Table of contents:
- The myriad of benefits offered by cardamom
- 1. Helps lower blood pressure
- 2. Maintain a healthy liver
- 3. Helps treat digestive problems
- 4. Overcoming the problem of bad breath and cavities
- 5. Potential to contain anti-cancer compounds
As one of the spices often used in typical Indonesian cuisine, cardamom also offers a myriad of health benefits. This flavor enhancer, which is often consumed in the Asian region, has been used as a traditional medicine for centuries. What are the properties of cardamom for your body? Check out the answer through the reviews below.
The myriad of benefits offered by cardamom
Not only used to make food tastier, the nutritional content in cardamom has benefits for your body.
Cardamom contains antioxidants, magnesium, and zinc which are of course useful for your health.
1. Helps lower blood pressure
One of the benefits that cardamom offers is that it helps lower blood pressure.
According to a study from Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics The use of cardamom powder in 20 hypertensive patients was found to stabilize their blood pressure.
The researchers concluded that it is most likely that this condition occurs due to the antioxidant compounds present in cardamom.
It's no secret that antioxidants are one of the compounds that can lower blood pressure.
By adding cardamom in your diet, your blood pressure is likely to remain stable within normal limits.
However, for people with hypertension, it is still advisable to take medication that is prescribed by a doctor regularly.
2. Maintain a healthy liver
Apart from helping to maintain blood pressure, other benefits of cardamom are maintaining the health of the liver.
These properties are obtained through the anti-inflammatory properties in cardamom, which help in eliminating foreign substances in the body.
This is also proven through a study from the journal Lipids in Health and Disease.
In the study, obese rats were given cardamom powder through a diet high in carbohydrates and fat.
As a result, inflammation of the liver and cholesterol levels decreases and liver damage can be prevented.
This benefit may be due to the anti-inflammatory properties of cardamom, which help reduce levels of alkaline phosphate enzymes and enzymes that can affect liver function.
3. Helps treat digestive problems
Cardamom has been used as a folk remedy for digestive problems for centuries.
Through the extraction process, cardamom is processed into oil which is then used to treat various digestive problems, such as:
- Nausea
- Stomach ache
- Ulcer
In 2014 there was a study from Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine which gives cardamom, turmeric, and sembung leaf extracts to mice.
Mixing the three spices with hot water is quite effective in protecting the gastric mucosa. In fact, the number of mast cells was also reduced in the stomach of these mice.
Researchers agree that this is due to the presence of flavonoid compounds in cardamom that provide protection to the human stomach.
Therefore, cardamom is known to have good benefits for the digestive organs and helps reduce the risk of oxidative harm to these organs.
4. Overcoming the problem of bad breath and cavities
Did you know that consumption of this spice that can be found in India can also solve the annoying bad breath problem?
In India, cardamom is often used after consuming food to expel bad breath from the food they eat.
As reported by Dental Research Journal, cardamom seed extract oil contains cineole.
As the main active compound in cardamom oil, cineole is known as an antiseptic that kills the bacteria that make your breath smell bad.
Not only that, cardamom is also strongly suspected to have benefits to prevent cavities.
This plant extract turns out to have properties to fight five types of bacteria that cause cavities.
When the extract was used, the growth of bacteria in the tooth cavity was prevented by 2.08 cm.
5. Potential to contain anti-cancer compounds
One of the reasons cardamom is often referred to as a traditional medicine that benefits the body is that it has the potential to be anticancerous.
This is evidenced by a study from British Journal of Nutrition which revealed that cardamom powder can activate anticancer enzymes.
In the study, the researchers used mice with skin cancer and gave these mice cardamom powder.
After 12 weeks of the experiment, only 29% of the mice had cancer cells.
Researchers also argue that cardamom does have the potential to be an anti-cancer agent, especially in skin cancer.
However, research involving humans is still needed to determine whether the effect is the same or not.
Cardamom does have many benefits that are good for health. However, you should consult your doctor first before using this Asian spice as an alternative medicine.
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