What you must remember:
- Caraway is an herbaceous plant that resembles cumin
- Its seeds contain numerous active ingredients: flavonoids, terpenoids, polyphenols, tannins, etc.
- It promotes good digestive functioning by fighting against bloating, gas and flatulence
- Thanks to carvone and limonene, it has an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and hepato-protective action.
What is Caraway?
Carum carvi or meadow cumin is a biennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Apiaceae family. It belongs to the genus carum which has no less than 25 species. Its leaves but especially its seeds are harvested for use in cooking, due to their aromatic properties, as well as in medicine or herbal medicine. Very popular in Germanic cuisine, it allows you to flavor many dishes but also to preserve certain foods.
However, it should not be confused with cumin. Even though these two plants belong to the same species, they do not have the same botanical genus.
Their seeds look similar but their color and taste differ. Cumin has a more pronounced and oriental taste while caraway is fruitier.
Most of the active ingredients are found in the seeds. They are rich in flavonoids, terpenoids, polyphenols and tannins.
Due to its composition and its benefits, it is very similar to plants that help cleanse the liver .
The benefits and virtues of Caraway
Caraway and digestive system
Caraway is a plant with strong antispasmodic properties thanks to its high content of carvone, flavonoids and limonene.
It helps fight bloating , flatulence and the accumulation of gas throughout the digestive tract thanks to its carminative action. Indeed, due to its high limonene content, it promotes good digestive stimulation thanks to the increase in the secretion of gastric juices and bile, as well as the increase in gastric motility which helps reduce bloating . and promotes digestive comfort . Its stimulating, expectorant and antispasmodic effects give it a major advantage in combating nausea, stomach aches, gas and constipation .
To promote in-depth action and provide pleasant aromas, caraway can be combined with anti-bloating recipes .
Caraway and antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties
Due to its limonene content, scientific studies have shown that caraway essential oil has fabulous antimicrobial properties against pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, Candida Albicans.
Likewise, thanks to the polyphenols it contains, it induces an increase in the production of antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, CAT, GSH, glutathione and a reduction in the proliferation of defective or even cancerous cells.
Oral intake of caraway essential oil also helps reduce the levels of cytokines, proteins involved in the immune system , pro-inflammatory which can lead, in the long term, to an imbalance in the body and inflammation of tissues and tissues. organs.
Caraway and liver
The liver , our body's emunctory organ, can sometimes need a little boost in its basic functions.
Due to its carvone content, caraway has detoxifying hepatic properties like many foods . It allows the maintenance of acceptable levels of liver enzymes which leads to an improvement in liver functions.
Caraway and diabetes
Caraway essential oil contains the presence of a fabulous constituent, with anti-diabetic properties: carveol. Indeed, it improves glucose tolerance and reduces the level of glycosylated hemoglobin.
Indications and dosage of Caraway
Taking Caraway is contraindicated in children under 18 years of age, pregnant and breastfeeding women due to lack of studies. In addition, it is not recommended in people with bile duct obstruction, in the context of liver disease or kidney inflammation. Most of these contraindications concern the taking of caraway in the form of essential oil, however they are also applicable to the taking of caraway-based food supplements.
Concerning the dosage, there is no official recommendation or maximum authorized dosage for caraway seeds, however that of caraway essential oil amounts to 400 mg/kg.
Bring Caraway to your body thanks to DIJO
At DIJO, we wanted to include caraway seeds in one of our formulations in order to benefit from its health benefits. Indeed, it is one of the main ingredients of our 5-day reset , a real cure of anti-bloating supplements essential to fight against flatulence and gas effectively and quickly and thus regain a flat stomach. For more lasting digestive support and a strengthened microbiota, opt for the anti-bloating pack which combines the 5-day reset with our favorite treatment , Essential Probiotics . For better weight management you can also find it in the dream belly pack to say goodbye to a swollen stomach.
This treatment should be taken as part of a balanced lifestyle in order to obtain deep and lasting effects.
Sources :
[1] Mahboubi M. (2019). Caraway as Important Medicinal Plants in Management of Diseases. Natural products and bioprospecting, 9(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13659-018-0190-x
[2] Keshavarz, A., Minaiyan, M., Ghannadi, A., & Mahzouni, P. (2013). Effects of Carum carvi L. (Caraway) extract and essential oil on TNBS-induced colitis in rats. Research in pharmaceutical sciences, 8(1), 1–8
[3]. Ahmed, MS, Khan, AU, Kury, LTA, & Shah, FA (2020). Computational and Pharmacological Evaluation of Carveol for Antidiabetic Potential. Frontiers in pharmacology, 11, 919. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2020.00919
