Cardamom Could Be Great For The Gut

[Beastmode]

That's pretty cool. How do you like the taste? Have you noticed any other benefits so far?

I really enjoy it. I will try it in just black coffee soon as I imagine it's taste will be even more distinct. We love trying new things like this as the experience alone, whether I end up really liking it, somehow seems to improve my health.

Other benefits? I can't say for sure. I'm quite sensitive and I don't change many things at once, so I'll definitely keep track of what I notice. The only other thing I changed recently, besides adding the cardimom, is a little progest-e to my dhea/olive oil mix. That's not why my bowel movements seem more full now as I get different benefits from that concoction.

 

[Hans]

I really enjoy it. I will try it in just black coffee soon as I imagine it's taste will be even more distinct. We love trying new things like this as the experience alone, whether I end up really liking it, somehow seems to improve my health.

Other benefits? I can't say for sure. I'm quite sensitive and I don't change many things at once, so I'll definitely keep track of what I notice. The only other thing I changed recently, besides adding the cardimom, is a little progest-e to my dhea/olive oil mix. That's not why my bowel movements seem more full now as I get different benefits from that concoction.

That's good man. Keep us posted if you notice any other benefits, or if at least these benefits persist long term. They definitely do for my wife who use it daily (1 tsp) long term.

 

[accelerator]

That's good man. Keep us posted if you notice any other benefits, or if at least these benefits persist long term. They definitely do for my wife who use it daily (1 tsp) long term.

How does she take it?

 

[Hans]

How does she take it?

Orally.

 

[Beastmode]

That's good man. Keep us posted if you notice any other benefits, or if at least these benefits persist long term. They definitely do for my wife who use it daily (1 tsp) long term.

It's been a few months of consistent use and other than a slight improvement in digestion, from what it seems, I don't really notice much else.

In it for the long game as I don't look for those "magic" supplements, etc that fix something right away.

Definitely interested in anything that can be taken long term and provide, even a subtle difference, as I'm pretty patient with this stuff.

 

[Medvedev]

shortened hamster gastrointestinal transit time by approximately 58%

3gr of this once (raw cardamom) changed my bowel mowements from ideal (2-3 per day solid sh*t) to horrible 2-days constipation with glue-like bright yellow diarrhea afterwards. No diet changes, no stress and no lifestyle changes whatsoever. Will NEVER try this crap again.

 

[Medvedev]

Hope my transit time will recover. Being constipated is disgusting.

 

[Hans]

3gr of this once (raw cardamom) changed my bowel mowements from ideal (2-3 per day solid sh*t) to horrible 2-days constipation with glue-like bright yellow diarrhea afterwards. No diet changes, no stress and no lifestyle changes whatsoever. Will NEVER try this crap again.

Why did you try it? Did you have detox issues? Try black cumin and kiwi for constipation. Eggs and cocoa also work good for me.

 

[dreamcatcher]

From this study:

Dose effects of the food spice cardamom on aspects of hamster gut physiology. - PubMed - NCBI
The administration of cardamom extract (0.5 and 1.5 g/100 g diet) effectively (p < 0.05) shortened hamster gastrointestinal transit time by approximately 58%, increased fecal moisture contents (148-174%), increased SCFA concentrations in hindgut (4.0- to 7.8-fold), decreased the activities of beta-D-glucuronidase (by 71.4-85.7%), beta-D-glucosidase (by 24.3-51.5%), mucinase (by 63.6-72.7%), and urease (by 88.8-90.4%) in feces, and reduced the production of toxic ammonia (by 16.1-64.5%).

According to the study, it should translate to about 1tsp daily of the spice.
Has anyone used it before with success, either the spice or the essential oil?

That's interesting, thanks. Its benefits have been long established in Ayurveda as well.

 

[Medvedev]

Why did you try it? Did you have detox issues? Try black cumin and kiwi for constipation. Eggs and cocoa also work good for me.

Yeah I always enjoy these things a lot, except cumin. However in my case clyster was only an option lol. This spice really messed me up. Used it to reduce some estrogen.

 

[whollygod]

In ayurveda they say that cardamon is suppose to ease the stimulating effects of caffeine. So, does that mean that it takes away caffeine's benefits, who knows? I grind fresh cardamon, nutmeg, and sprinkle some clove and ceylon cinnamon over whipped milk that I put over my coffee, more so as a treat, but it is delicious and I like that the spices have nutritive benefits.

Oh! I see why it's used in Turkish coffee now

 

[Mauritio]

@Hans I read in your newsletter that you got rid of dandruff by taking cardamom. Dandruff often has to do with a fungal issue and cardamom has potent anti-fungal effects, so it might have to do with that.

"The Ethiopian cardamom was the most active essential oil with fungal growth inhibition zone ranging from 12.67 to 34.33 mm, MICs values ranging from 0.048 to 0.19 mg/mL, and MBCs values from 0.19 to 1.75 mg/mL."
- Chemical and Biological Evaluation of Essential Oils from Cardamom Species - PubMed

"Against P. exigua, the 10% cold water extracts of galangale, ginger, coriander and cardamom achieved total (100%) inhibition of pathogen mycelial growth."
- Anti-fungal activity of cold and hot water extracts of spices against fungal pathogens of Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) in vitro - PubMed

"Moreover, antimicrobial investigations revealed that cardamom phytochemicals effectively inhibited growth of pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria and fungi), biofilm formation inhibition (Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria) and bacterial quorum sensing inhibition."
- Recent advances in the extraction, chemical composition, therapeutic potential, and delivery of cardamom phytochemicals - PubMed

 

[Mauritio]

Heres a very interesting study in mice showing cardamom supplementation lead to fat loss (especially in the liver) and lean mass increase ,while they ate slightly more than the control group.
For some reason it lowers T3 slightly but lowers cortisol a lot so that probably makes up for it.

Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton) Seeds Intake Increases Energy Expenditure and Reduces Fat Mass in Mice by Modulating Neural Circuits That Regulate Adipose Tissue Lipolysis and Mitochondrial Oxidative Metabolism in Liver and Skeletal Muscle

Cardamom seed (Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton; EC) is consumed in several countries worldwide and is considered a nutraceutical spice since it exerts antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and metabolic activities. In obese individuals, EC intake also favors ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Mauritio]

Today after taking a small amount of cardamom I noticed some things: firstly that my cold symptoms are pretty much gone, that I lost water retention and that my mood was a lot better ... this study shows that it can reverse depressive behaviour in mice. it also says that it acts as an MAO-inhibitor, not sure which isoform though, but in the graph they show that all monoamines went up. Unfortunetly I cant get the full text , but to me it does not feel like it increased serotonin, more like it increased dopamine, which suggests that it might be a MAO-B inhibitor.
Interestingly cardamom (oil in this case) also decreased NO, MDA and acetylcholine and increased BDNF. So its effects seem pretty broad acting.

"Our findings revealed that cardamom oil attenuated depression-like symptoms in reserpine-injected rats by improving the behavioral changes measured by the forced swimming test and the locomotor activities measured by the open-field test. In reserpine-injected rats, cardamom oil exerted antidepressant-like effects by modulating lower levels of brain monoamine neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine), GSH, and higher oxido-nitrosative stress parameters (malondialdehyde and nitric oxide). Moreover, cardamom oil alleviated depression-like behaviors by lowering monoamine oxidase activity and raising the activities of Na+/K+-ATPase and acetylcholinesterase and levels of a brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the cortex and hippocampus.
"

- Redirecting

 

[Dolomite]

Today after taking a small amount of cardamom I noticed some things: firstly that my cold symptoms are pretty much gone, that I lost water retention and that my mood was a lot better ... this study shows that it can reverse depressive behaviour in mice. it also says that it acts as an MAO-inhibitor, not sure which isoform though, but in the graph they show that all monoamines went up. Unfortunetly I cant get the full text , but to me it does not feel like it increased serotonin, more like it increased dopamine, which suggests that it might be a MAO-B inhibitor.
Interestingly cardamom (oil in this case) also decreased NO, MDA and acetylcholine and increased BDNF. So its effects seem pretty broad acting.



- Redirecting

How did you take it? I am interested in the anti-fungal properties. I could only find ground cardamom this morning at the groceries so I got some and put several teaspoons in distilled water to see if I can use it topically and perhaps in my nasal passage. I will have to let it sit a day or so to settle out.

 

[Mauritio]

I was a bit concerned because of the small decrease of T3 in the study above. But this study shows some strong pro-thyroid effects of cardamom!

So they induced hypothyroidism in two groups of mice and gave one group T4 and cardamom to the other group. Interestingly cardamom was able to outperform T4 in every measure. In the higest dose it increased T3 and T4 more and it lowered TSH more potently than levothyroxine.

Next they looked at the hormonal health of mice,which was compromised because of hypothyroidism. Again, cardamom restored the Testosterone level back to baseline, while decreasing the pituitary hormones LH and FSH, which indicates that the gonads are taking over the work, as see by the increased sperm count in the cardamom group.
The HED of cardamom was :600, 1200 and 2400mg per day of cardamom extract.

 

[Mauritio]

How did you take it? I am interested in the anti-fungal properties. I could only find ground cardamom this morning at the groceries so I got some and put several teaspoons in distilled water to see if I can use it topically and perhaps in my nasal passage. I will have to let it sit a day or so to settle out.

I took it orally , I also used ground cardamom powder from the supermarket.

 

[Dolomite]

I took it orally , I also used ground cardamom powder from the supermarket.

Thank you. I may try some of the powder after I brush my teeth before bed to see if it prevents mycelial growth.

 

[Coderr]

When eating cardamom, should you only eat the seeds inside? Can it be eaten whole?

 

[Hans]

I was a bit concerned because of the small decrease of T3 in the study above. But this study shows some strong pro-thyroid effects of cardamom!

So they induced hypothyroidism in two groups of mice and gave one group T4 and cardamom to the other group. Interestingly cardamom was able to outperform T4 in every measure. In the higest dose it increased T3 and T4 more and it lowered TSH more potently than levothyroxine.

View attachment 59440



Next they looked at the hormonal health of mice,which was compromised because of hypothyroidism. Again, cardamom restored the Testosterone level back to baseline, while decreasing the pituitary hormones LH and FSH, which indicates that the gonads are taking over the work, as see by the increased sperm count in the cardamom group.
The HED of cardamom was :600, 1200 and 2400mg per day of cardamom extract.

View attachment 59441

Yeah the drop in T3 in that study is likely a compensation mechanism due to a faster metabolism and so as much T3 wasn't needed. TSH didn't go up as there was no need to signal more production. Also the animals had more muscle and less fat due to the cardamom.