Who Should Avoid Oregano?
Oregano (Origanum vulgare) is a robust herb with a pungent aroma and many health benefits, including anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. It is available dry, fresh, or extracted as oil. It is commonly known for its use in Italian and Greek cuisine. With a bold, earthy flavor, oregano is a versatile ingredient in the kitchen.
Read on to learn more about the health benefits associated with oregano, including who should avoid it, nutrition facts, and more.
How Is Oregano Used?
Oregano is a flavorful, aromatic herb that is used dried or fresh in a variety of cuisines. Most notably known for its use in tomato-based sauces, oregano is also used in olive oil–based dishes that contain legumes (foods such as peas, lentils, and beans), pasta, grains, poultry, salads, meat, fish and more.
It can be described as tasting sweetly spicy. Some chefs describe oregano as having a peppery bite with a minty aroma.
In addition to its fresh and dried forms, the oils of oregano can be extracted and used as an aromatic oil and in supplements.
Oregano Oil vs. Oregano Essential Oil
Oregano oil extract and oregano essential oil are not the same. They are processed differently; oregano essential oil is not meant to be used on the skin without diluting it with a carrier oil. At the same time, oregano essential oil is not meant to be ingested.
5 Health Benefits of Oregano
Herbs are thought to have some of the highest amounts of antioxidants known by weight compared to other foods.Oregano contains antioxidants, including caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, rosmarinic acid, caffeoyl derivatives, carvacrol, and flavonoids (apigenin, eriodictyol, dihydroquercetin, dihydrokaempferol, thymol).
In addition, oregano contains ample amounts of vitamin K (1 teaspoon provides 14% of your daily needs).
Eating a variety of nutrient-dense foods and herbs like oregano can contribute to an overall healthy eating plan, but no single food will provide miracle effects. Factors that may affect potential health benefits from oregano include:
Oregano type
How much you consume
Plant growth stage when harvested
Environmental conditions when grown
Preparation methods
How it is absorbed in your body
How your body responds to it
Much of the research involving oregano is centered around extracted oregano oil. Research primarily has been conducted in the laboratory (in vitro) or on animals (in vivo) rather than on humans, too. Therefore, not enough is known about the appropriate doses and long-term effects of supplementing with oregano oil.
Yet, using oregano in cooking can add flavor and nutrition without adding fat and sodium. Eating fresh oregano raw is typically uncommon as people find the flavor too pungent. But fresh, chopped oregano can be added to salads or in the final stages of cooking dishes.
Consider oregano another plant that you can add to your eating regimen. Eating a variety of plants is associated with improved health outcomes, including reduced risk of infection, better blood sugars, reduced risk of cancer, heart disease and more.
Antibacterial and Antimicrobial Properties
Antibacterials can prevent the growth or spread of bacteria. Oregano oil—extracted from the leaves and is a concentrated source—contains the compounds carvacrol and thymol that may assist in reducing or preventing the growth or spread of bacteria, fungi, parasites, and some viruses.
In a in vitro study, researchers used oregano oil against antibiotic-resistant pathogens (germs that develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them off) like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and found that oregano oil presented the best antibacterial effect. However, this result is far from conclusive since researchers were testing the effects in test tubes and not in humans. Therefore, more research is needed.
Oregano oil is often used to protect plants from insects and can be used as a natural insecticide, deterring bugs like the cabbage butterfly and cucumber beetle. Oregano oil may also be used to repel certain types of bugs. In a laboratory experiment, researchers found that oregano essential oil was able to deter bedbugs.
Oregano oil contains carvacrol, thymol, and alpha-terpinene, which can serve as a repellent for mosquitoes and as a source of relief for insect bites. Remember to dilute essential oil of oregano, as applying it directly to the skin can cause skin irritation and burning.
Anti-Inflammatory Properties
Oregano contains a wide variety of plant-based antioxidants. The two studied the most are carvacrol and thymol. But oregano also contains limonene, terpinene, ocimene, and caryophyllene, other plant based compounds that have antioxidative properties.
Antioxidants are known for scavenging free radicals (reactive and unstable molecules produced in cells by metabolism) and assisting in lowering inflammation.
One study examined the effects of concentrated sources of oregano essential oil on inflamed skin cells.9 Researchers extracted human skin cells and stimulated them with sources of inflammation such as interleukin-1-beta, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interferon-y, basic fibroblast growth factor, epidermal growth factor, and platelet-derived growth factor.
Next, they subjected the cells to different concentrations of oregano essential oil and examined the levels of several inflammatory biomarkers, which decreased after exposure to the oil.
Researchers find this information to be promising for oregano essential oil use in skin care products, specifically for wound healing and reducing inflammation. But more human research is needed.
Cancer Protection
The antioxidants found in oregano may assist in protecting cells from damage. For example, carvacrol and thymol may help induce cancer cell death, slow tumor growth, and prevent the spread of cancer, but the research has been done in test tubes and animals rather than in humans.
Therefore, more research is needed to determine the dose and duration of use as well as the long-term safety and efficacy of use.
Oregano also contains quercetin, another plant-based antioxidant that can protect cells from damage.
Diabetes Management
Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder that requires daily self-management. People with diabetes must consider their diet, exercise, stress, sleep, medications, blood sugar self-monitoring, and more.
Eating a diet rich in plants provides ample amounts of vitamins, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Including dried and fresh oregano in your eating plan adds a boost of vitamin K and other plant compounds that may assist in blood sugar regulation and reduce inflammation.
However, it is unclear as to whether supplementing with oil of oregano is safe, especially if you take blood glucose lowering medication.Discuss it with your healthcare provider first.
Aid With Depression
Simply eating or supplementing with oregano will not cure or treat depression. Studies evaluating oil of oregano or oregano essential oil on brain health have been done in animals.
One animal study found that rats who were exposed to chronic, unpredicted stress for 24 days and given oregano essential oil showed less depressive behavior than the control group. They had less immobility in the forced swim test.
This data could be promising data, but the experiment hasn't been replicated in humans. More research in humans of longer duration is needed to determine the impact of oregano on brain health.
Other Possible Health Benefits
The use of oregano and oregano oil extract may also assist in gut health by potentially treating bacteria like Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), which is linked to peptic ulcers and stomach cancer.
Chemicals in oregano may have possible effects in:
Reducing cough
Helping with digestion
Wound healing
Bacterial, viral, or parasite infections
Candida
Without much scientific literature on humans, more research is needed. If you'd like to supplement with oil of oregano, reach out to your medical provider.
Oregano Nutrition
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrition database, 1 teaspoon of oregano provides:
Calories: 5
Fat: 0 grams (g)
Sodium: 0.45 milligrams (mg)
Carbohydrates: 1 g
Fiber: 0.8 g
Sugars: 0 g
Protein: 0.2 g
Vitamin K: 11.2 micrograms (mcg)
Potassium: 22.7 mg
Calcium: 29 mg
Who Should Avoid Oregano?
Large doses of oregano can increase bleeding. If you are having surgery, you should stop using oregano supplements two weeks prior. Supplementing with oregano may also inhibit the absorption of zinc and iron, but it isn't clear how much.
Because oregano contains vitamin K, people who take blood-thinning medications should monitor their intake. If you take medicines for diabetes, oregano can increase the risk of low blood sugar. Discuss with your healthcare provider before supplementing with oil of oregano.
Summary
Oregano is a flavorful and versatile ingredient that can be used in cooking. Eating fresh or dried oregano is a great way to add in plant-based antioxidants. Using herbs to flavor food naturally reduces the use of sodium, fat, and sugar.
The verdict on the health benefits and safety of oil of oregano is still out. Research investigating its health benefits mainly resides in high-dose formulations used in test tube and animal studies. More human randomized clinical control trials are needed to evaluate potential therapeutic effects in humans.
Before supplementing with oil of oregano, talk to your healthcare provider.
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