Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

Because it may be a uterine stimulant, fenugreek should not betaken by pregnant women.

Fenugreek is included in the FDA’s list of herbs generally regarded as safe. For otherwise healthy non-pregnant, non-nursing adults, fenugreek is considered safe in amounts typically recommended.

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

As Easy as Beans

Fenugreek is an annual that reaches 18 inches and resembles a large clover. It has three-lobed leaves and white, triangular. pealike flowers, which produce the long seed pods characteristic of the bean family. Fenugreek’s seed pod is sickle-shaped, 2 inches long, and contains 10 to 20 hard, smooth, oblong, somewhat flattened seeds.

After frost danger has passed and soil temperature has reached 55°F, plant seeds in almost any soil that receives full sun. Germination typically takes only a few days. Plants flower in about three weeks and produce seeds about three weeks later.

To prevent root rot, do not overwater.

Harvest the pods when fully formed, but before they begin to crack. Remove the seeds and dry them in the sun.

Some of fenugreek’s traditional uses have been supported by modern science, but its most important potential use has only recently come to light.

Cholesterol Control - Studies show fenugreek reduces cholesterol in dogs. The herb has not yet been tested in humans, but this finding warrants that such studies be done.

Sore Throat - Fenugreek’s soothing mucilage may help relieve sore throat pain, cough, and minor indigestion.

Women’s Health - Almost a century after Lydia Pinkham’s death, an animal experiment has lent some support to fenugreek’s action as a uterine stimulant especially during the late stages of pregnancy. Fenugreek seeds contain a chemical (diosgenin) similar to the female sex hormone estrogen. Estrogen encourages the body to retain water, and one side effect of the Pill is bloating. Water retention means increased weight so perhaps those Arab women who ate fenugreek to gain weight were on the right track. It may help non-pregnant women bring on their periods, but this use has not been confirmed.

Arthritis - Belgian researchers have discovered that fenugreek has mild anti-inflammatory action, which lends some credence to its traditional use in treating wounds, arthritis, and other inflammations.

Intriguing Possibilities - Animal studies show fenugreek reduces blood sugar (glucose) levels. The effect has not been demonstrated in humans, and diabetics should get their doctor’s approval before trying it to see if it helps control their glucose.

Rx for Fenugreek

Take fenugreek as a decoction to take advantage of its many potential Healing benefits: to help soothe a sore throat possibly bring on menstruation, or potentially help in the treatment of arthritis. In conjunction with regular treatment from your physician, you might also try it to lower your cholesterol or help control glucose levels. For a bitter, maple flavored decoction, gently boil 2 teaspoons of bruised seeds per cup of water. Simmer 10 minutes. Drink up to 3 cups a day. To improve flavor, add sugar, honey, lemon, anise, or peppermint.

In a tincture, use ¼ to ½ teaspoon up to three times a day. Do not give medicinal preparations to children under age 2. For older children and people over 65, start with low-strength preparations and increase strength if necessary.

Cholesterol-Controlling Hopeful

Family: Leguminosae; (includes Beans, Peas)

Genus and Species: Trigone//a foenum-graecum

Also known as: Greek hay, foenugreek, fenigreek

Parts used: Seeds

From ancient times through the late 19th century, fenugreek played a major role in herbal Healing. Then it fell by the wayside. Now things are looking up for the herb with a taste that is an odd combination of bitter celery and maple syrup. In animal studies, fenugreek helps reduce cholesterol levels, and it may well have similar benefits for people.

Greek Hay

Fenugreek plants were used to help sick animals long before its seeds became a popular remedy for human ills. Early Greeks mixed the plant into moldy or insect-damaged animal forage to make it more palatable, and in the process discovered that sick horses and cattle would eat fenugreek when they wouldn’t eat anything else. The Egyptians and Romans adopted “Greek hay,” a name that evolved into fenugreek.

Today the plant is widely used to flavor horse and cattle feed, and some veterinarians still use it to encourage sick horses and cattle to eat.

As fenugreek spread around the Mediterranean, ancient physicians learned that its seeds contain a great deal of mucilage. Mixed with water, mucilage becomes gelatinous and soothes inflamed or irritated tissue. Egyptian physicians used fenugreek in ointments to treat wounds and abscesses. They also recommended the herb internally to treat fevers and respiratory and intestinal complaints. Hippocrates and other ancient Greek and Roman physicians used it similarly.

Ancient Chinese healers used fenugreek to treat fevers, hernia, gallbladder problems, muscle aches, and even impotence.

In India, where the herb was incorporated into curry spice blends, Ayurvedic physicians used it to treat arthritis, bronchitis, and digestive upsets. Indian women ate the seeds to increase their milk production.

Arab women from Libya to Syria ate the roasted seeds to gain weight and attain the Rubenesque proportions synonymous with beauty from ancient times through the 19th century.

Military Weapon

Fenugreek is the only Healing herb ever used as a weapon of war. During the Roman siege of Jerusalem (AD 66-70), general and future emperor Vespasian ordered his troops to scale the city’s imposing walls. The standard defense against this was to pour boiling water or oil on the attackers and their ladders. According to The History of the Jewish War by Jewish traitor Flavius Josephus, Jerusalem’s defenders added fenugreek to the oil they poured on the Romans, making it more slippery.

Those avid herb gardeners (and creators of fine liqueurs), the Benedictine monks, popularized fenugreek throughout Europe around the 9th century. From that time on, it was widely used in folk medicine as it had been by the ancients - to treat wounds, fevers, and digestive and respiratory ailments.

Part of Pinkham’s Compound

Early settlers brought fenugreek to North America and used it as forage and in folk medicine, where it gained a reputation as a potent menstruation promoter. As a result, the herb became a key ingredient in Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound, one of 19th-century America’s most popular patent medicines for “female weakness” (menstrual discomforts). The manufacturer proclaimed it “the greatest medical discovery since the dawn of history.” Health authorities were outraged, and their outcry played a part in creating the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates drug claims. (A reformulated Pinkham’s Compound is still available today-minus the fenugreek.)

Modern herbalists recommend fenugreek poultices and plasters to treat wounds, boils, and rashes. They say a warm fenugreek gargle soothes a sore throat. And they recommend the herb internally to treat coughs and bronchitis.

But fenugreek is most widely used in the United States today as a source of imitation maple flavor.