Cardamom is one of the most famous spices that has been used throughout the ages, whether in cooking or as a remedy. Another of its names is cardamom, or love of cardamom. Cardamom has a distinctive flavor that makes it an excellent complement to both sweet and savory dishes such as desserts, curries, meat dishes, cakes and other baked goods, and drinks such as tea and coffee. In addition to its culinary uses, many studies have indicated the health benefits of cardamom.

Cardamom benefits

Cardamom has many health and therapeutic benefits. Among the most prominent benefits of cardamom:

1. Treatment of metabolic syndrome

Cardamom can help treat some aspects of metabolic syndrome, which may lead to heart disease and type 2 diabetes. which include:

• Obesity
• Hypertension
• High blood sugar
• High cholesterol and triglycerides

As the results of one of the laboratory studies revealed that eating diets that contain cardamom powder has helped to lose weight and reduce harmful cholesterol levels.

2. Benefits of cardamom for the mouth

Cardamom has been as famous as mint and cinnamon in maintaining oral health and treating bad breath for many centuries. Cardamom helps fight bacteria in the mouth and treat gum disease.

This is because cardamom contains antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The researchers also concluded that chewing cardamom for about 5 minutes had an effective effect in resisting the development of tooth decay.

3. Antimicrobial

One study concluded that cardamom essential oil was effective in resisting some types of bacteria and fungi. The researchers concluded that the antibacterial effectiveness of cardamom oil may be due to its ability to damage the cell membranes of some types of bacteria.

Notice: In the event that cardamom oil is used for treatment, a doctor should be consulted first before using any herbal remedy. Where some types of medicines can interact with some of the active ingredients of cardamom or other plants, which may cause some side effects on health.

4. Maintaining healthy lungs

Inhaling cardamom essential oil may help increase lung capacity to absorb oxygen, and improve breathing. This is what was found by one study, which asked its participants to inhale cardamom essential oil for about a minute before walking for 15 minutes.

Cardamom benefits for the heart

The results of a laboratory study indicated that the use of cardamom may help reduce the risk of heart disease. This may be due to cardamom containing antioxidant properties.

Which in turn can help improve heart function, treat cholesterol and triglycerides. However, more human studies are still needed to confirm these results.

The benefits of cardamom for digestion and the treatment of irritability

Cardamom used to treat digestive problems such as ulcers, GERD, and indigestion. The benefits of cardamom can also be used in the following:

• Gas treatment
• constipation treatment
• Treatment of nausea and vomiting
• Activate the sense of taste

Cardamom contains chemical compounds known to increase the movement of food through the intestines. This was confirmed by some laboratory studies, that taking cardamom extract helped reduce the size of stomach ulcers by at least 50%. The study also indicated its effectiveness in protecting against Helicobacter pylori, which may lead to the development of most stomach ulcer problems.

Cardamom tea

Cardamom tea is an herbal tea made by steeping cardamom seeds or pods in hot water. It is useful for expelling toxins from the body, and maintaining the cleanliness of the internal intestine. Therefore, it is one of the spices that is preferred to be eaten daily to maintain the health of the heart and blood vessels.

Benefits of cardamom tea

One of the advantages of cardamom tea is that it is caffeine-free, and it can be drunk at any time of the day in order to improve digestion and get rid of gas. So it may help treat irritable bowel syndrome and treat nausea. Also, among its benefits:

• Drinking cardamom tea helps improve weight loss results.
• Eliminate bad breath, prevent plaque buildup and the development of cavities.
• Enhancing the functioning of the immune system, thus reducing the risk of many diseases.

Cardamom tea is one of the most popular types of tea in the Middle East. This tea is often characterized by the aroma of apples, and it can be drunk hot or cold. But despite its benefits, people who are allergic to cardamom should avoid drinking this tea.

How to make cardamom tea

In order to prepare cardamom tea, you must follow these steps:

the components:

• 2 cups of water
• 4 grains of cardamom
• local (optional)

How to prepare:

• Water is boiled in a tea kettle
• Add the cardamom seeds to the water, and reduce the heat to medium
• Leave the tea steep for 5 to 8 minutes
• The tea can be sweetened with brown sugar or maple syrup

You can also add a stick of cinnamon to this recipe or a piece of fresh ginger, in order to increase the flavor and benefit of cardamom tea.

Is cardamom fattening?

Cardamom does not usually help with weight gain, as one study, which was conducted on 80 obese and diabetic women, found that consuming cardamom helped reduce waist circumference, but only slightly. However, until now, scientific studies are limited on the relationship between cardamom and weight loss.

Does cardamom raise blood pressure?

Cardamom intake usually does not cause high blood pressure. Rather, many studies indicated that cardamom may be useful in lowering blood pressure, due to its diuretic effect, which helps remove accumulated water in the body.

According to the results of one study, eating 3 gm of cardamom powder daily for about 12 weeks has proven effective in reducing blood pressure levels to the normal range for the participants in the study.

How to use cardamom

Using cardamom in cooking is safe and has no known side effects. As for taking it as a food supplement, there is currently no specific recommended dose, because most of the studies have been conducted on animals.

However, many cardamom capsules may contain a dose ranging from 400 mg to 500 mg of the dried herb per capsule or tablet.

And in the event that you want to take cardamom as a dietary supplement, we always recommend that you consult your doctor before using any dietary supplement in general, in order to ensure that you choose the best for your health condition.

Cardamom damage

The use of cardamom, whether it is taken orally or by inhaling the vapor of cardamom oil as an aromatherapy, is safe and has no side effects.

Despite the benefits of cardamom, it may not be safe when it is taken orally as a medicine for pregnant women, as there are some concerns that taking it during pregnancy as a medicine may lead to miscarriage.

Therefore, it is better to adhere to eating moderate quantities of it, especially for pregnant or breastfeeding women, because there is not enough information about its side effects during pregnancy or lactation, with the need to consult a doctor before taking it.