Health Benefits of Fennel Seed 

Fennel is an aromatic and flavorful herb that has several culinary as well as medicinal uses. If it is not in your kitchen cupboard right now, you’ll want to put it on your grocery list and make it a household staple after learning more about it.
In addition to its popular use as a breath freshener, it helps relieve a number of ailments and facilitates better health due to its stomachic, carminative, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, expectorant, diuretic, emmenagogue, depurative, anticarcinogenic and antioxidant properties.
It contains vitamin C, potassium, manganese, iron, folate, and fiber. It is also rich in phytonutrients and has a high concentration of volatile oils.

You can enjoy the health benefits of this licorice-tasting herb by sprinkling it on breads or cakes before baking, adding it in fruit salads, adding fresh fennel roots in sautéed vegetables, or simply chewing fennel seeds after meals.

Here are the top 10 health benefits of fennel

1. Beats Bad Breath

Munching on a few fennel seeds will sweeten and refresh your breath after a meal and especially get rid of bad breath after an odorous meal.
Its antimicrobial properties fight the germs that cause bad breath. Its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties also soothe sore gums. In addition to chewing on a fennel seeds, you can swish lukewarm fennel tea in your mouth and gargle with it to reduce bad breath.

2. Aids Digestion

Fennel is highly beneficial in relieving digestive problems such as indigestion, bloating, flatulence, constipation, colic, intestinal gas, heartburn, and even irritable bowel.
This herb stimulates digestion and has carminative effects that soothe the digestive tract and prevent the formation of gas. Moreover, it can help rebuild the digestive system after radiation or chemotherapy treatments.
Simply chewing a teaspoon of fennel seeds after meals aids digestion and relieves stomach pains and bloating. When suffering from indigestion, you can drink fennel tea or take one-half teaspoon of fennel seed powder along with water two times a day.

3. Relieves Water Retention

Drinking fennel tea on a regular basis helps flush out excess fluids from the body as it works as a diuretic. You can also reduce puffy eyes caused by fluid retention by applying strong fennel tea under your eyes.
In addition to preventing and relieving water retention, fennel helps remove toxins and reduces the risk of urinary tract problems. It also has diaphoretic properties that will stimulate perspiration.

4. Reduces Obesity

Fennel is excellent for combating obesity as it suppresses the appetite and creates a feeling of fullness. Fresh fennel works as a natural fat buster by boosting the metabolism and breaking down fats. Plus, being a diuretic, fennel helps reduce water retention, which is a common cause of temporary weight gain.
One simple way to facilitate weight loss with this herb is to dry roast, grind and sieve fennel seeds and consume one-half teaspoon of the powder with warm water twice daily.

5. Protects Against Cancers

Fennel bulb can help decrease the risk of developing colon cancer because it helps remove carcinogenic toxins from the colon.
Moreover, the herb has an anti-inflammatory phytonutrient called anethole that has anti-cancer effects. A 2012 study at the University of Texas found that this phytonutrient can stop breast cancer cells from growing. Other phytonutrients like quercetin and limonene present in this herb also have anticarcinogenic effects.

6. Relieves Menstrual Problems

Many factors, including stress and poor diet, can interrupt a woman’s regular menstrual cycle. Fennel seeds have emmenagogue properties that promote and regulate menstrual flow. The herb also has phytoestrogens that help with issues like premenstrual syndrome, menopausal disorders, and breast enlargement.
A 2012 study conducted by researchers from Babol University of Medical Sciences and Health Services in Iran also indicates that fennel can help reduce symptoms of dysmenorrheal or painful menstruation.
Apart from menstrual benefits, fennel is traditionally used as a galactagogue to promote lactation in nursing mothers. It also works as an aphrodisiac to increase libido in both men and women.

7. Treats Respiratory Illnesses


Fennel has mild expectorant properties that help relieve respiratory tract infections associated with coughs, colds, the flu, and sinus congestion.
For instance, when suffering with a cough and sore throat, you can drink warm fennel tea two or three times a day. Also, you can boil two tablespoons of fennel seeds in one cup of water until half the water evaporates, strain the solution and gargle with it.

8. Prevents Cardiac Problems

Fennel can reduce the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. It is a good source of potassium that helps lower high blood pressure as well as folate that is needed for converting potentially dangerous homocysteine molecules into a benign form.
Also, raw fennel root is rich in dietary fiber that helps control cholesterol buildup. It also contains vitamin C, which acts as an antioxidant and prevents heart disease by inhibiting free radical activity.

9. Promotes Eye Health

Researchers at the Delhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences & Research have found that fennel may help reduce eye pressure and promote the dilation of blood vessels. Thus, it may help prevent or treat glaucoma, a vision-impairing disease. However, further research and evaluation is needed in this regard.
Moreover, an Indian study led by researchers from the Department of Biochemistry at the Shivaji University suggests that fennel seeds contain a compound (trans-anethole) that may prevent retinopathy associated with vision loss in diabetics.

10. Improves Memory and Brain Function

Fennel works as a general brain booster. Researchers have found that fennel seeds help improve cognitive performance. Fennel bulbs and seeds also have high levels of potassium, which encourages increased electrical conduction throughout the body, contributing to healthy brain functioning and cognitive abilities.
Moreover, fennel juice acts as a vasodilator and increases oxygen supply to the brain. It is also helpful in relieving depression and delaying the onset of dementia.

          Using Turmeric for Cough

I am very sure every one of us has suffered from cough sometime or other. It is a common condition in cold weather. In this article I highlight what basiclaly is cough and how turmeric can be used to treat it (home remedies / ayurvedic remedies).

Cough and Turmeric

Cough is a medical condition that develops due to hidden disease such as allergic rhinitis, bacterial infection of upper respiratory tract, sinusitis, asthma, pneumonia or reflex of stomach contents. Cough can be acute or chronic. Cough initiated by allergic reactions or by bacterial infection can result in a myriad of symptoms such as fever, headache, nausea, sore throat and post nasal drip all of which cause discomfort. Hence, cough should be treated without delay by identifying the exact cause. Generally, use of conventional medicine demands you to use multiple drugs to treat different symptoms associated with cough. Some of these drugs cause weakness and other side effects. How would it be to replace all these drugs with one single herb? Wonderful right! Turmeric is one such herb that treats cough initiated by any of the listed hidden medical conditions.

Turmeric scientifically named as Curcuma longa is a rhizome belonging to zingiberaceae family. It is a yellow colored herb with medicinal properties. Curcuma longa is cultivated and used widely in India. Traditional Chinese medicine and the Ayurvedic medicine use turmeric for treatment of various ailments. Use of turmeric for cough is one of popular home remedies for cough. The antibacterial and anti-vrial action of turmeric makes it a best remedy to treat cough and cold naturally.

How turmeric treats cough

Medicinal value of turmeric is due to the compound curcumin. There are three different curcuminoids present in turmeric they are diferuloylmethane, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin. Of the three diferuloylmethane is present in higher amounts and is responsible for the color and medicinal value of the herb. Curcumin serves as an anti-inflammatory agent and also possess anti-bacterial and anti-viral action. These properties of turmeric aid in treatment of bacterial and viral infections such as cough and cold. The anti-inflammatory action of curcumin aids in relieving the chest congestion that develops in people suffering with chronic cough. Use of volatile oil extracted from turmeric for cough is also very promising in relieving cough by getting rid of phlegm. 

Using turmeric for cough

• Cough associated with running nose can be relieved by drinking hot water mixed with turmeric.
• Smoke emitting from burnt turmeric serves as a strong expectorant.
• Chronic cold and cough can be relieved by keeping a small piece of turmeric in mouth all-night.
• Roast the turmeric root and ground it in to powder. Take about 1-2 gm of this roasted turmeric powder along with honey thrice a day to obtain relief from dry persistent cough.
• Mix 1-2 tsp of pure curcumin powder in warm milk, mix thoroughly. Using this concoction twice a day offers relief from cough in just two days. This remedy works better for cough caused by bacteria.
• Add pure turmeric powder to boiling water and inhale the vapors. This relieves cough as well as sinus congestion. Covering you with blanket while inhaling vapors aids in easy inhalation of the vapors. 

Turmeric for chronic cough

If cough problems are not treated for a long time, they become chronic. Chronic cough is a difficult situation for the patient as there is no relief from the coughing, even a sound sleep is not possible in this case. It also leads to tiredness and stressing for the patient.

Turmeric can be useful in treating chronic cough too. Here is how you can prepare a turmeric cough remedy at home:

• Take 1 gm of roasted turmeric powder and keep it within betel leaf and 0.25 gms of Javakhar (Potassii carbons). Keep this in patients mouth and ask him to keep sucking it gradually. This should be done twice a day – one in morning and another after dinner.
• Apart from the above, the patient should be given goat milk along with turmeric. The way to prepare this milk is – add turmeric powder to milk and then boil it. Allow it to cool down and then drink it. Note: turmeric should be added while boiling the milk and not after it.

One very important part of Ayurveda is diet related restrictions based on the disease. In case of chronic cough the patient should avoid oily and spicy food. Also he should not overeat. Foods such as dates, papaya, wheat flour based food, etc. should be take.
Tricks to improve curcumin absorption
Curcumin is not absorbed properly. Curcumin can be made available to the body cells to best utilize its therapeutic benefits by following these techniques.

• Make a microemulsion by blending together a tablespoon of curcumin powder, 1-2 egg yolks and one or two teaspoons of coconut oil.
• Add one tablespoon of curcumin powder to a cup of boiling water and allow it to boil for another ten minutes. This makes a concentrated solution of turmeric. Drink the solution within four hours to obtain all its therapeutic benefits.

Precautions to be followed while using turmeric for cough

• Make sure that turmeric does not fall down as it discolors the surfaces permanently.
• Avoid using curry powder for turmeric as it contains very little amount of turmeric.
• Choose curcumin powder from reputed manufactures to avoid adulterated products. If you have an option of buying raw turmeric do that. It is not tough to make a powder out of it.
• Use organic turmeric if that is available

How to remain away from cough and cold naturally

In my childhood days, I always used to have cough and cold. Not only that there were other issues related to it which really caused lot of trouble to me. Due to blockage of my nose, I used to have sticky water coming out of my eyes and whenever I used to wake up in morning, I had to spend so much of time to just open my eyelashes which use to stick to each other – I used to splash water and use cotton to remove clogging. 
We consulted an Ayurvedic doctor and he suggested that I start taking turmeric and milk daily and continue for about an year. I used to hate turmeric milk but I took it. Today, thanks to that I rarely have cold and related issues. I think what natural remedies do is that they develop immunity in body rather than just killing the bacteria or virus responsible for it. 
Now, I have developed taste for turmeric milk and take it anytime without putting even sugar in the milk. Today, the moment I get cough and cold, the first thing I do is to take turmeric milk!

Who should avoid turmeric ?

Turmeric as a spice is very safe but if you plan to take turmeric supplements be careful. Supplements are not recommended when you are pregnant. hose with gall bladder problems, diabetes or are to undergo surgery must avoid turmeric. Turmeric could slow blood clotting. Hence, those taking blood thinners must be careful.

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             Top 10 Herbs and Spices to Help You Lose Weight

 

 

1. Ginseng

Ginseng is valued for its ability to boost energy levels and speed metabolism. Panax ginseng, in particular, has been linked to weight loss benefits, with one study showing obese, diabetic mice given panax ginseng extracts not only had improvements in insulin sensitivity, but also lost a significant amount of weight after 12 days.

2. Cayenne Pepper

Capsaicin, the compound that gives peppers their heat, may help fight obesity by decreasing calorie intake, shrinking fat tissue, and lowering blood fat levels, as well as fight fat buildup by triggering beneficial protein changes in your body.
Part of the benefit may be due to capsaicin's heat potential, as it is a thermogenic substance that may temporarily increase thermogenesis in your body, where your body burns fuel such as fat to create heat, with beneficial impacts on metabolism and fat storage. Research suggests that consuming thermogenic ingredients may boost your metabolism by up to 5 percent, and increase fat burning by up to 16 percent. It may even help counteract the decrease in metabolic rate that often occurs during weight loss.

3. Cinnamon

This spice may help to boost your metabolism, and it also has impressive benefits for blood sugar regulation, making it an ideal seasoning for people with diabetes or pre-diabetes. Cinnamon has been found to significantly reduce blood sugar levels, triglycerides, LDL (bad) cholesterol, and total cholesterol levels in people with type 2 diabetes, as well as increase glucose metabolism by about 20 times, which would significantly improve your ability to regulate blood sugar.

4. Black Pepper

Black pepper contains a substance called piperine, which not only gives it its pungent flavor, but also blocks the formation of new fat cells.When combined with capsaicin and other substances, black pepper was also found to burn as many calories as taking a 20-minute walk. As an aside, black pepper also increases the bioavailability of just about all other foods -- herbs and other compounds – making it a healthy choice for virtually any meal.

5. Dandelions

Every part of the dandelion is edible and full of nutrition. And because they help slow your digestion, they can make you feel full longer, helping you maintain a healthy weight. Dandelions have antioxidant properties and contain bitter crystalline compounds called Taraxacin and Taracerin, along with inulin and levulin, compounds thought to explain some of its therapeutic properties. Along with being full of dietary fiber, dandelions also contain beta carotene, vitamin K1, vitamins and minerals, and are known for being beneficial for normalizing blood sugar and cholesterol, as well as cleansing your liver.

6. Mustard

The mustard plant is actually in the cruciferous family of vegetables (along with broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts, for instance). Mustard seeds have been shown to boost metabolic rate by 25 percent, which means you'll burn calories more efficiently. In fact, just 3/5 teaspoon of mustard seeds daily may help you burn an extra 45 calories an hour.

7. Turmeric

If you're a fan of curry, you're probably also a fan of turmeric, as this is the yellow-orange spice that makes the foundation of many curry dishes. Curcumin, one of turmeric's most thoroughly studied active ingredients, reduces the formation of fat tissue by suppressing the blood vessels needed to form it, and therefore may contribute to lower body fat and body weight gain.
Curcumin may also be useful for the treatment and prevention of obesity-related chronic diseases, as the interactions of curcumin with several key signal transduction pathways in the body result in improvements in insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and other inflammatory symptoms associated with obesity and metabolic disorders^.

8. Ginger

Ginger is another warming spice that has anti-inflammatory properties and is known to help soothe and relax your intestinal tract. Research also suggests that ginger may have thermogenic properties that help boost your metabolism, as well as have an appetite-suppressant effect when consumed, suggesting a "potential role of ginger in weight management."

9. Cardamom

Cardamom, an aromatic spice with a spicy-sweet flavor, is another thermogenic herb that helps boost your metabolism and may boost your body's ability to burn fat. Cardamom is a popular herb used in Ayurveda, an ancient holistic system of medicine and natural healing from India.

10. Cumin

Cumin is useful for digestion and energy production, and may improve glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes. The spice has a long history of medicinal use, and has also been found to enhance memory and provide potent anti-stress benefits.

What Else are Spices Good For?

Far more than you might imagine …Herbs and spices are actually some of the most potent antioxidants in your food supply; in many instances surpassing other more well-known sources of antioxidants. For example, spices such as cloves and cinnamon have phenol levels that are 30 percent and 18 percent of dry weight, respectively. Compare that to blueberries, which are widely touted for their antioxidant capabilities; they contain roughly 5 percent phenol by dry weight...
Another example is oregano, which has 42 times more antioxidant activity than apples, 30 times more than potatoes, 12 times more than oranges, and four times more than blueberries! One tablespoon of fresh oregano contains the same antioxidant activity as one medium-sized apple.
While each spice has a unique set of health benefits to offer, one study, published in the Journal of Medicinal Foods, found a direct correlation between the antioxidant phenol content and the spice's ability to inhibit glycation and the formation of toxic advanced glycation end products, making them potent preventers of heart disease and premature aging. According to this study, the top 10 most potent herbs and spices are:

1.  Cloves (ground)	2.   Cinnamon (ground)
3.  Jamaican allspice (ground)	4.   Apple pie spice (mixture)
5.  Oregano (ground)	6.   Pumpkin pie spice (mixture)
7.  Marjoram	8.   Sage
9.  Thyme	10. Gourmet Italian spice

Rounding Out Your Comprehensive Weight Loss Plan

Always remember to buy certified organic spices, as most conventional ones are irradiated, resulting in the formation of harmful radiolytic byproducts, including formaldehyde. For most people, simply adding spices to your meals will not be enough to trigger significant weight loss, although this will certainly support and help you achieve your weight loss goals. If you are serious about losing weight, you'll need a more comprehensive plan that includes:

• Eliminating or strictly limiting fructose in your diet, and following the healthy eating program in my comprehensive nutrition plan. You can also use intermittent fasting strategically with this program to greatly boost your body's fat-burning potential.
• Engaging in high-intensity Peak Fitness exercise to burn fat and increase muscle mass (a natural fat burner).
• Addressing the emotional component of eating. For this I highly recommend the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), which helps eliminate your food cravings naturally.