The Cuminum cyminum plant produces the seeds used to make cumin seeds.
Cumin is a common ingredient in many dishes, particularly in cuisines from the Mediterranean and Southwest Asia.
Cumin imparts its unique taste to chili, tamales, and a variety of Indian curries. The flavor profile includes earthy, nutty, spicy, and toasty notes.
Cumin has a history of being used in traditional medicine. This essay will examine nine scientifically proven health advantages of cumin.
Health benefits of cumin seeds
1. Rich Source of Iron
Cumin seeds contain a high amount of iron. A single teaspoon of ground cumin provides 1.4 milligrams of iron, which is equivalent to 17.5% of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for adults.
Iron deficiency is a prevalent nutrient deficit, impacting around 20% of the global population and up to 10 in 1,000 individuals in affluent countries.
Children require iron for growth, whereas young women need iron to replenish blood lost during menstruation.
Cumin is one of the most iron-rich foods. It is a valuable source of iron, even when used sparingly as a spice.
2. Improves Digestion
Indigestion is the most typical traditional usage of cumin. In fact, current studies have verified that cumin may aid in promoting regular digestion.
For instance, it might stimulate the activity of the digestive enzymes, which could hasten the process of digestion.
Additionally, cumin stimulates the liver’s bile production. In your stomach, bile aids in the digestion of fats and some nutrients.
After ingesting concentrated cumin for two weeks, 57 patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) reported better symptoms.
3. Includes plant compounds
Cumin contains many plant chemicals that may be good for your health. These include terpenes, phenols, antioxidants, and alkaloids.
Some of these are antioxidants, which are chemicals that protect your body from free radical damage.
Free radicals are simply electrons that are on their own. Electrons like to work in pairs, and when they break apart, they can’t stay together.
There are “free” electrons in your body that take other electrons from chemicals. The word for this is “oxidation.”
Oxidation blocks up fatty acids in your arteries, leading to heart disease. Oxidation can also cause inflammation in people with diabetes, making DNA more likely to become cancerous.
Cumin has antioxidants that add an electron to a free radical, which makes it more stable.
One reason why cumin is good for you is probably because it has vitamins.
4. Improve blood cholesterol
Clinical tests have also demonstrated that cumin lowers blood cholesterol.
People who took 75 mg of cumin twice a day for eight weeks showed lower triglycerides in their blood.
In a different study, people who took cumin extract for one and a half months had nearly 10% less damaged “bad” LDL cholesterol.
A study with 88 women looked at how cumin might change levels of “good” HDL cholesterol. People who ate yogurt with 3 grams of cumin twice a day for three months had higher HDL than those who ate yogurt without cumin.
This study only looked at supplements, so it’s not clear if cumin seeds used as a seasoning in food lowers blood cholesterol in the same way.
Aside from that, not every study agrees on this result. In one study, people who took a cumin tablet did not have any changes in their blood cholesterol.
5. Get help for diabetes
Some parts of cumin seeds have shown promise in helping treat diabetes.
One clinical study compared a concentrated cumin product to a placebo and found that it helped overweight people with early signs of diabetes.
There are also parts of cumin that help fight some of the long-term effects of diabetes.
Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are one way that diabetes hurts cells in the body.
The body produces them on its own when blood sugar levels are high for an extended period of time, such as in diabetes. Sugars bind to proteins, altering their normal function to produce AGEs.
AGEs are most likely what hurt the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and small blood vessels in people with diabetes.
Cumin, at least in test-tube research, has several components that lower AGEs.
While these studies focused on the effects of concentrated cumin supplements, people with diabetes may find that using cumin seeds as a spice on a regular basis helps keep their blood sugar in check.
It’s not yet clear what causes these effects or how much cumin is needed to make things better.
6. Promote Weight Loss and Fat Reduction
Clinical tests have shown that concentrated cumin supplements can aid in weight loss.
According to a study of 88 overweight women, yogurt with 3 grams of cumin helped them lose more weight than yogurt without cumin seeds.
In a separate study, people who took 75 mg of cumin tablets every day lost 3 pounds (1.4 kg) more than people who took a sugar pill instead.
In a third study, researchers observed the effects of 78 adult men and women who took a strong cumin supplement. Over eight weeks, people who took the vitamin lost 2.2 pounds (1 kg) more than people who didn’t.
Once more, not every study is the same. If you take 25 mg per day, as in one study, your body weight doesn’t change compared to a fake drug.
7. Help with drug dependence
Narcotic addiction is becoming a bigger problem around the world.
Opioid drugs are addictive because they change the brain’s usual sense of reward and craving. This leads to increased or continued use.
Studies on mice have shown that parts of cumin can reduce signs of addiction and withdrawal.
However, much more research is required to determine whether this effect would benefit people.
The next step is to identify the exact ingredient that caused this result and determine if it works on people.
8. Prevent food-borne illnesses
In the past, people may have used cumin as a spice to keep food safe.
There are antimicrobial qualities in many seasonings, like cumin, which may lower the risk of getting an infection from food.
Several parts of cumin stop the growth of bacteria that come from food, as well as some types of harmful fungi.
Processing cumin seeds releases a substance known as megalomicin. This substance is an antibiotic.
A test tube study also revealed that cumin reduces some germs’ drug resistance.
9. Fight inflammation
Studies in test tubes have demonstrated that cumin products prevent inflammation.
Cumin seeds may help reduce inflammation through a number of different parts, but scientists are still figuring out which ones are the most important.
NF-kappaB, a key marker of inflammation, has been shown to drop in amount when plant compounds found in several spices are present.
At this point, we don’t have enough data to say if eating cumin or taking cumin pills can help treat inflammatory diseases.
Should you use cumin?
If you only use a little cumin to season food, you can still get some of its health benefits.
These amounts will give you iron, vitamins, and maybe even help control your blood sugar.
For other, less proven benefits, like losing weight and having better cholesterol levels, you may need a bigger dose, most likely in the form of a supplement.
Several studies have tried cumin supplements up to 1 gram (about 1 teaspoon), and none of the participants reported any problems. However, people have had very bad allergic reactions to cumin, despite the fact that they are very rare.
Still, be careful if you take a product that has a lot more cumin in it than you could eat in a day.
Like any other ingredient, your body may not be prepared to handle doses that it doesn’t usually get from food.
You should tell your doctor about any vitamins you take and use them in addition to your medical care, not instead of them.
The bottom line
Many studies have shown that cumin seeds is good for your health. While some of these benefits have been known for a long time, others are only now becoming apparent.
Adding cumin as a spice can help your body absorb more antioxidants, handle food better, give you iron, help control your blood sugar, and lower the risk of getting sick from food.
More research is required, but taking more of it as a supplement has been associated with weight loss and improved blood cholesterol.
I find that cumin seeds tastes better in food than as a supplement. This way, I get the tenth benefit of cumin, which is that it tastes great.
