Mustard, derived from the seeds of the mustard plant, is a condiment with a history rooted in traditional medicine dating back to ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Modern science is beginning to explore the potential health benefits of mustard, ranging from managing blood sugar levels to offering protection against infections and diseases. This article delves into the science behind mustard, its nutritional profile, potential health benefits, and associated risks.
Nutritional Value of Mustard
The mustard plant, related to nutrient-rich vegetables like broccoli and cabbage, offers both its seeds and leaves as edible components. These parts are rich in essential nutrients. Mustard leaves contain significant amounts of calcium, copper, and vitamins C, A, and K. Mustard seeds are particularly rich in fiber, selenium, magnesium, and manganese.
Mustard leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, making them a versatile addition to salads, soups, and stews, prepared similarly to spinach but with a sharper, radish-like flavor. Mustard seeds can be steeped in warm milk, whisked into salad dressings, ground, sprinkled into warm meals, or soaked and used to make mustard paste.
Mustard paste is a low-calorie condiment. A single tablespoon of prepared mustard typically contains:
- 15 calories
- 1 gram of protein
- Less than 1 gram of fat
- Minimal carbohydrates
- No added sugars
Mustard paste provides a dash of iron, calcium, selenium, and phosphorus to your meals. It also offers significant amounts of selenium, omega-3 fatty acids, and calcium.
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A 20-gram portion of mustard seeds contains:
- Calories: 101.6 calories
- Fiber: 2.44 grams
- Protein: 5.22 grams
- Fat: 7.24 grams
- Vitamin C: 1.42 milligrams
- Vitamin K: 1.08 micrograms
- Thiamin: 0.16 milligrams
- Riboflavin: 0.05 milligrams
- Niacin: 0.95 milligrams
- Folate: 32.4 micrograms
- Calcium: 53.2 milligrams
- Iron: 1.84 milligrams
- Zinc: 1.22 milligrams
- Copper: 0.13 milligrams
- Magnesium: 74 milligrams
- Phosphorus: 165.6 milligrams
- Potassium: 147.6 milligrams
- Sodium: 2.6 milligrams
- Manganese: 0.49 milligrams
- Selenium: 41.6 micrograms
Antioxidant and Plant Compounds
Mustard contains antioxidants and beneficial plant compounds that help protect your body against damage and disease. It is a great source of glucosinolates, sulfur-containing compounds found in cruciferous vegetables. Glucosinolates are activated when the plant’s leaves or seeds are damaged through chewing or cutting. They stimulate your body’s antioxidant defenses to protect against disease.
Mustard seeds and leaves are rich in:
- Isothiocyanates: Derived from glucosinolates, which may help prevent cancer cells from growing or spreading.
- Sinigrin: Responsible for mustard’s pungent taste and thought to possess anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, and wound-healing properties.
Mustard is also rich in carotenoids, isorhamnetin, and kaempferol. These flavonoid antioxidants are linked to protection from conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer.
Potential Health Benefits of Mustard
The mustard plant has been used as a traditional remedy against ailments for centuries. Recent scientific evidence supports some of mustard’s proposed benefits:
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- May protect against certain types of cancer: Test-tube and animal research suggests that the glucosinolates in mustard may help kill cancer cells or prevent them from spreading.
- May lower blood sugar levels: One small human study suggests that taking blood-sugar-lowering medication together with a mustard green decoction may lower blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes more effectively than medication alone.
- May protect against psoriasis: Animal studies suggest that a diet rich in mustard seeds may help reduce inflammation and promote the healing of psoriasis-caused lesions.
- May reduce symptoms of contact dermatitis: Animal research suggests that mustard seeds may speed healing and reduce symptoms of contact dermatitis, a condition in which the skin develops an itchy rash following contact with an allergen.
- May offer protection against infections: The antioxidants in mustard seeds may offer some protection against bacteria and fungi, including E. coli, B. subtilis, and S. aureus.
Mustard Greens: A Nutritional Powerhouse
Mustard greens, the leafy part of the mustard plant, offer additional health benefits:
- High in vitamins A, C, and K
- Rich in folate and fiber
- Contains powerful antioxidants
- Supports bone health
- Promotes eye health
Mustard as a Part of a Balanced Diet
Mustard can be a healthy component of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, which is an eating pattern clinically proven to help reduce high blood pressure. A 2,000-calorie DASH diet includes four to five daily servings of vegetables, such as mustard greens, and two to three servings of healthy fats, such as mustard oil.
A reduced-sodium diet can also lower your blood pressure, and individuals with high blood pressure should consume no more than 1,500 milligrams (mg) per day. To limit your sodium intake, the DASH diet recommends flavoring your food with spices, such as mustard seed, instead of salt. Mustard greens and mustard oil are naturally low in sodium as well.
Blood Pressure Benefits of Mustard
Spicy and potent, the mustard plant features a number of nutrients known to benefit blood pressure and overall cardiovascular health.
- Mustard oil, which is pressed from mustard seeds, is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, a type of polyunsaturated fat that has both anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective qualities.
- The seeds also contain calcium, iron, potassium, and vitamin C, all of which play unique roles in healthy blood pressure regulation.
- Mustard greens, the leafy part of the plant, are also rich in vitamin C and a good source of calcium and iron.
- Mustard greens are high in dietary fiber as well, which is important for both reducing blood pressure and preventing cardiovascular disease.
- A naturally low-calorie food, mustard greens can support weight loss goals, too, which can lower blood pressure as a result.
Potential Risks and Considerations
Eating mustard seeds, leaves, or paste is generally considered safe for most people when consumed in amounts typically found in the average person’s diet. However, consuming large amounts, such as those typically found in mustard extracts, may result in abdominal pain, diarrhea, and gut inflammation.
Read also: Mustard: More Than Just a Condiment
There’s also a report of a woman developing contact dermatitis after applying a Chinese medicine patch containing mustard seeds directly to her skin.
Uncooked mustard seeds and leaves contain a significant amount of goitrogens. These are compounds that can interfere with the normal function of your thyroid, which is the gland responsible for regulating your metabolism. This is unlikely to cause a problem in people with normal thyroid function. However, those with impaired thyroid function may want to soak, boil, or cook mustard seeds and leaves before eating them or generally limit their intake.
While mustard is generally safe for most people, there are some important considerations:
- Mustard allergies can be serious and are relatively common
- Some people may experience digestive discomfort from consuming large amounts
- Those on blood-thinning medications should consult their healthcare provider about mustard consumption
- Individuals with thyroid conditions should moderate their intake of mustard greens
Mustard Oil: Benefits and Risks
Mustard oil comes from the seeds of mustard plants and may possess some health benefits. However, certain components of mustard oil may cause health problems.
Some research suggests that mustard oil may possess cardiovascular benefits and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the use of mustard oil is controversial. For example, some types of the oil contain erucic acid, which can be harmful to health. As such, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) do not advise using mustard oil as a cooking oil.
A 2023 review suggests that mustard oil may have some potential benefits for cardiovascular health, likely due to it being rich in unsaturated fatty acids and relatively low in saturated fats. However, these potential benefits are likely to be very small compared with other factors that influence cardiovascular risk.
Evidence also indicates that mustard oil may possess anti-inflammatory properties due to it containing omega-3 fatty acids and a compound known as allyl isothiocyanate.
As mustard oil predominately consists of fats, it is high in calories. In 100 grams (g) of mustard oil, there is roughly 884 calories. In 100 grams (g) of mustard oil, there are:
- 59.2 g of monosaturated fatty acids
- 21.2 g polyunsaturated fatty acids
- 11.6 g saturated fatty acids
Mustard oil may pose a serious risk because it contains high levels of erucic acid. This monounsaturated fatty acid is present in several oils. In small doses, erucic acid is safe, but higher levels may be dangerous.
In 2016, the FDA issued a warning that mustard oil is not safe to use in cooking because of its high erucic acid content. This means that the FDA do not permit its sale as a cooking oil in the United States.
Current guidelines from the FDA prohibit the sale of mustard oil as a cooking oil. However, people still use it as many consider it to be essential to Indian cooking. Low-erucic acid mustard oil is available, and manufacturers can market it as a cooking oil. Others may instead choose to use an alternative vegetable cooking oil, such as olive oil.
Topical Application of Mustard Oil
Mustard oil is available as an essential oil. The safest method of using it is to dilute it in a carrier oil and apply it to the skin or hair. People should not diffuse mustard essential oil close to anyone who may be allergic to it. Taken orally, mustard essential oil is toxic.