Best Spice Saffron Health Benefits!
You must have heard about fruits and vegetables being healthy for you.
But do you know that spices are a great source of good health? Yes, spices boost health too!
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Saffron For Health Benefits
One of the healthiest and costliest spices is Saffron. It is a spice that boosts your health while making your dish tasty. Saffron Health benefits are now known to the people.
Saffron for Baby
It is a spice found in Crocus sativus, otherwise called saffron crocus. It has splendid red stains and styles, which are called strands.
These strands are gathered, dried, and used as a flavour enhancer and food dye. They are also abundant in medicinal properties.
It has been the world's priciest spice for some time, with 450 kilograms costing between $500 and $5,000.
Saffron's effects on Tridosha as per Ayurveda
According to Ayurveda, our body is impacted by three problems or Tridosha. They are Kapha Dosha (cough), Pitta Dosha (acid refluxes), and Vata Dosha (gas present in the body).
This spice helps balance these three problems and makes you healthy and fit.
As per Ayurveda, a pinch of this spice or 30 mg daily helps boost your health.
It is a natural way of treating mood swings and depression. Thus, it is called The Sunshine Spice.
Health Benefits of Saffron
Since it is the most expensive spice on this planet, make sure you make the best of it whenever you use it.
The Kashmiri variant of this spice comprises strains from the saffron crocus.
Saffron powder is gently dried and grounded.
However, threads are often used more than powder because they have better taste and more beneficial effects.
Whatever type you choose, make sure it is high quality and pure.
Saffron Benefits for Health
This spice has multiple names like Autumn Crocus, Azafrán, Azafron, Croci Stigma, Crocus Cultivé, Crocus sativus, and Indian Saffron.
It is also called as Kashmira, Kesar, Kumkuma, Saffron Crocus, Safran, Safran Cultivé, Safran Espagnol, Safran des Indes, Safran Véritable.
The production and extraction of this spice is a tedious process. It is harvested by hand from the bloom of Crocus sativus.
The flowers bloom only once a year for a week only. Also, the orchid can't be used to grow other crops during the off-season.
Thus, much labour, planning, skill, time, and effort are needed to make this spice.
The expression Saffron supplementation applies to the stigmas or the strings. It requires a dedicated strategy, so this spice bags all that buck!
Production of this red spice can be traced to Greece, which is famous for its therapeutic properties. This red spice was eaten to improve drive, mood, and memory.
Today, Iran produces the most amount of Keshar, followed by India. This spice is grown exclusively in Kashmir, with Pampore being India's Saffron town.
Benefits of Saffron
It is packed with benefits. Let's take a look at some:
Saffron Powerful Antioxidant
This spice comprises a range of antioxidants that benefit your health.
Antioxidants Crocin and Crocetin are carotenoids that bestow the red shade upon this spice.
These mixes can have energizer properties, reduce hunger, and help lose weight.
The space between two neurons is called a synapse.
These synapses help carry electrical messages to and from our brains.
This spice helps shield synapses. It also helps reduce inflammation in them.
This spice contains Safranal, which gives it its particular taste and smell.
Studies show it can help improve memory and understanding by shielding synapses from oxidative pressure.
It also comprises kaempferol, which has multiple health benefits like reducing irritation and improving the immune system.
Spice of the Sun for Mild to moderate depression
It is considered the Sun's spice because of its bright colour and ability to brighten moods and emotions.
Several studies have found that it possesses antidepressant-like properties. A meta-study of this spice shows that it comprises important properties that protect our neurons and regulate the release of various hormones in the body, including serotonin (the happy hormone) (source: Lopresti and Drummond, 2014).
This spice's effects are similar to antidepressant medicines but with fewer side effects.
While these results are promising, a vast amount of research is required for this spice to be a part of medicines for treating depressive disorder.
An anticancer agent
This tasty red spice contains many properties that work incredibly as anticancer agents.
It comprises a range of antioxidants that shield your body from cancer.
Our body contains certain active components known as free radicals. These free radicals cause oxidative stress, which leads to cancer.
Damage by free radicals may lead to long-term illnesses such as tumours or cancers.
A study shows that natural carotenoids in this spice, Crocin and crocetin, have potential anti-tumour properties.
Thus, clinical trials show that this spice is a promising chemo-preventive mode of cancer treatment. (Bhandari, 2015).
Helps manage Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)
Premenstrual syndrome causes intense mood swings, anger, depressiveness, and tender breasts before every menstrual cycle.
Some women experience bloating, constipation, and headaches.
This red spice helps improve symptom management. It also helps in preventing some symptoms.
It has also been linked with controlling the release of cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that your body releases when you are under stress.
Thus, this spice relieves stress, irritability, and mood swings.
Contains aphrodisiac-like properties
An aphrodisiac is any substance that increases libido. A high libido increases the sexual drive.
This elegant red spice is widely considered to possess sex-boosting properties, especially for those using antiretroviral drugs.
It helps in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. It also helps relieve pain in women.
Weight loss
This spice aids in weight loss. It lowers the desire to eat.
It helps reduce body fat while increasing muscle strength.
Thus, this spice is perfect for all gym lovers and fitness freaks!
Lowers risk of heart disease
There are 3 B's that control heart health: Blood pressure, Blood sugar, and Bad cholesterol.
This spice lowers the level of blood sugar. Increased blood sugar is believed to increase pressure on the heart.
This spice also lowers the levels of bad cholesterol and controls blood pressure. As a result, it improves your heart health and reduces the risk of heart disease.
Improve vision
This spice is said to improve vision in older adults. It also prevents the maculation of the eyes.
It slows down the wear and tear of the retina that happens because of ageing.
What is the right dose for this spice?
The right dosage of this spice is 30 mg (around 20 strands).
However, doctors suggest that daily intake should not exceed 15 mg.
Saffron adulteration
Saffron's beneficial effects come from its pure and finest quality only.
Its high price point has attracted not only fans but also cons. Many sellers adulterate this spice to fool buyers and make easy money.
The saffron powder can easily be mixed with beets, red silk fibres, turmeric, and paprika.
Producers often add other parts of the Crocus Sativus flower to the stigma to increase the product's weight.
Adultery reduces producer costs, as the original spice is more expensive. Therefore, buying this from a trusted and reputed brand is essential.
A few things can help you identify real products from fake.
- This spice has a sweet smell but a pungent, bitter taste. Some say it is as bitter as tobacco.
- This spice is a dying agent. It does water or milk red, but the colour of the strands does not fade.
- Threads strands of this spice do not dissolve in water.
- Its grade decides the quality of this spice. The best quality spice has an A+ grade. It comprises the red strands only.
- When buying this spice, ensure your product has an ISO mark. ISO mark is a sign that tells that the seller is genuine.
- This spice is grown exclusively in Kashmir. It is not grown in any other state. Make sure you buy the product made in Kashmir only.
It is an expensive spice. Thus, many cons cheat their customers by selling fake or mixed products.
Remember, this is the priciest spice in the world. If you're getting Keshar cheaply, you're probably not getting Kesar!
Precautions
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
Please keep monitoring the amount of this spice consumed during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Avoid consuming this spice in high doses as it may induce labour and cause preterm childbirth.
Thus, it should not be consumed after 22 weeks of pregnancy.
Avoid high doses
Bipolar disorder significantly impacts mood. Therefore, those with Bipolar disorder must exercise caution when consuming this.
Allergies
This spice may trigger allergies, especially in those allergic to certain plants such as Olea, Lolium, and Salsola.
Therefore, those allergic to these species should keep away from them.
Heart conditions
It can influence the pace and intensity of the pulse. Consuming an excess of it might make certain heart conditions worse.
Low blood pressure.
It can act in ways that can lower blood pressure. Therefore, low blood pressure should exercise caution when consuming this red spice.
It is a spice one must have once before they die, for it adds health and taste to your food.