.