Boost Antioxidant Intake with Saffron

Boost Your Antioxidant Intake with Saffron.

Saffron, renowned for its vibrant color and unique flavor, is not just a spice that adds a touch of luxury to your dishes. It’s also packed with health benefits. A clinical trial published in the Indian Journal of Medical Sciences in 1998 found that saffron could play a crucial role as an antioxidant in the human body.

The study involved 20 participants who were given 50 mg of saffron, dissolved in 100 ml of milk, twice daily. The researchers evaluated the participants’ susceptibility to lipoprotein oxidation (LOS), an indication of oxidative stress in the body, at the beginning of the study, and then again after 3 and 6 weeks.

The results? An impressive, consistent decrease in LOS was recorded over the course of the study. The average LOS in 10 healthy individuals fell from 66.4 ± 3.18 to 38.3 ± 2.8, and from 76.0 ± 3.72 to 48.8 ± 3.0 in 10 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

This substantial decrease in LOS (P <0.001), suggests that saffron could be a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants are essential for our bodies as they combat oxidative stress, which is linked to various chronic diseases including heart disease and cancer.

In conclusion, this study provides evidence that the consumption of saffron could be a potent way to boost our antioxidant levels and, therefore, protect our bodies from the damaging effects of oxidative stress.

To read the original research article, click here.