Evidence: High Possible Benefits: High Safety: High
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What is black cumin?
Nigella sativa, also known as black seeds or black cumin, is an adaptogenic herb with a long history of use as a traditional medicine. This herb is often used as a supplement for reducing allergies and improving heart health but it can also have a variety of other beneficial effects. This article is about the main benefits of black cumin, its potential side effects, the best time to take it, and more.
Possible benefits
All of the potential benefits mentioned below are dose-dependent. As with other adaptogenic herbs, there is a sweet-spot dose that allows you to get most of the benefits without causing meaningful side effects or tolerance buildup in the body. We will discuss the best dosing protocol later in this article.
Major benefits
Reduced allergies – Black cumin can reduce most symptoms of most types of allergies. This effect is fairly significant. For example, this herb can reduce nasal congestion as a side-effect of allergic rhinitis.
Improved asthma – This herb can reduce a variety of asthmatic symptoms by reducing allergies and improving lung function.
Reduced viral load – In one study, a normal dose of black seed oil reduced viral load related to hepatitis C to 38.6% of baseline. The supplement can also normalize red blood cell and white blood cell count in people with hepatitis C.
Minor benefits
Reduced food appetite – This effect was found in obese men but may apply to other groups of people as well.
Improved memory – One study found that this herb can improve logical memory in older people by 15-20%.
Improved cognition – A small improvement was found in older people taking black cumin seed extract. The main areas of cognition that were positively affected are logical memory and processing speed.
Improved immunity – Seed extracts can increase macrophage phagocytic activity and killing potential, both of which can improve immune health.
Reduced symptoms of RA – Black cumin was able to reduce pain and other symptoms related to rheumatoid arthritis. Overall, the symptoms were reduced by about 9% in one study.
Improved lung function – This benefit was found in asthmatics and people with otherwise impaired lung function. Studies on healthy people without significant lung problems haven’t been made yet.
Increased well-being – In one study on obese men with a variety of health problems, this herb abolished all measured complaints such as loss of libido, high appetite, pain, and forgetfulness.
Lowered triglycerides – Black cumin can decrease triglyceride levels in people with hyperlipidemia. People with a mild elevation in triglycerides experience a decrease of about 1-5% when they take the herb. People with more severe elevations of triglycerides experience reductions of about 15-20%.
Reduced blood pressure – This reduction is only seen in hypertensive and is very small (1-3 mmHg)
Reduced LDL cholesterol – This reduction is also minor and only applies to people with high cholesterol or dyslipidemia. People with healthy cholesterol levels will not notice any benefit.
Weight loss – One study found that this herb could reduce weight but this benefit may be due to suppressing appetite. Other studies found no effect on weight loss so this benefit is highly unreliable.
Possible side effects
The side effects below are dose-dependent. The risk for them increases (often linearly but sometimes exponentially) as you increase the dose. Some of the side effects only apply to very high doses.
Initial adverse reaction – When you start taking black cumin, things can get worse before they get better. This herb can temporarily worsen some aspects of your health and even make you sick for a few days after you start taking it. This can be unpleasant but it is usually a sign that the supplement is working and creating a hormetic response that allows the body to adapt and become more resilient in the long term.
Allergic reaction – Some people are allergic to this herb and may experience an allergic reaction after they start taking it. Unlike the “initial adverse reaction,” allergic reactions typically don’t go away until one stops taking the herb.
Nausea – This side effect is most common when people take the herb on an empty stomach.
Diarrhea – You can usually prevent diarrhea or stomach discomfort by taking this herb with a meal.
Toxicity – As an adaptogen, black cumin acts as a mild stressor on the body. That is usually a great thing as it allows your body to adapt to specific forms of stress and become more resilient. However, stressing the body too much can be counter-productive and cause multiple side effects, including toxicity. While acute toxicity is extremely rare, taking very high amounts of this herb could lead to chronic toxicity and cause health problems over time. To prevent chronic toxicity or the buildup of tolerance, staying below 3 grams of black cumin or 1000 mg of black seed oil a day is best unless you have a great reason to take more.
Contamination – If growing or storing conditions are not adequately controlled, black cumin can be contaminated with bacteria, molds, and other potentially harmful microorganisms. Some growers also use pesticides and herbicides that can be unsafe. Another issue is that herbal supplements can get contaminated with other supplements and chemicals during the manufacturing process. Choose the brand you get herbs and herbal supplements from wisely. It is often best to use websites like Amazon, where thousands of users have reviewed and rated the products. You are less likely to buy something of lower quality there.
Who should not take black cumin?
You should probably avoid taking black cumin if you:
are allergic to this herb
experience a severe adverse reaction after taking the herb (though a mild adverse reaction is usually a great thing as it is a sign that the supplement is working and causing a hormetic response that allows the body to adapt and become more resilient)
are pregnant or breastfeeding (while it can be safe to take this adaptogen during pregnancy or breastfeeding, it acts as a mild stressor and can cause some unnecessary risk to the child)
suffer from an autoimmune disease (adaptogenic herbs can stimulate the immune system, which can worsen symptoms of some autoimmune diseases)
Who will benefit the most?
You should consider taking the supplement if you:
suffer from rheumatoid arthritis
often experience allergies
are an older person
are obese
suffer from hepatitis C
tend to overeat
are asthmatic
have a high budget for supplements and are willing to experiment with a variety of them (black cumin appears safe and is unlikely to do more harm than good for most people)
How much black cumin should you take?
Because black cumin is an adaptogenic herb, it acts as a mild hormetic stressor on the body, which allows your body to adapt and become more resilient to certain kinds of stressors in the long term.
A higher dose does not necessarily lead to more pronounced benefits. Instead, there appears to be an inverted U-shaped dose-response pattern. In other words, you want to find a sweet-spot dose that allows you to get the benefits of black cumin without putting too much stress on the body or quickly causing the body to develop tolerance to the herb.
The sweet-spot dose typically ranges anywhere between 2-3 grams of black seeds. If you buy an x:1 extract, divide the black seed dosage by x. If you buy black seed oil, the recommended range is about 250-1,000 mg daily.
The higher end of this range usually provides slightly more benefits in the short term. If you plan to take this herb for a longer time (multiple months or years), the lower end is probably a better way to go since you would develop tolerance faster if you were to take higher doses.
While higher doses are generally safe, taking more than the sweet-spot dose daily would be counter-productive as your body would quickly develop tolerance.
Additionally, very high doses can put too much stress on your system and cause health problems if you take the supplement for a prolonged period.
While this herb could theoretically cause acute toxicity, you would need to take an extremely high dose that is way beyond what is generally found in even the most potent supplements.
Like with most other adaptogens, it is best to cycle black cumin and take about 2 days off weekly to reset your tolerance. This will allow you to keep getting the benefits in the long term.
Keep in mind that the effects of this herb are cumulative. Therefore, you must take it for at least 2-4 weeks to notice most of the benefits. But again, cycling the herb and not taking it at least twice a week is necessary to prevent tolerance in the long term.
Best time to take black cumin
You can take this herb with or without food. Each of these options has its benefits. The main bioactive compounds in the herb should absorb well either way.
If you experience nausea or stomach discomfort when you take this herb, taking it with food should prevent these unpleasant effects or at least make them less intense.
If you take this herb on an empty stomach, the short-term effects will kick in faster and they will be more pronounced but will not last as long.
Whether you take this herb in the morning or the evening typically does not make much difference. Both options are fine so feel free to experiment.
Where to buy black cumin?
Amazon is the best option for ordering black cumin and other herbs and herbal supplements in most countries. They offer some very affordable products backed by many positive reviews. Also, you can choose from a wide range of brands without having to search through other markets on the internet.
Some brands display the dosage per serving instead of per pill or capsule. Therefore, you may accidentally buy something less potent than you intended. Do not fall for this marketing trick.
FAQ
As with most other herbs and herbal supplements, it is best to cycle black cumin and stay off of it for about 2 days per week to reset your tolerance back to baseline. This will keep your body sensitive to the herb and allow you to keep getting the benefits in the long term.
All of these options are fine. The two most important things to consider are the price and dosing. Powders are almost always the cheapest form. However, you may need a highly accurate scale to dose them correctly (preferably 0.001g). You can get one for as little as $20 from Amazon. Dosing the powders also takes some time that can add up over months or years. The disadvantage of capsules is that they are often made of bovine gelatine, which rarely comes from ethical sources.
Yes, you can. This herb should not impact your sleep in any negative way. Whether you take it in the morning or the evening typically doesn’t make much of a difference. Both options are fine so feel free to experiment.
This herb should not become harmful once it exceeds the expiration date but it can lose potency over time. Keep the herb or the herbal supplement in a cold, dark, and dry place, and it should remain just as potent for many months or even years.
As an adaptogen, black cumin acts as a mild stressor on the body. This is usually a great thing as it allows your body to adapt to specific forms of stress and become more resilient. However, putting too much stress on the body can be counter-productive and cause multiple side effects, including toxicity. While acute toxicity is extremely rare, taking very high amounts of this herb could lead to chronic toxicity and cause health problems over time. Very high doses can also make you develop tolerance much faster than lower doses so they may be less effective in the long term.
While you could safely take higher doses, there is usually no point in taking more than 3 grams of black cumin seeds or 1000 mg of black seed oil daily. This amount should give you most of the benefits without meaningful side effects. Paradoxically, taking a higher dose would likely lead to fewer benefits as the body would quickly become accustomed to the herb.
Unfortunately, the half-life of black cumin in the body is not known. However, most of the effects of the herb are cumulative so they mostly happen in the long term rather than acutely. The half-life of this herb isn’t very important in practice.
The effects of this herb are cumulative. Therefore, you must take it for at least 2-4 weeks to notice most of the benefits. But again, cycling the herb and not taking it at least twice a week is necessary to prevent tolerance in the long term.
Yes, black cumin is vegan-friendly. If you buy this herb in a capsulated form, beware that the capsules often contain animal-based gelatin. Instead, find a brand that puts its products into cellulose capsules.
No, it doesn’t. The herb does not interfere with fasting in any significant way.
References
Most of the information in this guide is based on scientific research that can be found and verified in the PubMed medical library. We highly encourage you to use the library to verify anything you read in this article. We excluded from consideration studies that are either confounded or have a high conflict of interest.
