Think of one wonder spice that gives our food the wonderful flavour. Most probably the first thing that popped in your mind is cumin (scientific name: Cuminum cyminum), jeera, jeerige (in Kannada) or even zeera.
Jeera, along with mustard (sasive in Kannada), is one of the two spices that go into the preparation of curries, subzis and several other dishes. Wonderful as it is in our food, jeera has great health benefits too. It’s safe to call it a superfood.
Cumin seeds contain several vitamins, minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium and protein, among other things.
India, Mexico and China are the major producers of these seeds.
Metrolife lists some health benefits of jeera:
Good for the stomach
Boiling jeera in water and drinking it can help relieve one of acidity. It’s also a good way to cleanse yourself after overeating. This is an age-old home remedy for stomach problems.
Helps in weight loss
According to a research paper published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information in the USA, it helps in weight loss too.
“Cumin powder reduced serum levels of fasting cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL and increased HDL. Weight, BMI, waist circumference, fat mass and its percentage significantly reduced. It has no effect on FBS and fat-free mass,” the publication points out.
Of course, jeera consumption has to be complemented with exercise.
Anti-allergic, antioxidant and hypoglycemic
Sowbhagya HB, a food science researcher at the Central Food Technological Research Institute in Mysuru, says of her findings that was also published in the NCBI: “Alcohol and water extract of cumin are reported to possess many nutraceutical properties like anti-allergic, antioxidant, anti-platelet aggregation, and hypoglycemic.”
“Cumin and value-added products from cumin can be a good source of nutraceuticals with many biological activities. Incorporation of cumin into food products will have the benefits of a flavour and nutraceutical at the same time,” she adds.
Rich in iron
Being rich in iron, it is good to include jeera in your diet. It is common knowledge that to produce haemoglobin (found in red blood cells and required to carry oxygen), iron is required.
The above are just a few of the many health benefits of jeera.
How to consume
Stuffed yourself with food and feeling uneasy? This can give your stomach some relief. Boil jeera with saunf (fennel seeds) and dhania seeds (coriander seeds) in water and drink. Even without the saunf and dhania, jeera can be boiled in water and the juice can be consumed. A bit of jaggery can be added to sweeten it. Jeera is widely used in Indian cooking. So, we are consuming this superfood anyway.