The ancient Greek word for fennel is "marathon", based on the Greek victory over the Persians in 470 BC at Marathon, a battle that was fought in a field of fennel. Fennel is mentioned as early as 3500 years ago in the Ebers Papyrus, an ancient Egyptian medical manuscript for the treatment of flatulence. Today, many people are growing fennel in their gardens, finding it a versatile plant, and it is even used in the United Kingdom as a decorative flower, even though in the United States and Australia is it considered to be just another weed. Part of this is due to its aggressive, invasive way of growing which can overwhelm native plants and flowers.

Fennel seed tea is rich in antioxidants, nutrients and contains phytoestrogens. These compounds belong to a large group known as flavanoids. Known as "dietary estrogens", these components in fennel come from a diverse group of naturally occurring non steroidal plant compounds. These compounds have structural similarity to estradiol. Estrogen is the hormone necessary for ovulation and is important to bone and heart health in women.

Fennel and fennel seeds help aid the digestion process when eaten on a regular basis, therefore, if eaten in moderate amounts, helps to keep your stomach easy and your bowels regular. Everyone is different on the amount of fennel their systems will tolerate, without overloading their bowels; one way or the other, you should eat in small amounts, increasing a little at a time to find the amount you can tolerate, when using as a supplement especially.Fennel seeds have a strong, licorice-like flavor and are used throughout the Mediterranean and India to season foods. They are used in a variety of dishes including rice, pasta, grilled meat and sausage.

Fennel oil is obtained from the ripe or dried seeds of either sweet or bitter fennel. The composition of the oil varies slightly, depending on the source. Fennel oil extracted from bitter fennel is made up primarily of 50% to 75% trans anetholes, 12% to 33% fenchone, and 2% to 5% estragole. Fennel oil extracted from sweet fennel is made up of 80% to 90% trans-anetholes, 1 % to 10% fenchone, and 3% to 10% estragole. Fennel has been used to treat digestive ailments since the time of the ancient Egyptians. The presence of terpenoid anethole in fennel is given credit for its ability to calm the gastrointestinal tract and relieve cramps. Often it is mixed with peppermint, caraway, and wormwood to treat indigestion, heartburn, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

Fennel only takes around 80 days to grow into full size and after 20 more days the seeds will start to appear. If you are to plant the herb fennel mainly for detoxification purposes, plant bitter fennel. To be able to use the herb in culinary and medicinal applications, you can plant sweet fennel. Fennel is carminative in that it helps prevent gas formation in the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, fennel seed tea is used as an aid for digestion. It has the effect of relaxing the intestines and reducing bloating. One can eat fennel seeds with beans, cabbage and other vegetables to aid their digestion. Fennel is a mild diuretic and lymphatic decongestant, helping to rid the body of stagnant fluids and fats. It may be used for water retention, cellulite and obesity both as an essential oil and herbal tea. Since fennel contains phyto-estrogens, it is useful with PMS, and menopause. It is often used in breast creams for tightening and enlarging. Fennel is a phytoestrogen, which means that it stimulates estrogen production in the body. When estrogen is stimulated, breast tissue growth is encouraged. This makes fennel a valuable ingredient in herbal breast enlargement products.

The only known side effect of fennel being ingested is with nursing mothers. It is believed it will help increase the flow of milk when nursing. It has been used in this way since the days of Hippocrates and Dioscorides. They recommended that nursing mothers chew on the seeds as you would celery to keep the flow of milk progressing as the baby required more milk.


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