29 Amazing Health Benefits Of Oregano
It’s a splendid day to learn the many health benefits of oregano.
To start, it’s Origanum vulgare and is closely related to marjoram. It’s even called wild marjoram.
My mother and grandmother have oregano planted around our house, so I decided to check out the health benefits of oregano as well.
Here is my list of the health benefits of oregano that I’ve collected online.
1. Oregano May Help With Depression
A study was conducted with rats using oregano oil.
They noticed that after 14 days, the rats that received oregano treatment showed less stress-related behavior.
More studies should be conducted on this to verify if the effects are significant enough to be helpful to humans.
2. Boosts Immunity
A published study in the Journal of Food Biochemistry found that oregano contains two significant components which are rosmarinic acid and thymol. These are powerful antioxidants that can decrease oxidative stress in your body.
Besides rosmarinic acid and thymol, oregano also has carvacrol. Carvacrol and thymol aids in the increased production of white blood cells.
If you’ve studied biology, you should know that white blood cells are your body’s bodyguards. They fight bacteria and viral infections in your body.
This means that adding oregano to your diet will improve your immune system. Improving your immune system also means improving your healing process time.
3. Oregano May Help Lose Weight
Regular consumption of oregano may help you lose weight.
Researchers traced this effect from the presence of carvacrol in the herb.
There was a study conducted on mice wherein 2 groups were fed with a high-fat diet. 1 group was also given carvacrol.
They noticed that the ones who had carvacrol gained less weight.
To add more, in this study ( Carvacrol prevents diet-induced obesity), carvacrol was noticed to be a part of preventing the process of the formation of fat cells.
4. Aids In Killing Intestinal Parasites
Intestinal parasites inhabit your gastrointestinal tract. These can cause some discomfort and may lead to different serious diseases.
Consuming dried oregano or oregano oil which is rich in thymol and carvacrol will help you treat these intestinal parasites.
5. Oregano Has Antiparasitic Properties
I’ve mentioned above that oregano can help eliminate intestinal worms. But it can also be applied topically to keep away other parasitic insects like bed bugs, fleas, lice, and mosquitoes.
You may have noticed that oregano is found in some of these organic bug repellents and sprays.
6. May Improve Gut Health
If you’re concerned about your gut health, you must consider consuming oregano. Oregano may help your gut health improve in many ways.
Because oregano has anti-intestinal parasite qualities, in effect, it benefits your gut.
Research with 14 participants who had symptoms of bloating, diarrhea, and some pain that are caused by gut parasites were given daily treatments of oregano oil.
After 6 weeks, it was observed that the participants have reduced parasite inhabitants in their guts and some were even completely cured.
7. Oregano Is A Good Source Of Antioxidants
It is researched that oregano is rich in antioxidants which help fight harmful free radicals in your body. Oregano oil is high in antioxidants carvacrol and thymol.
Thymol gives oregano a unique smell and is a phytochemical which is a powerful antioxidant. Another phytochemical present in oregano is rosmarinic acid. Combining thymol and rosmarinic acid makes oregano a strong antioxidant, even stronger than apples.
A build-up of free radicals is linked to different diseases like cancer and heart diseases.
Free radicals are naturally occurring in your body as a result of metabolism. But there can be a build-up of these free radicals in your body because of some environmental factors like air pollutants and cigarette smoke.
If you combine oregano with other superfoods rich in antioxidants, you’ll have a better chance of improving your overall health.
Among different herbs, oregano seems to be one of the top herbs that contain antioxidant properties.
A superfood that’s known to have antioxidant properties too is coconut water which is also delicious and easier to consume. If you want to know more about the health benefits of coconut water, please check out my other article here.
8. May Help With Cancer
There have been studies that showed oregano may have the potential to be added to anti-cancer treatments. This is because of the β-caryophyllene oxide which is also present in oregano.
It is said that β-caryophyllene oxide is a sesquiterpene that can help inhibit cancer cell growth.
Since oregano is also rich in antioxidants, these compounds may also aid in cancer prevention by fighting off free radical damage.
One of these particular compounds is carvacrol which is being studied to have cancer-fighting properties. Carvacrol has shown to be promising to fight breast, liver, and lung cancer cells.
More studies are still needed to be sure about it when it comes to the prevention and treatment of cancer.
9. Oregano Can Help Reduce Inflammations
Inflammations aren’t that bad because it naturally occurs in your body because of an injury or illness. But chronic inflammations are. It contributes to the development of autoimmune conditions, diabetes, and heart diseases.
A German university has found beta-caryophyllin in oregano can act as an anti-inflammatory agent.
The antioxidants in oregano will help neutralize free radicals and lessen inflammations.
10. Has Anti-Allergy Properties
Since oregano has anti-inflammatory and sedative properties, it may be helpful with allergies.
Oregano oil calms down and relieves some allergy symptoms. Its anti-inflammatory property then can help reduce the severity of the allergy. This could be very important in the swelling of the throat cases.
11. Oregano Helps Lower Your Cholesterol Levels
More studies have shown that oregano oil may help reduce cholesterol. 3 months after consuming oregano oil noticed a lower LDL cholesterol level and a higher HDL cholesterol level. The study was conducted with 48 participants.
12. Has Antibacterial Properties
Oregano has been known to have antibacterial properties. This is because of carvacrol and thymol. Both of these compounds help defend your body against different bacteria that can affect your gut, skin, and other parts of your body.
There have been test-tube studies that showed the essential oil in oregano was able to block the growth of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Both are strains of bacteria that can cause infections.
Oregano has also been shown to have a minor role as a stimulating agent. It can help increase the production of white blood cells and increase metabolism. The result of this is a faster recovery from common illnesses.
Another great thing about oregano is that research has shown oregano oil may be effective against other types of bacteria that have become resilient to antibiotics.
13. Oregano Can Treat Some Skin Diseases
It’s said that the anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties in oregano help in the healing of wounds.
Although there are still insufficient studies, some figured that oregano may help treat eczema, psoriasis, rashes, and other skin conditions.
Oregano oil has antiseptic properties that’s why it’s used as an ingredient in lotions, ointments, and topical creams. These products that contain oregano oil may alleviate inflammation and skin infections.
14. May Help Lessen Viral Infection
There have been studies that oregano may also be able to fight some viruses.
As mentioned earlier, carvacrol and thymol are key components of oregano for it having antiviral properties.
However, it was noted that more studies should still be conducted to be certain of this.
15. Oregano Can Help Reduce Pain
Studies on mice have shown that oregano oil has significantly reduced the pain in mice. The effect is similar to common painkillers like fenoprofen and morphine.
The results were traced back to oregano oil having carvacrol.
16. Relieves Menstrual Cramps
It is not well-known that oregano can help women with their menstrual cramps issues. Because oregano can help relieve pain, it can also help you reduce the discomfort and pain intensity during menstruation.
You can either just chew fresh oregano leaves or use it to make tea. It will help you reduce some of the uncomfortable symptoms of menstruation. Regular consumption of oregano may also help normalize menstrual cycles.
17. Oregano Aids In Digestion
It’s not popularly known but oregano is also rich in fiber. And as we’ve already known, fiber is really good when it comes to having a healthy digestive system.
The fiber in oregano improves the stimulation of the peristaltic motion. The peristaltic motion moves the food in your digestive tract and discharges it efficiently.
18. A Source Of Omega 3 Fatty Acids
You may already know that omega 3 fatty acids are very helpful in improving your health. But what if you’re allergic to seafood or just can’t eat them? Here is where oregano comes in.
If you need some omega 3 fatty acids and doesn’t want to eat seafood or take supplements, you can add oregano to your daily diet.
19. Oregano Improves Your Heart Health
Since oregano is rich in omega 3 fatty acids, it is a good enough reason as to why it will improve your heart’s health.
The omega 3 fatty acids in oregano will help you with your cholesterol levels and decrease inflammations in your cardiovascular system. This in effect will help prevent atherosclerosis, heart attacks, and strokes.
20. Reduces The Risk Of Stroke
A stroke in some way is also the same as a heart attack. But in this case, it is your brain that is attacked.
But the factors of having a heart attack or a stroke are quite familiar. This is why improving your heart health by consuming oregano also in a way improves your chances of having a stroke.
21. Oregano Helps Remove Dandruff And Scalp Issues
The extracts on oregano leaves have shown positive effects to reduce dandruff in 7 days of treatment.
I guess my mother and sister knew about this already way before I wrote this article. I’ve seen my mother applying oregano on my sister’s hair when we were younger.
22. Improves Bone Health
If you think you’ll have issues like osteoporosis and osteopenia, you may want to add oregano to your diet.
When you talk about bone health, you should consider all factors like bone density and growth. And, oregano contains calcium, iron, and manganese which are very important minerals for good bone health.
23. Oregano Helps Detoxify Your Body
If you’re into detox by consuming greens, why not add oregano to it?
Oregano is rich in calcium, fiber, iron, manganese, and vitamin K; all of which are important in detoxifying your body naturally. These nutrients in oregano speed up the elimination of toxins in your body.
24. Improves Liver Health
Because oregano is a good natural detoxifier of your body, it also helps your liver health. Eating oregano or drinking oregano tea will help reduce the workload of your liver in detoxifying your body.
25. Oregano Can Increase Your Energy
Did you know that oregano also contains B-vitamins? These vitamins help improve your metabolism thus making you feel more energetic.
Another by-effect of consuming oregano is that it can increase the presence of iron and hemoglobin levels which will help oxygenate the cells in your body. This activity will also improve your energy and strength.
26. Increases Hemoglobin Level
Since we’ve mentioned hemoglobin above, we’ll also add this as one of the health benefits you can get from oregano.
Hemoglobin is an essential protein found in red blood cells. This functions as an oxygen distributor throughout the body cells.
The level of hemoglobin has a relation to the amount of oxygen distributed to your body. This is why a good hemoglobin level is important. Eating oregano will help you with this.
27. Oregano Is A Good Treatment For The Common Cold
It’s known that oregano has strong antiseptic qualities that help eliminate toxins in your body. This is the reason why oregano is used to treat the common cold.
Adding oregano oil to orange juice or even plain water and drinking it will relieve a sore throat. You can also make tea out of dried oregano leaves or just drink the liquid after boiling the oregano leaves.
28. May Help With Anemia Prevention
Oregano is rich in both manganese and iron. Both these nutrients ensure good production of red blood cells.
If you have the right level of red blood cells, you’ll not be concerned about having anemia.
29. Oregano May Treat Respiratory Issues
Oregano may prevent or slow down the progress of symptoms of certain respiratory ailments.
The essential oils in oregano can be used as an expectorant. This loosens up the uncomfortable build-up of mucus and phlegm in the respiratory tracts.
If used as a balm, it can soothe the inflamed lungs and throat.
Conclusion
Since we have lots of oregano plants in our house, we usually boil it and drink it as oregano tea.
It’s also an easy add-on to any of your dishes. Although I don’t like it, you can add oregano as toppings on your pizza and pasta dishes.
You can also add oregano to your green salads or as an add-on to your seasonings and sauces.
Based on what I’ve seen online, there are lots of health benefits you can get from oregano. You and I should take advantage of it since it’s easy to grow oregano plants.
I particularly like that oregano is helpful with inflammations. This is my favorite health benefit of oregano.
How about you?
Just like any other article on my site, I will highly recommend checking out with your doctor or a medical professional first before consuming oregano. This is just in case you may have an allergy or are prohibited from consuming oregano.
If you think that this article can be valuable to others, please share it. Thank you!
Originally published at https://pangbenta.com on November 3, 2019.
