Fennel to normalize digestion. Fennel - cultivation and care Fennel root use in cooking

Fennel is a medicinal plant known to Hippocrates and Avicenna. The ancient Greeks believed that the aroma of this plant gives strength to a person and drives away evil spirits. It is often used in cooking to add a subtle anise flavor to dishes. But fennel has many beneficial properties. Some contraindications to the use of pharmaceutical dill cannot be excluded.

In folk medicine and cooking, the seeds, roots, and leaves of the plant are used. Essential oil helps with cosmetic problems. Medicinal dill contains camphor, fatty oils, and organic acids. The leaves and stems contain carotene, B vitamins, and ascorbic acid.

Thanks to this composition, the plant can be used as a diuretic, antispasmodic and disinfectant. Preparations based on dill have a gentle effect, which makes it possible to use it to treat flatulence even in infants.

The beneficial properties of fennel are recognized by official medicine; many medicines are produced based on it.

A fennel drink will help reduce the temperature of a cold, remove mucus, and eliminate a runny nose. The essential oil solution of the plant is an antifungal agent. It should be poured into the aroma lamp to disinfect the room - for every 10 square meters. I need 4 drops of aroma oil.

Important! A solution of 170 ml of water and 3 drops of oil helps restore the liver after feasts with alcohol and fatty foods. This drink helps with various food poisoning.

Fennel root - beneficial properties

Benefits of medicinal dill roots:

• normalizes blood pressure;
• frees blood vessels from excess;
• effectively fights colon cancer.

Dry crushed root is used in baking bread and producing dietary confectionery products.

Important! Fennel root is the best preventative against heart attack.

Beneficial properties of seeds

Preparations based on dill seeds improve digestion, eliminate bloating, flatulence, insomnia, and cough. Decoctions and tinctures can be taken not only internally, but also used in the treatment of conjunctiva and purulent wounds.

What are the benefits of medicinal dill seeds:

• natural mild sedative;
• eliminates spasms and pain;
• effective diuretic;
• helps during lactation;
• normalizes metabolism.

In ancient times, fennel seeds were chewed like gum - this helped freshen breath and prevent the development of caries.

At home it will not be difficult, the main thing is to adhere to certain rules.

Fennel seeds are indispensable for new parents. In newborns, the digestive system is not fully formed, so they are constantly bothered by gases. This problem is a real disaster not only for infants, but for all household members. A decoction of medicinal dill seeds helps eliminate spasms and reduce the formation of gases.

Brew 5 g of seeds with boiling water (200 ml), leave covered for 30 minutes. Give the child a warm broth (36-37 degrees). The taste of the medicine is pleasant and does not cause a negative reaction in children.

The maximum volume of the drink should not exceed 90 ml. It should be divided into 6 doses.

The decoction contains a lot of ascorbic acid, which will have a beneficial effect on the child’s immunity. The drink helps strengthen the skeletal system and improves calcium absorption.

You can buy ready-made powder or dill water at the pharmacy. But the difference with a homemade decoction will only be in price. Tea is useful not only for children, but also for adults.

Beneficial properties of tea

Most often, tea is made from medicinal dill. Its beneficial properties have a beneficial effect on the condition of the adult and children's nervous systems. The drink helps strengthen the immune system, improves intestinal and stomach function.

For children, such a drink will be a tasty remedy against worms, will help them cope with colds faster and improve their appetite.

There are many recipes for making a healing drink.

You can simply brew 10 g of seeds in 220 ml of boiling water, cool for a quarter of an hour. Take 110 ml before each meal. This drink can not only be drunk, but also used to wash sore and dry eyes.

1. This tea can be used for rinsing for stomatitis and periodontal disease.
2. For a cold, you need to add 3 g of ground ginger to classic tea.

Fennel and mint

1. Mix 15 g of parsley leaves, fennel seeds, mint.
2. Add 45 g of buckthorn bark.
3. Mix everything, grind.
4. Pour 260 ml of boiling water over the collection and leave for 15 minutes.
5. Heat for 3 minutes in a water bath.

The drug helps with hypertension, problems with the stomach, and the nervous system. You should drink 45 ml on an empty stomach. Duration of treatment – ​​2 months.

A healing drink for constipation, nausea, flatulence, and poisoning can be prepared using fennel oil. Dilute 3 drops of oil in 130 ml, add 5 ml of honey.

How to use for various diseases

The beneficial properties of dill allow it to be used to treat many diseases.

Cough, bronchitis

Add 6 drops of fennel oil to 220 ml of warm milk and drink before bed.

You can do inhalations with dill oil. For 1 liter of boiling water you need 10 drops of essential oil.

Pancreatitis

Grind 12 g of medicinal dill seeds, pour 270 ml of boiling water over the powder. Leave the broth for at least an hour.

Divide the resulting amount into 5 parts and drink throughout the day.

For joint problems

Dilute 11 drops of fennel oil in 55 ml of water. Make compresses twice a day to reduce pain in arthritis and arthrosis. This remedy also helps with purulent inflammation of the skin.

Dill seeds are a reliable helper for women. The plant is widely used in gynecology, cosmetology, and helps lose weight.

An infusion of medicinal dill seeds helps normalize the female cycle and eliminate the unpleasant manifestations of menopause and PMS. Fennel fruits help increase milk production and improve its quality.

Which we wrote are also very popular.

Tea for lactation

Mix 240 ml of water and 10 g of crushed raw materials. Bring the mixture to a boil, simmer for 2 minutes.

The low calorie content of fennel allows it to be used effectively for weight loss. Dill seeds satisfy the feeling of hunger; just chew them for a few minutes.

For weight loss

• medicinal dill seeds – 10 g;
• chamomile and linden inflorescences – 5 g each;
• nettle – 4 g.

Pour 450 ml of boiling water over the mixture and leave for 20 minutes.

The drink removes excess fluid, calms the nerves, improves digestion, and speeds up metabolic processes.

Women suffering from insomnia need to fill their pillow with medicinal dill seeds - sleep will become calm and pleasant.

With regular use of fennel, you can enlarge your breasts naturally.

Essential fennel extract is used to prepare masks, aromatic baths, and is used to enrich creams, shampoos and anti-cellulite massage products.

What are the benefits of oil:

• eliminates shallow wrinkles;
• tightens the contours of the face and body;
• removes swelling and bags under the eyes;
• helps get rid of acne and other skin rashes;
• promotes collagen production.

Fennel oil is universal – cleanses oily skin and moisturizes dry skin.

To take a bath, you need to mix 7 drops of oil with a base (sea salt, base oil). To improve the composition of the cream and shampoo, you need to add 25 drops of fennel oil for every 50 ml of cosmetic product.

Firming mask

Mix raw yolk, 15 g of white clay, 12 ml of olive oil. Add 3 drops each of fennel and neroli oils.

1. Apply the mask to the face and neck, rinse after half an hour.
2. You can repeat the procedure every other day.

Use pure oil only for lubricating small areas. At first, you may feel a slight tingling sensation.

For hair

The oil is also useful for hair - it makes curls strong, strong, accelerates growth, and eliminates dandruff.

Mix fennel oil (4 drops) with 12 ml of burdock or almond oil (you can use any vegetable oil). Rub the products into the scalp 40 minutes before washing your hair.

Use in cooking

Fennel has a pleasant aroma and a slightly pungent taste. Stems, dried and fresh leaves, inflorescences, seeds and roots are used in cooking. It goes well with meat, fish, and is used to prepare dietary salads. Desserts are also prepared with it - puddings, pies, cookies.

1. Italians pickle fennel, add it to pizza, and use blanched stems as a garnish.
2. The inflorescences of the plant are used for canning; it improves the smell of the marinade.
3. To prepare a tasty, light salad, you need to chop raw fennel, half an apple, add a few slices of orange or grapefruit, and some nuts. The dish can be left undressed, or natural low-fat yogurt can be used for dressing.

Diet soup

• fennel – 2 small petioles;
• celery root, leek, carrots - 110 g each;
• potatoes – 200 g;
• vegetable oil for frying.

Cut the leek into medium cubes, divide the fennel into large pieces, cut the peeled celery and carrots into cubes. Sauté all vegetables in oil for 3 minutes.

Peel the potatoes, chop them into small pieces, cook until half cooked, add vegetables, add salt. When the potatoes are cooked, the soup is ready.

Serve with a small amount of chopped nuts and fresh carrot juice.

Fennel is a powerful aphrodisiac for men and women. And the aroma oil of this plant will allow you to achieve complete harmony.

Contraindications

Contraindications for consuming fennel are personal intolerance, epilepsy, and chronic diarrhea. Pregnant and lactating women should use medicinal dill with caution.

An overdose may cause stomach upset and allergies in the form of rashes.

Fennel is a tasty, dietary vegetable that can easily be grown in your garden. There are benefits in all parts of the plant - from the root to the seeds. By preparing medicinal dill for future use, you can get a reliable and effective helper for many diseases.

Fennel is a perennial herbaceous plant of the celery family, up to 90-200 cm in height. In appearance it resembles dill, in taste and aroma it is closer to anise, but with a sweeter and more pleasant taste.

Fennel can be either ordinary or vegetable, the latter having a fleshy trunk. It should be identified very carefully: it can be confused with other poisonous umbellifers! Fennel root is spindle-shaped, fleshy, wrinkled.

Stem with a bluish coating, straight, branched. The leaves are three- and four-pinnate, with long thread-like lobes. Small yellow flowers are located at the tops of the stems in the form of flat complex umbrellas. The fennel fruit is an oblong two-seed, sweet in taste.

Fennel blooms in July-August and bears fruit in September. Fennel is cultivated as a medicinal plant.

Common fennel belongs to ancient medicines. It was widely used by Hippocrates, Dioscorides, Pliny and Avicenna.

Useful properties of fennel

Fennel fruit contains calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, copper, zinc, chromium and aluminum.

Fennel preparations have antispasmodic and carminative effects, increase the secretory activity of the digestive glands, promoting digestion; act as a weak diuretic and expectorant.

Typically, fennel preparations are prescribed for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, accompanied by spasms, flatulence, and pain in the intestines (spastic colitis and intestinal colic). “Dill water” is especially effective for children. Fennel is also used for gallstone and kidney stone diseases, bronchitis and whooping cough, scanty menstruation and sexual infantilism. Internal use of fruit infusion in combination with external washing is useful for mycoses (fungal infections of the skin). The fruits of the plant are included in many carminative, laxative teas and sedative teas.

Fennel has an expectorant and disinfectant effect. In folk medicine, a decoction of fennel seeds is used to wash the eyes for conjunctivitis, the skin for pustular diseases, it is also drunk for flatulence, abdominal pain, cough, insomnia, and also to improve milk production in nursing mothers.

Biological effects of fennel: carminative, relieves spasms of the gastrointestinal tract, antimicrobial, expectorant, etc.

The seeds are a good remedy for colds and coughs. Many people know “dill water”, which is given to children with bloating and gas accumulation. But not everyone knows that this water has nothing in common with dill and is prepared from fennel. The fact is that fennel is popularly called pharmaceutical dill for its similarity to a garden plant and high medicinal properties.

In Indian medicine, the fruits are used as a stimulant and the roots as a laxative.

Fennel essential oil perfectly cleanses the body, removes waste and toxins, especially for those who are addicted to heavy food and alcohol. Has a diuretic and mild laxative effect. By affecting the digestive system, it eliminates constipation, flatulence, and nausea.

During menopause, fennel oil is very effective as it stimulates the production of your own estrogen. Helps increase lactation. Along with this, fennel has high antifungal activity. When sanitizing premises, it reduces the content of fungi in the atmosphere by 4-5 times.

Fennel oil has a hepatoprotective effect against toxic liver damage. Increases appetite, secretion of digestive and bronchial glands. Has a beneficial effect on the skin.

Rinsing the mouth with fennel decoction eliminates sore throat and hoarseness. To use the medicinal properties of fennel, it is ground into powder and in the morning, noon and evening, each time half a teaspoon is brewed in a small cup of boiling water and, after sweetening, is eaten. This composition helps with flatulence and facilitates digestion.

Fennel leaves are added fresh to salads, fish and meat dishes when stewing. The seeds are placed in spicy soups and marinades, and various pickles. Fennel sauce goes well with cold fish. This plant is most widely used in French and Italian cuisines.

Dangerous properties of fennel

Fennel, like many medicinal herbs, has both beneficial properties and contraindications. First of all, it is worth noting that individual intolerance to the herb is possible. If a person feels nausea or dizziness after eating fennel, they should avoid this plant.

Also, despite its ability to increase milk flow, fennel is recommended for nursing mothers and pregnant women only if the benefit outweighs the potential harm. A similar approach is noted when prescribing drugs to people who experience epileptic seizures.

Overdose or abuse of products based on this plant leads to stomach upset and can cause allergic reactions.

In addition, precautions should be taken when using fennel in cases of heart rhythm disturbances. Doctors also note that a large amount of the plant eaten can even cause bleeding.

Remember that in any case, you should start using fennel with small doses so that you can notice its negative effects on the body in time.

In this video, Yulia Vysotskaya will tell you how to prepare cream soup from fennel and celery.

Often, proper nutrition is associated with some complex superfoods, such as chia seeds, spirulina or goji berries, and under the pressure of fashion and advertising, many people simply forget that simple cabbage is much healthier than all these miracle supplements. The fennel season will begin soon, and I decided to tell you in more detail about this plant, which is not the most popular in Russia. It seems to me that it is undeservedly ignored in our country, although it is available in many stores, is easy to prepare and is incredibly useful. Italian and French gastronomic cultures choose it over dill, which it so closely resembles. In terms of taste and aroma, fennel is close to anise.

This plant is rich in nutrients, the most important of which is anethole, one of the most powerful anti-cancer agents. Vitamin C, the most active in fennel (17% of the daily value), is able to neutralize free radicals that cause inflammation in the body, and dietary fiber in fennel limits the increase in blood cholesterol levels. The long, graceful fronds of fennel also contain nutrients such as manganese, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6 and thiamine.

Another bonus: Fennel seed oil can be an effective and safe way to treat infant colic.

In addition to all the listed advantages, fennel has a bright taste and aroma. Most of all I love freshly squeezed fennel juices with lemon, carrots, spinach or celery.

One of my favorite side dishes for any dish is roasted fennel combined with carrots, peppers and thyme. Vegetables are cut and placed in a pan greased with vegetable oil for 40 minutes.

When purchasing fennel, look for bulbs that are clean, firm, and dense, pale green in color and without dents or oozing juice.

Fresh fennel is best stored in the refrigerator for up to four days.

Dried fennel seeds can be stored for six months in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Fennel is a cultivated plant widely distributed in Europe and the East. It is used as a spice, medicine, and as an ingredient in dishes.
Fennel has not yet gained popularity in Russia, although modern and alternative medicine considers it a storehouse of health. The word "fennel" means "hay".

How to grow fennel

Fennel has two varieties: regular and vegetable.. Common fennel is especially popular among gardeners. Outwardly, it resembles dill: feathery leaves, branched “legs”, inconspicuous, very small flowers collected in an umbrella, a tall stem reaching two meters in height. Common fennel is called in folk medicine “pharmaceutical dill”, “Voloshsky dill”.

Vegetable fennel is generally similar to ordinary fennel, but differs from it in the small head at the base of the stem. The presence of a head of cabbage at the base of the leaves makes fennel resemble kohlrabi cabbage.

Both vegetable and common fennel are grown using seeds. The change is sown in early spring (April) directly into the ground; by July you can expect a harvest of common fennel. Some summer residents manage to harvest a double harvest, so immediately after harvesting the first, they plant the next seeds in the beds. By autumn (September) you can harvest the second harvest.

Many gardeners grow fennel seedlings. In early spring (March), fennel fruits are planted in boxes and pricked before planting in the ground. This method is popular when growing vegetable fennel. Vegetable fennel heads form only in the second year.

Fennel requires special care and attention: fertile soil and watering. For vegetable fennel to form heads in the second year, it is necessary to provide a comfortable wintering (covering material or a natural warm climate in winter - the Black Sea coast, Crimea, Transcaucasia).

Why is fennel so valuable?

It is advisable to make friends with fennel for people who care about their health and want to live a long time in a healthy body. Fennel is a source of essential oil and many vitamins that can rejuvenate and heal the human body.

Common fennel is used to treat the digestive system, nervous system, bile ducts, as a natural hormone to restore women's health. Fennel can be called a nanny for infants. Fennel dill water improves the functioning of the fragile digestive system of babies. Fennel has the sweetish taste of anise and cumin. This combination allows parents to painlessly and calmly give dill water to their babies, taking care of the well-being of their tummies. Fennel reduces gas formation, relieves bloating and colic.

Fennel, due to the content of atenol in its composition, is able to normalize cholesterol metabolism, thereby saving a person from heart disease.

Uses of fennel seeds

Fennel seeds, similar in appearance to dill seeds, are used as a seasoning for meat, fish, and vegetable dishes.. They give the finished product a sweetish-sharp flavor of anise, cumin, and mint.

Fennel fruits are used in the production of the alcoholic drink absinthe.

Housewives, when preparing for the winter, put fennel seeds in marinades and pickles. This rarely used seasoning adds a unique taste to ready-made dishes and enhances the benefits of eating culinary masterpieces.

Fennel fruits are used in the fight against fungal skin diseases. Daily rinsing of infected areas of the skin with an infusion of fennel seeds helps get rid of this insidious, difficult-to-treat disease.

Uses of fennel herb

Fennel leaves are used in preparing a variety of dishes. Together with the heads of cabbage, the greens can be a separate ready-made dish, a side dish for meat or fish.

Greens are added to first courses and salads to add a unique taste to food. In Aydzerbaijan, it is customary to add fennel leaves to pilaf.

Systematic consumption of fennel greens helps normalize metabolism, hair and nail growth, and strengthen teeth.

Fennel greens are used in veterinary medicine. Fresh fennel leaves protect animals from fleas and ticks.

Bath lovers often make brooms from fennel leaves and stems.. Bath procedures with such brooms treat skin diseases, acne, calm a person, and normalize the nervous system.

Uses of fennel root

Fennel root is used less frequently than other parts of the plant. Traditional healers use it as a remedy that restores liver function, normalizes the action of the gallbladder, and increases intestinal motility.

The root contains fibers that are not completely digested. In the human body, they serve as a “broom” that cleanses the intestines and liver.

Is fennel good for everyone - contraindications for use

Despite the extensive list of positive properties of fennel, this miracle plant has contraindications. They are associated with individual intolerance to the smell of camphor, anise, and caraway.

Pregnant women should use fennel with extreme caution.. This is due to the fact that “dill water” is insidious. If the dosage is incorrect, it can cause bleeding and lead to the threat of miscarriage.

Knowing the ability of fennel as a laxative, it is better to refrain from using it for diarrhea.

Fennel can cause allergies: skin rashes and conjunctivitis, Quincke's edema. When using fennel, allergy sufferers must weigh the benefits received and the possible harm from using the plant.

Hypertensive patients should also use this plant with caution. Fennel may help increase blood pressure.

Instructions for use:

Fennel is a perennial or biennial plant belonging to the Apiaceae family. The plant can grow up to 2 meters in height, its stem is straight and round, highly branched at the top. Fennel root is a fleshy bulb, yellow-white in color. Fennel leaves are very similar to dill. The top of all parts of the plant are covered with a bluish coating. Fennel blooms like regular dill. Fennel fruits ripen in autumn.

Other names for the plant are:

• Pharmaceutical dill;
• Voloshsky fennel.

The Mediterranean is considered to be the birthplace of the plant. Fennel was known to man back in Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt; even then it was used as a spice and medicine. The first mention of the use of fennel and its properties dates back to the 18th century.

In the wild, fennel grows on dry rocky slopes, in ditches and along roadsides. Wild fennel can be found in Crimea, Central Asia and Transcaucasia.

To use fennel as a medicine and spice, it is grown in the Krasnodar region, the North Caucasus, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. The most common plant variety in our time is Balon fennel.

Composition and beneficial properties of fennel

The main property of fennel is its high content of essential oils. Thus, different parts of the plant contain different amounts of essential oil:

• Fruits (seeds) - 6.5%;
• Leaves - 0.5%.

Fennel fruit essential oil has a strong aroma and a sweetish spicy taste. The beneficial properties of fennel are due to the unique chemical composition and the content of numerous substances in it:

• Fenchon;
• Anethole;
• Camphor;
• Alpha-pinene;
• Methyl chavicol;
• Alpha-phellandrene;
• Limonene;
• Cineole;
• Terpinolene;
• Bornyl acetate;
• Citral.

Fennel fruits are rich in fatty oils. Thus, scientific reviews about fennel contain information that the seeds contain from 12 to 18 percent fatty oils. These oils include many valuable acids:

• Oleic;
• Petrozelinovaya;
• Palmitone;
• Linoleic.

The use of beneficial properties of fennel in fruits is due to such a rich composition. But not only fennel fruits have beneficial properties; the use of leaves and stems of the plant brings significant benefits to the body. Thus, the composition of the green part of fennel is also rich in various elements:

• Glycosides;
• Ascorbic acid;
• Carotene;
• Flavonoids;
• Minerals;
• B vitamins.

A distinctive property of fennel, according to culinary experts, is its low calorie content. So, the calorie content of fennel is 31 kcal per 100 g. But 100 grams of fennel fruit is a very impressive mass. It is unlikely that anyone eats such an amount at once. In addition, this would already be excessive use of this medicinal plant. There are many reviews about fennel, the use of which in large quantities, on the contrary, has a detrimental effect on health. In particular, it can cause stomach upset and even poisoning.

Preparations from fennel fruits have the following effects on the body:

• Increased secretion of digestive glands;
• Antispasmodic;
• Choleretic;
• Sedative (calming);
• Diuretic effect;
• Antibacterial.

Uses of fennel

According to patient reviews, the use of fennel gives an excellent effect in the treatment of numerous diseases. Fennel fruits and its leaves are used for medicinal purposes. Fennel fruits have also been used in the manufacture of other medicines, to neutralize the bitterness of drugs and unpleasant odors. This is due to the distinctive properties of fennel in the form of a strong smell and rich taste.

Numerous reviews of fennel note its beneficial effects on the central nervous system. The antispasmodic and sedative properties of fennel are used in the manufacture of medicines for bronchial asthma.

Fennel fruit oil is used as an expectorant to treat colds. Thus, the use of fennel is advisable for the following diseases:

• ARVI;
• Flu;
• Bronchitis;
• Pneumonia;
• Laryngitis;
• Tonsillitis;
• Laryngotracheitis.

Fennel fruit oil is also used for flatulence, colitis and indigestion. The property of fennel to improve the functioning of the intestines is actively used in many diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The use of fennel, in moderate doses, is also advisable for the prevention of constipation. This property of fennel fruits is used even for newborns and infants, to relieve stomach cramps and colic. The famous “Dill water” is made from fennel fruits.

In addition, a decoction of fennel fruits has found application in obstetrics and gynecology. The unique properties of fennel, according to reviews from pregnant women, help improve digestion and relieve attacks of toxicosis (nausea). The same effect from the use of fennel is achieved when it is used as food by women who have just given birth. The use of fennel helps a woman in labor improve digestion. In addition, an unusual property of fennel, according to reviews from young mothers, is its ability to stimulate lactation. By taking fennel fruit tea, women can quickly establish lactation. In addition, substances that provide the medicinal properties of fennel penetrate into the baby’s body through breast milk. Thus, it is possible to avoid excessive gas formation in a small organism. The use of fennel has a beneficial effect on the normalization of the menstrual cycle.

In cooking, fennel is used as a seasoning. Almost the entire plant can be eaten: its bulb, trunk (stem), leaves and seeds. According to culinary experts, salads and soups are prepared from fresh herbs and fennel bulbs. Fennel fruits perfectly complement meat and fish dishes. In addition, fennel fruits are used to preserve some vegetables for the winter.

Essential oil from fennel fruits is also used in cosmetology and perfumery.

Contraindications to the use of fennel

While the use of fennel and its properties by breastfeeding women is widespread, caution must be exercised. There are reviews of fennel from women who began to notice signs of allergies in themselves and their children after excessive consumption of this plant. The same applies to pregnant women. You should not prescribe or take fennel-based medications on your own. Moreover, you should not exceed the recommended dosage. During pregnancy and breastfeeding, the use of fennel is possible only in consultation with a doctor.

In addition, an absolute contraindication to the use of fennel is the body's hypersensitivity, or individual intolerance to fennel fruits. In this case, a person may feel nausea and dizziness, even from the smell of the plant.

Excessive use of fennel, according to doctors for epilepsy, is extremely dangerous and can be fatal.