I didn't find any additional benefit from daily doses rather than every 3 days, but we're all different. When I first noticed that cumin had an effect on my symptoms (temporary remission), I took it daily, and it stopped working after a few days, so ever since that, I've been cautious about taking treatments more frequently or at higher dosages than required.
Cumin (Cuminum cyminum): Possible PEM Blocker
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linusbert
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accumulative to the better or worse?
Husband of
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are people mainly finding this ueful post physical ezercise? i jusr read tha tcumin stops testosterone production. perhaps this means it stops the muscle rebuilding that occurs post exercise and perhpas it is something in that process which is causing the post exertional malaise.
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I took it awhile and again if PEM is getting heavy, but if wasn't a wonderdrug. So now that I have Tramadol I don't use it as much, cause Tramadol is the real life-saver in terms of pain control.
Husband of
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It has seemed to help me the three or four times I've taken it for my long Covid PEM following physical exercise. although I am unsure if it instead delayed or spread the impact over a longer period (ie instead of having a big PEM peak).
And, as mentioned above, I do wonder whether it has stopped/delayed muscle rebuiling due to its effect on testosterone.
And, as mentioned above, I do wonder whether it has stopped/delayed muscle rebuiling due to its effect on testosterone.
You might want to check the actual numbers about the effect on testosterone. Sometimes the study uses megadoses to get a measurable effect. Maybe the effect--assuming it's not bad science with a false result--only has a measurable effect if you consume a kilogram of cumin each day. Maybe the muscle rebuilding requires a significant drop in testosterone, rather than just a barely measurable drop from excessive amounts of cumin. Numbers really do matter.
Husband of
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I found six or seven websites claiming this. mostly medical sites like health line. Unfortunately none reference a study. A body building site says that just half a teaspoon will stop testosterone production. But it doesnt say much more. A few sites suggest it has been used as a male contraceptive.
edit: I found an article. It shows it doesn't require high doses of cumin per kg of body weight, but its for rats. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?...=#d=gs_qabs&t=1730926261313&u=#p=OtXB7Mol2E8J
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I wouldn't be surprised if the daily amount of cumin in India and Mexico was around half a tsp. Has their population dropped significantly? I think population statistics are more trustworthy than unreferenced claims on sites that love controversial headlines.
I checked a couple of sites. Healthline didn't mention cumin in their list of 6 foods that reduce testosterone. One site claiming a reduction prefaced all those claims with "may" or "might", meaning they had no real evidence to support the claim. Another site claimed that cumin boosts testosterone ... also with no real supporting data. Going by family size in countries that use a lot of cumin, boosting seems more likely.
I checked a couple of sites. Healthline didn't mention cumin in their list of 6 foods that reduce testosterone. One site claiming a reduction prefaced all those claims with "may" or "might", meaning they had no real evidence to support the claim. Another site claimed that cumin boosts testosterone ... also with no real supporting data. Going by family size in countries that use a lot of cumin, boosting seems more likely.
I have no idea, but something that lowered testosterone a bit wouldn't be expected to crash population rates. Again, I have no opinion - other than 'family size' is not necessarily predictive of testosterone levels.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/13685538.2013.832192
Husband of
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Health line says it in their article about cumin. I had also noticed they don't say it in the article you mention, because oddly they link to that article in the one about cumin. Still, seems possible given the study on rats, and an avenue worth considering as to why it affects PEM.
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linusbert
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what seams to bring up my testosterone is eating like 4 eggs a day. (the yolks are the important part)
everytime i do it i find myself in prayer for doing repents because i get that horny and cant control myself.
everytime i do it i find myself in prayer for doing repents because i get that horny and cant control myself.
Dysfunkion
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What raises or drops many hormone levels seems very conditional, I remember eating a lot of Indian seasoned food in the past made my libido absurdly high but after I got PFS from saw palmetto it would actually tank everything further. I haven't had any Indian food in quite a while but I wonder if now that I'm recovered that reaction has reversed again. I can do some well cooked egg in food, in fact I had some last night but I didn't see any quick shifts in that department.
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Been through all the old posts here in hope of answers but couldn’t find any, so will share instead as my experience seems novel here and suggestions on how to proceed would be appreciated!
I tried cumin before reading this thread and so dosing differs. I took half a tablespoon of ground cumin on the first day. The reaction was almost instant and it cleared my sinuses for the first time since I got ME (just over two months) which was a truly wonderful feeling. Within an hour or so they had blocked again, but I was breathing more clearly through my nose. But had slight chest tightening.
The next day I halfed the dosage (1/4 tbsp). Sinuses cleared a little but not as much. I developed a slight chest tightening again.
The third day I reduced the dose to about 1/5 or 1/6tbsp. Got reduced sinus clearing and more chest tightening. I had to sit and do breathing exercises for 20-30mins to calm this down. I don’t usually experience this. Later in the day I also noticed subtle heart palpitations.
That was yesterday. Today I don’t plan to try it again until adverse symptoms dissipate as I woke up with strong heart palpitations (not usual for me), though my sinuses are still clearer than they were before I started.
It didn’t stop PEM for me (I happened to be moving house and ended up knocked out) but it potentially dampened the severity and increased recovery time. This needs more testing to confirm because I’m super unstable.
I find the sinus release so compelling that I want to try again. I’m thinking low dosage (I probably swap to teaspoons!) with a two day break in between.
I think possibly the cumin is reacting to something else I’m taking as I’m currently trying Chinese medicine and a bunch of nutrional supplements. I guess I’ll try pausing the Chinese medicine first and see what happens.
I haven’t tried taking it by keeping in the mouth and wonder if this is worth exploring too?
I tried cumin before reading this thread and so dosing differs. I took half a tablespoon of ground cumin on the first day. The reaction was almost instant and it cleared my sinuses for the first time since I got ME (just over two months) which was a truly wonderful feeling. Within an hour or so they had blocked again, but I was breathing more clearly through my nose. But had slight chest tightening.
The next day I halfed the dosage (1/4 tbsp). Sinuses cleared a little but not as much. I developed a slight chest tightening again.
The third day I reduced the dose to about 1/5 or 1/6tbsp. Got reduced sinus clearing and more chest tightening. I had to sit and do breathing exercises for 20-30mins to calm this down. I don’t usually experience this. Later in the day I also noticed subtle heart palpitations.
That was yesterday. Today I don’t plan to try it again until adverse symptoms dissipate as I woke up with strong heart palpitations (not usual for me), though my sinuses are still clearer than they were before I started.
It didn’t stop PEM for me (I happened to be moving house and ended up knocked out) but it potentially dampened the severity and increased recovery time. This needs more testing to confirm because I’m super unstable.
I find the sinus release so compelling that I want to try again. I’m thinking low dosage (I probably swap to teaspoons!) with a two day break in between.
I think possibly the cumin is reacting to something else I’m taking as I’m currently trying Chinese medicine and a bunch of nutrional supplements. I guess I’ll try pausing the Chinese medicine first and see what happens.
I haven’t tried taking it by keeping in the mouth and wonder if this is worth exploring too?
Anything reasonably low-risk is worth trying if you think it might help. I tried cumin sublingually just to see whether it was a gut effect or a bloodstream/brain effect, which showed it was the latter. If cumin--or anything else--gave someone a beneficial effect but also a detrimental gut effect, sublingual dosing followed by rinsing well might be a solution. If the cuminaldehyde was working on the brain, sublingual might reduce the necessary dosage, reducing any unwanted side effects.
Everything with ME is a personal experiment.
Clear sinus and being able to breathe again is something I would love to say I've been successful with. After many years of suffering, it's the same.....although now I'm once again using a vaporizer (with liquid Vicks) and find that's helping somewhat.
My husband also isn't snoring, so that's a plus. As a lot of you know, insomnia (or in my case now @ 77 almost 78) means no sleep whatsoever. And no, I've been cleared for bipolar illness, which does run in my family. So it's down to the sleep patterns and not being able to breathe is one of the major culprits...sinus.
I also have heart disease and not being able to breathe is non-stable for me. Bear in mind that a lot of us suffer from fibromyalgia (see a rheumatologist qualified in FM). There are a minimal amount of drugs that helps with the pain of this illness, plus gentle exercise in the form of walking; not lifting weights. I'm presently not walking because of falls....I wish I could. Mild yoga is also helpful, but check with a doctor who is knowledgeable about FM (rheumatologist and make sure he has worked with FM patients).
As we become older, allergies are a major source of problems. Worse year by year and there's not much you can do about it. The best news is that I'm now older, don't work and the acceptance, and belief by my family of my condition.
The above is the only answer I can offer to you. Some over-the-counter meds may work....but you'll need to see an allergist. Yes, I know and hate playing "specialist roulette" (as I call it), but for answers, that's your best route. I never found anything natural that worked and over the years, trust me, I tried.
So buy a vaporizer if you don't have one, run it all night and see both a rheumatologist and allergist if necessary. The rheumatologist may even know what's best for sinus conditions in FM sufferers. Good luck and do feel breath again. Yours, Lenora
My husband also isn't snoring, so that's a plus. As a lot of you know, insomnia (or in my case now @ 77 almost 78) means no sleep whatsoever. And no, I've been cleared for bipolar illness, which does run in my family. So it's down to the sleep patterns and not being able to breathe is one of the major culprits...sinus.
I also have heart disease and not being able to breathe is non-stable for me. Bear in mind that a lot of us suffer from fibromyalgia (see a rheumatologist qualified in FM). There are a minimal amount of drugs that helps with the pain of this illness, plus gentle exercise in the form of walking; not lifting weights. I'm presently not walking because of falls....I wish I could. Mild yoga is also helpful, but check with a doctor who is knowledgeable about FM (rheumatologist and make sure he has worked with FM patients).
As we become older, allergies are a major source of problems. Worse year by year and there's not much you can do about it. The best news is that I'm now older, don't work and the acceptance, and belief by my family of my condition.
The above is the only answer I can offer to you. Some over-the-counter meds may work....but you'll need to see an allergist. Yes, I know and hate playing "specialist roulette" (as I call it), but for answers, that's your best route. I never found anything natural that worked and over the years, trust me, I tried.
So buy a vaporizer if you don't have one, run it all night and see both a rheumatologist and allergist if necessary. The rheumatologist may even know what's best for sinus conditions in FM sufferers. Good luck and do feel breath again. Yours, Lenora
linusbert
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with plants and spices there is always the risk for something allergic or asthmatic or histaminergic or salicylate. sometimes going on later.. like a few hours or day/s even.
once i got exposed to a citrus like tea smell, my nose opened up , could breath better for a few minutes, then my lower airways reacted and i got that tight feeling .
might be something like that.
did you try essential oils? like eucalyptus maybe? works for me without the tightening.
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Thanks for your responses! More to test and will try and remember to report back.