Fennel, botanically known as Foeniculum vulgare and also called sweet fennel, has been employed for thousands as years for both culinary and medicinal use. World's Healthiest Foods notes the ancient Greeks and Romans prized this feathery, aromatic herb both for its flavor and its healing abilities. Fennel tea is a good source of many essentials vitamins and minerals. Drugs.com cautions that you should talk to your doctor before drinking fennel tea if you have a seizure disorder or if you are pregnant or may become pregnant.
Indigestion and Colic
Herbalists and naturopaths often recommend fennel tea to relieve indigestion, bloating, stomach cramps and gas. The University of Maryland Medical Center endorses fennel tea as a digestive aid, say fennel has antispasmodic and carminative--gas-reducing--properties. UMMC adds that the tea may help relieve colic in infants, but advises consulting a pediatrician before using it. In a clinical study conducted by Alexandrovich and colleagues and published in the July, 2003 issue of Alternative Therapies, researchers found that oil from fennel seeds worked better than a placebo in reducing colic symptoms in infants.
Use in Respiratory Tract Infections
Fennel tea, which has expectorant and antimicrobial qualities, has traditionally been used in herbal medicine to treat coughs, colds and upper respiratory tract infections. Natural Healing Guide says fennel tea is often used for alleviating symptoms of whooping cough, asthma, and bronchitis, and recommends using it as a gargle for sore throats. For anything other than minor respiratory infections, however, consult your doctor.
Menstrual Cramps
Fennel tea is a traditional remedy for menstrual cramps, and there is some scientific research supporting this use. In a clinical study conducted by Khorshidi and colleagues and published in the May 2003 issue of "Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research," fennel essential oil worked as well as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in relieving menstrual cramping; researchers noted that a substance called anethole is probably responsible for fennel's pain-relieving and antispasmodic effects.
Vitamins and Minerals in Fennel Tea
Fennel tea contains substantial amounts of certain antioxidant vitamins and minerals. According to World's Healthiest Foods, raw fennel contains 10.44 mg of vitamin C per cup, as well as being a very good source of potassium, manganese, folate, iron, copper and niacin.
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