I'm among health practitioners who say if your body has a craving, it is missing something you need. Go with it. Honor your body. Honor your cravings. This is what I believe.
I've been craving cumin, lately. I've been sprinkling it onto my eggs, in my salads and pasta. In fact, I've been craving it so much, that I decided to do a show on it yesterday, on ZTalk Radio ~ http://ztalkradio.com/show-archives [Open: Healthy People Radio archives, 06/24/2011 ]. I was simply astounded by what I uncovered about cumin, in preparation. I consulted a few sources: The PDR [Physician's Desk Reference] for Herbal Medicines, Phyllis Balch's Prescription for Herbal Healing, and Dr. Cass Ingram's Supermarket Remedies ...and what I discovered deeply excited me... on many levels!!!
Cumin has a long history as a medicinal cure for liver, nervous system, digestion, brain chemistry, sexual potency, diabetes, hypoglycemia, skin tone... it is an anti-oxidant and has powerful anti-aging effects which are really exciting!!
CUMIN: SEEDS, POWDER, OIL ~ Top 10 Therapeutic Effects
1. Improves overall liver function ~ See: "cuminaldehyde".
2. Protective effect on pancreas ~ cumin has insulin-like actions to significantly reduce blood sugars... so it has a balancing effect.
3. Manages *Hypoglycemia or "Low Blood Sugar" (*symptoms include: lightheadedness, irritability, agitation, mood swings, anger spells or tantrums, crying spells, anxiety, depression, paranoia, hot flashes, panic attacks, fainting spells, sluggishnes, mental confusion, apathy, fatigue, rubbery feeling in the legs, insomnia, nightmares, sleep walking, poor concentration... These are ALL SYMPTOMS OF LOW BLOOD SUGAR!!!!
4. In research cited in Phytotherapy Research, scientists found cumin oil boosts glutathione levels by 700%!!!! This is the most powerful antioxidant in the body. Glutathione prevents aging and helps your body with detoxification.
5. Improves flow of bile; helps digest fats [See: Journal of Food Science]
6. Antiseptic properties [See: International Journal of Food Microbiology]
7. Antifungal properties [See: International Journal of Food Microbiology]. The oil is good for genital infections and yeast infections.
8. Reverses impotence: rich in phospholipids needed for sperm and sex hormone production; improves blood flow.
9. Tonic for the nerves ~ fights depression, anxiety, irritability ~ good for mood elevation.
10. Good for the brain... which needs those phospholipids to regenerate new cells. Also rich in choline and inositol which nourish the brain and improve memory.
So, go ahead and pour the powder onto your meat or poultry dishes. Sprinkle cumin seeds into your cheese dip or chili. Add a few drops of cumin oil to stews, curries, or stir fry. I mentioned I sprinkle it onto my fried eggs... frying in coconut oil rich in medium chain triglycerides; on my pasta and romaine salad, along with crushed garlic, sometimes rosemary, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, Himalayan sea salts ...but, that's just MY "thing".
What about YOU? What would you enjoy combining cumin with?
Remember to check my web site ~ http://healthypeople.com for updates!!! Now go stock your cupboards with some therapeutic ingredients!!! ...and have fun :)
Wow! I bought a supply of fresh cumin seeds a couple of weeks ago and emptied the older stuff into a dish and left it on the kitchen counter. I have been grabbing a few seeds every "pass" and realized I was craving the stuff. That prompted me to look up why and I found your excellent reply (I'm diabetic). Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteI love cumin. I crave the taste and the aroma. I've always just used the powdered form in a variety of dishes. I didn't think about eating the seeds but definitely will try that.
ReplyDeleteYour article is very interesting; I found it as I was looking "cumin craving" on google and came across your article. I was slightly concerned about my late cumin craving: oddly I have not been able to digest it for many years and in the last 4 months, I have had such a craving for it, and its digestion seems to have regulated itself. I can't stop eating it..I was slightly worried to be over-doing it (I must be eating a good 3 teaspoons a day) but if I die from it you won't know, so never mind.
ReplyDeleteI also had a tasting between non organic and organic cumin, and the non organic one has more pungency, but not in a nice way - I tried them with the eyes shut and the organic wan. It is simply delicious, crispy, and just heavenly...
Your article is very interesting; I found it as I was looking "cumin craving" on google and came across your article. I was slightly concerned about my late cumin craving: oddly I have not been able to digest it for many years and in the last 4 months, I have had such a craving for it, and its digestion seems to have regulated itself. I can't stop eating it..I was slightly worried to be over-doing it (I must be eating a good 3 teaspoons a day) but if I die from it you won't know, so never mind.
ReplyDeleteI also had a tasting between non organic and organic cumin, and the non organic one has more pungency, but not in a nice way - I tried them with the eyes shut and the organic wan. It is simply delicious, crispy, and just heavenly...