4 Health Benefits of Vanilla Extract

December 5, 2023December 5, 2023 Agric4Profits

Vanilla extract, is a gotten from the mixture of vanilla beans and alcohol. The main flavoring component of vanilla, vanillin, is released when the vanilla beans also referred to as pods are soaked in alcohol. The sweetness of sweets can therefore be increased by adding this dark brown liquid, commonly known as a vanilla tincture.

But the solution is rarely that straightforward. According to estimates, lignin, a byproduct of paper waste products that may be used to make synthetic vanillin, is the source of about 95% of the vanilla extract used in commercial products rather than vanilla beans. The leftover sawdust from paper mills and other related businesses is used to create this synthetic replica.

Unfortunately, the labor-intensive procedure of growing vanilla plants and extracting their flavor forced the synthetic synthesis of vanilla extract in order to meet the rising demand.

That shouldn’t deter you from creating your own extract. Additionally, real vanilla extract has a deeper flavor than synthetic vanillin, especially when prepared from Madagascar vanilla beans.

The most natural and homemade-like product you can buy should be Vanilla Co2 Total Extract if you’re not sure you’re ready to manufacture your own.

Not surprisingly, the subjects’ response was comparable to their favorable response to fluoxetine, a typical SSRI medication recommended for depression.

Vanillin does not show adverse effects in animal experiments, in contrast to fluoxetine, which has “common” side effects that include weird nightmares, pain, vomiting, diarrhea, flu symptoms, and impotence among roughly a dozen others.

I firmly believe that food may be used as a medication instead of harmful psychiatric drugs. Here’s another illustration of how the plants that God put on the world for our good actually help us, without any of the horrifying side effects that come with using manmade chemicals.

Mexico was the main supplier of vanilla exports up to the middle of the 19th century. The Totonacs, a historical ethnic group from Mexico who reside on the nation’s east coast, appear to be the plant’s original cultivators.

According to Totonac mythology, the king forbade Princess Xanat, an immortal, from wedding a mortal. She fled with her lover, and when they were apprehended, they were both decapitated. Thankfully, their blood spilled to the ground and gave rise to the vanilla vine.

When the Aztecs entered Totonac territory in the fifteenth century, they discovered that their people loved this “black flower” very much. Tenochtitlan, their leader, demanded that the Totonac populace bring vanilla to him as a form of tribute to the Aztecs.

4 Health Benefits of Vanilla Extract

The vanilla plant, which belongs to the genus Vanilla and is most frequently found in Mexico as the species V. Planifolia, is a flowering vine that can grow up to 300 feet long depending on the structure that supports it.

The dried orchids from the vine known as “vanilla beans” are what gives vanilla its delicious flavor. They contain a variety of compounds, including vanillin.

1. Antioxidants

I know you hear about how certain foods have antioxidant properties, but why precisely is it so significant? Because free radicals that enter your body from exposure to chemicals, sunlight, and other factors have the ability to inflict long-term harm, it is crucial to include antioxidants in your diet. This free radical damage is referred to as oxidative stress, and it causes a number of illnesses as well as cancer.

Since quite some time, vanillin has been recognized as an antioxidant. However, it’s interesting to note that vanilla extract, which has recently attracted attention as a valuable product in food preservation and in health supplements as nutraceuticals, exhibits lower antioxidant activity than vanillin.

2. Antibacterial

Products made with vanilla also have antimicrobial qualities. They may be included in a regimen to cure cold sores naturally because of this in part.

I suggest applying the extract to your cold sore with a cotton ball about four times daily until you see the sore go away. Soon after using the product for the first time, you will likely notice a decrease in the cold sore’s inflammation.

3. Anti-inflammatory

Vanilla not only has the potential to lessen inflammation on a cold sore, but it also contributes to lessening inflammation throughout your entire body. Because it is at the core of the majority of diseases, inflammation poses a serious threat.

Fortunately, medical science has started to acknowledge the profound effects of chronic inflammation, and this area of study is now regarded as an emerging one in the world of healthcare research.

You can include components in your diet that actively lower inflammation that may already be present in addition to eliminating inflammatory foods from your diet (foods heavy in sugar, pasteurized dairy, and conventional meat are a few examples).

In addition to its antioxidant action, one rat study exploring the anti-inflammatory characteristics of vanillin discovered that it was particularly important in preventing and reducing the damage caused by liver injury.

4. For Mental Health

Additionally, some individuals’ anxiety and despair have been shown to be reduced by vanilla. Its anti-inflammatory qualities might contribute to this effect.

You see, inflammation has an impact on more than just your chance of illness. Additionally, it appears to be the cause of several types of mental instability.

The brain releases what are referred to as pro-inflammatory cytokines when it is under stress, whether it be from an injury, ongoing mental or emotional stress, an illness, or even dietary inadequacies. Your immune system releases cytokines in a variety of ways, including pro-inflammatory ones, in reaction to illness or other triggers.

Regular inflammation is a healthy biological response to your well-designed immune system’s efforts to get rid of an infection or other threat. However, when a pro-inflammatory cytokine is released in excess, your body starts to respond physically and mentally. This is referred to as sickness behavior.

This was demonstrated in various studies on depression, where it was discovered that people with depression had considerably higher levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha than those without the diagnosis.

Vanillin’s antidepressant effects are therefore not surprising because they may be related to its capacity to reduce inflammation (although that was not mentioned specifically in this study).