What is Black Seed Oil?

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Nigella sativa is an annual flowering plant native to southwest Asia. It has a pungent, bitter taste and a faint smell of strawberries. More commonly known as black seed or black cumin, we primarily use it in candies, liquors, and medicinally. Many Arab, Asian, and African countries use black seed oil as a remedy for various diseases and allergies.

What Does It Do?

Black seed’s most noteworthy use is its ability to reduce respiratory disorders and alleviate allergies. Additionally, studies demonstrated it to improve outcomes of pulmonary function tests and reduce symptoms of asthma in asthma patients and chemical war victims. Moreover, four separate studies in patients with allergies (allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, atopic eczema) reported that black seed decreased subjective measures of allergic disease severity, slightly decreased plasma triglycerides, and slightly increased HDL cholesterol.

What’s more, black seed contains a number of compounds, including thymoquinone, that have potential anticancer properties.

How Do I Take It?

Taking black seed as an oil by mouth three times a day has been shown to be safe and effective. When ingesting in this manner, take 2.5-5 milliliters (1/2-1 teaspoons) with olive oil.

Want to check out my blog post on essential oils and allergies? Click here!

Once you’ve done that, for more of my oily education!

Probiotics to Accompany Narcotic Use

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I have chronic pain and take narcotics. Can probiotics help me?

There are no studies directly looking at probiotic use for opioid-induced constipation, however, we do know narcotic pain medicines (including opioids, medicines like Lortab, Norco, oxycodone, Oxycontin, methadone, morphine, etc.) cause constipation. They do this by binding receptors in the intestine, and therefore slowing peristalsis. (Peristalsis is the squeezing mechanism that helps move stool through the gut.) For this reason, incorporating probiotics for use with narcotics should cancel out such constipation.

To help combat this narcotic-caused constipation, I recommend foods and probiotics that both lubricate the gut and encourage peristalsis. 

Foods that Both Lubricate the Gut and Encourage Peristalisis

  • Lactobacillus bulgaricus (found in yogurt, pickles, as well as many other foods)
  • Lactobacillus acidophilus (found in yogurt, kefir, miso, as well as many other foods)
  • Cabbage
  • Peas
  • Coconuts
  • Figs
  • Bran from oats, wheat, and rice

Foods that Lubricate the Intestines

  • Seaweed
  • Carrots
  • Beets
  • Honey
  • Prunes
  • Peaches
  • Pears

Foods that Create a Soothing Mucous on the Lining of the Intestine

In addition, like probiotics, both fermented foods (miso, sauerkraut, kefir, etc.) and green algaes enhance the flora of the gut.

Don’t take narcotics and need some reasons to incorporate probiotics into your diet? Then check out this blog post on the health benefits of probiotics.

If you are looking for additional health and wellness information as well as essential oil education,