The Best Black Seed Oil For Hashimoto’s

Are you looking for a natural treatment option to manage your Hashimoto’s?

If so, I think I have something that you’ll love:

Black seed oil.

As far as natural treatments go, this stands above the rest.

Why?

Because research shows that using the right black seed oil can help you reduce your thyroid antibodies and boost thyroid function with just a few capsules (or drops) each day.

If you’re interested in using it, here’s what you need to know:

What Is Black Seed Oil?

Black seed oil is created from black cumin seeds which are cold-pressed until they release their oil.

This oil is super concentrated in the bioactive compounds found in black cumin seeds which is what gives it therapeutic benefits (1).

But what can get confusing for some thyroid patients is that the terms black cumin seeds, nigella sativa, and black seed oil are often used interchangeably.

While they are all similar in their sourcing and effects, they are not the same thing:

Nigella satvia is the plant that produces black cumin seeds.

These tiny seeds can be crushed into a powder (which will become important in a minute) or pressed until they release oil.

While black seed oil is super concentrated in fat-soluble ingredients like thymoquinone, it doesn’t have a high concentration of water-soluble compounds or fiber.

This will come into play in a minute, but what I want you to take away from this conversation is that both black seed oil and nigella sativa powder are incredibly beneficial for people with Hashimoto’s.

Both can…

1. Reduce Thyroid Antibodies

This is probably their biggest benefit and the reason you are here.

The thyroid antibodies in Hashimoto’s are what cause all of the problems associated with this disease.

If you can reduce your antibodies, you can effectively put your disease into remission.

And black seed oil may provide you with a tool to do just that.

Research indicates that the ingredients found in black seed oil (again, this is important because black seed oil itself doesn’t do this) can help reduce both TPO and thyroglobulin antibodies.

And not by some trivial amount either.

Studies consistently show that a reduction of 20-40% is realistic for thyroid patients who take it (2).

This is what I’ve personally seen as well.

2. Lower TSH

Probably the second biggest benefit is its impact on thyroid stimulating hormone.

As you know, this is used as a proxy measurement for thyroid function.

And when your thyroid is low, your TSH will rise.

So anything that reduces your TSH will be improving thyroid function (this may seem counterintuitive but the TSH and thyroid function move in opposite directions).

This is huge because it means you may be able to either eliminate your need for thyroid medication completely or, at the very least, reduce your dependence upon it.

3. Increase Free Thyroid Hormone Levels

Next, it also has an impact on your free thyroid hormone levels, specifically free t3 and free t4.

These are measures of active thyroid hormone that are available for your body and cells to utilize.

In states of hypothyroidism (low thyroid function), both decline.

Compared to its impact on TSH and thyroid antibodies, black seed oil has a relatively muted impact on your thyroid hormones themselves, but it’s better than nothing.

Studies show this boost is around 4.5 to 14%, depending on which you look at.

Again, that may not seem as interesting as a 40% decline in thyroid antibodies, but small changes in your thyroid hormones can have a big impact on your symptoms.

This is probably responsible for some of the other benefits we will soon discuss such as…

4. Support Healthy Fat Loss

Owing to its impact on appetite, gut health, and hormone balance, it may come as no surprise that black seed oil may also help you shed a few extra pounds.

This has been confirmed in meta-analyses which have looked at several studies using this compound.

And the research indicates that it does appear to have a positive impact on fat mass (3).

As far as values go, research indicates that weight loss in the range of 2.2 to 6.6 pounds is possible when taking black seed oil daily.

This equates to roughly a drop in your BMI of 0.8.

This may not seem earth-shatteringly high, but, again, it’s a great added bonus if you are expecting mostly benefits to your thyroid and immune system.

It’s also particularly interesting to thyroid patients who often struggle to lose any weight, period.

5. Reduce Cholesterol

Another lesser-known benefit is the impact it has on cholesterol, specifically LDL and HDL.

A 2018 study (4) showed that 12 weeks of black seed oil produced a drop in LDL by 17.8%.

And a meta-analysis from 2016 (5) showed an increase in HDL by 5-8%.

These benefits are only seen at higher doses, but those are the doses that you’d want to use anyway if you are using it for your thyroid.

How to Find the Best Black Seed Oil Products

Not all black seed oil supplements provide the same benefits.

This is for a variety of reasons including how they are processed, what concentration of ingredients they contain, how they are stored/shipped, and much more.

If you want to get the benefits we’ve discussed, here’s what to look for:

• Organic sourcing – As someone with Hashimoto’s, you’ll want the cleanest ingredient possible, free from potential pesticides and chemicals that have the potential to trigger a flare-up (6). As a result, whenever possible, choose organic sourcing.
• Cold-pressed extraction – Cold-pressed extraction means that the delicate bioactive compounds found within black cumin seeds are preserved. You want to make sure your black seed oil is not processed with heat as this destroys those valuable compounds!
• Standardized active ingredients – The ingredient that does a lot of the heavy lifting in black seed oil is thymoquinone (7), but there are many other active ingredients that contribute to its benefits as well. Certain black seed oil formulations come with standardized doses of these ingredients ensuring consistent benefits across batches. You’ll know if your product is standardized because it will say so on the packaging!
• Glass packaging – Glass packaging helps protect the oil from light degradation and helps minimize the leeching of chemicals into your oil.
• Gel caps vs liquid – This is only important insofar as it impacts your ability to get the right dose and take your supplement consistently. Gel caps hide the flavor of black seed oil but impact your dose. So you’ll need to find a balance between what you’re able to tolerate as far as flavor goes, and the dose you need to see results.

Top 3 Black Seed Oil Products for Hashimoto’s

Ready to purchase a black seed oil? Here are my favorites based on my own research and evaluation of ingredient profiles, sourcing, and more:

1. Hashimoto’s Ab Rx

This is the nigella sativa supplement that I formulated and while I may be a little biased, it’s for good reason:

It was created using the exact same dosing and ingredients found in the trials and research that I just mentioned.

So if you are looking to mimic those results, you won’t find a better option.

What you need to understand, though, is that this is not technically a black seed oil per se.

Instead, it’s a supplement that contains nigella sativa powder (along with a few other ingredients).

This design choice was intentional because all of the benefits that we’ve discussed thus far come from the testing of nigella sativa the PLANT, not nigella sativa the oil.

While the oil and the powder are likely very similar in their benefits, we can’t say that they are equal with 100% certainty.

For this reason, I opted to use the powder instead of the oil in this formulation.

But you can obviously choose whatever you feel is best for you.

Why I like it:

• It contains research-backed doses and ingredients to ensure the best outcome for patients with Hashimoto’s.
• You get additional antibody-lowering ingredients with each serving.
• It’s organically sourced.

What you need to be aware of:

• It’s not an oil (it’s nigella sativa powder).
• You’ll need to take 4 capsules per serving.

2. Life Extension Black Cumin Seed Oil

If you prefer to use the oil over the powder, then Life Extension Black Cumin Seed Oil is worth checking out.

This product features 500 mg of organic black cumin seed oil (nigella sativa) in gel cap form which is a great option over pure oils that require dosing in teaspoons.

Why I like it:

• The product is reasonably priced (though you will need to take multiple servings to reach its therapeutic benefit).
• It comes in gel caps which means it’s easier to take compared to a liquid.

What you need to be aware of:

• It does not contain standardized concentrations of active ingredients.
• You’ll need to use 4 capsules per day to get to 2,000 mg (the ideal dose).
• There are no additional ingredients (it’s just black seed oil).

3. TQ-Advanced Black Seed Oil

If you’d like a slightly more powerful black seed oil with standardized concentrations of active ingredients, then TQ-Advanced Black Seed Oil may be a better option.

This product uses a proprietary extraction and manufacturing process which ensures a standardized thymoquinone concentration of 5%.

This may sound all good, but there are some potential issues worth noting.

Why I like it:

• It’s standardized to contain 5% thymoquinone (this is a double-edged sword because you do get diminishing returns on thymoquinone concentrations above 3%).

What you need to be aware of:

• It comes with a higher price tag given its manufacturing process.
• You’ll need to take 4 capsules per day to reach 2,000 mg but with a higher price, this means each bottle will only last 15 days.
• There’s no mention of standardized dosing of other ingredients like free fatty acids which may counteract some of the benefits of the high dose of thymoquinone.

Nigella Sativa Powder vs. Black Seed Oil

Even though this article is about black seed oil, I still think that you’ll get more bang for your buck when using nigella sativa powder instead.

Here’s why:

• The powder is what has been used in the majority of the research studies.
• It’s easier to get a higher dosing of the powder compared to the oil (this is due to flavor and taste).
• While the powder doesn’t contain the high concentrations of fat-soluble bioactive compounds like thymoquinone, it has a more balanced profile which includes fiber and water-soluble compounds that are not found in the oil.
• It’s easier to take capsules compared to oil.

At the end of the day, you can probably get most of the same benefits when using the oil over the powder, so which you use is more a matter of preference than anything else.

But I can tell you that I’ve tested both extensively, and I think that the powder beats out the oil in most scenarios.

Optimal Black Seed Oil Dosing Protocol

For daily maintenance of Hashimoto’s:

• Start at 500 mg per day and increase up to 2,000 mg per day.

For a Hashimoto’s flare-up:

• Use up to 2,000 – 4,000 mg per day (double the dose)

As far as expectations go, research indicates you should start to see changes to your thyroid after 8 weeks of daily use.

But it may take 3-6 months in order for you to realize its full benefits.

It’s not required that you check your labs prior to use or even during use, but you are certainly welcome to if you want to track your progress closely.

Black seed oil can safely be used indefinitely, so there’s no need to stop/start or cycle your dose.

Your Next Steps

If you have Hashimoto’s, nigella sativa is a no-brainer.

The real question you need to answer is whether you want to get it in powder or oil form and which brand/type you want to take.

Once you figure that out, you’re off to the races.

By the way, even though black seed oil is a powerful tool to treat Hashimoto’s, did you know there are other supplements that are proven to be effective as well?

You can see a list of those supplements in this article (and they happen to pair perfectly with black seed oil).