What Are The Health Benefits Of Fenugreek?

What are the health benefits of fenugreek? Fenugreek is an herb that has been used in alternative and Chinese medicine for thousands of years to treat skin conditions and other health diseases. Fenugreek comes in seeds and powder and has been used in many Indian food dishes.

What are the health benefits of fenugreek? – Photo credit: iStock-Sadasiba behera

The Nutrition Facts of Fenugreek seeds are:

• Fiber- 3 grams
• Protein- 3 grams
• Carbs- 6 grams
• Fat- 1 grams
• Iron- 20% of the Daily Value
• Manganese- 7% of the Daily Value
• Magnesium- 5% of the Daily Value

Fenugreek has a fairly balanced and healthy nutritional profile as it contains a good amount of fiber, minerals, iron, and magnesium. There has been research has shown that fenugreek can help increase breast milk production.

There was a small 14-day study conducted among 77 women who breastfed. And it found that women who drank herbal tea with fenugreek seeds increased their breast milk production. And the result from this was that babies gained more weight.

Men are known to take fenugreek dietary supplements because of its ability to increase testosterone levels.  There was an 8-week study of 30 college aged men who lifted weights 4 days a week and half of them took 500 mg of fenugreek supplements.

And the other half didn’t take anything. The non-supplemental group saw a decline in their testosterone levels whereas the group that took fenugreek supplements saw an increase in their testosterone. And the fenugreek supplement group also saw a 2% decrease in bodyfat.

“Fenugreek has a fairly balanced and healthy nutritional profile as it contains a good amount of fiber, minerals, iron, and magnesium. There has been research has shown that fenugreek can help increase breast milk production.” – Celebrity Fitness & Nutrition Expert Obi Obadike

It is also known to increase a person’s libido. There was a 6-week study where 30 guys took 600 mg of fenugreek and they saw an increase in their libido/sex drive.

These are small studies, and more research still needs to be done but the small data gives quite a bit of optimism on the possibilities.

Some of the preliminary clinical trial research has shown that some of the health benefits of Fenugreek are:

• That 3 studies shows it can help suppress your appetite.
• Some small scientific evidence research shows it can reduce your cholesterol levels.
• The herb has reduced inflammation in mice and rats. And more studies need to be done on humans before it can say it can do this for humans.
• There was a small 2-week study where it helped reduced heartburn.
• There were also some studies that showed that taking Fenugreek can lower blood sugar levels. The studies showed a 13.4% reduction in blood sugar levels 4 hours after intake. It has showed that the high fiber content in it is probably the reason the dip in blood sugar.

The Bottom Line is Fenugreek is an herb that is commonly used in Indian dishes that has a lot of positive health benefits such as increasing testosterone levels, reducing cholesterol levels and lowering blood sugar levels.

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References

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