India is among the largest exporters of fennel seeds / saunf (as it is popularly known), uses it voraciously because of all the advantages it offers.
India is among the largest exporters of fennel seeds / saunf (as it is popularly known), uses it voraciously because of all the advantages it offers. Due to its various medicinal properties, people from different cultures enjoy eating fennel seeds. Indian families, for example, often eat fennel seeds after getting their meal for healthier and faster digestion.
Fennel seeds are most often interlinked with 'longevity' and are known to offer a wide range of nutritional properties that help to improve a human body's well-being. Besides, fennel seeds provide a concentrated source of various minerals essential for controlling blood pressure as well as preserving water within our body.
What is a Fennel Seed?
Fennel seeds have a crunchy texture with a slightly sweet flavor on the outside. It's also used widely as a mouth freshener. In terms of shape, fennel seeds closely resemble anise seeds, which are derived from fennel plants. These contain several nutrients such as vitamin K, vitamin E, manganese, copper, zinc, and phosphorus and are a good source of vitamin C. One serving of fennel seeds provide one percent of vitamin C's RDI (Recommended Dietary Intake), which serves as a versatile antioxidant to your body, protecting your skin from any damage caused by heat, smoke, or pollution.
Fennel Seeds Nutritional Information
Normally fennel seeds are eaten in one tablespoon per meal, and the nutritional value it offers can be found below:
Nutrients | Nutritional Value (per tablespoon – 6g) |
Calories | 19.8 |
Fiber | 2.3 grams |
Carbohydrates | 3 grams |
Protein | 0.9 grams |
Fat | 0.6 grams |
Cholesterol | 0 grams |
Let's look at some other information about fennel seeds to see if the seeds can help us improve our diet to achieve the goals we set for ourselves.
Benefit from Fennel Seeds
Fennel seeds contain antioxidant compounds and phytonutrients which make them a highly nutritious source with many health benefits, the following being:
1. Helps Blood Pressure Regulation
Research released by the Journal of Food Science found that chewing fennel seeds helps to increase the nitrate levels in saliva. Nitrite is a natural element that keeps blood pressure levels checked. Besides, fennel seeds are also rich in potassium which helps to regulate blood pressure and heart rate.
2. Ideal for Skin Problems
Regular fennel seed consumption provides for minerals such as selenium, calcium, and zinc. Such minerals are essential to regulating hormones while preserving the balance of oxygen in your bloodstream. These minerals give the skin a refreshing and calming effect, providing a healthy glow to it. Fennel seeds also offer various ayurvedic properties that help to treat other skin disorders such as rashes and dryness. Applying a fennel seed paste is of great benefit to the skin as the above minerals are absorbed by the skin and keep it moist, clean, and healthy.
3. Purification Of Blood
The vital fiber and essential oils in fennel seeds are considered highly useful for flushing out sludge and toxins from our bodies, thereby helping to cleanse the blood which further contributes to optimum nutrient absorption in the body. In fennel seeds, the polyphenol antioxidants also have anti-inflammatory properties that aid in combating various bacteria and viruses, keeping you safe from various diseases.
4. Helps Boost Eyesight
The daily addition of a few tablespoons of fennel seeds to your diet will help to enhance your vision. They contain high vitamin A content, which is an important component of excellent vision. Extracts from fennel seeds have been used in ancient times to treat people affected by glaucoma.
5. Reduces Water Accumulation and does away with Hunger
Drinking fennel tea daily helps the body flush out excess fluids. Fennel tea is behaving like a diuretic. Also, it helps reduce the risks of urinary tract disease and eliminates kidney toxins. This also includes diaphoretic properties which help to stimulate suddenness.
Another benefit of drinking fennel tea is that it helps with appetite suppression. By consuming one cup of fennel tea, essential oils are released which aid in suppressing hunger. A lot of dietitians propose fennel tea before meals to suppress calorie intake for weight loss.
6. Helps Bloating, IBS, Indigestion, and Constipation
Fennel seeds can serve as a crucial source to treat constipation, bloating, and indigestion, because they contain essential oils such as anethole, fenchone, and estragole that contribute to the anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic properties. Those components help to break down the food in the body substantially, and keep the digestive system running smoothly. Individuals suffering from IBS can benefit greatly from seed extracts from the fennel. The oils help with kick-start digestion by promoting the work as well as the production of gastric juices and enzymes, maintaining a healthy digestive tract.
7. Reduces Cancer Risk
The seeds have potent, free radical scavenging properties. Since antioxidants are present, fennel seeds help to neutralize free radicals that are responsible for cancer growth. Therefore, it helps to combat oxidative stress along with protecting the body from various breast, stomach, and skin cancers. It gives a modulative effect on the patient's chemo.
Seeds of Fennel, and Weight Loss
- Fennel seeds are also considered an important food element that should be included in weight-loss diets. Daily intake along with an active and healthy lifestyle helps shed extra pounds. Weight loss is just one of the varying advantages of adding fennel seeds to your daily diet.
- These tiny seeds have a ton of potent nutrients that keep a healthy human body. Below are a few ways that fennel can help lower the few extra pounds in your body.
- Fennel seeds are very rich in dietary fibers which slow the process of digestion. This means you won't get hungry too long after consuming one serving of fennel seeds, which may prevent overeating.
- Furthermore, fennel seeds help boost the processing capacity of the body for vitamins and minerals, through the aid of antioxidants. Another advantage of antioxidants is that they help break down the body's fats and carbohydrates and help you prevent extra pounds.
- Fennel seeds also have diuretic properties that will allow you to flush out the body's toxins and other toxic liquids. A much-favored alternative to fennel seed tea is a drink of fennel seeds, called the Variyali Sherbet. A common drink in India, this tangy drink is usually consumed in the summers to keep the body hydrated and cool.
- Variyali Sherbet not only helps with weight loss but also helps to detoxify the body, get rid of acidity, and relieve stress. It can be due to an endless list of antioxidants found in fennel seeds such as zeaxanthin, lutein, beta-carotene, chlorine, manganese, zinc, selenium, phosphorus, and more, known to protect the body from oxidative stress and increase a human body's metabolic rate.
Here's the Variyali Sherbet recipe to make one glass:
- Ingredients required:
- 1 cup of fennel seeds
- 2 cups of water (500ml)
- 1.5 cups of rock sugar
- 5 soaked cardamom
- Black salt
- Ice cubes
Guidelines:
- In a food processor or mixer grinder, grind the fennel seeds and cardamom into a fine powder.
- Now soak up the fennel and cardamom powder in 2 cups of water for almost 8 hours.
- First, they need to ground the rock sugar into a fine powder.
- Strain the soaked powdered fennel and cardamom into a jar
- Into the bottle add a tablespoon of black salt.
- Add the powdered sugar and whisk for 30 seconds.
- Serve in an ice cubed glass.
Variyali Sherbet Nutritional value of a normal glass (240 ml):
Nutrients | Nutritional Value |
Carbohydrates | 2.9g |
Proteins | 2.9g |
Fibers | 7.3g |
Magnesium | 15 mg |
Vitamin B-6 | 0.041 mg |
Iron | 0.64 mg |
Vitamin C | 10.4 mg |
Calcium | 43 mg |
Vitamin A | 838 IU |
Sodium | 45 mg |
Potassium | 360 mg |
Quick Summary
Throughout India, fennel seeds are very common among humans as the seeds can miraculously cure an endless list of digestive ailments including infant colic, intestinal gas, heartburn, and more. After enjoying a good meal you can also use the seeds as a mouth-freshener. We can, therefore, see that fennel seeds offer a wide range of benefits which make it common among people.
So, the next time you 're thinking about incorporating a food item with multiple health benefits into your diet, you should consider fennel seeds as they would fit perfectly with your long-term or short-term health objectives.
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