Medicin in the kitchen I.

CUMIN

How lucky that I use cumin seed in nearly all dishes!- I thought when coming across bellow news in couple of books and articles. Much cheaper and more comfortable flavoring my meals with cumin seed than taking food supplements between meals, which latter ones I always tend to forget..

First of all, the curing cumin we are discussing here is not equivalent to the black cumin which is jet black

Our cumin has a flavor unlike any other spice because it’s loaded with cuminaldehyde, a compound with super active medicinal qualities. Cumin’s volatile oil and rich content of vitamins C and A make this spice a potent antioxidant and potential cancer stopper. 

WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

1. It fights Type2 Diabetes through reduced   

• cholesterol        
• triglycerides (heart-damaging blood fats common in people with diabetes), 
•  blood sugar 
•  AIC (amount of glucose attached to red blood cells, a measure of long-term blood sugar levels)
• Inflammation in the pancreas (the organ that manufactures insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar levels)

2. Protects the bones 

•  Increases bone density in case of osteoporosis. Research showed that Cumin’s osteoprotective effect is comparable to that of the hormone estradiol. Estradiol was popular for the prevention of osteoporosis before they discovered that it also increased the risk of heart disease and breast cancer. “Cumin can help postmenopausal women from losing their bone and seems to be a potential candidate for the development of new herbal approaches for osteoporosis treatment without any serious side effects.” (Healing Meals, Aggarwal / Yost)

3. Combating Cancer

• Prevents the formation of colon tumors
• Reduces the risk of cervical cancer 
• Significantly decreased the incidence of stomach and liver cancer

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4. Epilepsy (in chemically induced seizures cumin suppressed convulsions in animals)

5. Food poisoning (in case of bacterial food poisoning)

6. Tuberculosis (it boosts the infection-fighting power of rifampicin, an antibiotic used to treat tuberculosis) 

Method of use: whole seeds rather than ground!

Interesting: Cumin was a currency for the early Romans, who used it to pay taxes.