Blackstrap Molasses: A Nutrient-Dense Superfood & Its Health Benefits

| Modified on Apr 27, 2024
The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Skin
Posted by Linda (Long Beach, Ca) on 10/31/2014
★★★★★

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After 4 tries with Western Medicine for my chronic skin issues, no one could even give it a name. It was debilitating. I then went to see a holistic Dr. One of her prescriptions was to drink a cup of tea a day with a tablespoon of Black Strap Molasses, a tablespoon of Bragg unfiltered apple cider vinegar (with the mother) and a float of cinnamon on top. Unprocessed honey can also be added. Drink through the honey.

In desperation I committed to this. It has been a year and a half now and much has changed. Clear skin...not an itch or lesion etc. My face is rosy and clear. My hair on my head (no other place) has become thick and silky...and I'm 63. (HaHa) Energy, yes. Sense of well being, yes. Most of all MOST everyone of whom I'm in contact make comments and ask me question.

Soooo, that's my testimony. I will drink this concoction until I go to Heaven!

Broad Benefits
Posted by Lenora (Gary, In) on 08/11/2015
★★★★★

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I started taking blackstrap molasses around March 2013. I took it to help with the pain and discomfort of the fibroids I had. Because of the discomfort of eating certain foods, I had been taking Zantac for a few years to ease the discomfort. I realized after a few weeks of taking the molasses, that I had not been taking any gas pills. I can now eat spicy foods, drink milk, and EAT ICE CREAM! Amazing!

The blackstrap molasses is doing way more than why I started taking it. It is suggested to take it first thing in the morning. I take 3 table spoons a day - 2 in the morning and 1 before bed.

I went to the doctor May 2014 for a return PAP and the fibroids shrunk, she could barely feel them. I don't know how fast the syrup shrunk them. I didn't go to the doctor til a year later but I stop feeling the discomfort maybe about 6 months later.

So I've been sharing this info with as many people as I can. My husband takes for his stomach (gas). My mom was taking it for acid reflux and felt better. By best friend took it and it built her iron. One of the sisters at church, who's on dialysis, took it and it helped with diarrhea - she would have 3 - 5 times a week and since she's been taking it, she hasn't had that problem. Another friend has throat cancer and you can now hear him talk clearly.

Try it, what do you have to lose?


Anemia
Posted by Satina (Waldport, Oregon) on 10/31/2008
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Regarding any warnings on Earth Clinic about molasses for anemia, I think it's important to remember that iron occuring in natural foods like molasses is balanced by all kinds of other minerals and trace minerals and so has a different effect on the body than a synthesized, inferior source of isolated iron in a pill. All of the minerals work synergistically in the body, buffering and enhancing one another.

In natural foods, you find them all together for a reason. We need them all, in order for any one of them to do their best for us. In addition, trace minerals in molasses such as, specifically, chromium, are essential to our body's metabolism of sugar, so consuming molasses is going to have nowhere near the negative effects on your body as consuming sugar *without* the trace minerals that are absolutely essential for its use by the body (as is the case in white, refined sugar).

Also, when one has a complaint about 'processed foods', it is because what is good for us, the nutrients, have been stripped away from the so-called 'refined' food left behind. In this case, molasses IS what has been stripped away (leaving the worthless refined white sugar behind), so molasses is of the highest nutrient-density. As a student in an M.S. program of study in Holistic Nutrition, I believe natural sources of minerals like molasses are *infinitely* superior to any synthesized supplements and should be encouraged, never discouraged.

Oh, and I like to put a tablespoon or two of blackstrap molasses in heated milk (or nut milk) as a mineral-rich, medicinal alternative to hot chocolate. :-)


Anemia
Posted by Maria (Tampa, Florida) on 03/01/2018
★★★★★

I had low iron for quite some time and I was beginning to get concerned because every time I tested, my levels would be lower than the prior test. I read about blackstrap molasses and gave it a try. In only two months of taking 1/2 a teaspoon of molasses mixed in warm water daily, here are my test results. Ferritin shot up from 19 to 48 and Iron shot up from 50 to 129! I'm so excited and wanted to share my results.


Cancer
Posted by Pam (UK)
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my daughter was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor 13 years ago. i was told she had not long to live . i gave her black molasses after reading a book. last week she was told the tumor was still there but had not grown in 13 years.

Fibroids
Posted by Tina (Barcelona, Spain) on 06/14/2009
★★★★★

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Thank you all for posting this news about unsulphured BSM. I've had fibroids growing inside me for over ten years, and now they are of multiple kinds too. My womb has grown to about 14 cm, which I was told by my gynecologist a week ago is the size of a 12-week pregnancy. My periods had turned into debilitating 2-day avalanches filled with large clots, followed by about 3 days of mostly whitish stuff. I wake up in the morning sometimes with a large bulge on my stomach, a result of a full bladder being pressed out by an enlarged womb. Seeing as I am 39 and still want to have a baby, a fertility doctor told me I should have a myomectomy right away. That is a very invasive surgery, and I will avoid it at all costs. A previous ob-gyn for years only told me we "would keep monitoring" the fibroids and never gave me any info on treating them with anything. Meanwhile the fibroids kept growing. "Let me know if/when you periods get heavy." They eventually did, I told her, and the answer was "we'll keep monitoring them." Not one doctor I've been to has made any connections between iron-deficiency and fibroids (or perhaps the potassium too has a role to play) or between fibers & carotenoids (found in beets and carrots) and fibroids (look this up online). What do these people go to med school for?

Anyway, I was at once very skeptical and very hopeful when I read the major positive claims made on this site about UBSM, but I opt for natural remedies & solutions whenever possible. This was about 3 months ago now. To my great surprise and even greater joy, the results were immediate and excellent. I bought a bottle of unsulphured BSM at a health store (20% DV of iron, 15% of calcium, 10% of magnesium, 500 mg of potassium) on February 20, ONE day before my period. I have been taking 2 table spoons a day since then (though I confess some days I've forgotten the second spoon). Instead of the 2-day giant-clot-ridden horror of the previous year or so, I had a largely regular, 5-day period, with only a couple of very small clots. I felt less pain and had more energy. I was in utter disbelief at this very immediate result. I kept taking it to see if the same thing would happen the following month, and the answer is yes! Wow--thank god for mother nature and the people who know how it can benefit us--you all who have shared this wonderful remedy with me and many other women suffering from this problem--a painful problem that affects our work productivity as well as our fertility. (I feel I'm doing a commercial for this thing... that's what I felt about the other people who posted here when I first found this site, skeptical and cynical that I am... :-) )

Another apparent result, which I am in the midst of experiencing, is the return of my regular 28-day cycle. Recently, before the UBSM, my periods had started shrinking to 26 days. I am two days late, though there are signs of imminent arrival :-) and no, I am not pregnant, unless the Holy Ghost has paid a visit.

My greatest hope of course is that the fibroids will also shrink, as some people here and in other sites have claimed has happened to them after they started taking UBSM. I will report back when I have my next ultrasound, or perhaps an MRI, which I read elsewhere are more accurate. I will also start loading up on those beets and carrots, both of which I love anyway.

Incidentally, for those who ask how to take the molasses and complained about the taste: honestly, if you have a problem like this, you will take it straight in a spoon and say you loved it a thousand times. In any event, this is a sweet liquid--not your usual sweet, but rather a powerfully bittersweet taste, the kind our grandmothers, who probably didn't have fibroids, were used to. You can use it in your coffee, tea, and spread on toast (my three usual ways). You can put it on fruit as a dessert. You can put it in a smoothie. Think of it as your sugar from now on--that is, if you want to regulate your periods (and possibly, hopefully, all fingers crossed, shrink your fibroids). I wouldn't recommend the one spoon in a glass of water thing, especially if you don't like the taste of it--why prolong it? Sometimes I drink some water *after* taking my spoonful--that way you wash off the taste quickly. I do like the taste, actually, but of course anything you have every single day can get old quickly.

As for the elimination of gray hair that some people claim also results from regular consumption of UBSM, I don't know if I am imagining things, but I have the impression it is helping with that too, though of course it is too soon to tell for sure. It is definitely not my main goal or concern, but I certainly won't mind it if it is indeed a side-effect!

I hope to report good news on the fibroids in due course. THANK YOU ALL again for posting this information--I wish I had looked up natural cures for fibroids sooner! Good luck to everyone.

Circulation
Posted by Debra (Sydney/Australia) on 11/19/2020 60 posts
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I know this thread is old but got bought to my attention through an email. I wanted to share an experience I had with BSM.

My father in law had a hip operation a few years ago and during the op, the orderly grabbed his leg so hard, he caused a permanent blood clot which resulted in severe pain and lack of circulation to his foot. It took months but they managed to make a pathway through the clot for blood to get through but told him the clot was always going to be there. I researched it for him and learnt that BSM dissolves clots so I told him to take a tablespoon a day. Four bottles later, the clot was completely gone. he still has pain in the foot due to nerve damage, the he has complete blood flow and no clot whatsoever now.


Anemia
Posted by Claudia (Orange, Ca/usa) on 10/23/2012
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Don't try this at home, but... Back in the early '80's I was expecting my 5th and 6th children (twins). In my fourth month my blood work came back with the iron a little low. My ob-gyn gave me a RX for some iron pills. I went home and started a regimen of 4-6 tbl. of unsulphered black strap molasses and didn't fill the RX. The next week the doc said, "Boy, those iron pills really work! " My iron levels were good throughout my pregnancy (had healthy babies) and I kept up the daily dose of molasses.

Broad Benefits
Posted by Lee (Madison, UK) on 09/03/2008
★★★★★

I had been wanting to find something - ANYTHING - to help with my lack of energy and pain throughout my body. A friend told me about your site, and I started reading about BSM. I rushed out and was able to buy some at Whole Foods. It is the Plantation Brand. I bought some for myself, my parents and my daughter. I started taking two tablespoons in the morning and one at night. Within 3 days, my energy levels are up and my body pain in nearly gone. The stiffness is subsiding. Throughout my life, I have been very active, but the past couple years have been very discouraging. After taking BSM for a mere 3 days (starting on my 4th) I cannot tell you how thankful I am.

My father, who just turned 77, was able to workout yesterday, felt energized along with feeling much less pain in his upper back. He also said that he felt very good when he got up yesterday morning. He's a weight-lifter and broke the world record at 75. Dead-lifted 500 lbs, so he would know if his energy level is up.

BSM is certainly a marvelous way to energize yourself and feel better. To Earth Clinic, thank you very much for the wonderful service you provide.

Lee


Anemia
Posted by Vonita (Edmonton) on 04/08/2016

You're killing yourself slowly by using a microwave. The sugars in all your ingredients can burn at the molecular level and cause more harm than good. If you like this preparation warm take the time to warm it slowly on a little pot or a Teflon free frying pan.


Anemia
Posted by Arn (Kenmore, Wa.) on 01/29/2013 20 posts
★★★★★

We need to understand the difference between elemental iron and organic iron. The reduced iron in your breakfast cereal and enriched flour is nothing more than iron filings. An anemic friend got a prescription from her doc that was nothing more than powdered rust in glycerine. Elemental iron actually causes pernicious anemia, according to the PDR. It's the inorganic iron that builds up in your system and acts as a free radical.

In contrast, the iron compounds in molasses are in an organic form compounded by the plant to be useful to living things, and safe. I wouldn't worry about overdosing on molasses.

By the way, molasses is a superfood indeed. They start with a field of plants, remove the water, fiber, sugar, and what's left is concentrated organic minerals! If such a thing were formulated in a lab it would be ridiculously expensive. But here it is, dirt cheap and delicious.

Fibroids
Posted by Lola Omotayo (Lagos, Nigeria) on 06/28/2012
★★★★★

Organic blackstrap molasses and organic apple cider is an unexplained magical remedy, it vanished my overian cyst within 4weeks and shrank the fibroid from nine to three, though I am still taking it to finish it up. I first saw kemi testimony from lagos and contacted same person who sold it to her and I must inform you that kemi had just delievered a bouncing baby after clearing her cyst with ORGANIC APPLE CIDER VINEGAR AND MOLASSES. I want everyone to know it works, please ignore surgery.


Anemia
Posted by Marilyn (California) on 12/01/2016

When I was a child, my Dad and I would have couple of tablespoons of molasses in a bowl with a couple tsp of carnation evaporated milk and eat it with some toast.Taste great, and I still eat it that way today and I am 74 years old, with no pain anywhere in my body..One of my children eats it that way also.


Gray Hair
Posted by Ravi Teja (Hyderabad, India) on 06/06/2016

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post here. I've been reading about the relation between Black Strapped Molasses and gray hair from past 3 hours on this site. (I sincerely believe in Science, but sometimes few things cannot be confirmed as the effects depend on the entire body ranging from fauna in your stomach to various minerals needed for your hair.)
The deductions I draw from all the reading are these:

1) Using BSM with warm water had more than 75% success rate rather than taking it with tea/coffee.

2) For best results, the recipe I come up with from all these posts is 1-2 tablespoon/teaspoon of BSM mixed with warm water, 1 tsp of Apple Cider Vinegar and mixing with Lemon/orange/honey for taste. This has to be taken most preferably early in the morning on empty stomach.

3) People adding Biotin/Brewer's yeast etc., are gaining more benefits due to additional copper. But be careful of not to intake excess copper which may result in some side effects.

4) Unsulphured Organic BSM, seems to be working. I guess the brand should be Plantation (widely available). This specific bottle definitely mentions Copper to be 0% which doesn't mean there is no copper. Copper is present and is in milligrams(the reason for being marked as 0%). Copper seems to be the most important mineral needed in bringing back the natural color.

5) ACV contains lots of vitamin C and Iron helps in overall health (so does Lemon)

6) People are having mixed results when using BSM with Tea or coffee, as they have natural iron inhibitors in them.

7) Mixing BSM with milk or coconut water is also a good idea.

8) TIME: If u are having a lot of gray hair, it takes considerable time of around 9 months to see good results.

THE IMPORTANT THING IS, ONE HAS TO DRINK IT DAILY.

So guys, anything else u would like to add?

Let's get to the root of this.

Anemia
Posted by Jeanette (Ripley, Ms, USA) on 11/18/2009
★★★★★

For the past several months, my mother has had to have 1 to 2 units of blood every week. She started eating blackstrap molasses and has not had to have any blood in the last 18 days. She has her blood count checked every Monday and Thursday. Since she has started eating the molasses, her blood count has gone up each time she has been tested.

My question is "Does the molasses thicken her blood?" Because if it does, her chance of having a stroke is going up. By the way, there is nothing wrong with her blood. She is just losing blood through her bowels.

Broad Benefits
Posted by Mary (Greensboro, Nc, Usa) on 05/23/2011
★★★★★

For one month, I have been taking 1 tbs of Blackstrap Molasses in warm almond milk each morning. I love the taste. My nails, skin, bowel movements have improved and I think I sleep better. Another benefit is that it curbs my appetite and my friends are telling me that I look like I've lost weight and I am losing weight. As for my hair, it may be getting darker and my husband's hair definitely looks darker. We looking forward to the next 3 months. We will keep doing this and making other nutritional adjustments.


Cancer
Posted by Geraldine (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) on 03/11/2009
★★★★★

Yes, the exact measurments are MOST important, and I think this is why some people reporting to you of their problem with blackstrap molasses is that they use too much molasses and too little water. Blackstrap Molasses has CURED many cases of cancer, some of the "incurable" terminal cases.

In the book by Cyril Scott, "Crude Black Molasses" many cases of curing cancer are reported. All followed the exact manner of taking the molasses which is not recommended for anyone with diabetes. The method for curing cancer is one teaspoonful in a cup of hot water: then cold water should be added "so as to make two-thirds of a cupful." This to be taken at one's convenience at any time; persons with deicate stomachs should take a smaller dose of molasses more often throughout the day."

For severe cases such as for cancerous growth, molasses should be taken last thing at night and on rising as well as during the day."

Do not drink it too hot, and drink it lesisurely not in big gulps. It is more easily assimilated in hot water; (bladder troubles have occurred simply after drinking drafts of cold water when one is overheated.) As reported, even terminal cases after surgery for cancer have been cured by this method of
taking blackstrap molasses ( one teaspoon bsm, mixed with some hot water, then adding cold water making 2/3 a cup, drinking leisurely many times a day.)


Arthritic Pain
Posted by Joyce (Chippewa Lake, Ohio) on 05/22/2008
★★★★★

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I saw one comment from someone on blackstrap molasses for arthritis. I had been up every night in pain, particularly in one knee. The first day I ate 1 Tbs. of blackstrap molasses, and the pain was completely gone. I take it every day. If I go to bed and have a little pain in my knee, instead of pain medicine, I have another Tbs. of the molasses, and the pain subsides in 20 minutes. My uncle was a chiropractor who was into holistic medicine, and use to tell us that there are many benefits of Blackstrap molasses.

Broad Benefits
Posted by Ana (Boston, MA) on 10/04/2007
★★★★★

I have been taking 2 tablespoons of blackstrap molasses every day for 2 months with my morning cup of coffee and a little milk. Delicious! I am in my 50's. My hair was starting to gray in certain spots and was becoming noticeable. So, this experiment was to see if the molasses would halt the graying. Well, for one thing, I have NO MORE SUGAR CRAVINGS throughout the day. I don't care to taste desserts, ice cream, chocolates, nothing. I have lost some weight. My dark circles are clearing up. I feel better. I still have the old strands of gray, there has not been a sign of new gray hair. TED, my only questions are: Is the sucrose level of molasses more damaging than the few minerals and little iron that molasses contains??? According to Dr. Mercola, molasses is as bad as any refined sugar. TED: What is the best thing for my hair which was and still is quite sparse from my forehead to the top of my head? I started losing hair in my early thirties. It is fine and in the sunlight it is quite noticeable. What can I do? Ana


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