What Are the Benefits of Poppy Seeds?

Poppy seeds contain minerals.

Poppy seeds contain minerals.

Poppy seeds add color and crunch to baked goods, but you’ll also gain nutrients, even from the amount sprinkled on top of a roll. They contain some niacin and folate, but poppy seeds are a better source of minerals. Just 1 teaspoon provides measurable amounts of calcium, iron and zinc.


The poppy seeds used by cooks come from the beautiful opium poppy, which is the same flower used to produce morphine. Even though the opiate compounds come from a sap-like fluid in the seed pods, all parts of the plant contain a small amount. Every gram of seeds has about 33 micrograms of morphine and 14 micrograms of codeine. That’s not enough to cause any ill effects from their use in baked goods, but it is enough to show up as a false positive result in drug tests.

Calcium and Phosphorus

One teaspoon of poppy seeds has 4 percent of the recommended daily intake of both calcium and phosphorus, which combine to form the mineral used to build bones. Adults need a regular supply of both to maintain bones and prevent the development of osteoporosis because the body never stops replacing old or injured bone with new bone. If you don’t get enough calcium, the body pulls it out of bones because it’s also needed for other vital functions such as stimulating nerve impulses and making muscles contract, including heart muscles. Phosphorus has other jobs outside the bones too. It must be available for the production of energy and the formation of DNA.


In addition to carrying oxygen throughout your body, iron also stores it in muscles so that it’s readily available when they need extra oxygen for increased activity. Your immune system needs iron to work properly and it’s used to build proteins and neurotransmitters. Adult men should consume 8 milligrams of iron daily, but women need 18 milligrams until they reach menopause, when the requirement drops to 8 milligrams. You’ll get 0.3 milligrams from a teaspoon of poppy seeds. For men that represents about 4 percent of the recommended daily intake; for women it’s 2 percent.


You may not need large amounts of zinc, but you definitely need to consume the daily requirement because your body doesn’t store zinc and it must be available to fill significant jobs. Zinc is needed to support the structure of proteins and for the production and development of new cells. In that role, it influences many processes including normal growth and neurological development. A zinc deficiency impairs your immune system because fewer immune-regulating and bacteria-fighting cells are produced. Men should consume 11 milligrams and women need 8 milligrams of zinc daily. One teaspoon of poppy seeds has 0.2 milligrams or 2 percent of the daily intake for men and 3 percent for women.

Serving Tips

An easy way to add poppy seeds to your diet is by mixing them into salad dressings or sprinkling them into whole-wheat pancakes. Make a casserole with chicken breasts, mushrooms, broccoli, poppy seeds and a sauce made from skim milk or low-fat yogurt, chicken broth and a little flour for thickening. Poppy seeds also pair well with a bowl of brown rice and peas. They make a good addition to pasta, but tend to need a cream sauce because their flavor is lost in tomato sauce. If it fits within your daily fat and calorie requirements, try making a low-fat cream sauce with skim milk and Parmesan cheese.

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  • Rolls with poppy seed on plate image by Elzbieta Sekowska from Fotolia.com
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