Poppy Seeds Protect Your Bones

Poppy is an ancient plan, it has been cultivated for over 3000 years. It is a medicinal herb and it has been effective in treating several diseases (insomnia, inflammation, fever). It is used in cough syrups and as an infusion to cure ear and toothaches. Poppy seeds have a lot of positive nutritional benefits, so adding them to your diet is a good way to maintain your health.

Poppy has an old story, it is one of the earliest cultivated plant in Europe. It probably stems from the Mediterraneum and it has been used since the Neolitic era. Though according to some other sources it originates from Asia. As an ancient cultigen, it was mentioned in the Ilias too. Ilias is an epic by Homeros and the oldest piece of the European poetry. The acient Greek knew how to obtain the oil from the seeds. They used poppy seed oil for culinary purposes. Ancient Greek physicians also knew about the narcotic power of opium. They used the plant to treat insomnia. Poppy seed is believed to have been introduced as a medicine by Hippocrates. In the middle age it was not used as a medicine because of bias against pain-reducing agents.

Which plant parts are used?

• poppy seeds - to obtain oil for culinary purposes
• unripe capsules - to extract alkaloids (the most important one is morphine) for medical purposes

The world's most controversial flower

Opium is obtained from unripe seed capsules which contain about 20 % of alkaloids of which morphine is the most important one. Morphine took its name from the Greek god of dreams (Morpheus). The first one who extracted and purified morphine from poppy pods and produced clinical medicine during the 1920s was a Hungarian pharmacologist, János Kabay.

Nowadays morphine is used medically to relief acute and chronic severe pain. Terminal cancer patients are usually given morphine patches. Morphine have some adverse effects besides developing addiction. It has a negative impact on the immune system, the human performance (anterograde and retrograde memory as well as sensory and motor abilities) and the digestion (causing constipation).

However, poppy seeds are not harmful, because their alkaloid content is low, so using poppy seeds in your everyday diet is safe. Moreover, they have several nutritional benefits. It's been known for a long time that it slows down aging process.

Nutritional Values

Poppy contains about 40–50 % fatty oil which is obtained by cold pressing. It is rich in unsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic acid (60 %), oleic acid (30 %), linolenic acid /Omega-3/ (3%). Saturated fats are less than 10 % of total calories.

Poppy is rich in amino acids, fatty acids, phosphorus, calcium, kalium, magnesium, iron, vitamin B, vitamin E and alkaloids (morphine, codeine, papaverine).

Poppy contains all the "essential" amino acids which cannot be created by the human body, so they must be taken in as a food.

For more information see the table below.

As you can see in the table below, milk is not the best source of calcium. Poppy contains 8 times more calcium than cow's milk does. Magnesium and phosphorus are also important for proper bone density and poppy contains both of them.

• Culinary uses

Poppy seeds were used in the Ancient Greece in sweetmeats and cakes, often with sesame seeds and almonds. Nowadays pastries stuffed with poppy seeds are very popular in Central and Eastern Europe and can be found as a condiment in the Yiddish baking too. In France you can buy croissants with poppy stuffing, but poppy seeds are often sprinkled over the pastries as well, because they have a nutty flavor. In Hungary pastries and noodles with poppy seeds are frequently consumed dishes. At Christmas everybody bakes his own poppy seed or nut rolls.

How to make good poppy seed filling?

It's important to combine poppy seeds with hot milk or or fruit (grated apples) so that you can have soft, creamy stuffing.

Poppy seed oil can be used as salad oil too.

• Other uses

Poppy seeds contain a certain amount of calories, but on the other hand they can help in several health problems. Due to their phosphorus and calcium content, they can stop and reverse osteoporosis by increasing bone density. Unsaturated fatty acids found in poppy seeds decrease the bad cholesterol level and reduce the blood pressure. They also strengthen the immune system and speed the wound healing process.

Poppy seed oil is also used in soap making, cosmetics and paint manufacturing.

Poppy seeds are abundant in essential fatty acids. Would you like to know more about their health benefits? Did you know that pumpkin could be a solution for several health problems? Read Pumpkin to Boost your Memory Power.