{"id":14535,"date":"2019-11-21T20:19:32","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T20:19:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/squad\/?p=14535"},"modified":"2019-11-21T20:19:32","modified_gmt":"2019-11-21T20:19:32","slug":"saffron-has-more-health-benefits-than-you-might-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/nutrition\/saffron-has-more-health-benefits-than-you-might-think\/","title":{"rendered":"Saffron Has More Health Benefits Than You Might Think"},"content":{"rendered":"

Looking for a simple, flavorful spice to add nutritional benefits to your diet? Don\u2019t be so quick to overlook saffron. The golden-yellow spice is rich in antioxidants and because farmers have to harvest the threads from the Crocus sativus flower by hand, saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world. That\u2019s not to say you\u2019ll be paying hundreds of dollars though. It simply means it\u2019s a bit more expensive than other common spices\u2014but you don\u2019t need to use a lot because a little saffron goes a long way.<\/span><\/p>\n

The benefits of saffron<\/b><\/p>\n

The main antioxidants in saffron are crocin, safranal and picrocrocin. Together, the three have been shown to fight free radicals and oxidative stress, both of which play a role in the development of major health conditions, such as heart disease and cancer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Previous research has found that saffron has a particularly important role in protecting us from nervous system disorders by reducing both oxidative stress in the brain and inflammation. It may even help fight the symptoms of Alzheimer\u2019s, thanks to these benefits and saffron\u2019s memory-enhancing properties.<\/span><\/p>\n

Studies have also found that saffron extract, which is sold at most major grocery stores, appears to treat moderate depression by increasing dopamine levels.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although saffron hasn\u2019t found to have any benefits on infertility, researchers did find that it helped with libido (in both men and women) and with erectile dysfunction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, saffron may be helpful in your weight loss efforts. The spice not only appears to curb the appetite, but a study published in the <\/span>Journal of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Research<\/span><\/i> reported that saffron also helps reduce waist circumference, body mass index and total fat mass, as well as coronary artery disease.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Is saffron safe?<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s always wise to talk to your doctor of a dietitian before adding anything to your diet\u2014especially if you\u2019re taking medications. But in general, taking up to 1.5 grams of saffron appears to be safe for most people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Granted, there\u2019s always a risk of allergy, and pregnant women need to be cautious as one study found that consuming more than 5 grams per day of saffron could stimulate the uterus.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Looking for a simple, flavorful spice to add nutritional benefits to your diet? Don\u2019t be so quick to overlook saffron. The golden-yellow spice is rich in antioxidants and because farmers have to harvest the threads from the Crocus sativus flower by hand, saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world. That\u2019s not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[453],"tags":[723,732],"class_list":["post-14535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nutrition","tag-diet","tag-nutrition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14535\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}