Improve Memory + 9 Other Rosemary Benefits Backed by Science

After knowing these Rosemary Benefits backed by medical science, you’ll start to admire this miraculous herb more than ever!

Rosemary is one of the most popular culinary and medicinal herb native to the Mediterranean region. It’s also used for ornamental purposes due to its needle-like leaves and flowers. The flowers come in colors of purple, silver, pink, blue, and white, depending on the variety. Taste is somewhat bitter and astringent but is great for flavoring stews, soups, stuffings, sauces, roasts, and meat dishes.

1. Improves Brain Function

This herb is miraculous as it can enhance your brain memory, intelligence, focus, and alertness. And, it’s proven in research! Here is the study that suggests that some herbs like sage, lemon balm, and rosemary are very potent and possess cognition-enhancing properties.

Also, the essential oil of rosemary makes a person alert and improves mood, read more here. An experiment done on rats found that rosemary tea acts as an anti-depressant and reduces anxiety. One recent study conducted by the researchers from the University of Northumbria concluded that rosemary aroma could aid children’s working memory. Read that here!

2. Rich in Antioxidants

Antioxidants are essential for a healthy immune system, as they help the body to get rid of free radicals. Not only that but antioxidants also improves blood circulation and slows down aging. The rosemary is a good source of antioxidant-rich compounds and thus neutralizes free radicals and is excellent for overall health.

3. Improves Digestion

In one trial, rosemary was added to animal feed to improve the digestibility of the feed, and it gave positive results. Although this claim has not enough scientific support, still you can use rosemary as a remedy for indigestion. If you are suffering from indigestion or heartburn. It’ll naturally cleanse your system without causing any side effect.

Also Read: 5 Superfood Herbs & Vegetables

4. Alzheimer’s Prevention

Carnosic acid is found in rosemary and widely used as a preservative or antioxidant due to its antimicrobial properties. It helps in protecting neurons from oxidative stress and overstimulation, and brain from injury.

Oxidative stress is the reason behind Alzheimer’s, and Carnosic acid plays a crucial role in its prevention. This component is present in rosemary and promotes the growth and function of nerve tissue as we found here. Also, in a study conducted on rats, a substantial reduction in blood clotting and swelling was noted.

5. Diminish Liver Damage

In various traditional medicine practices, rosemary was used to protect the liver from damage caused by various ailments. Apart from traditional medicines, the benefit of olive and rosemary leaves extract was also found against the liver cirrhosis. You can read the entire study here.

6. Anti Cancer Herb

Anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects of rosemary fluid extract were found in a study published here. Also, the carcinoma cells and leukemia spread at a fast rate in the body, which slowed down by the use of crude ethanolic rosemary extract (RO), backed up by this published research. There are some cancer-causing components which can form in the ground beef during cooking, and Journal of Food Science found that the use of rosemary extract considerably reduces it. Check out this study, as well!

7. Fighting Macular Degeneration

Macular degeneration causes vision loss in people, which is irreversible, and mostly older people get affected by it. The small central portion of the outer retina gets affected by this disease. What’s interesting is that carnosic acid present in rosemary is good for eye health and can potentially protect from Macular degeneration. This study was conducted by Dr. Stuart A. Lipton (Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute) and published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science journal.

8. Reduces Stress

Believe it or not, we all get stressed out about one thing or the other. Taking stress takes a toll on both our physical and mental well-being. As the rosemary essential oil has a calming effect, it is used widely in aromatherapy to enhance mood and help clear the mind. The anti-depressant effect of rosemary extract can control chronic anxiety and depression. The use of rosemary extracts reduces salivary cortisol, which is basically the stress hormone. Check out the scientific evidence here!

9. Beneficial For Skin

You already know that rosemary is rich in anti-oxidants, but do you know that anti-oxidants have an anti-aging effect as they reduce free-radicals? By adding rosemary to your diet (leaves or essential oil), you can reduce the wrinkles and sagging skin to some extent. Apart from that, the healing potential of rosemary can help you get rid of blemishes. You might be aware of the adverse effects of UV rays on the skin, which were counteracted by the rosemary extracts as found by Dr. Alice L. Pérez Sánchez in the research.

10. Controls Weight Gain

Once again, carnosic acid, which is present in abundance in rosemary comes in play! Metabolic disorders tend to cause weight gain, which can be kept in check by the use of rosemary extracts. It also has an anti-inflammatory and anti-hyperglycaemic nature, which helps in weight loss.

Conclusion

The list of rosemary benefits could be long, but we included only those that are science-backed. Many of these trials and experiments were not conducted on humans but animals, especially rodents, which means they can’t be considered enough to reach any concrete conclusion when it comes to serious diseases like cancer and using rosemary as an alternative remedy. However, one thing is true–Adding rosemary to your lifestyle is good for overall health and free from any side-effects unless you’re allergic to this wonderful herb.

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