Cardamom is a plant in the Zingiberaceae family of plants which include ginger and turmeric. The seeds of the plants are dried and used as a spice.

Cardamom contains volatile terpenes which give the strong smell of the spice, these can be responsible for allergic contact dermatitis.

Cardamom is rarely linked to food allergy, to date there are no recorded allergens for cardamom by the World Health Organization (WHO), because there have not been enough study into allergic effects from this food. If you are interested in what is needed by the WHO before they add an allergen to their allergen database you can check that out HERE.

Cardamom is a low FODMAP food. FODMAP stands for Fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols. Foods high in FODMAPs can cause symptoms of food intolerance, affecting the gastro intestinal system and this can be mistaken for a true IgE food allergy.

Cardamom is a food high in salicylates, but is not usually a problem due to the volume they are eaten in. Salicylates have the potential to cause worsening of asthma, swelling, itching and hives as well as food intolerance symptoms in people who are sensitive to salicylates.

You can read more about Food Intolerances on the dedicated Food Intolerance Page.

Allergy to cardamom has been linked to contact allergic dermatitis due to the concentration of essential oils it can contain.

If you are allergic to cardamom you may want to avoid other foods in the Zingiberaceae family of foods, including turmeric and ginger.

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