Health Benefits of Fennel

Fennel's small yellow umbel's seem to dance in the breeze off the coast of the Mediterranean. The plant is only native in that part of the world but now grows in most places as a naturalized herb. In early Greek history fennel was widely used as a weight control product. British herbalist Culpeper wrote fennel plant "are much used in drink or broth to make people lean that are too fat". Before you run out to the store to buy fennel seed it has not been studied to see if it actually has any appetite suppressant qualities to it.

All parts of the fennel plant are considered safe for human consumption and it is widely used in culinary dishes for a nutty flavoring. Fennel tea has a soothing effect on the stomach, making it widely used for a multitude of digestion issues. In fact, many herbalist will recommend that fennel be used along with flax seed as part of a daily regime to a healthy body. Due to the nutty flavoring it suits itself well to be sprinkled on salads and soups for an easy way to add fennel to your diet.

The only known side effect of fennel being ingested is with nursing mothers. It is believed it will help increase the flow of milk when nursing. It has been used in this way since the days of Hippocrates and Dioscorides. They recommended that nursing mothers chew on the seeds as you would celery to keep the flow of milk progressing as the baby required more milk. It was also believed during the medieval time that fennel would help break up kidney stones, cure the hiccups, prevent gout and nausea, clear the liver and lungs of mucus, and was an antidote to poisonous mushrooms.

Fennel tea water was used to help the digestive systems of infants, especially colicky ones. It was brewed and steeped for 20 minutes then strained and allowed to cool to a room temperature. Mothers of infants with colic may wish to try the fennel water in a bottle during periods of extreme gas and digestive problems.

The tea is also thought to expel worms. The tea is suggested to drink one cup every four hours to expel the parasite. It is also used as a gargle to freshen breath and as an eye wash to clear up many forms of eye irritants.

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