CUMIN POWDER & SEEDS

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) comes from a small flowering herbaceous plant from the Apiaceae or Umbelliferae family, which also includes parsley, fennel and hemlock. The plant, which grows about 1 to 2 feet tall, is actually native to the Middle-East Asian region, but is now grown all over the world.

The aromatic seeds are the part of the plant that’s most widely utilized. These cumin “seeds,” which are actually the plant’s small dried fruits, look very similar to caraway seeds. They’re yellow-brown, oblong-shaped and longitudinally ridged. Cumin powder is made from these seeds.

You can actually use both whole and ground cumin seeds, which are both available all year round, for culinary purposes.

CUMIN SEEDS

Nutrition Table

Saturated Fatty Acid
Carbohydrate
Dietary Fiber
Energy
Fat
Protein
Sugar
Sodium
– 8.9%
– 31.4%
– 12.4g / 100g
– 376.0 kcal / 100g
– 20.5%
– 17.1%
– 0.5%
– 246mg / kg

The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contribute to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

PACKAGING QUANTITIES

50g
100g
200g

FAMILY
BOTANICAL NAME
COMMON NAME

–UMBELLIFERS
–CUMINUM CYMINUM
–CUMIN

Adult reference intake per each 1g of portion of cumin seeds contains :

Energy
15.73 kj
3.76 kcal
<1%

Fat
0.20g
<1%

Saturates
0.09g
<1%

Sugar
0.01g
<1%

Salt
0.01g
<1%

Typical values per 100g:
Energy 376.00 kcal 1573.18 kj

BENEFITS OF CONSUMING CUMIN

Cumin seeds’ health benefits mainly come from their phytochemicals, which are touted to have carminative, antioxidant and anti-flatulent properties. They’re also an excellent source of dietary fiber, vitamins A, E, B and C and antioxidant carotene lutein and zeaxanthin. Health-promoting minerals in cumin include:

  • Iron and copper: both minerals are essential for red blood cell production and formation.
  • ​Zinc: It’s a co-factor that’s needed by enzymes that work to regulate digestion, growth and development and nucleic acid synthesis.
  • ​Potassium: A crucial component of cells and body fluids, and is necessary for controlling blood pressure and heart rate.
  • ​Manganese: A co-factor for superoxide dismutase, which is a powerful antioxidant enzyme.

Considering its small size, it’s absolutely impressive that cumin benefits your overall health, and may even help alleviate ailments, such as:

  • Stress: A 2011 animal study published in the Pharmaceutical Biology journal found that cumin helped inhibit stress-induced biochemical changes in rats, which also improved their memory and cognition. According to the study authors:
  • Respiratory disorders: Its anti-congestive effects may be beneficial for people with asthma and bronchitis. This spice also works as an expectorant that loosens mucus and phlegm in the respiratory tract
  • Sleeping disorder: One curious characteristic of cumin is that although it’s a stimulant, it can also work as a relaxant, making it potentially helpful for alleviating insomnia.
  • ​Diabetes: Research is still ongoing, but animal studies found that cumin may help reduce the risk of hypoglycemia. The test subjects who were given cumin seeds had a sharp decline in hypoglycemia, as well as a decrease in glycosuria.
  • ​Cancer: Cumin may have anticancer properties, as it stimulates the secretion of chemopreventive and detoxifying enzymes from the glands.