CARDAMON

Cardamom is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to India (the largest producer until the late 20th century), Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia and Nepal. The German coffee planter Oscar Majus Kloeffer introduced Indian cardamom to cultivation in Guatemala before World War I and by 2000 it had become the biggest producer and exporter of cardamom in the world, followed by India. Some other countries, such as Sri Lanka, have also begun to cultivate it. Cardamom is the world's third-most expensive spice, surpassed in price per weight only by vanilla and saffron.

Health benefits:
• Colorectal cancer
• Cardiovascular Health: lowers the heartbeat, controls heart rhythm, hypertension
• Cholesterol: lowering
• Anti-Depressant
• Respiratory: asthma, breathlessness, pulmonary disease, sore throat, tonsillitis
• Urinary Disorders: urinary tract diseases, infections (cystitis, nephritis, gonorrhea)
• Gastrointestinal: acidity, gas, stomach/abdominal cramps, hiccups, gastritis
• Anti-microbial: food poisoning, influenza
• Anti-spasmodic: muscles, lungs
• Dental Diseases: inhibits only infectious microbes, not probiotic bacteria
• Asthma: opens up constricted airways and causes relaxation to tracheal tissues
• Anti-Inflammatory: muscle and joint pain
• Detoxification
• Blood Circulation: lungs, body
• Nausea and Vomiting
• Aphrodisiac, impotency, premature ejaculation
• Mouth wash, breath freshener
• Regulation of menstruation