black cumin seeds
Nuts & Seeds
Trigger checker for black cumin seeds
See black cumin seeds rated across every trigger — FODMAP, histamine, salicylate, oxalate, tyramine and more — plus diet compatibility, all in one quick ingredient profile.
Related checkers
Compare black cumin seeds across criteria
Triggers
Diets
Serving size, prep, and portion notes for black cumin seeds
Black cumin seed is Nigella sativa, sold across South Asian and Middle Eastern kitchens as kalonji, nigella or black onion seed. Despite the name it is not cumin, not caraway and not black sesame, and it is not even in the same plant family as any of them. It is graded D for salicylates, which is the trigger worth knowing, with FODMAPs at B. Everything else reads clean: histamine A, histamine liberator A, tyramine A, nickel A, sulfite A, glutamates A, gluten A, lactose A, dairy protein A. The distinction that actually matters for logging is dose. A pinch of seed scattered over naan or a Turkish cheese is a very different exposure from a daily spoon of concentrated black seed oil or a thymoquinone capsule, and both get recorded under the same ingredient name all the time.
Watch for
Salicylate D, high. Aromatic seeds carry their salicylates concentrated, so a sprinkle is not automatically a negligible dose if you are salicylate-sensitive and eating them daily on bread / The supplement gap. Black seed oil and thymoquinone extracts deliver many times what any recipe uses. If you take a supplement and also cook with the seed, log them as separate lines, because the reaction almost always belongs to the concentrated form / FODMAPs B, moderate. Culinary sprinkling is a small amount and rarely the issue, but tablespoon quantities in a spice paste or a seeded loaf can add up alongside other moderate ingredients / Name confusion corrupts patterns. Kalonji, nigella, black onion seed and black caraway all mean this seed, while regular cumin is Cuminum cyminum and caraway is Carum carvi. If your log mixes them, the salicylate signal disappears into the noise / It is excluded on a paleo AIP elimination, graded E there, as seeds are removed during the initial phase alongside nuts and nightshade spices
Explore related in Nuts & Seeds
Compare similar foods to build a personalized list of swaps that work for your system.
FAQ
What does the FODMAP rating mean for black cumin seeds?
Medium FODMAP: portion size matters more than the ingredient itself.
Is black cumin seeds generally well tolerated?
Salicylates (High) and FODMAPs (Low) Start with those if you react.
What should I check next?
Compare within the Nuts & Seeds group.