Black cumin has been a part and parcel of
Indian cuisine since time immemorial, beholding not only the taste of our
delicacies be it daal or curry but also imparting a therapeutic property,
making the food a nourishing one.
Researches all over the world have revealed
various therapeutic uses of this flora which includes remedies for headaches,
diabetes, allergies and many more but looking back down the lane of history if
we go some around 5000 years back when medical contemplation was being enriched
by luminaries like Charaka , Susruta, Vagbhatta to name a few; then we can find
an amazing home remedy to our nagging problem of diarrhoea.
Diarrhoea is the condition of having at least
three loose or liquid bowel movements each
day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due
to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin with loss of the normal
stretchiness of the skin and changes in personality. This can progress to
decreased urination, loss of skin color, a fast heart rate, and a decrease in responsiveness as it becomes more severe.
People during that
early period treated diarrhoea to be a severe disorder but developed out a
simple remedy which today has been complexed to the level of using anti
biotics.
Black cumin if
moderately fried over pan or “Tawa” without oil and then ingested followed by
plain water can contribute hugely towards controlling the passage of loose
stools during diarrhoea.
Isn’t it amazing?
But still a question
persists, as to what is the since behind this magical cure? The answer seems to
be very simple.
Heated cumin seeds when
reaches the alimentary canal, starts to absorb water, which has actually liquefied
the stools. Now repeated intake of these hot cumin seeds can actually absorb up
maximum water, which now becomes incapable to loosen the stool.
Also, recent studies
have shown its inhibitory effect over various microbes like Staphylococcus aureus, E.Coli and Enterobacter, where its effect was
found to be comparative to Ciprofloxacin standard.
Diarrhoea associated
with mucus is the prominent target for this treatment but it depends upon the severity
of the disorder and the causative organism. Moreover, it can only provide you
with a symptomatic relief but it’s good that at least for some time, we can
stop lingering upon the prevalent anti-diarrhoeal medicines and anti-biotics.
