Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

Fennel won’t cure blindness, but science has supported some of its traditional uses.

Digestive Aid - Like most other aromatic herbs, fennel appears to relax the smooth muscle lining of the digestive tract (making it an antispasmodic). It also helps expel gas. And European research shows it kills some bacteria, lending some support to its traditional use in treating diarrhea.

In Germany, where herbal medicine is more mainstream than it is in the United States, fennel is used like anise and caraway as a treatment for indigestion, gas pains, and infant colic.

Women’s Health - Antispasmodics soothe not only the digestive tract but other smooth muscles, such as the uterus, as well. However, fennel was traditionally used not to relax the uterus but to stimulate it into menstruation. It is possible that high doses of fennel provide sufficient stimulation to promote menstruation.

One study suggests the herb has a mild estrogenic effect, meaning it acts like the female sex hormone estrogen. This action may have something to do with its traditional use as a milk and menstruation promoter.

Other women may try it to help begin their periods or increase milk production. Older women might give it a try to relieve the discomforts of menopause.

Prostate Cancer - Female sex hormones are often prescribed for prostate cancer. All forms of cancer require professional care. Try fennel in addition to standard therapies only with the supervision of your physician.

Rx for Fennel

As a digestive aid, either chew a handful of seeds or try an infusion or tincture. Use either an infusion or tincture to attempt to bring on menstruation or (while under the care of a physician) as a possible aid in the treatment of prostate cancer.

To make a pleasant, licorice-flavored infusion, use 1 to 2 teaspoons of bruised seeds per cup of boiling water. Steep 10 minutes. Drink up to 3 cups a day.

In a tincture, take ‘12 to 1 teaspoon up to three times a day. Weak fennel preparations may be given cautiously to children under age 2 for colic. If the condition persists, consult your pediatrician. For older children and people over 65, start with low-strength preparations and increase strength if necessary.

Great for Digestion

Family: Umbelliferae; (includes Carrot, Parsley)

Genus and Species: Foeniculum Vulgare, F. Vulgare Dulce

Also known as: Finocchio, carosella, Florence Fennel

Parts used: Fruits (”seeds”); stalks and bulbs are used in cooking

Few England’s Puritans called fennel “meeting seeds.” The meetings were their endless church services. Some authorities say the Puritans used fennel as an appetite suppressant. Others say many Puritans steeled themselves for church with whiskey, then chewed fennel seeds to mask the odor. The Puritans also used fennel as a digestive aid, its major use in herbal Healing from the time of the Pharaohs to the present day.

Part of Marathon History

The ancient Greeks called fennel maraihor: It grew wild around the village of Marathon, about 25 miles from Athens, where the Athenians defeated the Persians in 490 B.C. A long-distance runner brought news of the victory back to Athens, and his athletic feat inspired today’s marathon races.

During the third century B.C., Hippocrates prescribed fennel to treat infant colic. Four hundred years later, Dioscorides called it an appetite suppressant and recommended the seeds to nursing mothers to boost milk production.

The Roman naturalist Pliny included fennel in 22 remedies. He noted that some snakes rubbed against the plant after shedding their skins and soon after, their glazed eyes cleared. Pliny took this as a sign that fennel cured human eye problems, including blindness.

Under the Doctrine of Signatures, the medieval notion that plants’ physical characteristics revealed their medicinal value, fennel’s yellow flowers were linked to the liver’s yellow bile, and the herb was recommended for jaundice.

The emperor Charlemagne ordered the herb cultivated in all his imperial gardens. And the household of King Edward I of England consumed more than 8 pounds a month.

Fennel was one of Hildegard of Bingen’s favorite herbs.

The German abbess/herbalist recommended it for colds, flu, the heart, and to “make us happy, [with] good digestion and good body odor.”

Witchcraft and Other Hocus-Pocus

The Anglo-Saxons who settled England around the 5th century used fennel both as a spice and digestive aid. They also hung fennel over their doors to protect against witchcraft.

By the 17th century, fennel was a mainstay of herbal Healing and a standard seasoning for fish. Seventeenth-century English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper, apparently not a fish lover, wrote it “consumes the phlegmatic humor which fish … annoys the body with.” Culpeper recommended fennel to “break wind, increase milk, cleanse the eyes from mists that hinder sight, and take away the loathings which oftentimes happen to stomachs of sick persons.” He also claimed it “brought women’s courses” (menstruation).

Folk healers mixed fennel with strong laxatives, such as buckthorn, senna, rhubarb, and aloe, to counteract the intestinal cramps they often caused.

Fennel Comes to America

Colonists brought fennel to North America. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow alluded to Pliny when he wrote:

Above the lower plants it towers The Fennel with its yellow flowers:

And in an earlier age than ours Was gifted with wondrous powers Lost vision to restore.

America’s 19th-century Eclectic physicians prescribed fennel as a digestive aid, milk and menstruation promoter, and to “conceal the unpleasantness of other medicines.”

Latin Americans still boil the seeds in milk as a milk promoter for nursing mothers. Jamaicans use it to treat colds. And Africans take fennel for diarrhea and indigestion.

Contemporary herbalists recommend fennel as a digestive aid, milk promoter, expectorant, eyewash, and buffer in herbal laxative blends.

Fennel has at best only a mild estrogenic effect, but estrogen, a key ingredient in birth control pills, has many effects on the body. Women advised by their doctors not to take the Pill should not use medicinal amounts of fennel, nor should anyone with a history of abnormal blood clotting or estrogen-dependent breast tumors.

Pregnant women should not use medicinal amounts of fennel.

Liver Questions

One study suggests fennel has oddly contradictory effects on the liver. It aggravates liver damage in experimental animals but spurs liver regeneration in animals with parts of their liver removed. Until its effects are clarified, people with a history of alcoholism, hepatitis, or liver disease should err on the side of caution and not take medicinal amounts of this herb.

Fennel seeds are safe, but fennel oil may cause skin rash in sensitive individuals. When taken internally, the oil may cause nausea, vomiting, and possibly seizures. Don’t ingest it!

Other Cautions

Fennel is included in the Food and Drug Administration’s list of herbs generally regarded as safe. For otherwise healthy non-pregnant, non-nursing adults, fennel is considered safe in amounts typically recommended.

Fennel should be used in medicinal amounts only in consultation with your doctor. If fennel causes minor discomforts, such as stomach upset or diarrhea, use less or stop using it. Let your doctor know if you experience unpleasant effects or if the symptoms for which the herb is being used do not improve significantly in two weeks.

Smells like Licorice

Fennel is a striking, o-foot perennial with feathery leaves and tall stalks capped by large umbrella-like clusters of tiny yellow flowers. The tiny oval-shaped fruits (”seeds”) are ribbed and greenish gray. All parts of the plant have the herb’s characteristic anise/licorice fragrance.

Fennel grows easily from seeds sown in rich, moist soil in fall or after danger of frost has passed. Germination takes about two weeks. Thin seedlings to 12-inch spacing. Do not overwater seedlings, but as plants develop, extra water increases stem succulence. Leaves may be harvested once plants are established.

When stems are about an inch thick, hill the soil over them to cause blanching, which results in milder flavor. Harvest about ten days after hilling.

Harvest seeds in late summer as they turn greenish gray. Fennel may damage some neighboring plants: bush beans, tomatoes, caraway, and kohlrabi. If coriander is planted nearby, fennel will not fruit.

Alert: In the wild, fennel may be confused with poison hemlock, which has caused fatalities. Don’t gather wild fennel unless you’re sure you’ve identified it correctly.