Health Benefits of Carob

Many people recognize carob chips as a healthy alternative to chocolate, but carob actually has many more practical uses for healthy minded people. It has been used for centuries to treat many medical conditions and was first grown by the Ancient Greeks. Today carob trees can be found throughout the world, and the fruit they produce is encapsulated in a pod much like the pea. For this reason, they are classified as a legume, a very healthy legume that you should consider adding to your diet. The following are some of the top health benefits of consuming carob.

Can Help Digestive Issues

People with digestive issues often find that consuming carob can help settle down their digestive tract. This is because carob contains tannins that are different from what is usually found in plants. These tannins dry out the digestive tract which helps protect bacteria from growing on the intestines and stops toxins from sticking to the sides of the tract. Additionally, there are natural sugars in carob that can help counteract and thicken loose stools. Some doctors even use carob bean juice to treat diarrhea in their patients.

Helps Prevent and Treat High Cholesterol

Many people deal with high cholesterol which can lead to heart disease down the road. Carob may be a natural way to treat high cholesterol because it contains a high number of polyphenols. Polyphenols are a type of antioxidant that has been linked to the reduction of high cholesterol. Thus, eating carob on a regular basis can help you lower your LDL number, and can help prevent the development of heart disease down the line.

May Prevent Cancer

The combination of a high number of polyphenols and the concentration of carob germ flour from in carob combine to be toxic to some cells in the body. This may sound like a negative, but in reality, it is a great effect because the cells it is toxic to are cancer cells. In particular, these byproducts tend to attack cervical cancer cells. When you combine this effect with the natural antioxidant properties of carob, you get a food item that is a great defense against the future development of cancer.

Can Help with Weight Loss

If you are trying to lose weight, you may find that carob is a great natural appetite suppressant. This is because it stops the secretion of postprandial ghrelin, a hormone that tells your body when you are hungry. Therefore, you will feel less hungry less often if you consume a bit of carob throughout the day. This can help you reduce your intake in a completely healthy manner and reduce the amount that you may overweight so you can lose weight in a more efficient manner.

Is Great for Diabetes

People with diabetes often have to pass on a low of sweets to prevent their blood sugar from spiking and complications from occurring from their disease. Carob, while tasting sweet like chocolate, only has a fraction of the fat found in chocolate and has much less sugar. It is also a third of the calories making it a great snack for people with diabetes and for those trying to lose weight. As a bonus, it also contains protein which makes it a great snack to have on hand if you have diabetes who occasionally experiences a drop in blood sugar.

Improve Eye Health

Carob is high in a number of vitamins, one of which is Vitamin A. Vitamin A plays a large role in maintaining the health of your eye tissue. As people age often their eye tissue breaks down resulting in a loss of vision known as macular degeneration. Consuming a regular amount of Vitamin A can help ward off the loss of tissue so that you can keep your vision for longer without needing medical intervention.

Packed Full of Vitamins and Minerals

As mentioned, carob is packed full of a large variety of minerals and vitamins. This makes it far more beneficial to consume than chocolate. Carob can help satisfy your sweet tooth while also adding a large assortment of vitamins and minerals to your diet that includes Vitamins A, B-2, B-3, and B-6 and minerals like copper, zinc, manganese, calcium, magnesium, selenium, and potassium.

High in Calcium

Carob can be a great way to strengthen your bones because it contains a high amount of calcium in each serving. Every two-tablespoon serving of this healthy sweet chip contains 8% of the daily calcium intake. Calcium can help you prevent the development of osteoporosis and maintain a high bone density. Additionally, your body needs calcium for blood to clot properly and for your heart to beat regularly.

Natural Antioxidant

Free radicals and environmental toxins surround us whether we are aware of it or not. Even the most health-conscious person will be exposed to some free radicals on a fairly regular basis. The good news is that carob has a high number of antioxidants in the form of polyphenols in it. The antioxidants help to counteract the free radicals and remove them from the body before they can do any damage. It has been found that the beans have a higher antioxidant ability than the pods, so aim to eat the carob beans when possible.

Great Source of Selenium

Your body needs a lot of minerals to function, one you may not think about much is selenium. Selenium is important for your overall health because it helps regular your thyroid, aids in the production of DNA and protects the body from infection. Carob offers 5.5mcg of selenium in just one cup of carob flour which is about 10% of the daily selenium intake for adults.