What are the benefits and effects of cumin and fennel, what are the downsides of eating too much, and is it addictive?
Cumin is also called “fennel” in southern Xinjiang. It has a unique taste with a rich, fragrant aroma, and it is a commonly used seasoning in cooking. Some people are especially fond of its fragrance and add cumin powder to almost every meal for flavor. But few people understand what benefits and effects cumin has, what the downsides of eating too much are, and whether it is addictive.
1. What benefits and effects does cumin have?
1. Chemical composition of cumin
Research shows that cumin seeds contain chemical components such as flavonoids, volatile oils, fats, sugars, amino acids, proteins and minerals.
2. Benefits and effects of cumin
Benefit and effect one
Traditional Chinese medicine holds that cumin is sweet in flavor, pungent and warm, and non-toxic, with benefits such as warming the middle and warming the spleen, opening the appetite and directing qi downward, promoting digestion and reducing food stagnation, refreshing the mind and unblocking the vessels, dispelling cold and removing dampness, and reducing fire and calming the liver. It mainly treats conditions such as cold pain in the epigastrium and abdomen, indigestion, cold hernia with attached pain, irregular menstruation, and frequent urination due to kidney deficiency.
Benefit and effect two
Using cumin to season dishes also has preservative and bactericidal effects, and adding a little when stir-frying makes food less likely to spoil.
Benefit and effect three
In the traditional Chinese medicine classic Puji Fang, there are records of using cumin to treat symptoms such as indigestion, stomach cold and abdominal pain. Therefore, people with stomach cold can usually add a little cumin when stir-frying or roasting meat to dispel the cold in the stomach.
Benefit and effect four
According to Tang Bencao, stir-frying cumin until cooked, grinding it into powder and taking it with vinegar also has the effect of treating angina pectoris and insomnia.
Benefit and effect five
Because cumin has a strong effect in removing fishy and gamey odors and can also cut the greasiness of meat, it is often used in grilled beef and mutton. After cumin meets oil or is heated at high temperature, its fragrance becomes stronger and stronger. Therefore, besides grilling, it is also quite suitable for cooking methods such as pan-frying, deep-frying and stir-frying.
2. What are the downsides of eating too much cumin?
1. Although cumin powder is delicious and indispensable when eating barbecue, everyone should know that although cumin powder is delicious, it also has many side effects, so we should not consume cumin powder in excess.
2. Cumin powder is a warming seasoning. Eating too much is not good for the body; it can cause internal heat and worsen constipation and hemorrhoids. Therefore, patients with constipation and hemorrhoids should preferably not consume cumin powder.
3. As a seasoning, cumin powder really does taste good, but seasonings are all warming ingredients and are very pungent and stimulating. They can greatly stimulate gastrointestinal peristalsis and the secretion of digestive juices, may damage the mucous membrane of the digestive tract, and may even affect the balance of the constitution, so it is recommended that you preferably not eat too much cumin powder.
4. Long-term consumption of cumin powder also easily causes malnutrition and is unfavorable for growth and development, so the amount eaten should be controlled appropriately.
3. Does frequently eating cumin powder cause addiction?
No. Cumin is only a simple seasoning. Unlike opium poppy, it does not make people dependent. People who like cumin powder simply like its special fragrant aroma, just as some people like durian.
In addition, everyone should be reminded that because cumin powder is a warming food, it is recommended not to consume it in excess, as some people's constitutions cannot tolerate it. People with internal heat, constipation or hemorrhoids are advised to eat less.