I like to call cardamom the King of Chai, not only because much of that chai tea taste comes from cardamom, but because of the way it transforms a simple cup of tea into a medicinal chai. In the same way it transforms your chai, it can transform your food, making cardamom a prince for digestion. As a member of the ginger family, its ability to help us digest seems to be an inherited trait, and it has thousands of years of experience as a digestive aid. Ayurvedic texts going back 5000 years celebrated cardamom’s ability to make hard-to-digest foods easier to digest, and to enhance the taste of most ordinary foods.
Black tea, the running back of chai, has its fair share of beneficial antioxidants but is still a stimulating caffeinated beverage. Sadly, what goes up from using stimulants such as caffeine must come down, but not so when brewed with cardamom. Cardamom neutralizes the stimulating effects of caffeine, allowing the chai to boost the digestive process without boosting the nervous system.
Throughout the Middle East, coffee is brewed with cardamom. Though they say it is for the taste, the numerous medicinal benefits of this brew indicate that it was traditional herbal wisdom that brought these two together. Cardamom reduces the acid in coffee, while neutralizing the effects of caffeine.
Acidic foods like tea, coffee, and spicy foods irritate the intestinal mucosa, producing an excess of gas-producing mucus that makes congestive foods like milk, cheese and wheat much more difficult to digest. Cardamom makes these foods much more digestible by protecting the mucus membranes from these acids, while liquefying the mucus in the heavy, harder-to-digest mucus-forming foods.
Traditionally, cardamom pods were also taken as a lozenge after meals to enhance digestion and assimilation. Cardamom is also one of the richest sources of cineole, a potent antiseptic for bad breath, gum disease, sore throats and many respiratory conditions.
Ayurvedic Use:
Reduces vata and kapha
In excess, may increase pitta
Teresa says
John, Thank you for the background, the insight, and for taking the time to post the information. Kindest regards.
Vivian says
Do you have a Chai recipe?
Would you please share it?
Rajsekhar guha says
How many cardamom should be eaten up a day
Tapashi Sarkar says
I want to know how many pods of cardamom can be cinsumed in a day…
Mahalakshmi says
Please explain how and what is the dosage of cardamom one should take per day .coz u have mentioned it but not explained.
LifeSpa Staff says
Thank you for your question Mahalakshmi.
Generally we recommend cardamom as an ingredient in foods such as chai. One option is to simply increase the cardamom flavor to taste. If using as a digestive after a meal, the typical dosage is up to 1.5 grams of crushed cardamom seed per day. Therefore, you could have 0.5 grams after each meal as a digestive.
Be well.
Rupinder Kaur says
Pls suggest how many green cardamoms one should consume in a day….
puja sahare says
what is the effect of eating the 10 cardamoms in a day or 1 does of 10 cardamoms eat in a day
frankie tanki says
I came here looking for the daily dosage of cardamom.
I don’t see the daily dosage of cardamom, thanks.
help me understand I want to eat cardamom and am aware of the side effects. thank you
carda says
Same here.
Julie says
This is good information, as I am interested in using cardamom for several beneficial reasons, but you do not state how much to consume for which purpose, how to make it in different things, i.e. coffee/tea, etc.
Could you please provide these types of specifics?
Thank you,
Julie
frankie tanki says
yes, thank you Julie. I’m with Julie, can you please specify, Mr John Douillard
michelle says
How much cardamom should be consumed in a day?
Veerender Singh khanodia says
I would like to know how much and what is the best way to consume green cardamom
anangamohan mandal says
How much cardamom should be consumed in a day.
elizabeth scoggins says
iwould like to know all about cardamom