5 Reasons Why Including Tej Patta in Your Diet is Healthy

Bay leaf, scientifically known as Laurus nobilis, is a spice that is used primarily for food flavouring but crumbled bay leaves, in a dish, also offers various nutritional and health benefits.

Bay leaves are also known as तेज पत्ता (tej patta) in Hindi, ബേ ഇലകൾ (bē ilakaḷ) in Malayalam, வளைகுடா இலைகள் (Vaḷaikuṭā ilaikaḷ) in Tamil, ಕೊಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲೆಗಳು (Kolli elegaḷu) in Kannada. There are two chief varieties of bay leaves used for culinary. They are Turkish (or Mediterranean) bay leaves and California bay leaves.

Bay leaves are used either as fresh, whole, dried, or ground. Most chefs and cooks use dried leaves. The dried leaves have a slightly stronger scent than the fresh leaves. These are even burnt as burning bay leaves is also believed to have many benefits.

# Promotes heart health

1. The rutin and caffeic acid content of bay leaves help in promoting heart health.

2. Rutin strengthens the capillary walls in the heart and the body’s extremities.

3. Caffeic acid removes LDL or bad cholesterol from the cardiovascular system.

# Prevents cancer

1. The antioxidants and organic compounds such as linalool, phytonutrients, parthenolide, and catechins aids in protecting the body from the effects of free radicals. Free radicals lead to the mutation of healthy cells into cancerous cells.

2. Cineole, the active ingredient of bay leaves suppresses the growth of leukemia cancer cell lines.

3. Bay leaf is effective in breast cancer as it is said to induce cell death in breast cancer cell lines.

# Reduces anxiety and stress

Linalool present in tej patta helps decrease the level of stress hormones in the body. Bay leaves can also combat depression symptoms.

# Fights fungal infections

1. The antifungal properties of bay leaf fight against fungal infections especially against Candida infection.

2. Bay leaf prevents the adhesion of Candida to the cell walls, thereby preventing its penetrating into the membrane.

# Other possible benefits

Saffron produces numerous health benefits, apart from the health benefits mentioned above, it also produces few more such as, improves digestion, treats respiratory conditions, promotes hair care, possesses anti-inflammatory properties, manages diabetes,treats menstrual problems, treats dandruff and hair loss, aids wound healing, improves skin health, acts as a natural wound healer, and protects the body from inflammation.