Raise your hand if you’re NOT looking for a miracle product to make you look and feel younger, or to magically make any/all of your ailments disappear. We all are, right? Of course, we know such a miracle doesn’t exist, but like unicorns, they’re still fun to think about. There are, though, some healthy products that can do wonders for the body—not exactly miracles—but some pretty good stuff. Meet black cumin seed oil (Nigella Sativa), which just might be one of those products you didn’t know you were missing in your life.
“Among the promising medicinal plants, Nigella Sativa, a dicotyledon of the Ranunculaceae family, is an amazing herb with a rich historical and religious background,” says Zatik co-founder Garik Mkrtumyan. “Black Cumin seed has been reported in archaeological sites, including Tutankhamun’s tomb. Black Cumin Seed Oil is highly prized for its nutrient content and it has been traditionally used in to maintain good health.”
Of course, just because something has a history of use by humans doesn’t necessarily make it healthy or good for us (like sugar), but that doesn’t appear to be the case with black cumin seed oil.
Found in southern Europe, northern Africa and in Asia Minor, black cumin seed, or black seed oil, comes from a bushy, self-branching plant with white or pale to dark blue flowers. And it’s long been prized for use in folk medicine for a wide range of illnesses, says Garik, “including bronchial asthma, headache, dysentery, infections, obesity, back pain, hypertension and gastrointestinal problems.” It is also used in skin condition such as eczema. “Greek physicians of the 1st century, recorded that black seeds were taken to treat headaches, nasal congestion, toothache, and intestinal worms,” Garik notes.
Today, black seed has been thoroughly researched, and it’s been identified as containing phytosterols, tocopherols and the potent antioxidant thymoquinone. The oil of the black seed has shown anti-inflammatory properties “on several inflammation-based models including experimental encephalomyelitis, colitis, peritonitis, oedama, and arthritis through suppression of the inflammatory mediators prostaglandins and leukotriens,” Garik explains. Black seeds are also rich in unsaturated and essential fatty acids, including linoleic acid.
Black seed may also have benefits in fighting unwanted microbes including “bacteria, viruses, helminths, and fungus,” says Garik, “These findings are of a great practical significance, since black seeds have been traditionally and clinically used in Middle and Far Eastern countries without any reported undesirable effects.”
When taken internally, black seed oil can help to improve the quality of hair, skin, and nails, as well as minimizing dark spots on the face and discoloration. It can encourage better moisture-retention, giving hair more luster and body. It may also help support healthy respiratory and immune systems.
Check out these black seed products from Zatik Natural:
