Cardamom Pods 100 g, 50 g, 25 g

Cardamom Pods 100 g ($16.99), 50 g ($10.99), 25 g ($7.99)

Benefits
According to folk medicine, cardamom helps with digestive problems, vomiting and diarrhea, morning sickness, and loss of appetite. In Chinese medicine, it is used for stomachache, nausea, vomiting, and flatulence. Ayurvedic physicians use it to treat ulcers and malaria. The essential oil is antibacterial and antifungal.

Dyspepsia. Cardamom works best on upset stomachs according the German Commission E.

Urinary incontinence. Cardamom is used in ayurvedic medicine to help control urinary incontinence in both men and women.

Recommended Use
Cardamom is most frequently used as a tincture and liquid extract, which are made from ground seeds. The average daily dose is 1.5 grams of the herb, and you need 1 to 2 grams a day. It also may be used as a tea. The spice cardamom has the same effects as the medicinal herb—provided the spice is fresh. It should not be taken by anyone with gallstones unless a physician is consulted. There are no known other side effects or drug interactions.

Botanical Name: Elettaria cardamomum
English: Green Cardamom
Also, known as: Maton, kardamom, kardemumma, cardamome, Cardamomen, ilaayacii, cardamomo, karadamomo, cardamomo, kardemumma, aila cheddi, luk grawan, kakule, Grains-of-paradise
Habitat: The forests of India and Sri Lanka
Origin: Guatemala
Harvested: Cultivated
Parts Used: Seed

General Information:
Cardamom is a medicinal herb native to tropical China and Vietnam. It is closely related, but not identical, to the cardamom grown in India and Sri Lanka as a spice. Cardamom is a perennial that grows to a height of fifteen feet (five meters), with mauve-streaked white flowers and very long, lance-shaped leaves. The seed pods are used medicinally and oil is extracted from them.

A tall perennial herb with erect stems bearing broad leaves and horizontal flowering stems bearing clusters of white and pink flowers at ground level. Cultivated cardamom does not differ from the wild type. Plants can be propagated from seeds or by division. Near ripe fruits are usually handpicked individually, but the whole cluster is sometimes harvested.

Small, near-ripe fruits containing numerous dark brown seeds. They are recognized by their small seed pods: triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds; Elettaria pods are light green and smaller. They are green in color when simply air-dried, but may be pure white because of bleaching with steam or sulfur before drying. There are several other species known as cardamom.

The deliciously sweet and pungent taste of cardamom has found its way into many different culinary traditions. In its native India, cardamom forms an important component of curries and curry powders. It is also widely used in rice, vegetable, and meat dishes, as well as sweet desserts. The seeds are traditionally used to flavor Arabian coffee and black Turkish tea. In Europe and America, cardamom is well known as an essential ingredient of gingerbread and sweet pastries. Scandinavians are particularly fond of cardamom and large amounts are used in confectionery, desserts, stewed fruits, mulled wines, meat dishes and sausages.

Cardamom is the world’s third-most expensive spice, surpassed in price per weight only by vanilla and saffron.

How to use:
We make these suggestions to help you get the best benefit from the herbs that you’re choosing to improve your health. Also we make these ideas and recommendations so that consuming them easier and better fit into your lifestyle by adding them to the food that you already eat.
For the full health benefit, it is best to consume (or use the whole herb in poultices) the whole herb. All of the compounds in the herb act best together, as nature intends. Extracts draw out the most prominent beneficial compounds and may concentrate them. What is not extracted can be helpful in ways that we do not yet understand.

Cut Pieces or Powdered Herb:
There are different ways to use cut pieces or powdered herb.
Food Preparation: You can add powdered or pieces of herb (if the pieces you buy are bigger than you like, a coffee or herb grinder will quickly reduce) to any yogurt, smoothie, apple or other sauces, spreads, salads or other foods more familiar to you that don’t use heat. Heat can be damaging to the beneficial compounds in the herb. Other options like oatmeal, scrambled eggs, pasta sauce, soup, cookies and anything else that fits your lifestyle, but minimizing (by adding near the end of cooking) the heat is helpful.
Also, for children, you can mix powdered herb with honey or glycerin to make paste. The thicker the paste, the more potent and herbal in taste. The sweet taste of honey and glycerin will help medicine go down. The resulting liquid is called an electuary.
For seeds in general, but especially small seeds, it’s best to grind these to break the protective hulls a short time before consumption. This makes all the benefits available, rather than some remaining locked inside the hulls that are unbroken by insufficient chewing.
To make adding herbs even easier, you could add a week’s worth of your chosen herb(s) to an amount of, for example, yogurt that you would eat in a week. Mix thoroughly and eat this each day of the week. So you make once /week and just eat each other day.
Hot Infusion: The basic method for dried herbs and flower is, take 2-3 tablespoons of dried herb in a cup or teapot. Pour hot water over it and cover it with lid for 10-30 minutes. The heat from making tea can degrade some of the beneficial compounds in the herb. This method minimizes this effect. For the full health benefit, it is recommended to consume what is left over after making tea.
Decoctions: Decoctions are suitable for roots, barks, large seeds & berries, and other dense material. The simple way to make decoction is, in a saucepan, add 1 tablespoon of dried herbs to 1 cup of water, Bring the water to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30-60 minutes with the pot covered. Squeeze out as much as liquid as possible. Best practice is to drink the liquid and also consume the solid material that remains. Herb pieces can also be used.
Powdered Herb:
There are different ways to use powdered herb.
Capsules: HerbsCrafters makes capsules guaranteed to be filled with the pure herb with no filler or any other products. You can also use powdered herb to make your own capsules at home. These capsules are best taken with liquid to aid in digestion and absorption and to ensure it doesn’t stick in your throat.
Poultice: Poultice can be made with an herbal powder and liquid (mostly water) to form a paste which is then applied to the skin. This method is very helpful for skin conditions.
Herbal shot: Powdered herb can be mixed with water, fruit juice or other liquid to make herbal shot.

Tips:
You can sweeten your herbal decoctions with bit of honey, natural fruit juice, stevia leaves powder or licorice root powder.

Precautions:
You should consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using any herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications.
All information on this website is for educational purpose ONLY.
This information has not been evaluated by Health Canada.
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.