Cumin is primarily known as a spice flavoring and as an oil extract for scent in cosmetics. But dietary procedures that keep your heart rate steady and healthy may include using the spice cumin when cooking. The American Heart Association even includes cumin in recipes recommended for heart-healthy diets. There are different types of cumin; therefore, you should be sure to check with your doctor before attempting to use cumin for any therapeutic effects.
Blood Glucose Levels and Heart Rate
Artificially elevated heart rates of laboratory animals were shown to be therapeutically lowered when black cumin was used as a treatment. In a May 2006 study by the faculty of Yuzuncu Yil University in Turkey reported by the National Institutes of Health, Nigella sativa, also known as black cumin, slowed and steadied heart rates in rats. The researchers concluded that cumin both reduced the glucose levels in the rats' cadmium-treated blood and slowed the rats' heart rates.
As a Mineral Source
Cumin supplies high amounts of minerals such as iron, copper, manganese and zinc that are important for red blood cell formation and proper growth and development. The Nutrition and You website states that cumin is also high in potassium, which can help control heart rate and blood pressure.
Types of Cumin
The cumin used in cooking spices may not be the same as the cumin that can steady heart rate. Drugs.com differentiates among sweet cumin, also known as anise or Pimpinella anisum, and black cumin, also known as Bunium persicum and Nigella sativa, a different form of cumin. Possible effects on heart rate depend on which cumin is being used.
Clinical Evidence Lacking
Cumin has traditionally been used for a variety of ills, from reducing inflammation and increasing urination to treating indigestion, jaundice and diarrhea. Drugs.com states that cumin may have antioxidant, antibacterial and anticancer effects. The site acknowledges that cumin may also lower blood glucose levels, which in turn could lower heart rate, but states there is no clinical evidence to prove these assertions.
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