The Health Benefits of Fenugreek
One of Nature's Top Antioxidant Foods

The health benefits of fenugreek are primarily due to its exceptional antioxidant content. Fenugreek contains significant amounts of the antioxidants vitamin C, quercetin, rutin and superoxide dismutase. Other nutrients found in fenugreek include protein, niacin and potassium. It is one of the richest sources of phytoestrogens and is thus a very useful spice for women who have low estrogen levels.

Fenugreek is also one of the richest sources of selenium. Selenium supports the activity of the network antioxidants and enhances their effectiveness. It's also an essential component of two important antioxidant enzymes that are manufactured by your body, glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin. These enzymes provide you with benefits for your cardiovascular system, as well as strengthening your immune system against a wide range of other chronic diseases.

Selenium appears to also have a protective effect against a range of cancers, including those of the colon, lung and prostate, when consumed regularly.

Herbs and Spices are Some of the
Top Antioxidant Foods

It's a little-known fact that herbs (and spices) such as fenugreek have far greater concentrations of antioxidants than any common fruit or vegetable source. Herbs also contain a particularly wide variety of antioxidants as well, making them one of the top antioxidant foods around.

Antioxidants are nutrient compounds found in virtually all plant foods (and also manufactured in your body). The primary job of antioxidants is to protect your cells against the oxidative stress caused by free radicals, considered to be the primary cause of the aging process.

Protecting yourself against free radicals with antioxidants is the most effective way to reduce the risk of many health problems associated with aging. The benefits of antioxidants include powerful protection against all types of degenerative diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, macular degeneration, Alzheimer's disease, and many more.

Antioxidants work together, synergistically, and each one has its own specific characteristics and benefits. One antioxidant may work in places in the body where another one can't go, and neutralize free radicals that other antioxidants miss. Therefore, getting the widest variety of antioxidants is just as important as how much of any one antioxidant you get. See my page on How Do Antioxidants Work? to learn more about this.

Specific Health Benefits of Fenugreek

The health benefits of fenugreek include its use to treat arthritis, asthma, bronchitis, improve digestion, maintain a healthy metabolism, increase libido and male potency, cure skin problems, treat sore throat, and cure acid reflux. Fenugreek is also being studied for its cardiovascular benefits. Due to its estrogen-like properties, fenugreek has been found to lessen the effect of hot flashes and mood fluctuations that are common symptoms of menopause and PMS.

Recent studies have shown that fenugreek helps lower blood glucose and cholestrol levels. Fenugreek has a beneficial effect on blood fat levels and can substantially reduce the risk of atherosclerosis. In diabetics, it has demonstrated an ability to lower LDL cholesterol, while raising HDL levels. Another health benefit of fenugreek is its ability to reduce abnormal blood clotting associated with heart attacks and strokes.

Fenugreek has similar anti-diabetic properties to cinnamon. Fenugreek is one of the most valuable spices for the control of blood sugar levels and thus the prevention and treatment of Type 2 diabetes. The use of fenugreek has been shown to lower blood glucose levels of Type 2 diabetics by as much as 46 percent.

Athletes who compete in endurance events need to maintain a readily available supply of energy. In order to achieve this, muscle carbohydrates in the form of glycogen must be continuously replenished. When glycogen stores become depleted, the athlete has to rely on external sources of energy such as high carbohydrate drinks, which are inferior to glycogen as an energy source. The benefits of fenugreek have been shown to have a strong effect on glycogen replenishment in endurance athletes.

Recommendations for Fenugreek
and Other Herbs and Spices

Research indicates that a few spicy meals a week won't get you much of the antioxidant benefits of spices; you must consume larger quantities on a daily basis.

If you want to get all of the health benefits of fenugreek, you'll need more than the small bottles that you see at the supermarket. Those won't go very far and will cost much more by the pound than if you buy in bulk. Fortunately, I've got a wonderful online source for bulk premium-quality organic fenugreek — Starwest Botanicals and iHerb.com.

Starwest Botanicals started as a small retail herb shop in 1975. Their primary objective, from the beginning, was to focus on quality — even building their own herb mill to ensure that goal.

Today, Starwest is one of the largest suppliers of organic herbs in the United States, with over a million pounds of herbs and spices in stock.

You can get the best price on Starwest Organic Fenugreek at my iHerb.com store. You can also browse through Starwest's wide variety of herbs and spices at the Starwest Botanical Store at iHerb.

The health benefits of fenugreek are also available in capsules and liquid extracts. You can find a great selection of fenugreek products, as well as hundreds of other nutritional supplements and natural health products, at iHerb.com. There's many reasons why iHerb is a great place to shop:

• Great Prices — 30% to 60% off most name-brand products
• Selection — over 16,000 products and 600 brand-names
• Same-Day Shipping — $4 Flat Rate, FREE on orders over $40
• International Shipping — as low as $4 on orders up to $80
• Live Customer-Care Service — on the phone or live chat
• Additional Discounts — extra 5% off for orders over $60
• Rewards Program — earn store credit for referring your friends!