Posts Tagged ‘Anti-oxidant’

What are different health benefits of including parsley in your diet?

Parsley also called as rock celery is scientifically known as Petroselinum Crispum. Parsley grows in most climate and seasons of the year. This herb is well known for its disease fighting capabilities, probably, one reason as to why parsley is so widely used in a variety of cuisines.
Parsley is highly nutritious because of which there are a whole lot of health benefits associated with this herb. This herb is rich in vitamin A, B and C and has a rich reservoir of volatile oils and falvonoids that impart the nutritive property to parsley. Some of these health benefits are discussed below.

Anti-oxidant
Parsley is rich in vitamin A content. Vitamin acts as an active antioxidant getting rid of the highly toxic free radicals from the body that are produced during the various metabolic activities of the body. These free radicals if not removed from the body can initiate a cascaded of harmful reactions in the body leading to cancer as well. Apart from the vitamin A, vitamin C and falvonoids in parsley, also significantly help in clearing the body off these harmful free radicals.

Anti carcinogenic
Free radicals in the body can lead to the initiation and progression of cancer. Vitamin C and vitamin A works to reduce the risk of cancer in the body by checking the development of cancer cells and the cancer causing free radicals. Another compound present in parsley is folic acid. Folic acid is vital for the cell division hence its presence is important to avoid uncontrolled division of cells which may lead to cancerous growth.

Anti inflammatory
Parsley is also recommended to people suffering from osteo and rheumatoid arthritis and asthma. Vitamin C present in abundance in the herb acts as an active anti inflammatory agent which helps in reducing the pain associated with such conditions.

Cardiovascular health
Homocysteine is a very harmful compound which is produced during the metabolic activities in the body. This compound can inversely affect the blood vessels and at higher concentration can also lead to strokes. Folic acid in parsley helps to neutralize this harmful compound into harmless molecules there by reducing the risk of heart attacks or any related cardiovascular disorders.

Immunity
Parsley helps in strengthening the body immunity against diseases. Vitamin C which is one of the vital nutrients helps the body fight against infections like influenza. Deficiency of vitamins C can also lead to conditions like scurvy. Moreover the volatile oils found in parsley particularly Myristicin has shown to be inhibiting the formation of tumor in the
Lungs.

Diuretic
Apart from all the above health benefits of parsley, recent studies have shown that this herb acts as a natural diuretic by increasing the kidneys’ ability to excrete water and sodium. Hence this herb is highly recommended to people suffering from diabetes or hypertension both of which conditions may lead to water retention in the body.

Digestion
Another health benefit of Parsley is that it helps immensely in the digestion of more complex food material like proteins and fats allowing a faster digestion and assimilation. Parsley is in fact highly recommended in diarrhea. Consuming parsley in the form of tea can highly benefit a person having digestive disorders.

There are many more health benefits of parsley which make it a must in our daily diet. Excessive intake of any substance is of course harmful, in moderation this herb can do wonders for our overall health.

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What are different health benefits of including oregano in daily diet?

Oregano is a Mediterranean herb with purple flowers, which grows up to a height of about two feet. The name oregano comes from the Greek word oreganos meaning “joy of the mountains.” This herb is used in various recipes as well as in the treatment of various ailments. There are two types of Oregano that are commonly used, Origanum marjorum for cooking and Origanum vulgare for oil.
There are many health benefits of oregano, primarily because of its antimicrobial properties. The two important compounds, which contribute towards this property of oregano, are thymol and carvacrol apart from Linalyl Acetate, Cymene, Pinene, Bisabolene, Caryophyllene, Linalool, Geranyl Acetate, Borneol, and Terpinene.
The health benefits of oregano are numerous. Oregano leaves, either raw or dried can be used in food directly for flavor, the oil extracts of the herb can be used externally or internally in small amounts as well to treat various ailments. Some of the health benefits of oregano are listed below.

Used as Preservative.
Due to it anti-microbial properties addition of oregano in small quantities to food can help delay the process of fermentation, thus retaining the taste and nutrients in the food for a much longer period.

Antioxidant
Oregano has strong antioxidant properties which help to remove the harmful free radicals from the body which otherwise could cause cancer. Consuming oregano also help to delay the aging process because of its antioxidant property as it helps overcome the wear and tear or degeneration in the cells.

Enhancing body immunity
Another major health benefit of Oregano is that it has very high antimicrobial properties because of which consumption of oregano can help ward off various viral, bacterial, and fungal infections like mumps measles, typhoid, and cholera etcetera. The anti fungal property of oregano helps fight any fungal infection if applied on the affected area externally.

Digestion
Oregano helps in digestion of food by helping in the secretion of digestive juices. Hence, addition of oregano in food not only enhances flavor but also enhances its digestion and assimilation.

Emenagogue
One of the many health benefits of oregano to women is that it helps in correcting any menstrual defects and it also delays the arrival of menopause.

Anti-inflammatory
Oregano is known to have sedative and anti-inflammatory properties, and can be used as a mild painkiller. Oregano can be taken in the form of tea to get relief from any body pains or aches. Oregano oil can also be applied externally to get relief from inflammation. Because of the anti inflammatory property of oregano it can also be used as a mild anti allergen to overcome the hypersensitivity caused due to any allergic reaction.

Anti parasitic
There are many parasites that reside inside the human body and derive nourishment from it. These parasites in the long run create health problems and in serious cases may even lead to death a common example being that of tape worms. Ingestion of oregano helps in fighting against these parasites and avoiding any communicable disease that could be caused by these parasites. The phenol content in oregano helps to get rid of the external parasites as well.

Nutritional
Oregano has a high content of minerals and vitamins when fresh. Oregano also contains omega-3 fatty acids or PUFA which is an essential fatty acid required by the body. Omega-3 fatty acids help in reducing possibilities of heart diseases.

Respiratory health
The volatile oils of oregano help in relieving sinus and lung congestion. Oregano tea is usually advised to treat influenza; bronchitis, asthma and fever. It helps maintain the respiratory health.

This herb also helps in fighting other disease like giardia and ecoli infection. Oregano also helps in healing athlete’s foot, Psoriasis, eczema, and other infectious diseases. Although Oregano originally was grown in the Mediterranean region, it is widely grown and consumed now due to the many health benefits that it presents.