Black Garlic and Black Garlic Oil │ Black Cumin (Nigella Sativa) for Blood Sugar Control │ Saffron Crocus (Crocus Sativus) for Vision Health

The precise time now eludes me, but I believe that I was into my bed last evening before 10:30 p.m.

I knew that my wife would be likely arriving home overnight following her long workday at her friend's Thai restaurant, but I never quite know if it will be late in the evening or else on into the a.m. ─ this uncertainty can prey upon my ability to fall asleep.

Nevertheless, sleep did arrive. And then ere it was yet quite 1:30 a.m., I became aware that she was prowling about in our bedroom. I wear a makeshift blindfold and a pair of earplugs, so my senses are generally well reduced.

But she never came to bed for another hour.

Clearly, my own sleep was fitful, at best.

I considered getting up to start work on the day's content assignment at the post I have underway at one of my six hosted websites, but I held off and waited until she was likely asleep.

Evidently I had something of a lapse in consciousness, for when next I checked the time better than another hour had passed and it was approaching 4:00 a.m.

I carefully slipped from bed and gathered up my clothes, and was soon at work here at the computer that I keep in the small room next to our bedroom.

And I stayed the course until the day's content assignment had been met.

My eldest stepson had risen at 6:00 a.m. to ready for his workday; and after he had left, I knew that his bed was available if I wanted more than the sparse comfort of the floor ─ I typically bed down here in front of my computer so that I will not be disturbing my wife's sleep after I have finished my website work.

But in the end I opted for the floor, and it was at least 7:15 a.m. when I settled down as best I could. My cellphone's alarm was set for 9:59 a.m.

I managed unusually well, and I think that I only had to shift positions twice ─ I only seem able to find sleep on the floor if I am laying upon my side. And rather to my surprise, my cellphone's alarm did indeed rouse me.

But I could have returned to bed. I was to discover that my wife had the morning off, and would not have to start work until late in the afternoon ─ I could have returned to our bed.

My younger brother was ─ as expected ─ already downstairs and with the T.V. on, so I took it over and used our T9 Android 8.1 TV Box to seek out a film.

I had the title, but knew nothing about it ─ a quick check online revealed that it was a black & white documentary released in 2000 concerning a group of homeless people who lived underground in a New York City subway tunnel: Dark Days.

Well, early into the feature my brother muttered, "This isn't doing anything for me." And he got up and fussed about in the kitchen for something to eat.

When he returned and sat a little further, about 15 minutes into the feature he abruptly announced, "I'm not watching any more of this."

With that declaration, he rose and was soon shut up into his bedroom.

These antics of such a philistine nature that are sometimes displayed by him absolutely chew me right out. Yet he'll sit and watch some B.S. supposed documentary about how aliens are responsible for feats achieved by our ancient civilizations.

I stuck with the documentary.

My wife rose well into it, although I do not think that she intended to remain up. She did, however.

And my brother came back downstairs after the documentary was done.

But I have naught else I wish to speak of concerning him except to report that he later sought proper bedrest and then took off for the afternoon and will end up drinking somewhere.

The day was flawlessly sunny.

My wife was to leave before it was yet 3:00 p.m., stating that she would be back on Sunday.

I have more to speak of concerning her that very much disturbed me, but I will reserve that revelation for my older and private blog.

While she was doing some cooking around midday, she gave me what seemed to be a vacuum-sealed package of something called black garlic, as well as two vials of black garlic oil. 

They originated in Thailand, and only the terms "black garlic" and "black garlic oil" are in English ─ all else is Thai.

She had tried black garlic in the past, but said that it does not agree with her. After doing some research ─ such as this article at DrAxe.com titled Are Black Garlic Benefits Even More than Raw Garlic? ─ I decided to try some with my wife's freshly made congee. 

When I opened the non-see-through package, the individual, rather small and brownish / greyish garlic bulbs actually looked like round, brown mushrooms.

I popped six of them as were into the hot congee, and then began eating.

The insides of the garlic bulbs were almost liquefied like a paste, and were decidedly sweet, but the outer shell of the garlic bulbs were very chewy ─ they would be excellent sources of fibre, I am sure.

Maybe the husks were not meant to be eaten, but I did anyway.

I was going to squirt some of the oil into the congee too, but my wife stopped me, declaring that it is not intended for consumption. Rather, it is for applying to the skin, and is supposed to be beneficial for purposes like reducing wrinkles.

I had read, though, that black garlic oil was supposed to be used in cooking, and is generally of a sesame oil base. 

I made a point of having her read the label to see if the oil contained sesame oil, but she said it did not.

And as you may be able to see in the following two poor photos, the oil vials have a hollow tube reaching down into the bottoms of the bottles, and a wee spray nozzle in the cap ─ hardly a feature of a cooking oil:

Unfortunately, the spray holes are a little difficult to see in the bottom close-up photo of the bottles, as are the tubes inside the bottles, but I am going to take my wife's word that these oils are not for internal consumption.

Sticking with the health-related theme, have you ever heard of a spice called black cumin (Nigella sativa)? Apparently black seed oil may have powerful blood sugar control properties that diabetics ought to at least be aware of.

I received the following article by E-mail back on February 20, but for whatever reason the article was not published as yet at its source (HSIonline.com) ─ so I am reproducing it in full here:

DESTROY diabetes with this ancient 'pharaoh's secret'

When you're battling diabetes, you're DROWNING in sugar.

Not only is your body getting BURIED by the sugar you eat... but it's making even MORE sugar that's not getting processed OR eliminated.

For some diabetics, trying to control blood glucose is like stopping a runaway train.

But you don't have to pile on the pills to keep yourself from running off the rails.

The secret to PERFECT blood sugar is locked inside a tiny seed...

And its powers are so great, it's fit for a king!

Dig yourself out of a sugary grave

Black seed comes from the Nigella sativa plant, which belongs to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae).

Known as black caraway or black cumin, it's not true cumin (Cuminum cyminum) -- the well-known spice that's a member of the parsley family.

We've traced its origins back as far as the year 2000 B.C., in ancient Egypt and Turkey.

Some of its seeds were even discovered in King Tut's tomb.

And it's still treasured today in Middle Eastern countries like Morocco and Jordan for its ability to ERASE diabetes.

It's a triple threat in fighting diabetes, as it reduces the amount of glucose that...

    your intestines absorb from the food you eat

    your liver produces, and

    your blood carries through your body.

In fact, a 2011 animal study out of India found that black seed extract improves glucose tolerance as efficiently as metformin.

Not only that... the researchers also found that it "simulates glucose induced secretion of insulin from beta-cells in [the] pancreas," which increases the overall amount of insulin in your system.

And as the final nail in the coffin for your blood sugar woes, black seed ALSO improves insulin sensitivity.

Research attributes much of black seed's anti-diabetic activity to the presence of a compound called thymoquinone, or TQ for short.

Studies have shown that TQ can lower blood sugar on its own and when combined with the olive compound, oleuropein.

And according to a 2017 study out of Egypt, TQ can even help metformin work better.

That can stop the progression of diabetes, and that's good...

But I'll do you one better.

Because black seed can REVERSE your diabetes... and get you OFF the drugs... FOR GOOD.

It's also abundant in tocotrienols and gamma tocopherols, which are chemicals in the vitamin E family.

Vitamin E is practically a MIRACLE for diabetics in controlling their blood sugar.

And because it'll curb your appetite, black seed may even help you lose weight and reduce your BMI, to boot.

That can only HELP get your diabetes under control.

What's more, it has such low toxicity... there are virtually ZERO side effects.

You can cook with a high-quality, organic black seed oil -- just make sure it's 100% pure and therapeutic grade. Some studies have used cold-pressed varieties.

Scientific research has successfully used dosages of 1 gram of black seed powder, twice a day.

Here are a couple of other sources for information on Nigella sativa:

• Livestrong.com: Black Seed and Diabetes
• WebMD.com: BLACK SEED

I always like to do an Amazon search to see just what sort of products come up that are on offer, and to get a price range idea ─ that search is at the top of this post using the scientific name Nigella sativa.

I may not have any sort of blood sugar control problems that I am aware of, but I certainly do have vision issues.

The following article definitely roused my interest:

HSIonline.com

BANISH blurry vision with the ‘luxury spice’ that’s worth its weight in GOLD

I located some other articles that also offer information about saffron crocus (Crocus sativus) and its vision benefits ─ none are quite as exuberant as the article above, however. And note that I deliberately avoided any websites that were flogging a specific saffron product:

• DrWeil.com: Saffron For Macular Degeneration?
• LifeExtension.com: Saffron Improves Vision in Aging Humans
• WebMD.com: SAFFRON
• Examine.com: Saffron
• News-Medical.net: Saffron could stop blindness and cure eye disease

My Amazon search using the term "saffron extract' is beneath this post, but I won't be ordering anything within the foreseeable future ─ my retirement pension is unable to handle this additional burden.

I am going to have to wait for the lottery win that I have been awaiting just about all of my adult life.

In other words, I likely will never get to try any out.

I have to say that I didn't expect so many of the Amazon saffron offerings to be hyping mood-boosting and appetite-suppression with nary a mention of any eye benefits.

Okay, I still have to create a post in my older and private blog, so I will call a halt here for today.