Herbs and spices have been widely used from ancient times for both food and medicinal purposes. In culinary practices, they are employed as preservatives, flavor enhancers, colorants, and flavor substitution for salt and sugar. In medicine, they can be used to reduce the risk of or treat noncommunicable chronic diseases associated with oxidative stress and inflammation. Phytochemicals such as phenolic compounds, carotenoids, sterols, terpenes, alkaloids, glucosinolates, and other sulfur-containing compounds may be responsible for their therapeutic effects. Health claims for herbs and spices are needed to inform consumers of the benefits that popular botanicals may have. However, there are cases of herbal products with potential health claims that are not scientifically demonstrated. Consequently, the European Commission has been working since 2010 to establish regulations of botanical health claims. Since herbs and spices can be used to improve food quality and human health, they are good candidates as functional food ingredients to reduce the risk and treat chronic diseases. Trial evidence for the use of herbs and spices have uniformly demonstrated safety, but the efficacy data are limited by small subject size and short duration trials. Efficacy evidence is most robust for the herb green tea and the turmeric spice. Additional studies are needed to more precisely establish the health benefits of herbs and spices.