What is black cumin seed oil?
Black cumin seed oil comes from the seeds of what must surely be one of the most amazing herbs on the planet. It goes by many different names like the black seed, black onion seed, black caraway, fennel flower etc. but the only unambiguous one is the Latin Nigella sativa. The beneficial effects of nigella sativa have been known for thousands of years in the east and in Prophetic Medicine, it is known as Habbat Al Baraka, which translates to ‘The Blessed Seed’. You will soon see why.
The seed itself looks like a tiny chip of coal until you examine it up close to discover it is far from ordinary. The surface is a complex configuration of ridges, valleys, ripples, and bumps. The oil appears similarly unexceptional on the surface – it smells a bit spicy, doesn’t taste great, is freely available, doesn’t cost a fortune, and has extremely low toxicity – yet it has extraordinary healing powers over an astonishing range of conditions. This has lead to an explosion of research studies in the past couple of decades and increasing recognition from the west for the potential of black cumin seed as a safe and powerful curative.
The mind-boggling part about the seed is that it is not a one-hit wonder – it addresses illness from so many different angles which is why it is equally effective for old diseases like bronchitis and new infections like antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It is preventative and protective as well as being restorative. This means you can use black seed oil as a prophylactic to ward off potential disease and as a remedy for acute and chronic conditions. If you take it regularly, it’s like having an extra insurance policy covering your health and a preemptive strike against illness.
Here are 15 excellent reasons you should consider it as a vital key to good health and well being:
1. Your immune system’s best friend
Your first line of defense against foreign invaders, pathogens, and ill health is your own immune system. Unless your immune system is functioning well, you cannot be truly healthy. A weak or under-active immune system leaves you vulnerable to infections and an overactive or hyper-responsive immune system can result in allergic reactions and autoimmune diseases. This is where the oil is quite extraordinary and can achieve what no drug can – it is an immunomodulator. Unlike pharmaceutical immuno-modulators that work by suppressing and weakening the immune system, increasing the risk of infection, black seed strengthens and balances the immune system, helps you fight infections and calms an overactive immune system – all without toxic side effects
2. It supports the whole body
There is not one system or organ in your entire body that is not positively affected by black seed’s ability to protect, preserve and strengthen. This miraculous herb has 51 pharmacological effects that work from your skin to your hair, nails, bones, brain, lungs, kidneys, liver, heart and digestive system. Even if you are in the best of health, regular consumption of black seed can increase your well being.
3. It addresses the underlying problem in every chronic disease on the planet.
Why? Because every chronic disease, from heart disease to asthma, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, chronic pain, obesity, ADD/ADHD, peripheral neuropathy, stroke, migraines, thyroid issues, dental issues, Alzheimer’s and even autoimmunity are all rooted in inflammation. This is not the acute and short-lived inflammation the body uses to address infection but the constant, simmering, slow-burning kind that undermines health. Black seed oil is a potent anti-inflammatory.
4. Insulin resistance and diabetes
Insulin resistance and its downstream partner, diabetes, have reached epidemic proportions. Unfortunately, insulin resistance is closely linked to much more than diabetes – obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s are also implicated. Insulin is a hormone that is good in the appropriate doses but bad in excess. It is anti-inflammatory in the short term but pro-inflammatory in the long term so obviously, the more insulin you have circulating, as in insulin resistance, the more inflammation you will have. Black seed oil is not only anti-inflammatory but it also increases insulin sensitivity, reduces inflammation in the pancreas (where insulin is manufactured) and improves glucose tolerance whilst decreasing glucose absorption from the intestines. It is hypoglycemic (lowers blood sugar).
5. Cancer
Everyone has abnormal cells in their bodies that could eventually lead to cancer but if their internal environment is in good shape, the immune system is equipped to deal with those cells. It has been shown to slow down the formation of tumors and arrest cancer growth. It makes cancer cells susceptible to our own killer T cells by preventing them from hiding from the immune system. It also increases the number and activity of killer T cells. Furthermore, the active ingredient in black seed, thymoquinone, has been shown to increase the activity of a number of the body’s own signaling pathways to destroy cancer cells. Studies showed the effectiveness of black seed with reduced symptoms of prostate cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer.
6. Liver health
The liver is the largest solid organ and responsible for 500+ distinct functions. To say it is important is an understatement. It’s the body’s main organ of detoxification and it filters the blood but it is vulnerable to oxidative stress and damage from various toxins, including pharmaceuticals. The oil is a potent antioxidant but works in numerous ways to preserve liver function: “Thymoquinone protects liver from injury via different mechanisms including inhibition of iron-dependent lipid peroxidation, elevation in total thiol content and glutathione level, radical scavenging, increasing the activity of quinone reductase, catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione transferase, inhibition of NF-κB activity and inhibition of both cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase.” [1]
7. Weight loss and appetite
If you are overweight, you need to reduce your insulin levels. Insulin is a storage hormone so as long as levels are high, weight loss is impossible, no matter how much you diet. Besides helping you deal with the insulin problem, it actually helps curb appetite so you automatically want to eat less and it also helps you lose weight. Too much sugar (carbs) means too much insulin and therefore increased fat storage. Increased fat storage leads to more inflammation and eventually diabetes. The logical thing to do is to omit carbs from the diet but for some people, this is not enough to get their insulin resistance under control. Black seed, a good diet, and fasting are a magic combination for weight loss.
8. For Kidney
The kidneys are small organs with a big responsibility. They regulate fluids, remove waste products from the blood and produce hormones that contribute to blood pressure and calcium metabolism. Kidney health is adversely affected by uncontrolled blood sugar, high blood pressure, free radicals, chronic inflammation, and excess weight. Not surprisingly, it has been shown to be protective of the kidneys as well as improve kidney function whilst displaying no toxicity to these vital little organs. It helps reduce blood pressure
9. Digestive Aid
Black seed protects both the stomach and the rest of the digestive system. The digestive system consists of the GI tract from the mouth to the anus, including the esophagus, stomach, and the small and large intestines, as well as the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder. Most of your immune system resides in the gut so it is significant that black seed protects the mucosal lining of the intestines against damage through its antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It can also prevent ulcers, reduce bacterial translocation and help with both diarrhea and constipation.
10. Parasites and fungal infections
Most of us don’t take these seriously enough but they can cause enormous damage and a slew of symptoms from brain fog to abdominal pain, allergies, fatigue, nausea, bloating, weight gain/loss and many more. Black seed is anti-parasitic and antifungal but it also bolsters the immune response to deal with parasites and fungi, especially candida.
11. Opioid dependence
This is a modern problem with a traditional solution. Taking black seed oil can help with the long-term treatment of opioid dependence and additionally, it can tackle the infections and immune insufficiency that afflict addicts.
12. MSRA (Methicillin-resistant Staph. Aureus) infection
This is another present-day crisis where this ancient remedy has been shown to work. MSRA is the group of gram-positive bacteria and has been called a superbug because it has become resistant to many commonly used antibiotics. It can cause difficult to treat infections, especially in those with compromised immune systems and it can kill. In the laboratory, “All tested strains of MRSA were sensitive to an ethanolic extract of Nigella seeds.” [2] Now that’s impressive.
13. Respiratory disorders
Part of black’s seeds wide therapeutic effects includes relief from respiratory disorders like allergies, asthma, coughs, bronchitis, influenza and COPD due to its anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, calming, spasmolytic, bronchodilating, antihistaminic and anti-tussive properties.
14. Anxiety, depression, and neuroprotection
Black seed protects your brain, improves memory, cognition, and attention, reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression and can reduce both the frequency and severity of seizures in epileptics. Additionally, it has been shown to decrease inflammation markers in the brain and could safeguard against brain injury from a stroke and the development of Alzheimer’s. In an animal model, “Nigella sativa was found to possess a therapeutic effect against Parkinson’s disease.” [3]
15. Pain
Nigella seed is a known analgesic and can relieve muscle pain and pain from stomach cramps and ulcers as well as the pain associated with a toothache and chronic inflammation such as in rheumatoid arthritis. It can also be used topically for joint pain and stiffness. Forty-two elderly patients were randomly assigned either topical oil or oral acetaminophen for osteoarthritic knee pain. The oil was more effective at reducing pain than the acetaminophen. [4]
Although there only 15 reasons here, you can see that this star of natural home remedies has countless other health benefits of black seed. We didn’t even mention how it improves total cholesterol numbers, increasing the good but lowering the bad, or how it has been used for diverse conditions like AIDS, jaundice, malaria, anorexia, hydrophobia, dizziness, paralysis, conjunctivitis, piles, skin conditions, abscesses, nasal ulcers, eczema, headaches, migraines, and dysentery or that it is a traditional stimulant, diuretic, emmenagogue and lactagogue. We could go on with the benefits list and on but you get the picture. This Nigella Sativa oil is a superb tonic that should be in everyone’s home for personal care and health care.
Are there any side effects of Black cumin seed oil?
No, as long as you use it sensibly. That‘s the beauty of a medicinal herb that has evolved with mankind for millennia. If you took too much, you might cause yourself some harm but you could do the same with too much water too. In experiments with mice, they gave them the equivalent of giving a 50kg (110 pounds) person 1.4 liters (3.5 gallons) of oil and declared the fixed oil of low toxicity.[5]
Pregnant women, however, should not consume it and it should be used at very low doses for children. We do suggest taking medical advice from your health care professional in such conditions before trying out this herbal medicine.