Fennel is a spicy aromatic plant, a species of the genus Fennel, the family is Umbrella. Another popular name is dill pharmacy and Voloshsky. Its popularity was great in ancient Greece and among the Romans, who suggested that the smell of fennel makes a person strong, can drive away evil spirits and destroy fleas, as well as freshen the air.
Fennel fruits have a sweetish taste and a pleasant smell. Seeds are small, oval, greenish brown. Puritans very often chewed them during meetings, calling fennel “seed of meetings”.
Fennel: Description
Fennel is a perennial herb. Height - from 90 to 200 cm. In appearance it resembles dill, and in taste and aroma it looks like anise, only more sweet.
The fennel stalk is straight, branched with a blue bloom. Cirrus leaves with filiform segments. Flowers are placed at the very top, similar to complex flat umbrellas. The plant blooms in July-August. It begins to bear fruit from the end of summer.
The fruit is a bare, almost cylindrical bifid caryopsis, which splits into two half-fruits, whose length is 4-10 mm, width is 3 mm. The color of fennel seeds is greenish-brown. The smell is specific, strong.
What is rich in fennel?
A synonym is dill pharmacy. The fetus contains a large amount of essential oil (3–6%), in which up to 60% of anethole and proteins. Fatty oil consists of petrozelinic (60%), oleic (22%) and other acids.
Fennel grass is rich in glycosides, it has ascorbic acid, carotene, minerals and B vitamins.
Fennel fruits : useful properties and contraindications
Thanks to elements such as magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron and others, the plant has a variety of beneficial properties. It can act as a diuretic. Grass, fennel fruits are able to carry out a disinfectant and antispasmodic function. These properties manifest themselves so gently during treatment that drugs from the dill of a pharmacy are prescribed even for infants with flatulence. The dose for the youngest children should be prescribed by a doctor.
Fennel fruits are a good expectorant. They have the property of acting beneficially on the nervous system, calming it during severe overstrain and aggressive behavior. Reviews about this gift of nature from traditional healers, doctors and ordinary people are only positive, but subject to the correct use of the plant.
Use in official medicine
Official medicine often uses products that include fennel. These include tinctures and medicinal teas, which have proven themselves on the good side in the following cases:
- in the treatment of respiratory diseases;
- to normalize digestion;
- for the treatment of heart and vascular diseases;
- to improve the taste of other medicines.
Grass, fennel fruits are antibacterial. "Dill water" has long been known to women, they gave it to infants with spastic colitis and flatulence. Such water can increase the secretion of glands and regulate intestinal motor function.
Official medicine includes fennel fruits in anti-asthma fees, the beneficial properties of which are very noticeable in them. From the fennel seeds , the drug “Anetin” is obtained, where the entire amount of the plant’s nutrients is used. The drug is widely used in therapy in the treatment of heart failure, spastic colitis.
Features of the use of fennel fruits in folk medicine
Even Hippocrates and Avicenna recognized the healing properties of dill pharmacy. Fennel fruits , the use of which was found in homeopathy and partly in official medicine, are now also highly valued by traditional medicine. The strength of this plant is in demand in various cases.
Fennel is good for bloating, during menstrual pain, for inflammatory processes of the eyes, for the treatment of diseases of the liver and biliary tract, as an antispasmodic in the treatment of asthmatic attacks and whooping cough, for headaches due to poor digestion.
You can defeat neurasthenia by steaming with a broom from fennel or using this plant as an infusion.
Folk recipes for medicinal products from fennel
Most often, in the practice of traditional medicine for the preparation of medical preparations, fennel fruits are taken, the use of which is very common. The easiest way to make an infusion at home. These are 2 teaspoons of crushed raw materials, pouring a glass of boiling water and infused for 10 minutes. A strained medicinal product is taken in a warm form, 50-100 ml three times a day before meals. It is a very good carminative. Similarly, the prepared infusion, only from half a liter of water and a tablespoon of fennel, has proven itself in the treatment of respiratory diseases.
Here are some more recipes for traditional medicine. To treat indigestion, a mixture of medicinal plants is prepared: fennel and caraway fruits - 10 g each, peppermint flowers, umbilical flowers and lemon balm leaves - 20 g each, angelica roots - 15 g, common wormwood grass - 5 g. All ingredients need to be chopped and mixed , then one teaspoon of the mixture brew a cup of boiling water. Drink three to four cups per day. You need to take until complete recovery.
Recipe for improving lactation in nursing women. Grind:
- fennel fruits;
- barley seed;
- the whole aerial part of oats;
- hops (cones);
- galega (flowers);
- hay fenugreek (seeds);
- dill;
- anise;
- caraway.
Everything is taken in equal parts. Two tablespoons of the mixture brew 0.5 liters of boiling water. For effective exposure, you need to drink about 1.5 liters of infusion per day.
A prescription for cramping. Pour a teaspoon of the medicinal mixture, consisting of fennel seeds, anise, linden and poppy flowers, taken in equal parts, a glass of boiling water. Strain after 10 minutes and drink for the day, adding honey.
Fennel slimming
It has been used for weight loss since the time of Hippocrates. Fennel fruits are especially valuable. This plant has many qualities, thanks to which it is considered indispensable during weight loss. Fennel helps to soothe hunger, reduces the addiction to sweets, accelerates the metabolism. To overcome the increased appetite, you just have to chew the seeds of the plant - and the desire to deviate from the diet will immediately disappear.
To get rid of extra pounds, tea, which includes fennel (fruits), is very useful. Instructions for preparation and use are as follows. Two teaspoons of nettle and one teaspoon of fennel fruit pour 750 ml of boiling water, keep on low heat for 15 minutes and leave for another 15 minutes under the lid. Drink one glass of such a decoction during the day in four doses, drink before meals.
The following recipe. Grind fennel fruits, mint leaves, linden and chamomile flowers, mix. Pour a teaspoon of the treatment mixture with a glass (200 ml) of boiling water and leave for 20 minutes. Drink the infusion at a time. You need to do this for a week. This tool will help you feel better during a diet, calm your nerves and reduce appetite.
It will not be possible to lose weight from taking fennel itself, it can only be an assistant during diets, relieve excessive appetite and wake up a sleepy metabolism.
How is fennel used in cooking?
Fennel is valuable not only as a medicine, but also as a spice that can give dishes a unique, special taste and specific aroma. Fennel is appreciated in the culinary world. Pharmacy dill is added to soup, salads, snacks, independent dishes are prepared from it. During harvesting, fennel seeds are dried, crushed, then used as a seasoning for fish and meat. They make delicious tea.
Green fennel fruits are also suitable. They are added to dishes of veal, lamb and fish.
Fennel fruit: contraindications
The main contraindication is fennel intolerance and hypersensitivity, when a person can have dizziness and nausea only from the smell of a plant.
Excessive consumption of fennel for people with epilepsy is very dangerous. This can be fatal. Pregnant women and nursing mothers are recommended to use it only with the permission of a doctor.