Importance Of small cardamom
Elaichi or cardamom is one of the most common spices seen in an Indian household. Not only does it add sweet taste and unique flavour to your dishes, it is also widely used as a natural mouth freshener. But the humble green pod has a lot more to offer – health wise. Here are the top eight reasons why elaichi scores high in the list of healthy spices.
- Improves digestion
Elaichi is carminative in nature and helps speed up digestion. It also reduces inflammation of the stomach lining, fights heartburn and nausea. Another added advantage of this spice is that it soothes the mucous membrane, making it function better thereby relieving the symptoms of acidity and an upset stomach. Moreover, according to Ayurvedic texts it also reduces the air content in the stomach, making it more capable of digesting food efficiently. - Beats bad breath
The spice is packed with antibacterial properties, in addition to having a strong flavour and a pleasant smell. Moreover, since it helps improve your digestive system – which is known to be one of the leading causes of bad breath – it is very effective in weeding out the root cause of the problem. - Relieves acidity
The essential oils in elaichi strengthen the mucosal lining of the stomach and also increase the amount of saliva .When we chew the pod, it releases a slew of essential oils that stimulate our salivary glands which in turn stimulates your stomach lining to work better. It also improves your appetite and reduces the amount of acidity we experiences by imparting a cooling sensation to reduce the burning we feel during an attack of acidity. - Alleviates symptoms of respiratory illnesses
Cardamom increases circulation of blood within our lungs thereby aiding in relieving the symptoms of breathing problems like asthma, cold and cough. In Ayurveda, elaichi is known as a warm spice, which heats up the body internally, helping in the expulsion of phlegm and relieving chest congestion. - Regularises our heart rate
Packed with minerals like potassium, calcium and magnesium, cardamom is a gold mine for essential electrolytes. One of the main components of our blood, body fluids and cells is potassium. With its abundant supply of this essential mineral ealichi helps to regularise our heart rate and keeps our blood pressure under control.
- Fights anaemia
Major component of elaichi is copper, iron and essential vitamins like riboflavin, vitamin C and niacin. Known for its immense importance in the production of red blood cells and cellular metabolism, copper, riboflavin, vitamin C and niacin in addition to iron are great to fight anaemia.
- Detoxifies the body and fight free radicals
Cardamom is a great source of manganese, a mineral which plays a key role in the production of an enzyme that scavenges and destroys free radicals. Apart from that, elaichi also has very strong detoxifying properties that help to cleanse the body and protect it from cancer and other allied diseases.