The Slow Kitchen Podcast

Episode 20 - "Black Seed (Nigella Sativa) - Food First, Medicine Second"

• Cat Dillon • Season 1 • Episode 20

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0:00 | 11:15

🌿 5 Key Takeaways

• Black seed (Nigella Sativa) supports inflammation, immune, and metabolic health
• Contains thymoquinone (key active compound)
• May support blood sugar, cardiovascular, and respiratory health
• Use food-first vs relying only on supplements
• ½–1 tsp daily, used consistently

Want some nigella recipes?? Click here for ideas!  


đź“š Resources


đź›’ Amazon

👉 Black Cumin: The Magical Egyptian Herb for Allergies, Asthma, Skin Conditions, and Immune Disorders

👉 Black seed (whole)

👉 Black seed oil

👉 Mortar and Pestle for grinding seeds


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SPEAKER_00

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Slow Kitchen Podcast, your 15-minute pause for simple, nourishing, real-life approaches to food metabolism, and eating for longevity. I'm Kat Dylan, registered holistic nutritionist and former chef. And today we're talking about something I so love. And that is how ancient food wisdom still teaches us now, today, how to heal. I'm pretty sure at some point you felt disconnected from your body or its sensations and maybe unsure about how much or what to eat, listening to diet culture and outside voices instead of your own intuition. And honestly, most of us were taught to do exactly that. But long before nutrition labels, supplement stats, and macro accounting, people learned about food by observing nature and listening to their bodies. And that idea, trusting inner wisdom, has always inspired my studying of food and healing. Which brings me to today's topic. There are so many supplements out there: capsules, powders, tinctures, all of them promising benefits. And I believe that they can play a role for sure. But my foundation is this we should look to food first before trying to supplement our way to health. Now, that doesn't mean that supplements don't matter. There are some foundational ones that I personally consider, like magnesium, vitamin D3 with K2, calcium, fish oil, the B complex vitamins and certain antioxidants or mitochondrial supplements. But today it's not about creating a supplement step or going through everything I take. That would be totally overwhelming and honestly a bit boring. What's far more interesting to me is this idea. What did humans rely on for thousands of years before supplements even existed? Because when we look back across cultures, across continents, we often find foods and herbs that were used both culinarily and medicinally. And one of those foods is what we're diving in today. All right. What is this food? This food has been used for centuries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and even parts of Eastern Europe. It's been referenced in traditional systems, praised in folk medicine, and still used today by millions around the world. But this is where it gets a bit confusing. It goes by so many names: black seed, black cumin, black coriander, Roman coriander, black caraway, calungi, and its scientific name is Nagella sativa. So if you've heard any of those names, we're all talking about the same powerful little seed. And why are we even talking about this? Well, what's fascinating is that Nagella sativa isn't just some ancient remedy that's faded into history. It's actually backed by a growing body of modern research. And when you zoom out and look at all the data, you start to see why it's been used for so long. Black seeds contain active compounds, most notably thymoquines, that have been studied for a wide range of effects. Across multiple studies and reviews, Nagella sativa has shown potentials to support inflammation and oxidative stress, immune system balance, blood sugar regulation, cardiovascular health, respiratory conditions, metabolic health, and more. For example, a systematic review published in The Frontiers of Nutrition found that black seed supplementation may positively influence blood glucose, inflammation markers, lipid profiles, even asthma-related outcomes. Another, looking at cardiovascular markers, found that Nagella sativa can help reduce C-reactive protein, known as CRP, and help lipid oxidation, both important indicators of inflammation and heart health. And further research has explored its role in improving metabolic markers like cholesterol and triglycerides while also supporting blood sugar regulation. There's even more emerging research looking at all of its potential roles in postviral recovery, including long COVID-related symptoms. Now, I do want to be clear here. This does not mean it's a total cure-all, but it does reinforce something pretty important. A single food can have multiple systemic effects in the body when used consistently. So the real question becomes: how do we get this in our everyday life, in our eating, in our food? Because information is only useful if it becomes something that we can apply. This is where I love to bring it back to food. I like to think of blackseed as a functional finishing spice. Traditionally, it's been added to flatbreads like naan or taratha, used in pickles and chutneys. It's been tempered in hot oil with spices, a process known as tadka, sprinkled into lentils, vegetables, or rice dishes, and mixed with honey. And this one is a very, very traditional preparation. Some of the ways I go ahead and use it in my kitchen is stirred into yogurts or smoothies, sprinkled on salads or dressings, added to lentils or other beans, sprinkled over roasted vegetables, especially the fall type, carrots and winter squash, even on eggs in the morning. I love them. Or mixed into simple dressings or my flax bread. It's not about overwhelming the dish because they are quite strong. It's about enhancing it. And in liney traditional cuisines, that's exactly how it's used. Now let's talk about dosage because this is where people often get unsure. For general use, a commonly studied and safe range is about a half a teaspoon to a teaspoon per day. It's about a gram and a quarter to three grams. I usually recommend starting at the low end or even half of that, and be start at a quarter teaspoon per day, and then work up to a half, then three quarters, then a teaspoon per day if you want. And you can divide that into one or two doses. There is a few different ways to use the seeds. You can chew the whole seed, take about half a teaspoon, chew very methodically and carefully, and then swallow. This can help with digestion and absorption. You can try soaking overnight, soak the seeds in water or a honey water mixture overnight, and then drink the liquid in the morning. You can grind the seeds fresh right before you use them, and then mix into yogurt or smoothies or the honey. This helps to preserve the volatile oils in there. And then you can also infuse it in like a tea, a tea infusion, by steeping the seeds in hot water for about 10 minutes, straining the seeds out, and then sipping it like a tea. Now, there's also black seed oil, which is a more concentrated, kind of more medicinal form. It's something I personally use when I'm feeling slightly run down, or I want a more targeted support. And so the typical ways to use the oil, you don't want to cook with the oil, but you want to take it, let's say directly. You can chase it with honey or water because it is quite, you know, how if you have a really, really strong olive oil that's uh very bitter, it's kind of got those same compounds because of the thymoquinones. And you can also mix it into food like yogurts or smoothies, as I mentioned. You can use small amounts in dressings, but avoid that heat to preserve the compounds. You can even take it in a capsule form if you prefer something simple. Because it's more concentrated, it does tend to have a stronger taste and a stronger effect. What I love about this is that it brings us back to something simple. Food can be sensual, it can be enjoyable, and at the same time, it can be deeply nourishing and medicinal, not in a prescriptive way, but in a way that brings us back into relationship with our body, into awareness and slowing down into choosing with intention. And sometimes our most powerful health tools aren't something we need to search for. They're already here, they've always been ancient. So as you go about your day, maybe you're on a walk or a drive or cooking in your kitchen, I want to leave you with this. What if instead of constantly looking for that next supplement, you started asking, what foods have been supporting humans for generations? What can I add to my meal that actually support my body naturally? Because health isn't about cheesy, every single new supplement you hear about online. It's about building a steady, supportive foundation to the foods you eat every day. Foods that work in a pleotropic way, meaning they support multiple systems of the body at once. And sometimes it's as simple as a small black seed. Thank you for being here with me. I know how full life can be. And the fact that you chose to spend this short time listening, it does mean a lot. If something in this episode stuck with you, maybe reminded you of something, or made you pause in a different way. I'd love it if you would share it with someone. Send it to a friend, someone you really, really love, and someone who might need that same moment. And that's how this work grows, just person to person. And I'm so grateful that you are a part of it. And if you're enjoying the podcast, take a quick moment to rate and review. It really does help more people find the show. On Spotify, tap the show, hit the star at the top to rate, and on Apple Podcast, scroll down on the show page, tap the star, and then write a review. It just takes a few seconds and it really does make a difference. I hope you have a wonderful day, and we'll see you on the next episode.