was pleasantly surprised to learn about some recent research on the positive effects of black cumin seed and Hashimoto's disease. I'm always searching for compounds that can help my patients with Hashimoto's disease and black cumin seed oil looks like a real winner.
What did the latest research show on Hashimoto's disease?
40 patients were split into two groups of 20 receiving black cumin seed and 20 receiving a placebo. 2 grams a day of black cumin seed powder was taken for 8 weeks.
What improved at the end of the 8 week study period in those who took black cumin seed?
None of the above measurements improved in the placebo group who just took a starch pill. This clearly indicates the black cumin seed had a profound effect on weight loss, metabolism, thyroid function and improvement in the Hashimoto's antibody thyroid peroxidase (TPO).
What is it that resulted in such excellent improvements?
Black cumin seeds contain a compound called thymoquinone that has all of these beneficial properties. Thymoquinone has been heavily studied and one of its mechanisms is suppression of the COX-2 enzyme resulting in reduced inflammation. COX-2 inhibitors like Celebrex are popular drugs for inflammatory conditions but black cumin seed has similar benefits without the side effects.
Thymoquinone also has also been shown in previous research to improve thyroid function. Not only has it been shown to increase T3 but it actually can repair thyroid tissue that has been damaged by your immune system.
Black cumin seeds also contain thymohydroquinone and thymol which also have many of the same benefits.
Do I have to supplement?
There are a variety of ways to add black cumin seeds to your diet. You can make tea by pouring hot water over 1 tablespoon of black cumin seeds and steep for 10 minutes. You can also add the seeds to salads, salad dressings, stir-fries, baked goods, casseroles etc. If you drink protein shakes simply add 1 tablespoon of black cumin seeds to your shake. If you just want to optimize your health, then you are probably fine just adding the seeds to your diet.
What is the best dose and should you take the powder or oil?
Black cumin seed oil organic softgels from Moss Nutrition are excellent and the recommended dose is 1-2 500mg softgels a day. I wouldn't recommend buying the oil in glass jars that are available because you don't really know how much light exposure they have had which results in oxidation of the oil.
In addition to some extraordinary benefits for Hashimoto's disease, it is clear that black cumin seeds have many additional health benefits that everyone can enjoy. My patients have reported rapid improvement in their symptoms when adding the black cumin seed oil softgels to their regimens. I look forward to reviewing more before and after blood tests for Hashimoto's disease so we can view the improvements in real time.
I've written another article on black cumin seed oil where I reviewed a study that looks more closely at cholesterol, blood sugar, thyroid health, atherosclerosis, and weight loss that you can read here.
This is one supplement you don't want to overlook if you have Hashimoto's disease!