Meet the Green Queen
Yes, Her Royal Highness the cardamom pod is proclaimed by the spice-meisters as the aromatic ‘Queen of Spices’!
For starters the aroma is sublime and you would certainly be compelled to spontaneously bow or curtsey once you got a mere whiff of it. Sweet, warm, spicy, floral, rich, and exotic. It is good Ayurvedic medicine.
Cardamom is one of the spices in my kitchen that I cannot go without. As the main ingredient that turns an ordinary tea into a rich and authentic masala chai, it is indispensible and if you want the real thing, there are no substitutes.
And it is a most generous and sensual healer.
It is extremely rich and complex, containing 25 volatile oils – the magical plant compounds that
impart fragrance. The primary volatile aromatic oil in cardamom, and the most medicinally active of these is the antioxidant cineole. This gorgeous seed pod is legendary for its digestive properties and now this potent compound cineole is also deeply researched for all its therapeutic benefits. Many scientific studies show why tummy troubles and other ills are soothed and healed by this and other compounds in cardamom.
WHAT MAKES CARDAMOM SUCH A TUMMY HELPER?
It is anti-spasmodic and anti-inflammatory.
These two actions are miraculous for relieving the gut suffering from muscle spasms and other digestive disorders of the stomach, intestines and colon. Try a cardamom tea-tonic when you have bloating, gas, distention of the belly, tummy-aches from overeating, tension, and general stress.
Also amazingly, the volatile oils in cardamom can slow or stop the development of aspirin-induced and alcohol-induced stomach ulcers. Ditch the pink chalky drink and sip on a cardamom tummy elixir instead. Side effects may include peace, calm, and happiness. aka a yummy tummy.