{"id":18275,"date":"2019-11-27T00:08:12","date_gmt":"2019-11-26T18:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/functionalnutritionlab.com\/blog\/?p=1375"},"modified":"2025-08-28T14:52:55","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T14:52:55","slug":"fennel-seeds-to-calm-digestive-disturbances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fxnutrition.com\/blog\/fennel-seeds-to-calm-digestive-disturbances","title":{"rendered":"Fennel, Orange, & Lavender Tea, a Functional Beverage to Calm Digestive Disturbances"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many of us, the holidays bring more food and more family, which can both be a lot to digest!\u00a0 My signature Fennel, Orange, & Lavender Tea is a simple and calming, functional remedy for overstimulation and digestive disturbances over the holidays and beyond. Read on for the recipe.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is fennel?<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0Fennel is an herb, a vegetable, and a spice. It\u2019s a favorite ingredient in Italian, French and Mediterranean recipes, especially for fish dishes, spicy sausages, marinades and dressings. Fennel is in the same family as licorice, giving it that unique salty-sour taste and sweet smell. Like licorice, people either love fennel or they\u2019re just not a fan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While I\u2019ve already shared my love for the vegetable with the feathery fronds on this blog, it\u2019s high time I talk to you about the sweet little seed. <\/span>Regardless of which flavor camp you\u2019re in, read on to learn what fennel can do for you.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Fennel seeds pack a punch as they\u2019re rich in a variety of volatile essential oil compounds including anethole, limonene, anisic aldehyde, pinene, myrcene, fenchone, chavicol, and cineole. And while those might sound like unfamiliar chemicals, I assure you, they\u2019re powerful chemicals of the natural and curative sort. In fact, it\u2019s those oils that make fennel magical as a powerful antioxidant and digestive aid.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fennel as an herbal remedy for digestive disturbances<\/span><\/h2>\n

While some of its close cousins in the vegetable family (like cabbage and cauliflower) might cause bloating and gas, fennel seeds are known as a powerful carminative, an herb that helps dispel or expel trapped gas from your digestive tract.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, fennel has been used throughout Greek, Egyptian, Chinese, and Indian civilizations for its ability to relieve flatulence and other gastrointestinal issues. If you\u2019ve ever been to an Indian restaurant and saw a little bowl of seeds at the counter, that\u2019s fennel. It\u2019s common practice in India to chew the seeds after a meal both to help freshen breath and to stimulate digestion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fennel seeds also help stimulate bile flow, soothe stomach cramps, and relax the colon, all helping to relieve post-meal discomfort. They ensure that your food is indeed digested and absorbed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fennel can even help relieve severe symptoms associated with Crohn\u2019s, colitis, and IBS. As excitingly, clinical research (and good \u2018ol mama wisdom) also shows fennel to be helpful in soothing symptoms for babies with colic. <\/span>Diluted fennel tea is considered safe for infants, but be sure to do a proper <\/span><\/i>assessment<\/span><\/i><\/a> before giving to a little one.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

So it\u2019s no surprise why fennel seed is considered to be one of the best herbal remedies for relieving digestive disturbances. And<\/span> let\u2019s face it, we might all need a little help in that department (especially during the holiday season)!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Other functional benefits of fennel<\/span><\/h3>\n

On a non-digestive note, fennel is known to be a mild diuretic and can help flush excess water and toxins out of the body. It may also have anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce joint and muscle pain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some wise women herbalists say that fennel helps to increase the flow of breast milk, ease the birth process, decrease PMS symptoms, and stoke sex drive! <\/span>Note, there\u2019s not much clinical evidence for these claims yet, but you might want to try some fennel tea as it will do no harm and could very well do your body good. I\u2019ve got just the recipe for you below.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Simple ways to use more fennel over the holidays<\/span><\/h3>\n

Fennel can help us avoid that not-so-celebratory-feeling of being overstuffed and in need of digestive rescue. Let fennel free you up so you can enjoy the true beauty of the holiday season with gratitude, good food, and perhaps best of all, digestive peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some of my other favorite ways to feature fennel in post-holiday meals:<\/span><\/p>\n