To Poppy Seed or Not to Poppy Seed

After making the yummy Poppy Seed Chicken a few weeks ago I wondered why the recipe included poppy seeds. Do they even have flavor? Would the recipe taste the same without them? Are there health benefits? Do you really have to avoid them if you will be taking a drug test soon? After all these questions I told a friend of mine that I would research & blog. So this is for you Jenn!

Poppy Seeds are obtained from Opium Poppy. The unripe heads contain opium but the white or grayish blue seeds do not have any narcotic properties. In China, they are used to treat vomiting and nausea. The poppy seeds and poppy seeds oil are rich in omega 2 fatty acid and a good source of carbohydrate energy, oleic and linoleic acids. They do contain a moderate amount of calcium.

Poppy Seeds are tiny nuttytasting, bluegray seeds inside capsules on Papaver somniferum, a yellowish brown opium plant indigenous to the Mediterranean.

Health Benefits of Poppy Seeds:

• Adding flavor - Poppy seeds are good at adding flavor to a number of food items like breads, rolls, cookies and cakes. You may depend upon these seeds to add delight to your party menus.



• Grinded form - People across the globe make use of ground poppy seeds in dishing up various types of desserts.



• Sauces - Poppy seeds are also utilized as thickening agents for various types of sauces available in the market.



• Cooking - Poppy seeds are also used in cooking different dishes like vegetables, noodles and fishes to add flavor and aroma to these items.



• Consumption of half teaspoonful of poppy seeds helps asthma and cough.



• Drinking a decoction of the seeds (25ml) once a day helps all the nervous disorders.



• A paste made up the seeds, 4gm, taken twice daily helps insomnia.



• A paste made up the seeds, 3/4gm, taken twice daily helps diarrhea.



• In case of abdominal pain, colic and sciatica, powder made up seeds taken with ghee, 3/4gm, benefits the conditions.



• A poultice or paste made up poppy seeds and applied over the affected areas gives relief, in case of any swelling and joint pains.



• Heart diseases - The presence of linoleic acid in poppy seeds protect human body from heart attacks and other heart disorders.



• Breast cancer - The oil made from poppy seeds is helpful in treating breast cancer, as it contains oleic acid.
  

Even though opium and poppy seeds are correlated, poppy seeds do not contain any narcotic properties and hence one can benefit from poppy seeds nutrition without the effects of opium. The fluid present in the bud which becomes opium is absent in the poppy seeds once the seeds are formed. Although....Eating poppy seed bagels or poppy seed cake can cause one to test positive for heroin and/or opium on a drug test. This was confirmed on MythBusters. Heroin is a semi-synthetic opoid made from Morphine. If a test is sensitive enough it can generate a false positive simply by detecting the poppy seeds. Lawsuits have actually been filed and settled due to this phenomenon.

Sooooo....my vote: TO POPPY SEED. Here is a great recipe: Creamy Poppy Seed Chicken http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/chicken-crock-pot-recipes/poppyseed-chicken.htm

A Few Ideas to Get You Started
Poppy Seeds are a classic addition to buttered egg noodles, fruit salad dressings, and fragrant yeast breads. Poppy Seeds add nutty flavor and texture to cookies, cakes, breads, strudels, pastry crusts, and pancake and waffle batters.

*No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.