Her top 10 tips:

* Instead of salt, try a combination of basil and oregano. Herbs like oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley and garlic bring out natural flavors.

* Use fresh garlic, which appears to help to lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

* Fight aging: Eat rosemary, one of nature's most powerful antioxidants. It's also thought to help with memory, and research is underway to determine possible cancer-prevention properties.

* Basil, oregano and rosemary contain strong essential oils and can help fight colds.

* Treat chronic coughs with thyme, often drunk as a tea.

* Got back pain? Eat curry. Curcumin, commonly found in turmeric - a yellow-orangish spice added to curry mixes - has anti-inflammatory properties.

* Fight cancer: Eat more curry. Curcumin also shrinks pre-cancerous lesions known as colon polyps.

* Lower your blood pressure with "warming spices" such as ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, pepper and cayenne pepper. They bring blood from the center of the body to the skin, which disperses blood throughout the body more evenly and may decrease blood pressure.

* Soothe your aching tummy with real ginger, which contains gingerols that decrease oxidative products in the digestive tract that cause nausea.

* Reduce the sugar, add the spice. Add cinnamon and nutmeg to your sweet snacks instead of sugar. For instance, if you buy unsweetened applesauce, add cinnamon to give it an extra kick.

For more information, visit these Web sites

* UMHS Complimentary and Alternative Medicine www.med.umich.edu/1libr/aha/umalt01.htm

* UMHS Healing Foods Pyramid: Seasonings www.med.umich.edu/umim/clinical/pyramid/seasonings.htm

Roasted vegetables with herbs

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 parsnips, peeled and chopped

2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 small onions, quartered

2 to 8 garlic cloves

4 sprigs of rosemary

4 springs of thyme

1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Salt and ground black pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place carrots, parsnips, potatoes, onions and garlic in a bowl. Add salt, pepper and olive oil. Mix well.

Place on a baking sheet and scatter the herbs over the vegetable mixture. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, turning vegetables every 15 minutes.

Source: Adapted from New Book of Herbs by Jekka Mcvicar ($30, DK Publishing)