Saffron Calories And Nutritional Values
日本語
Saffron has many benefits such as:
- Assists the digestion
- Suppresses the appetite
- Improves emotional well-being
- Relieves symptoms of PMS "Premenstrual syndromes"
- It has anti-cancer and anti-oxidant properties
- Relieves inflammation and soreness of the mouth and tongue
- Effective in mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease
- Reduces symptoms of depression
Scientific Discoveries:
- Mood and Appetite: While saffron improves emotional well-being and digestion, it reduces the appetite. Powerful metabolite, safely and effectively suppresses appetite, by naturally enhancing the serotonin levels in the body "serotonin is the chemical in the brain that controls both mood and appetite". Research has shown that low serotonin levels can cause overeating.
- Saffron has anti-cancer and anti-oxidant-like properties: It protects the eye from the direct effects of bright light and retinal stress apart from slowing down macular degeneration. Rubbing saffron directly onto the gums helps to relieve inflammation and soreness of the mouth and tongue. It is beneficial for athletes as it lowers fatigue and muscle inflammation by helping the tissues to get rid of lactic acid.
- PMS "Premenstrual Syndromes": Saffron was found to be effective in relieving symptoms of PMS. This included changes in mood (anxiety, irritability, depression, nervous tension, mood swings and out of control), behavior (poor coordination, insomnia, confusion, headache, crying and fatigue), pain (aches, cramps and tender breasts) and physical (food craving and swelling). They found that the saffron odor as well (just smelling it), has effect on PMS, menstrual pain and irregular menstruation. PMSs are among the most common health problems reported by women, affecting 20-40% of women, for which there is not much modern medicine, has to offer.
- Depression: In the study of saffron for PMS symptoms, the researchers also noticed a significant drop in symptoms of depression as well. They conducted a head-to-head test of the spice saffron versus Prozac (an antidepressant), for the treatment of clinical depression. Within just one week a significant drop in depression symptoms that got better and better throughout the 6 weeks period. One of those lines is the Prozac group, the other, the saffron group, and it didn’t really matter which is which because they both worked equally effective. Of course, 20% percentage of Prozac users suffered from sexual dysfunction, an all too common side effect, whereas not one did in the saffron group.
- Alzheimer’s: The study suggests that at least in the short-term, saffron is both safe and effective in mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Saffron worked just as well as the conventional medicine (Donepezil=Aricept), which is to say not very well at all, but keep in mind Alzheimer’s patients are not on sugar pills, they are on drugs that cost about $2,000 a year and associated with all sort of side-effects.
The spice saffron is composed of the female reproductive organs of the flower of the saffron crocus. Each flower just produces a few threads, such that you need 150,000 flowers to make just one kilogram of spice. No wonder it’s the most expensive spice in the world.
Saffron is graded via laboratory measurement of mainly color, taste and fragrance and the standards are set by the International Organization for Standardization. The various saffron crocus cultivars give rise to thread types that are often regionally distributed and characteristically distinct. The most intense varieties tend to be Iranian.
Saffron-based pigments have been found in 50,000 year-old depictions of prehistoric places in northwest Iran. Old Persian is the first language in which the use of saffron in cooking is recorded with references dating back thousands of years. It has been used and traded over 4000 years. Iran now accounts for approximately 90% of the world production of saffron.
Selection And Storage:
Saffron Forms: Available in threads (whole stigmas) and ground, your best bet is to go with the threads. Not only will they retain their flavor longer, but you will also be assured you have purchased pure saffron. Powdered saffron is not as strong, tends to lose flavor, and is also easily adulterated with fillers and imitations.
How to choose Saffron: Check the color of the saffron; High quality threads will appear dark red. The redder, the better. It should smell sweet, with a floral-type aroma.
Warning: Despite such attempts at quality control and standardization, an extensive history of saffron adulteration—particularly among the cheapest grades continues into modern times. Typical methods include mixing in extraneous substances like beets, pomegranate fibers, red-dyed silk fibers, or the saffron crocus's tasteless and odorless yellow stamens. Other methods included dousing saffron fibers with viscid substances like honey or vegetable oil. However, powdered saffron is more prone to adulteration, with turmeric, paprika, and other powders used as diluting fillers. Adulteration can also consist of selling mislabeled mixes of different saffron grades.
Saffron Storage: Store saffron in an airtight glass jar container in a cool, dark place for up to six months for maximum flavor. It will not spoil, but it will lose increasingly more and more of its flavor with age.
How to choose Saffron: Check the color of the saffron; High quality threads will appear dark red. The redder, the better. It should smell sweet, with a floral-type aroma.
Warning: Despite such attempts at quality control and standardization, an extensive history of saffron adulteration—particularly among the cheapest grades continues into modern times. Typical methods include mixing in extraneous substances like beets, pomegranate fibers, red-dyed silk fibers, or the saffron crocus's tasteless and odorless yellow stamens. Other methods included dousing saffron fibers with viscid substances like honey or vegetable oil. However, powdered saffron is more prone to adulteration, with turmeric, paprika, and other powders used as diluting fillers. Adulteration can also consist of selling mislabeled mixes of different saffron grades.
Saffron Storage: Store saffron in an airtight glass jar container in a cool, dark place for up to six months for maximum flavor. It will not spoil, but it will lose increasingly more and more of its flavor with age.
Sources
Image Credit
http://nutritionfacts.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saffron
Jclin pharm ther (2010) Oct;35,581-588
BJOG, 2008 Mar; 115(4):515-9
Phytomedicine, 2011 jun 15:18(8-9):726-30
Fukui H, Toyoshima K, Komaki R. Psychological and neuroendocrinological effects of
odor of saffron (Crocus sativus). Phytomedicine. 2011 Jun 15;18(8-9):726-30.
Agha-Hosseini M, Kashani L, Aleyaseen A, Ghoreishi A, Rahmanpour H, Zarrinara AR, Akhondzadeh S. Crocus sativus L. (saffron) in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome: a
double-blind, randomised and placebo-controlled trial. BJOG. 2008 Mar;115(4):515-9.
Agha-Hosseini M, Kashani L, Aleyaseen A, Ghoreishi A, Rahmanpour H, Zarrinara AR, Akhondzadeh S. Crocus sativus L. (saffron) in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome: a
double-blind, randomised and placebo-controlled trial. BJOG. 2008 Mar;115(4):515-9.
Noorbala AA, Akhondzadeh S, Tahmacebi-Pour N, Jamshidi AH. Hydro-alcoholic extract of
Crocus sativus L. versus fluoxetine in the treatment of mild to moderate
depression: a double-blind, randomized pilot trial. J Ethnopharmacol. 2005 Feb 28;(2):281-4.
Akhondzadeh S, Sabet MS, Harirchian MH, Togha M, Cheraghmakani H, Razeghi S, Hejazi SSh,
Yousefi MH, Alimardani R, Jamshidi A, Zare F, Moradi A. Saffron in the treatment
of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: a 16-week, randomized and
placebo-controlled trial. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2010. Oct;35(5):581-8.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Service. 2010. Deaths: Final
Data for 2007. NVSR Volume 58, Number 19.
Akhondzadeh S, Sabet MS, Harirchian MH, Togha M, Cheraghmakani H, Razeghi S, Hejazi SSh,
Yousefi MH, Alimardani R, Jamshidi A, Zare F, Moradi A. Saffron in the treatment
of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: a 16-week, randomized and
placebo-controlled trial. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2010 Oct;35(5):581-8.
Akhondzadeh S, Shafiee Sabet M, Harirchian MH, Togha M, Cheraghmakani H, Razeghi S, Hejazi
SS, Yousefi MH, Alimardani R, Jamshidi A, Rezazadeh SA, Yousefi A, Zare F,
Moradi A, Vossoughi A. A 22-week, multicenter, randomized, double-blind
controlled trial of Crocus sativus in the treatment of mild-to-moderate
Alzheimer's disease. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2010 Jan;207(4):637-43.
http://nutritionfacts.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saffron
Jclin pharm ther (2010) Oct;35,581-588
BJOG, 2008 Mar; 115(4):515-9
Phytomedicine, 2011 jun 15:18(8-9):726-30
Fukui H, Toyoshima K, Komaki R. Psychological and neuroendocrinological effects of
odor of saffron (Crocus sativus). Phytomedicine. 2011 Jun 15;18(8-9):726-30.
Agha-Hosseini M, Kashani L, Aleyaseen A, Ghoreishi A, Rahmanpour H, Zarrinara AR, Akhondzadeh S. Crocus sativus L. (saffron) in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome: a
double-blind, randomised and placebo-controlled trial. BJOG. 2008 Mar;115(4):515-9.
Agha-Hosseini M, Kashani L, Aleyaseen A, Ghoreishi A, Rahmanpour H, Zarrinara AR, Akhondzadeh S. Crocus sativus L. (saffron) in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome: a
double-blind, randomised and placebo-controlled trial. BJOG. 2008 Mar;115(4):515-9.
Noorbala AA, Akhondzadeh S, Tahmacebi-Pour N, Jamshidi AH. Hydro-alcoholic extract of
Crocus sativus L. versus fluoxetine in the treatment of mild to moderate
depression: a double-blind, randomized pilot trial. J Ethnopharmacol. 2005 Feb 28;(2):281-4.
Akhondzadeh S, Sabet MS, Harirchian MH, Togha M, Cheraghmakani H, Razeghi S, Hejazi SSh,
Yousefi MH, Alimardani R, Jamshidi A, Zare F, Moradi A. Saffron in the treatment
of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: a 16-week, randomized and
placebo-controlled trial. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2010. Oct;35(5):581-8.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Service. 2010. Deaths: Final
Data for 2007. NVSR Volume 58, Number 19.
Akhondzadeh S, Sabet MS, Harirchian MH, Togha M, Cheraghmakani H, Razeghi S, Hejazi SSh,
Yousefi MH, Alimardani R, Jamshidi A, Zare F, Moradi A. Saffron in the treatment
of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: a 16-week, randomized and
placebo-controlled trial. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2010 Oct;35(5):581-8.
Akhondzadeh S, Shafiee Sabet M, Harirchian MH, Togha M, Cheraghmakani H, Razeghi S, Hejazi
SS, Yousefi MH, Alimardani R, Jamshidi A, Rezazadeh SA, Yousefi A, Zare F,
Moradi A, Vossoughi A. A 22-week, multicenter, randomized, double-blind
controlled trial of Crocus sativus in the treatment of mild-to-moderate
Alzheimer's disease. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2010 Jan;207(4):637-43.