Cardamom
Elettaria Cardamomum
PROPERTIES
Cardamom oil is one of the oldest essential oil known, for good reason. It is packed with powerful antioxidants including vitamin C and manganese that help tone skin. It also has amazing antiseptic, and cleansing properties that can be used on the skin or even to enhance our oral hygiene by killing germs to eliminating bad breath when used as a mouthwash. In traditional medicine Cardamom oil is used as a warming agent to the body that relieves pains, uplifts the mood, improves digestion, and improves mental clarity and memory.
HISTORY
Egyptians used cardamom in perfumes and incense. The warming properties found in the spice also make the essential oil useful in massage oil formulas. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), cardamom oil has long been described as a Qi tonic, not only warming and invigorating to the lungs, spleen and nerves, but also having an effect on the spirit or mind, similar to that of basil, removing listlessness and depression often found in chronic Qi deficiency conditions.
LOCAL SOURCING
This organic cardamom comes from the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala (near Coban).