Dill is a wonderful plant widely used as a spice in cooking. Discover its properties, contraindications and some useful natural remedies to enjoy its benefits.
The Dill is an aromatic plant known since ancient times that lead us to the times of the Greeks, Egyptians and Romans and its origin is in the eastern region of the Mediterranean and Asia Minor.
The scientific name of the Dill is “Anethum Graveolens” and it belongs to the “Umbelliferae” family, Umbelliferae. Today dill is cultivated in many countries and also grows wild.
It is an annual plant, which can grow up to a meter in height, and blooms in summer. When it comes to collecting the seeds, we must do it when they are ripe, we will be able to appreciate it in its color, which should be brown.
Dill is an aromatic plant, with an aniseed smell and a slight lemon scent, and in addition to its use for its medicinal properties, Dill is also used in cooking to flavor fish and seafood recipes, to marinate salmon, in salads, sauces.
When using Dill it is better to do it in its fresh version to better appreciate both its flavor and aroma. If we cannot get it fresh, we will also find it in the market as dry herb.
Most important benefits of dill
The parts that are used of this plant are the leaves, fruits and seeds. On the other hand, from a nutritional point of view it is rich in fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins (A, C, vitamins of group B, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12), minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron, sodium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, selenium, manganese) and fatty acids.
On the other hand, we can mention that dill is antispasmodic, carminative, diuretic, and aromatic, galactagogue, antiseptic and antiemetic. In addition, among its active principles we find essential oil, lemon tree and carvonene.
With regard to its medicinal benefits, dill is ideal for combating flatulence, calming colic associated with gas, promoting digestion, increasing the secretion of breast milk in the case of lactating mothers, calming pain associated with menstruation, eliminate fluid retention and combat halitosis.
The Dill can be obtained in the market, supermarkets, also in herbalists, natural product stores, online. And we can get it in the form of a fresh and dry plant, seeds, essential oil and liquid extract.
How to prepare natural remedies with Dill
Dill infusion to relieve gas colic
This infusion is effective both to relieve gas cramps once they appear and to avoid them if we take it before eating.
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons of dill seeds.
- A cup of mineral water.
Preparation:
Lightly crush the dill seeds. In a saucepan we put the water to heat. Once it starts to boil, we add the Dill seeds.
We turn off the heat, cover the infusion and let it rest for 10 or 15 minutes. Strain the infusion and drink it warm.
From this infusion we can take a cup before meals to prevent the appearance of gas or a cup after meals if we have flatulence or colic.
Dill seed infusion to promote digestion
To prepare this infusion we will need the seeds of the Dill.
Ingredients:
- A cup of mineral water.
- Two teaspoons of dill seeds.
Preparation:
We will crush the Dill seeds. We put the water in a saucepan to boil. When it starts to boil we add the seeds. We remove from the fire.
We cover the infusion and let it rest for 10 minutes. We uncover the infusion, strain it and when it is warm we can take it.
If the infusion with a sweet touch is preferred, we will sweeten it as we like it. We can take a cup of this infusion after meals.
Dill seeds to combat halitosis
One of the benefits of Dill is that it is also good for us in case of halitosis, to prepare this home remedy we need to resort to Dill seeds.
Once we have the Dill seeds we take a few and chew them. This remedy is also effective when we have eaten some very spicy food and we do not want bad breath to appear.
Contraindications of Dill
Dill does not present contraindications since it is not a toxic plant, and as we mentioned at the beginning of this post, it is a medicinal plant that is not only used to prepare home remedies, but also as a healthy ingredient in the kitchen.
The cases in which its use is not recommended are the following:
- In case of being pregnant.
- In case of gastritis.
- In children.
Although one of the benefits attributed to Dill is to increase the secretion of breast milk, nursing mothers who are breastfeeding should consult with their doctor before consuming this medicinal plant.
