CARDAMOM It is said that Cleopatra filled her chambers with the rich scent of cardamom when she was expecting Mark Antony. Harvested from a perennial shrub that is native to the Western Ghats of India, just off the Malabar coast, the green seed pods of Elettaria cardamomum have been prized for centuries. Its complex aroma, a mix of sweet, spicy, floral and citrus, made it prized in Egypt, Greece and the rest of the ancient world. It was known as the Queen of Spices, and has been put to use as a food and medicine in dozens of ways. It is said to have filled the gardens of the King of Babylon, and is described on the Spice tablets in the Mycenean House of the Sphinxes. The Vikings discovered it in Constantinople, which is why it is used in their akvavit spirits, their breads and in Dutch windmill cookies. I grew up with the scent of cardamom lingering in the morning air. My Arabic family used it in coffee, and I have recently started brewing it for myself. I crack open the dried green pods, tap out the sticky black round seeds into a tiny pestle that was designed just for this spice. Once I have ground the seeds into a flaky powder, I add them to the finely ground coffee that is used to make Arabic or Turkish coffee. While it takes longer than a coffee machine, it is a delightful ritual. More importantly for me, it is medicine. The health benefits of cardamom have been widely known throughout the Eastern world for centuries. Theophrastus, who took over Aristotle’s school and is considered the father of botany, considered it a powerful medicine. To this day, it is used to treat constipation, indigestion and inflammation of the GI tract. A teaspoon of powder is said to quickly get rid of nausea, while chewing the seeds heals the gums and eliminates bad breath. It is added to sweets in India, where it is touted as a cure for obesity. Persians add it to their tea, and believe it can cure headaches. In the Arabic world, it is added to warm milk and honey as an aphrodisiac and a treatment for impotence and infertility. These are not just old wives’ tales. Modern research has revealed that cardamom really does have benefits, and suggests how it might work its healing magic. It contains over 50 different essential oils, many of which are known to promote healing. These include cineole, myrcene, limonene, pinene, sabinene and phellandrene. This medicinal spice has been studied in a few small clinical trials, and all have shown positive results. The largest study showed that a specific extract improved lung function, symptoms and quality of life in asthmatics.1 Another clinical trial by 1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22978309
the same researchers showed similar benefits in acute bronchitis. 2 In a pilot study, it helped people quit smoking,3 and in an Indian trial it lowered blood pressure.4 There is no solid evidence to guide dosing and frequency of use. Most beverage recipes call for 3-4 pods for each cup of water, but this can be varied to taste. In most cases, ground cardamom is not recommended because it quickly loses its scent, but we don’t know for sure if it is less effective as a medicine. If you are lazy, you can buy seeds that have already been removed from the pods. This is called decorticated cardamom, and it is a bit less expensive. However you choose to use it, buy it soon. Recent news posts describe the frenzied price rise of cardamom on the world market. It is already one of the world’s most expensive spices, and increased demand and changing weather patterns mean that won’t change anytime soon. Spices are powerful medicines. While some are widely used, most are still unknown. This is a shame, because they contain an incredibly complex range of chemicals that have potential healing effects. Nature’s pharmacy is truly amazing. And delicious.
2 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22978309 3 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20598808 4 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20361714