Black Mustard  (Brassica nigra) – Black mustard is a many-branched, aromatic, weedy annual plant, growing up to 4 meters in height.  It has showy, smallish yellow flowers.  Its seeds grow in long, slender pods.  Each pod contains 10-12 brown or black seeds.

History:  Ancient Sanskrit writings, dating back about 5,000 years, mention mustard seeds.  The New Testament compares the mustard seed to our faith when we first start using it.  When we keep using our faith, then it grows like a mustard seed “and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches.”  Ancient Greeks held the mustard plant in very high esteem for its medicinal values.  The ancient physician Hippocrates used mustard seeds to heal many ailments.

Rich in:  Mustard seeds contain omega-3 fatty acids; essential oils; the minerals selenium, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium, iron, calcium, and zinc; vitamins A, B-complex, and C; dietary fibre, protein, and phytonutrients.

Internal use:  Both mustard seeds and mustard leaves are edible.  Black mustard contains diuretic, emetic, rubefacient, and stimulant properties.  Mustard seeds help reduce the severity of asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, migraine attacks, and some symptoms of menopause.  They are helpful in preventing heart attack in those suffering from arteriosclerosis and diabetic heart disease and help lower high blood pressure.  Mustard seeds contain substances that protect cells against cancer and inhibit the growth of exciting cancer cells.  Tea, prepared of bruised mustard seeds and boiling water and left to cool, is used as a gargle in case of throat aches and tumours and as a mouthwash in case of mouth tumours.  Black mustard seed has been used also for snakebite and epilepsy.

How to prepare:  The young plant is eaten with oil and lemon juice in parts of Greece.  The leaves can also be mixed into salads. 

To prepare a sure emetic, add mustard flour to a glass of tepid water and gulp it down.  To get relief from hiccough, add a teaspoonful of mustard flour to a teacupful of boiling water and drink it.  If necessary, repeat the procedure in ten minutes.  To clear the voice, mix black mustard seed powder with honey and take every the morning.   

Good to know:  Mustard oil contains some substances that are harmful to our health, therefore is not recommended for internal use. 

External use:  Mustard plaster or poultice is used in case of arthritis, rheumatism, cough, pneumonia, bronchitis, and other diseases of respiratory organs.  Place the plaster or poultice on an infected area.  Do not keep it on too long as it might burn the skin.  The poultice, applied to skin, draws the blood to the surface, relieving congestion of various organs.  It is used in treating congestion in head afflictions, neuralgia, muscle spasms, and other pains.  At first signs of a cold or flu, cough or headache, pour hot water on bruised black mustard seeds and make yourself a stimulating foot bath.  Mustard seed powder mixed with honey is helpful when hair is falling out.  The same mixture is used to clear away the black and blue spots of bruises.  Mustard seed oil that is expressed from the hulls, after the flour has been sifted away, promotes hair growth and is helpful for rheumatism.

Do not use the essential oil:  in case of pregnancy.

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