10 Benefits of Cardamom
Cardamom is a spice used for many types of cuisines and incorporated into many different cultures. This spice can be found in Indian curries and American style sausages. However, cardamom is not just something for our taste buds to benefit from. Cardamom is actually loaded with lots of medicinal properties that aid in our body’s wellbeing.
In ancient times, cardamom was used to treat ailments that affected the stomach, lungs, and kidneys. It’s even been used to treat urinary tract infections! The awareness of cardamom and its health benefits have helped people in the Western world incorporate it into their lifestyle.
Cardamom Benefit #1: Mood Booster and Antidepressant
In today’s society, people deal with the troubles of stress from work, school, and just daily life. Being continuously stressed can lead to headaches, insomnia, fatigue, anxiety, irritability, and even self destructive behavior. Managing stress can come in many forms that could range from exercise, focusing on family time, and even including cardamom in your diet.
Cardamom has been found to be effective in boosting up your mood as well as act as an aroma therapy method. Cardamom has a strong spicy camphor scent once the seed pod is opened. By eating cardamom, you will find your headaches and spasms fade away, but most importantly, you will find that your mood will be brighter.
Cardamom Benefit #2: Aphrodisiac
Impotency is a problem many young couples may face when starting a family. There are many factors that contribute to being impotent. This may include lifestyle diseases such as type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and obesity. Remembering to stay physically active for at least 30 minutes a day and cooking healthy meals will reduce the risk of developing one of these diseases.
However, if you don’t fall into these categories try adding cardamom into your diet. Cardamom has been used to cure impotency and has therefore been known to be an aphrodisiac. Also, cardamom has mood boosting properties to relieve stress and anxiety which could be another factor for impotency.
Cardamom Benefit #3: Source of Manganese
Cardamom is loaded with the vitamin manganese. This is an essential nutrient that is needed for our bodies to function properly. Manganese aids with a variety of areas in the body. It is used to help with arthritis of the joints, bone disease, and anemia.
Thankfully, being deficient in manganese is quite rare and is usually only seen when there is an underlying medical condition. One serving size of cardamom is 1 tablespoon which offers 80% of manganese compared to other food sources. This little spice packs a powerful punch! Other foods that have a high percentage of manganese include whole grains, legumes, and leafy green vegetables.
Cardamom Benefit #4: Source of Vitamin C
Cardamom is an excellent source of vitamin C which offers an array of benefits for our bodies. Vitamin C is known as an antioxidant which gives our immune system a bigger defense when it comes in contact with free radicals that may cause cancer. Vitamin C also helps in lowering and preventing high blood pressure and high cholesterol which may lead to heart disease.
Another illness that vitamin C is important to prevent is a type of arthritis called gout. This causes the joints to become inflamed and causes extreme pain. Last but not the least, vitamin C helps iron absorption from the diet which decreases risk for anemia.
Cardamom Benefit #5: Source of Calcium
Cardamom is an excellent source of calcium. Calcium is important for the body to keep the bones and teeth strong and healthy. This helps keep bone diseases such as osteoporosis at bay. Calcium is also important for tasks such as preventing the blood from clotting, keeping muscle and nerve functions normal, and maintaining a regular heartbeat.
Besides cardamom, other sources of calcium include milk, cheese, yogurts, leafy green vegetables, tofu, and nuts. A deficiency in calcium could lead to a decrease in bone mass since your body has no other direct source of calcium. Also, hypocalcemia (low level of blood calcium) could occur and this leads to problems with the nervous system.
Cardamom Benefit #6: Source of Zinc
Cardamom is an excellent source of zinc. Zinc offers a variety of health benefits to the body. This includes improving immune function as zinc plays an important role activating T cells, wound healing, memory function, inflammation, vision loss, common cold, acne, and diarrhea.
Zinc also is important for people who struggle with a low sperm count and male infertility.
Zinc in the diet has been shown to increase sperm count and increase the quality of the sperm. Furthermore, zinc aids pregnant mothers with contributing to wound healing, cell division for the rapid growth of new cells, and immune function.
Cardamom Benefit #7: Weight Loss
This is a topic that has graced everyone’s lips at least one point in their life. Whether it’s finally facing the courage to complete that New Year’s goal or to prevent any chronic diseases, weight loss always has some form of sway on us everyday. Incorporating cardamom into your everyday diet will help you in weight loss.
Cardamom is known to increase metabolism functions, help keep your digestive system regular and have normal bowel movements. It also has been known as a fat burner and prevents fat deposits from forming around the abdominal area. This area is highly susceptible to developing chronic diseases later on in life such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Cardamom Benefit #8: No More Upset Tummy
Stomach problems can always be a pain… more specifically a pain in the stomach. From problems such as constipation, diarrhea, and bloating, cardamom has long been used to prevent gastrointestinal diseases. Cardamom in your diet will greatly impact your life and your gut!
A few benefits of cardamom include controlling the acidity of the stomach, stomach cramps, and killing harmful bacteria such as H. pylori which is known to cause intestinal infections. It also has been known to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria that cause food poisoning. Cardamom also promotes a healthy gut flora which aids in the regularity of bowel movements.
Cardamom Benefit #9: Heart Healthy
Heart disease is the number one leading cause of death in the US. More specific types of heart disease include stroke, heart failure, and hypertension. These types can actually be prevented by changing your daily lifestyle and eating habits. Cardamom can play a role in preventing these diseases and keeping your heart healthy.
Cardamom is a diuretic which can help lower blood pressure by increasing the amount of times you urinate. Cardamom can also decrease your cholesterol since cardamom is known to help with burning fat, decreasing the bad HDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and keeping your weight at a healthy level.
Cardamom Benefit #10: Oral Health
Your smile is one of the first things that people notice about you. What can be more noticeable is having a smile that’s not so cheery. This could be from someone suffering from gum disease and even bad breath! Cardamom is beneficial to keeping your smile its brightest because it helps in killing harmful bacteria and microbes that corrode your teeth.
It also helps with keeping gum disease and gingivitis at bay. Also, cardamom is loaded with calcium which helps with keeping your teeth strong. Cardamom is also found in some chewing gums to help prevent cavities and promote saliva flow.
