Cumin powder which is also popularly known as ground cumin or jeera powder is a spice powder that is prepared by grinding cumin seeds.

Although cumin powder is made from cumin seeds, both taste different when added to a dish. Cumin seeds burst into flavor when one seed comes into your mouth while the ground cumin mingles well with the base of the dish and becomes a part of the overall taste profile.

The shelf life of cumin seed is at least a year while ground cumin loses its potency in under a month.

Benefits

Contains antioxidants
Cumin seeds contain naturally occurring substances that work as antioxidants. That means that these substances (called apigenin and luteolin) keep the tiny free radicals that attack healthy cells from being successful. Antioxidants help you feel healthier and more energetic, and they help keep your skin from looking aged.

Has anticancer properties
Cumin appears to have the ability to keep cancer cells from multiplying, according to some experiments. In one study, rats that were fed cumin were protected from colon cancer. Researchers in another study found that out of nine popular herbs and spices, basil and cumin were the most powerful anticarcinogen plants.

May help treat diarrhea
Traditional medicine practitioners have recommended cumin for the treatment of diarrhea for centuries. Western medicine is starting to catch on to this benefit of cumin.

An extract of cumin seeds was given to rats that were experiencing diarrhea. Researchers concluded that the extract helped to cure their symptoms.

Helps control blood sugar
Cumin was used as a part of an herbal drug trial for diabetes. The drug successfully helped people with diabetes to manage their condition.

Diabetic animals in lab studies were also found to benefit from consuming cumin. It’s generally accepted that cumin oil is a hypoglycemic agent.

Fights bacteria and parasites
The oil extracted from cumin seeds has been used as an effective larvicide and antiseptic agent. The oil even kills strains of bacteria that are resistant to other antiseptics. Researchers believeTrusted Source that cumin could help kill harmful bacteria that’s trying to attack your immune system. This may explain why cumin has been used as a preservative in food for centuries.

Has an anti-inflammatory effect
The active ingredients in cumin seeds have an anti-inflammatory, antiseptic effect. This means that if you have pain or inflammation that trigger other conditions, cumin in your diet may counter the effects.

The essential oil of cumin alone wasn’t found to have anti-inflammatory properties. But the cumin seeds themselves worked to reduce pain and inflammation in a laboratory study done on rats.

May help lower cholesterol
A hypolipidemic is a substance that helps your body control high levels of fats that hurt your heart and cholesterol levels. Cumin is considered to have hypolipidemic properties.

A dietary supplement of cumin powder mixed in yogurt helped reduce cholesterol in one study. Another group of people with high cholesterol had beneficial results after consuming cumin.

Aids in weight loss
Several group studies have looked into ways cumin can help you lose weight. More research is needed, but results of these studies is promising. Overweight women that were given cumin powder and ate a healthy diet showed improvementTrusted Source in their weight and vital statistics. Another study showed that a mixed population of overweight men and women saw improvementTrusted Source in their weight equal to taking a popular diet pill.

Improves symptoms of IBS
Researchers have evaluated cumin extract for treating the cramps, digestive spasms, nausea, and bloating associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Cumin extract was able to treat these symptoms for as long as participants were consuming it in one studyTrusted Source. It’s so effective that researchers hope cumin might be an effective replacement for people who cannot afford expensive prescription drugs to treat their IBS.

Boosts memory
Cumin can help your body by stimulating your central nervous system to be more effective. This can result in a sharper memory and greater control over your limbs. Cumin might even be able to help treat Parkinson’s disease because of its contribution to the body’s central nervous system function.