Cardamom, small spice with huge benefits

by | May 12, 2009 | diet, diet and weight loss, general health & nutrition, health, metabolism, misc, nutrition, weight loss

Did you know that Cardamom, that secret spice in many Indian and Mediterranean dishes is nature’s Ricola and Pepto bismal all in one?

small pods with huge potential

small pods with huge potential

Ever taste the earthy vanilla undertones in Chai or that gloopy Indian milk dessert and wonder what that special flavor is? Most likely it’s cardamom. In the traditional Indian medicine, Ayurveda,

cardamom seeds are also used as lozenges to suck on after meals to help digestion. I’ve tried it, its a little minty, sorty like licorice but pleasant.

Indian medicine says that the acid from teas and coffee and spicy foods irritate the intestines, leading to an increase of gassy gassiness that make the other foods we eat (namely milk, cheese, wheat) more difficult to digest. Cardamom in your diet can help the body to better digest all the other possibly irritating foods we eat because they are natural carminatives which reduce gas. I recently learned that the word “carminative” comes from the latin word that means to “card” as in carding wool…so it helps to remove gas from the intestinal wall as you would remove knots from wool. See, didn’t you always want to know that? 😉

Cardamom is also used in the Middle east as an additional flavor to ground coffee, making coffee brewed with these little pods less acidic on the body and actually helps regulate how we absorb the caffeine. You’ll still get the buzz without the possible gas or irritated stomach. And besides, it can make any coffee, especially bargain brand coffee taste like something that rhymes with Barbucks.

If you want to try it out, buy the bottled powder stuff and use it with cinnamon…over toast, oatmeal, in a cookie recipe, even in tea with milk and cheat your way to better digestion.


Best Benefits of Cardamom:

  • Detox the body of caffeine
  • Cleanses kidneys and bladder
  • Stimulates digestion and reduces gas
  • Improves circulation to lungs, helping asthma and bronchitis
  • Cures bad breath, even the official “halitosis” bad breath
Kimberly, counselor since 1998 and founder of www.RedAppleYoga.com, holds a Masters in Health & Healing as a Certified Nutritional Counselor, a Masters in Education and is an internationally trained advanced  Yoga and Yoga Therapy instructor that has worked and studied in New York, Spain and in Southern India. Her practice is based in New York City. She believes in showing her clients how to combine time-tested ancient theories with modern knowledge to get the best benefits from both worlds.

Lose weight and still eat the foods you love

by | May 2, 2009 | diet, diet and weight loss, general health & nutrition, health, metabolism, weight loss

Did you know that nutrition is just as much about HOW and WHEN you eat as it is about what you eat?

Did you know that you can get more nutrients from eating your favorite neighborhood pizza in the right way, than you could from eating a steamed organic bowl of vegetables in the wrong way?

Ayurveda, the ancient system of health from India has given us tools to maximize the nutrients we get from our foods and to improve our digestion. So here’s 3 quick and crucial tips from ancient India!:

  1. When you eat, no matter what it is, chew it slowly, aiming for at least 30 chews per mouthful. Our saliva is the first step of digestion. Chewing well breaks down the food before your stomach processes it, exposing more of the nutrients to your body and also minimizing problems with reflux, acid and indigestion. Plus, savoring your food makes it last longer and may reduce the total amount of food you need to feel satisfied.
  2. When eating a heavy food like pizza, burgers, ice cream etc. try to eat these foods earlier on in the day, say for lunch or for an early dinner before 6:00pm. This will allow your body to digest and process the food before bed, going to sleep with a full stomach is at the root of a lot of weight management problems.
  3. When you eat a heavy meal, start with a raw salad filled with tons of crisp greens and your favorite light veggies like tomatos, cucumber, carrots etc topped with a light vinegar based dressing. The raw veggies act like a broom through the stomach, helping the body to digest the main meal and helping you maintain your weight.

Ancient India and China have a variety of techniques that can change your life depending on your lifestyle, body type, appetite, region that you live amongst many other considerations. This is something that an experienced practitioner can help you to decide. The above 3 suggestions will work for anyone anywhere and will provide simple and dramatic changes. Try them on for yourself and see how simple big change can be!

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