Cumin
(also known as jeera) is a delicious spice that is used to flavor a
variety of dishes across a range of cultures. You may not even realize
how often you eat it, but it is present in a lot of Mexican food, where
it is used to help flavor tacos and fajitas, and numerous curries and
other fragrant dishes from Asia and beyond.
Aside from being delicious,
this versatile herb also comes back with numerous health benefits that
make it an absolute must for your herb rack at home. This article will
introduce you to plenty of good reasons to add a dash of cumin to your
regular cooking plan, and give you some ideas about how you can do so!
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What is Cumin?
 Cumin
is actually a flowering plant that can grow up to around a foot (0.30
meters) tall. It is native to a number of countries across several
continents, including India, Mexico, China and the Mediterranean
countries of Europe. White or pink flowers blossom on the plant during
hot summers, but it is the yellowy-brown colored seeds that are
harvested for their edible qualities.
The small, flat seeds are
either ground down into powder or used whole in Mexican dishes to
provide a fragrant, earthy flavor, or in combination with other spices
such as turmeric in Indian curries, Middle Eastern food and some Chinese
cuisine. Eastern cultures in particular have long recognized that the
seeds are not only a delicious spice with various culinary uses, they
also bring a number of medicinal qualities to those who eat them
regularly - and other cultures are now starting to wake up to the health
benefits of cumin too.
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1. It's Excellent for Digestion and Stomach Complaints
Cumin contains a number of
essential oils including thymol, that helps promote the production of
saliva, bile and other enzymes responsible for digesting food. Indeed,
the very aroma of cumin has been shown to stimulate the salivary glands
and prepare the body for the digestion process due to the presence of an
aromatic compound called Cuminaldehyde. In addition to this, cumin is
also a great carminative - so it helps relieve feelings of bloating and
gassy build ups - and it can also help flush out hemorrhoids. A couple
of spoonfuls of cumin are a great option if you want to ensure that you
digest your food better and avoid painful, annoying stomach aches.
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2. Helps Prevent Anemia and Iron Deficiency
 Cumin
is an incredibly powerful source of iron - one of the best around in
fact. 100 grams contains 66 miligrams - more than 5 times the daily
recommended amount for adults. This means that just a couple of
spoonfuls of cumin provides you with all the iron you need for the day
(although a little extra can't hurt) and encourages the production of
red blood cells, the transfer of oxygen around the body and avoidance of
symptoms relating to iron deficiency and conditions like anemia, which
include fatigue, dizziness, decreased cognitive function and loss of
energy.
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3. Great if You Want to Lose Weight!
Research has shown that a
single spoonful of cumin a day can help encourage weight loss and
decrease body fat. Research by the University of Medical Sciences in
Iran, tested two groups of overweight or obese women and gave them 3
grams of ground cumin a day, while the other group ate none. Across a
three month trial period, the group that had taken cumin lost
considerably more weight than those who did not, and shed over 10% more
body fat. These fantastic weight loss properties are believed to
originate from high levels of phytosterols in the spice, which are also
known to inhibit absorption of cholesterol in the body.
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4. It Can Help You Sleep Better
Cumin contains high levels of
the substance melatonin, which helps regulate sleep cycles. If you are
an insomniac, or someone who struggles to get a good night's sleep, then
consuming cumin as part of your evening meal can help. Melatonin is not
the only way it helps you sleep at night - it also contains other
essential oils that help keep you stress-free and provide tranquilizing
qualities. Nutritionists recommend that the very best way to use cumin
to help you sleep is to include a spoonful with some mashed up bananas
before bed, as the bananas help the melatonin work better. The
combination will help you establish a sleeping pattern when used
regularly, but is non-addictive unlike some sleeping pills.
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5. It Helps Your Breathe More Easily
 Cumin
is also a great anti-congestive agent because it acts as an expectorant
thanks to the presence of a number of essential oils in its make-up.
Expectorants loosen up phlegm and mucus that accumulate in the
respiratory tract so that they can be expelled through the nose or
mouth, leaving you feeling less blocked up and able to breathe more
easily. The process is cyclical, so by eliminating plenty of mucus and
phlegm in the first place, it will also discourage future excessive
formation of these secretions. This means that cumin is also great for
respiratory disorders like asthma and bronchitis.
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6. It Fights the Common Cold
The common cold is an
unavoidable annoyance we could all do without, so it's great to fight it
via as many means as possible. The same essential oils that help fight
respiratory issues, also act as great disinfectant that combat the viral
infection that causes a cold to develop. Because it is also high in
vitamin-C and iron, cumin also helps strengthen your immune system to
help you fight off a cold should you develop one.
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7. It Could Help Prevent Diabetes
Research into the ways in
which cumin can help prevent diabetes remains ongoing, but early studies
suggest that it can have a significant impact. Testing on diabetic
animals has shown that cumin seed can cause a reduction in blood glucose
levels, improve insulin content, and reduce the risk of hypoglycemia.
More studies are needed but the early indications show that cumin could
be a great tool for both easing and preventing symptoms of diabetes.
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8. It Helps Sharpen the Mind and Improve Memory
 Cumin
is packed full of minerals that are great for cognitive function and
memory - including riboflavin, vitamin B6 and niacin. High iron content
helps further boost your grey matter as well, because it encourages
good circulation, which oxygenates the brain so that you can remain
sharp and focused. In Ayuverda medicine, cumin has actually been used to
treat amnesia patients thanks to these properties.
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9. It Can Help Fight Some Cancers
Research carried out by the
Cancer Research Laboratory in South Carolina, USA, found that cumin can
help fight cancer, thanks to active properties of cuminaldehyde, which
have been shown to slow the growth of tumors. It also has
characteristics that accelerate the production of
detoxifying and anticarcinogenic enzymes, which can aid the prevention
of colon cancer.
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10. It's Great for the Skin
Cumin contains an absolute
abundance of vitamin-E, known for its excellent ability to keep your
skin looking young and glowing. It acts as an antioxidant that fights
harmful free radicals responsibly for ageing your skin cells and
promoting the appearance of wrinkles. The essential oils contained
within the spice also have anti-fungal properties that can diminish the
effect of infections that have a negative impact upon the appearance of
your skin.
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Great Ways to Add Cumin to Your Diet
There are loads of ways to
add cumin to your diet. You can sprinkle it in sandwiches, add it to
fresh bread, use it to top salads, into nut and grain mixes or add it to
mayo of avocado paste (those are just a few examples). Here are three
more great ideas:
 1.
Make cumin rice using 1/2 teaspoon of cumin powder or seeds, 2 cups of
water and 1 cup of dry jasmine rice. Lightly brown the cumin seeds in
the oil first, add the rice and fry for a minute before adding the water
and bringing to a boil. Cook for approximately fifteen minutes
thereafter.
2. Make a DIY taco seasoning
powder using 1 tablespoon of chili powder, 1.5 teaspoons of cumin, 1/2
teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon of
paprika, 1 teaspoon of black pepper and 1 teaspoon of salt. Simply mix
all the ingredients and keep them in an airtight container. Use about 2
tablespoons per 1 pound (16oz/450 grams) of meat.
3. Add a spoonful of cumin to
your favorite roast veggies - it goes really well with sweet potatoes,
pumpkin, carrots, squashes and even cauliflower. |
