Wednesday 23 October 2013

Live my life!~ (One of) The magic key(s) to a healthy digestive system: Cardamom

Hey everyone! Today is another one of those posts where we are gonna buzz about health! What's all the wealth and material goods without our health? #YOLO so we gotta make sure that our health stays as one of the top priorities in our lives. I know, I know, life can be so hectic and busy sometimes. With the pressing deadlines, mountain piles of projects and assignments, and maybe the occasional relationship dramas that pop up in our lives, it's hard to keep up and maintain a healthy body. I, for one, can't deny that I'm guilty of that, sometimes skipping meals, having late nights and even when I DO eat meals, I am also guilty for having imbalanced ones. (I can just hear a mob of nutritionists just screaming and coming at me with torches already.)The only thing I can be somewhat 'proud' of is my weekly exercises that I do to try and strike the balance between work and my 'me' time (and of course the occasional 'alone time' shopping trips ;)).

Those crazy late nights, stress and imbalanced diets can sometimes cause our whole system to go out of whack. For me, it hits my digestive system. Recently, I've had one of those periods whereby my digestive system was just not having it. Bloatedness, discomfort after every meal, water retention, you name it. I tried all kinds of ways to help ease these. Drinking peppermint tea, eating more fruits and fibre, exercising more...thought they are by no means ineffective, they barely worked for me. However, in comes this AMAZING MAGIC KEY to my problems *angel music plays*. Hello, lovely life-saving CARDAMOM. My dad has been taking this little baby for quite some time now and I never got why he just keeps gushing about it. Now I do. OMG this is one of those foods that mother nature has so graciously granted us in times like this where we could just feel downright annoyed and frustrated at having to deal with such an uncomfortable disruption to our systems. So yup, you've guessed it, today's shining star for our Live My Life series on SMP blog is the one, the only Cardamom!!! *drum roll*

http://www.sunwarrior.com/news/15-health-benefits-of-cardamom/

So, what is Cardomom? Cardamom can be found natively in the forests of India, Bhutan and Nepal and is now also, cultivated by other countries that support its growth and harvest. With beneficial medical and culinary benefits. Various types of cardamom pods and seeds are commonly used in medicine and cooking and carries unique, strong and intensely aromatic characteristics that are support their wide usage historically and even today! Fun Fact served here for ya: Cardamom is actually theworld's third most expensive spice by weight, outstripped in market value only by saffron and vanilla. How cool is that?!

Benefits of cardamom are many a vast, so I am going to share you with you some of these amazing benefits that this little seed has. Small in size but amazing in its benefits!

Some of the benefits of cardamom include:

1) Detoxifying  your body by eliminating waste through your kidneys

2) Need some more of those antioxidants in your life to resist cellular aging and dumping some of those free radical? Well here it is!

3) Don't you just hate it when you are stuck with painful ulcers in your mouth and an aching throat? Not to mention, Bad breadth? *gasp* Cardamom, like ginger and tumeric, has anti-inflammatory properties to not only help in the healing of such ulcers and sore throats, but also helps in freshening up your breathe (Did you know? In India, cardamom is chewed on after meals for that quick cleansing and freshening up of the breath). More on the throat and nose, cardamom is also a potential answer to preventing and even aid in the healing of colds, flus and coughs!

4) Tired of those ridiculous hiccups that just make you go HICCUP!!!!!!!! on a public bus or in the office? Cardamom serves to relief such muscle spasms by acting as an anti-spasmodic. Not only does it help rid you of hiccups, it can also help with other involuntary muscle spasms from the stomach and the intestinal tract.

5) Okay, this may require more frequent trips to the bathroom but the benefits it has would make it all worth it! Cardamom serves as a diuretic to rid our bodies of excess water and salt, waste and toxins, making our urinary tract, kidneys and bladders oh so squeaky clean!

6) What's the star without another simply brilliant quality???? Of course, you've guessed it! Cardamom aids our digestion!! Similar to its relative the ginger, cardamom can serve as an ever so powerful aid in improving our digestive systems. Say Au revoir to nausea, acidity, excess gas and bloating, heartburn, constipation, appetite loss (and the list goes on...) with some of this little gem in your everyday life!

Other benefits talked about even include, aiding in depression, clearing of blood clots, reducing of blood pressure and more! [Talk about having the power!]

Isn't this crazy little thing amazing or what?! To be honest, if I had not tried this myself in times of my crazy, digestive system gone wild (oh yea, it's way worse than girls gone wild), I would not be here today gushing and going gaga over this little jewel. So how do I incorporate it in my everyday routine you might wonder? For me, it isn't too much of a chore. Some choose to chew and spit the seeds out but I myself prefer grinding them up into powder, throw a TEENSY bit [just A DASH] into my lil' white teacup with some hot water (somewhat of a cardamom tea you might say; the flavour is intense so you don't rly need that much for the kick to come in.). Depending on your preference, adding it to some of your culinary dishes or drinks has proven to be just as easy too! (My dad likes it in his coffee as it gives that unique spicy kick). Whatever floats your boat! So long as it's somewhere, it's going to help you and be your digestive system's new best friend. Oh yea. NEW BFF.

oh yea~thumbs up for da sponge!
Cardamom has definitely helped me in the journey of improving my digestive system and getting it back on track. If you have similar problems [I feel you ><], give this little jewels a shot, They might just be the key to a healthier, cleaner, and happier you! It's working for me and such amazing goodness has to be shared!

Stay happy and healthy!!


combat nausea, acidity, bloating, gas, heartburn, loss of appetite, constipation, and much more - See more at: http://www.sunwarrior.com/news/15-health-benefits-of-cardamom/#sthash.kIjgknLm.dpuf
waste, salt, excess water, toxin

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