A condiment with healthy sentiments
A kitchen herb with amazing medicinal value! Have you ever realised just how scientific our Indian cuisine is? Every bite you take works like a magic wand filling you with an abundance of good health and preventing, retarding or reversing diseases. I don’t think there is any cooking that is done in India without cumin (jeera), whether it’s dal or a vegetable.
Cumin is one of the main spices in Indian cuisine and its efficacy in curing nausea, purifying your blood and clearing up your skin is a proven fact. It is also called a friendly herb as it can also be used in many other cuisines.
This simple condiment is so mild and soothing that it is also put in baby food. It’s one herb that is a natural digestive and calms the stomach. It rarely causes any allergic reaction and adds a very mild flavouring to the food. It prevents flatulence and stomach cramps too and when mixed with water, lemon and salt helps the stomach ease during an attack of diarrhoea.
Cumin prevents morning sickness in pregnant women and helps in the development of the foetus and eases childbirth too. In fact, it also increases the milk flow of lactating mothers as well as the flow of urine, thereby preventing water retention.
Cumin has a balance of protein, fat and carbohydrate and contains a good amount of iron, calcium and phosphorus. So, if you are suffering from insomnia you know what to have — yes, cumin!
The writer is a Mumbai-based nutritionist
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