The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research.
Spices bring up feelings of comfort, cultural belonging, and holidays. They can make our homes smell amazing and our food taste delicious. They can satisfy our cravings, expand our culinary horizons, and help us eat things that we might normally dislike. Spices have health-enhancing properties and, in medicine, have been used to heal people since ancient times.
Recently, however, spices have been getting a bad rep.
On supporting science journalism
If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription, you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
In September 2024, Consumer Reports, a nonprofit organization created to inform consumers about products sold in the U.S., investigated more than three dozen ground cinnamon products and found that 1 in 3 contained lead levels above 1 part per million, enough to trigger a recall in New York, one U.S. state that has published guidelines for heavy metals in spices.
