Dill is a very familiar vegetable in daily meals, used to cook soup or stir-fry, and also has the effect of decorating dishes. In particular, dill also brings many health benefits such as strengthening immunity, improving eyesight, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, …

1. Overview of dill

Dill or dill vegetable is certainly very familiar to us Vietnamese. The plant originates from countries bordering the Mediterranean coast, 0.3 – 1m high, smooth stem, no branches; small leaves, split into many fibrous blades, growing alternately. Flowers grow in clusters at the top of the stem and branch tips, the fruit is egg-shaped, has 3 convex longitudinal edges, usually flowers and bears fruit in January – March.

Dill has a characteristic aroma that is very easy to recognize, even when cooked. Currently, many countries, including Vietnam, grow dill for medicinal purposes and as a vegetable. Because dill contains many vitamins and minerals such as vitamins A, C, manganese, iron, folate, … bringing many outstanding health benefits. Dill can be eaten as a vegetable or processed into essential oils, pills, decoctions, …

Dill is both a vegetable and an herb.

2. Outstanding benefits of fennel

The whole fennel plant can be used for food or medicine with the following outstanding benefits.

Increase resistance, fight infection

Antioxidant compounds such as flavonoids, terpenoids, tannins in fennel have anti-inflammatory, anti-infective properties. In addition, vitamin C in fennel also helps strengthen the body’s immune system. Therefore, eating fennel every day is also a way to help you have a healthy body and prevent infection.

Heal wounds, insect bites

If you are bitten by an insect or have a wound on your skin, you can apply fennel essential oil or apply crushed fennel directly to the wound. This will help remove toxins in the bite, while helping the wound heal quickly from the inside.

Improve the respiratory system

If you have a sore throat, cough with phlegm, you can use fennel to improve the condition. Accordingly, essential oil from fennel seeds is very good for the respiratory system. You just need to gargle with 1 – 1.5 teaspoons of this essential oil every day and your cough and sore throat will be significantly reduced.

Good for the cardiovascular system

With anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, fennel also benefits cardiovascular health. In particular, fennel leaf extract has the effect of lowering cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood; while the components of calcium, potassium, and phosphorus help maintain strong bones and joints.

Regulate menstruation

Using a combination of fennel essence and vitamin E not only helps women regulate menstruation but also reduces symptoms of menstrual cramps. This is even a more effective way to relieve menstrual cramps than using pain relievers.

Increase postpartum milk secretion

In addition to regulating menstruation and reducing menstrual cramps, fennel also stimulates milk secretion in postpartum mothers. This is thanks to the substances anethole, dianethole and photoanethole, which help the body increase the production of estrogen and prolactin. These are two active ingredients that directly participate in the milk production process.

Reduce infant colic

Newborns cry for hours at a time, making mothers and caregivers feel anxious, tired, and even stressed. At this time, applying essential oil from fennel seeds can reduce this colic, helping babies sleep better. This is the result of a study in Russia, measuring the time babies cry and showing a reduction of up to 1/4.

Support treatment of cholera

Some studies show that spices, including fennel and red pepper, can slow down the growth of bacteria that cause cholera. Therefore, fennel is also known for its ability to support treatment and relieve symptoms of cholera.

Relax the mind and emotions

Fennel has a pleasant aroma. Extracts from the plant are prepared into essential oils, perfumes, soaps, etc. to help relax the mind and emotions. In addition, fennel essential oil also has the effect of reducing the unpleasant smell of some medicines, making it easier for users to drink.

Helps sleep better

If you often have insomnia, difficulty sleeping, or poor sleep, you can eat fennel soup to improve it. Or soak fennel seeds in boiling water, let it cool, and drink it. The best time to drink it is about 1 hour before going to bed.

Eating fennel soup or drinking fennel seed water helps you sleep better.

Improve bad breath

Bad breath makes you hesitate in communication and makes people afraid when contacting and talking. To overcome this, you can chew 5 – 7 fennel seeds/day, divided into many times. The essential oils and active ingredients in fennel seeds have both antibacterial effects and effectively eliminate bad breath.

3. Notes when eating or using fennel

Although it brings many health benefits, it does not mean that fennel has no side effects. If you eat or use too much, you may experience nausea, diarrhea, itchy mouth, swollen tongue, hallucinations, etc. In addition, the ingredients in fennel can cause stimulation and uterine contractions, so pregnant women should absolutely not eat or use fennel.

In addition, if you are taking drugs containing estrogen, drugs to treat seizures, epilepsy, etc., you should be careful when using fennel to avoid drug interactions, leading to unwanted side effects.

We have learned about the outstanding benefits of fennel and the notes when using it. In general, this is a vegetable and a medicine that is widely used in the world.