Fennel

This nutrient rich vegetable with a mild licorice taste is one of my favourites. Fennel can be eaten in a variety of ways; raw in salads, in soups or stews, sautéed with other vegetables, mixed with mashed potatoes, cooked with fish; and its seeds can be chewed or made into tea.

Fennel offers many benefits:
- Antioxidant; scavenges free radicals; rich in vit C, manganese, flavonoids such as quercetin, and phenolic acids
- Anti inflammatory; rich in phytonutrients such as monoterpenes which block pro-inflammatory molecules
- Digestive benefit; rich in fibre; helps with indigestion (dyspepsia), bloating and constipation
- Anti bacterial / anti fungal properties

In Chinese Medicine, fennel seeds are seen as warming, therefore helping with signs of coldness such as watery stools and feeling chills. However, in Ayurvedic the seeds are seen as cooling and calming. In general the seeds offer the following health benefits:
- Reduce water retention; works as diuretic (especially in tea form)
- Improves eyesight; rich in vit A; improves glaucoma symptoms (extracts of seeds)
- improves upset tummies; and improves digestion of legumes and grains when combined in cooking

Fresh fennel, wrapped, can be kept in the fridge for about a week and dried seeds for about 6 months. For me they are yummy, I enjoy them in all variety of ways; I even love the tea made with its feathery bits (called fronds). See how you like your fennel and see if the seeds are warming or cooling for you; but try to enjoy them most days.

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