It wasn’t until recently that the many health benefits of moringa seeds have become widely known in the world. Moringa seeds come from the moringa tree (Moringa Oleifera) which is native to northwestern India and is sometimes called the drumstick tree or horseradish tree.
Almost every part of the moringa tree has many health benefits. For centuries, the seeds, leaves, flowers, and roots, and have all been used in traditional medicine because of their health boosting benefits.
Moringa Seeds – what are they?
The moringa seeds are removed from the inside of a long and slender pod that dangles from a branch of moringa tree. The seeds can be roasted and then eaten like nuts or they can be cooked like peas or beans.
Moringa seeds are a rich source of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties which can be used to help treat heart disease, lower cholesterol, reduce blood sugar levels, and boost your immune system. The seeds from the moringa tree help to keep a person healthy because they are also a rich source of vitamins and essential minerals.
However, the health benefits of moringa seeds also extend to using them externally. Oil can also be extracted from moringa seeds and used as a natural moisturizer to keep your skin looking young and healthy. In fact, the pulp left over after extracting oil from moringa seeds contains powerful antibacterial properties that are used to purify water in many countries.
In this article, I will look at the many amazing health benefits of using moringa seeds to help treat and manage various health conditions.
The Many Health Benefits of Moringa Seeds
Antioxidant health benefits of moringa seeds
Extracts of moringa seeds are a rich and natural source of powerful antioxidants that can help to boost your health. Moringa seeds contain A, C and B-group vitamins as well as calcium, magnesium, and potassium,1 all of which are needed for a healthy body and mind. Studies into the beneficial effects that moringa seeds have on health found that they contain flavonoids which help to reduce oxidative stress in the body.2
The ability of moringa seeds to rid the body of free radicals and protect cells from damage was confirmed in a study published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology. It found that extracts from moringa seeds, leaves, and fruit all have powerful antioxidant properties.3
So, a daily dose of moringa seeds can help take care of your general health and may even prevent various diseases from developing.
Moringa seeds and heart benefit
The antioxidant effect of moringa seeds helps to keep the heart healthy and prevent heart disease. Oxidative stress in the body can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, and heart failure.4
Research into the medicinal uses of moringa seeds found that, among other things, the seed extracts act as a heart and circulatory stimulant and can help to lower blood pressure naturally.5
Moringa seeds also contain a high amount of oleic acid and this is one reason why they are so beneficial for keeping your heart healthy. The fatty acid composition of moringa seeds contains almost 80% oleic acid.6
Many doctors point to the fact that oleic acid is an important compound to reduce the risk of heart disease because it reduces the amount of lipids in the blood.7
By consuming some moringa seeds every day, you can help reduce your risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Lowers cholesterol
Consuming moringa seeds regularly can help lower cholesterol in your blood and therefore protect the health of your heart. Moringa seeds do this by helping to increase the amount of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.
Dr. James Beckerman on WebMD says that high levels of HDL cholesterol, or “good cholesterol”, are needed to lower the amount of LDL cholesterol or “bad cholesterol” in the bloodstream. Therefore, a high level of HDL in the blood helps to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.8
A study published in 2003 found that moringa oleifera fruit helps to lower the levels of LDL cholesterol in the blood and increase the HDL levels. The study showed that moringa extracts can be used to treat high levels of “bad” cholesterol.9
By incorporating more moringa seeds into your daily diet you can help to reduce the health risks of too much cholesterol in the blood.
Moringa seeds help to regulate blood sugar levels
Moringa seed is a natural remedy to help naturally regulate blood sugar levels in people suffering from diabetes.
The therapeutic uses of moringa seeds as a natural treatment for diabetes were reported in the Journal of Diabetes. There researchers found that in animal experiments, moringa pod extract helped to increase insulin production and protein levels and reduce blood glucose levels. The moringa extract also showed an antioxidant effect on the pancreas and prevented damage to pancreatic tissue.10
A similar study from 2015 found that the antioxidant compounds in moringa seed extract showed antidiabetic activity and the extract was found be safe as a food supplement.11
Protect the liver
The antioxidant effect of moringa seed oil benefit your health by protecting you from liver damage. Moringa seed oil contains important compounds which help to rid liver tissue from free radicals that can lead to liver disease.
The Journal of Food Science found that the free radical scavenging potential of moringa seed oil can help to repair liver damage caused by hepatitis. It concluded that the oil from moringa seeds can be used as a therapeutic treatment for some liver disorders.12
Therefore moringa seeds have amazing ability to help keep your liver healthy and free of toxins.
Helps cure gastric ulcers
Moringa seeds also have an anti-inflammatory effect which can help to soothe and treat gastric or peptic ulcers. Ulcers in the stomach wall can cause pain after eating and can be difficult to treat. You can use powder from moringa seeds as a natural remedy for ulcers.
A study into the effect of moringa seeds on ulcers found that is wasn’t just the potential for moringa to reduce inflammation that helped treat ulcers. The antioxidant properties of the seeds also played an important role in reducing the symptoms of the ulcer.13 The study also found that moringa seeds were so potent in treating ulcer symptoms, that even low doses were effective.
If you suffer from stomach ulcers, you can also try potato juice, cabbage juice or aloe vera juice – all are known to help with the healing process of ulcers.
Reduce inflammation and pain relief
The anti-inflammatory properties of moringa oleifera seeds can also help you get relief from pain caused by inflammation. WebMD says that moringa is used to alleviate the painful symptoms of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other types of joint pain.14
The use of moringa seeds to treat painful inflammatory conditions is backed up by scientific studies. For example, the journal Inflammation published reports into the ability of moringa seeds to reduce inflammation and help find relief from chronic inflammatory diseases.15 Other studies have shown that moringa seeds can help as an anti-inflammatory treatment for rheumatic conditions by suppressing the immune system’s overactive response that causes inflammation.16
Many studies also point to the fact that oleic acid (moringa seeds have a high oleic acid content) also has an important role in helping to treat inflammatory pain conditions.17
If you suffer from sore joints or pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis, moringa seeds are one of the foods to eat for arthritis as part of your pain management regime to help you to enjoy a better quality of life.
Relief from bronchial asthma
The anti-inflammatory effect of moringa seeds can also help to get natural relief from the symptoms of asthma and bronchial asthma. Dr. William Blahds on WebMD describes asthma as a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that causes bouts of coughing, wheezing, and chest tightness.18
One study published in the Indian Journal of Pharmacology found that taking 3 g of moringa seeds for 3 weeks helped to improve the symptoms of bronchial asthma. Patients found that they had fewer attacks of coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.19 The researchers said that moringa seed powder is a useful treatment for bronchial asthma.
Use moringa seed extracts as a natural remedy for bronchial asthma. The antispasmodic effect of moringa seeds can help reduce the frequency and severity of asthmatic attacks and its anti-inflammatory properties can help to effectively reduce inflammation in your chest and airways.
Moringa seeds boost the immune system
Moringa seeds contain essential vitamins and nutrients that are needed to keep your immune system healthy and strong. In fact, moringa extracts are one of the best ways to give your immunity a boost.
The journal Food Science and Human Wellness reports that moringa has 7 times more vitamin C than oranges, 10 times more vitamin A than carrots, 25 times more iron than spinach, and 15 times more potassium than bananas. Added to this that moringa has more calcium than milk, and it is easy to see why moringa supplements are natural powerful immunity enhancers.20
Antibacterial properties
Another health benefit of moringa seed extracts is that they have antibacterial compounds which are effective against various strains of bacteria. The antimicrobial properties of moringa seeds can also help treat and prevent various diseases caused by viruses and fungal infections.20
How to Consume Moringa Seeds
The best way to consume moringa seeds to enjoy all their health benefits is to eat the seeds like you would eat any other nut. You can add them to your breakfast, or eat along with other nuts and dried fruits. You can also find in this page in Amazon moringa seeds for eating or planting.
If you are able to obtain fresh seeds, you can cook them as you would peas and use them as a delicious and healthy accompaniment to any meal.
Many of the studies mentioned in this article used 3 g of moringa seeds daily to get the health benefits.
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