Modern industry today has learned to extract and concentrate a large number of useful substances contained in natural materials - plants, flowers, trees. Some of the most used and best-selling results of this activity are vegetable oils. On store shelves you can find a large number of different oils - from the usual vegetable oil, obtained from sunflower, and ending with elite oils, for example, argan. It is impossible not to recall the benefits and harms of mustard oil.
To date, the main supplier of mustard in our latitudes is Sarepta (Volgograd region). And mustard is on the fourth place for cultivation (after sunflower, flax and soybeans) among oil plants.
Composition and use of mustard oil
The presence of useful properties mustard oil, of course, due to its composition. It is distinguished by a significant amount of contained fatty acids, omega 3 and omega 6, which:
- regulate the work of the heart muscle;
- prevent atherosclerosis and increased cholesterol;
- irreplaceable for the proper functioning of the female body;
- support the reproductive system;
- strengthen immunity ;
- strengthen the nervous and endocrine systems;
- have antioxidant properties.
Supplement the use of mustard oil:
- high content of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol acetate) - immunomodulating action, cleansing the body of toxins;
- Choline - irreplaceable for the nervous system, regulates carbohydrate metabolism, is a hepatoprotector;
- vitamin B6 - responsible for the synthesis of hemoglobin, improves the transmission of nerve impulses and is a natural antidepressant;
- plant hormones (phytosterols), which reduce the likelihood of cancer, improve the quality of the skin, have bactericidal properties.
Areas of application of mustard oil
Due to the long shelf life, mustard oil is actively used for food. When added to dressings for salads, in soups and for frying, gives a slightly tart taste and a pleasant color to the dishes. When used in bread and other flour products, it allows them to keep their freshness longer and gives a beautiful shade to the test.
In folk and traditional medicine, based on oil, warming ointments are made. Essential oil of mustard mixed with other vegetable oil can be used instead of mustard plasters.
Possessing anti-inflammatory properties, it helps to fight acne, herpetic rashes, psoriasis. Protects the skin from ultraviolet radiation and early aging. And for losing weight mustard oil can be used both inside (on a tablespoon on an empty stomach in the morning), and as a means for wraps that will help improve skin tone and reduce volume.
Harm and contraindications of mustard oil
The harm of mustard oil for the cardiovascular system has long depended on the presence of erucic acid in it. But now
Gently mustard oil should be taken to people with allergic diseases and gastrointestinal problems (gastritis, enterocolitis , ulcers, duodenitis).
Essential oil of mustard is one of the most poisonous esters and when ingested it can cause damage to the digestive tract and kidneys. Therefore, this oil is always mixed with other, neutral, oils and is used only as an external agent having a locally irritating effect.