The main constituent of nigella sativa seeds has been shown to be more effective than a commonly prescribed corticosteroid nasal spray at alleviating lung inflammation [1].
The annoying thing about all these studies is that, unlike pharmaceuticals, the medical studies for natural constituents, is usually on animals. Now, ok, if it’s good enough for mr mouse/rat/pig, it’s generally ok for us, it’s still annoying to see over and over.
Here’s another good one one: nigella sativa and its active constituent thymoquinone were shown to protect the stomach from alcohol induced injury – meaning it’s likely to be an H2 blocker (like zantac/ranitidine) [2].
Interestingly, the same study found that nigealla sativa, as a whole seed, was more powerful than just its active constituent alone.
This interested me greatly as Dr Fuhrman’s teachings (I’m studying nutrition with him) always hammer in the idea that the plant/food as a whole is more beneficial than an isolated element. That the synergistic attributes of the plant are important.
Wondering how to work nigella sativa’s antihistamine properties into your repertoire? I LOVE them with Mexican food, especially black bean dishes, and also pretty much in anything Indian.
Please remember we are all different and that we can still be allergic to an antihistamine food.
The Anti-cookbook and all liquid Anti-Detox Book, don’t treat any conditions, but feature a plethora of the high nutrient antihistamine and anti-inflammatory ingredients that have been instrumental in helping me feed myself on a limited diet. The Anti-cookbook features a six page list of antihistamine and anti-inflammatory foods and comes in regular and Paleo.
The Low Oxalate Cookbook features antihistamine and anti-inflammatory rich recipes.
——-REFERENCES——-
[1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19711253
[2] http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00204-005-0037-1?LI=true