Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Anyone here regularly chew fennel seeds after meals to aid with digestion (e.g. reducing gas and bloating)? Googling the topic turns up some websites that encourage doing this, bu the sites are not what I would normally consider to be something reliable. No offense to healthandyoga.com intended.

edited Mar 7 2011 at 21:07

sean
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asked Mar 7 2011 at 17:12

Tom R.
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	i cant stand the taste of fennel, so i never seek it out. if im in an indian restaurant and they bring it to the table with the check, i chow down. it does help, for sure. n=1. – being Mar 7 2011 at 17:37
	both fennel and ginger is notoriously good for digestion. – Lindsay Mar 7 2011 at 18:57
	So is parsley, and it gives you good breath! – Wendy May 22 2011 at 1:01

Thumper · Answer 1 · 2011-03-07 18:30:30Z UTC

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It is a main ingredient in gripe water for babies. Gripe water is used to aid in digestion and help reflux and gas. So it stands to reason that it might work. I would say give it a try - if it works for you then great - if not no harm no foul!

answered Mar 7 2011 at 18:30

Thumper
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	Hi Bree. This is a little off topic from the main question, but I just found out that the gripe water we give our two month old has fructose and sucrose in it. From best I can tell, it means she may be getting up to 3g of sugars per day. I can't believe this, I had no intention of exposing her to processed sugar so soon, but my wife needs me to come up with an alternative that will work as well if I'm worried about the sugar. What do you think about the sugar content of something being given to such a young infant? Doesn't sound right to me, couldn't this influence future cravings? – JoeBranca at paleoplusone.com Apr 8 2011 at 6:59
	Correction, I mean she could be getting up to 3g of processed sugars per day, which completely blind sided me. -1 to dad for not checking labels. – JoeBranca at paleoplusone.com Apr 8 2011 at 7:00
	Is the gripe water working? That is a load of sugar for a baby - gosh darn companies putting crap in stuff! Here's a brand that has no added ickies :coliccalm.com/gripe-water.htm – Thumper Apr 8 2011 at 15:03
	I wouldn't worry too much about the sugar - just stop with the high sugar gripe water and get one without. – Thumper Apr 8 2011 at 15:04
	it is working, which is why she is getting it so often. colic calm sounds good, thanks for the tip! – JoeBranca at paleoplusone.com Apr 8 2011 at 23:02

lalabomba · Answer 2 · 2011-03-07 18:35:41Z UTC

I see no problem in it, then again I am an advocate for herbal healing. I usually make a tea out of fennel that I've ground in my mortar and pestle, that way I can mask the funky taste with honey or another tea like ginger. fennel is an acquired taste thats for sure.

Shari Bambino · Answer 3 · 2011-03-07 18:44:04Z UTC

I tried this recently and it did not seem to help but my issues are caused by IBS so using fennel for more ordinary issues may work well. I noticed a capsule supplement at Whole Foods that was simply crushed fennel and they marketed it for gas relief (good if you don't like the taste of fennel I suppose.) I think it's certainly worth a try. No harm, no foul.

sean · Answer 4 · 2011-03-07 20:40:45Z UTC

In Indian and Pakistani cultures it is common to chew fennel, anise and other seeds after a meal. It acts as a digestive aid and mouth freshener.

I have a bag of Mukhwas "Mouth Freshener". It definitely works for breath, but not sure how it affects my stomach and I'm iffy about the PUFA of those seeds. I prefer to spit them out, but that doesn't work well in social situations.

Cardamom works quite well. Just need one at a time. Easier to carry with since they are pre-packaged.

Some time ago I saw a TV show that experimented with a few common "breath fresheners". I will try to find it, but do remember that the winner was brushing teeth closely followed by fennel and then gum.

I live in London near Southall so finding Mukhwas and any Indian/Pakistani product is easy. Not sure how easily you will find the stuff in the rest of the world.

Jack Mac · Answer 5 · 2011-03-07 23:50:34Z UTC

I've definitely had some success with fennel seeds as a post-meal digestive aid, but I cut them out in May 2010 when I went Paleo and stopped eating all nuts & seeds [per Robb Wolf's autoimmune / gut irritation protocol]. I'd be interested to know if Fennel seeds are considered a potential gut irritant.

Chewing Fennel Seeds

5 Answers