Herb

What are the health benefits of Star Anise ?

Star Anise is a spice whose Scientific name is Illicium Verum and commonly known as Star aniseed or even Chinese Star anise. It is an atypical fruit of a tiny oriental tree. As the name suggests, it has a star like structure and closely resemble Anise in flavour.
It is native to China, Persia and in Northern India; it is famous as Badian Khatai. Nowadays, it is being used in West as a substitute to anise in baking and liquor manufacturing, mostly distinctively in the manufacturing of liquor Galliano. It is also used in production of Sambuca, Pastis, and many types of Absinthe. It is broadly used in Chinese, Indian, Indonesian and Malaysian cuisines. It is also found in southern part of New South Wales.

Cookery Uses: It adds flavour to dishes because it contains Anethole due to which it tastes like Licorice. In India, this spice is mostly used in the preparation of meat and biryani. Here, it is a major constituent of garam masala and masala chai. Apart from its usage in sweetmeats and confectionary, where sweeteners must be needed, it combines well with pork and duck. In Chinese cuisines, it is nearly always added to beef and chicken dishes. It enhances flavour of marbled eggs and even snacks. In the West, it is supplemented in fruit compotes and jams. It is the ingredient of famous mixture called as “Chinese Five Spices”.

Medicinal Uses: According to traditional Chinese Medication, Star Anise is used to help on relieving cold-stagnation especially when consumed as a hot moving herb. As a fact, the reason behind consuming it in tea is that it is a sure shot remedy of rheumatism and the seeds help in digestion whenever chewed after meals. According to modern pharmacological studies, its crude extracts and active compounds acquire a wide variety of pharmacological benefits, particularly in antimicrobial, antioxidant, insecticidal, analgesic, sedative and convulsive activities. It is enriched with Shikimic Acid which is a primary source to create anti-influenza drug Tamilfu.
Like Anise, it also possesses carminative, stomachic, stimulant, and diuretic properties. In fact, in the East, it is used to combat Colic and add flavours to pastilles. It promotes health of the female reproductive organs and for lactating mothers to increase breast milk secretion.

Star Anise Oil: Star Anise Oil is produced from crushed anise seeds by stem distillation which is valuable in perfumes, soaps, and also has been used in toothpastes, mouth washes and skin creams. It is beneficial in providing relief from back pain and also used in perfumes and as a breath freshener too. Anise oil works as an expectorant in the treatment of Asthma, Bronchitis, and Dry Cough as it has some anti-bacterial and anti fungal properties. It is said to be having sedative properties that ensures good sleep. Ointment and soaps containing oil can help as a natural remedy for oily skin, mild acne and as a natural treatment for lice infestations.

Star Anise Seeds: The seeds are a good source of many essential B-complex vitamins such as pyridoxine, niacin, riboflavin, and thaimin. These vitamins helps in increasing GABA neuro-chemical levels in brain. The spicy seeds are also rich in minerals like calcium, iron, copper, potassium, manganese, zinc and magnesium. The Spice also contains Anti-Oxidant vitamins like Vitamin C and Vitamin A.

Nutritional Value and Precautions: It gives energy of 359Kcal, proteins of 4.1grams, and carbohydrates of 72.7grams and 5.7grams of Fat. To keep its nutritional properties alive, it should be stored in air tight containers in a dark cool place. Such storage conditions ensure its magic to sustain for several months.

| More

If you found this post informative, why not sign up to receive new posts ?
It's simple, and free, and you can even opt to receive by email:
Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe to Good Health Tips by Email

Health Benefits of Lemongrass, a herb

Lemongrass is herb that is scientifically known as Cymbopogon and has fever grass, silky heads, and barbed wire grass amongst many others as common names. It requires warm, temperate and tropical environment to grow. It is commercially available in dried form and freshly prepared in nurseries.

Origin: Lemongrass is native to India, the nearby island of Sri Lanka and Philippines and widely used in Asian cuisine because of its subtle citrus flavour which can be dried and powdered or can be used freshly. These sweet-smelling grasses are expansively ploughed in Guatemala, India, The People’s Republic of China, Paraguay, England, Sri Lanka, and other parts of Indo-China region, Africa, Central America and South America.

Looks like: It is an easily recognizable tall leafy evergreen plant having large stripped leaves with jagged edge. It is known for its sweet, herbaceous, smoky and lemony fragrance. The lemon scented herb contains anti-inflammatory and sedative properties and is also used as a natural mosquito repellent. Its digestive behaviour nourishes appetite.

Usage: Lemongrass Tea is often used as tea in African Countries such as Togo and Latin American countries such as Mexico. Extracted Lemongrass Oil is largely used as an essence in perfumes and cosmetics such as soaps and creams as a mask for bad odours. According to a research, it has found out that it has anti-fungal properties.

Lemongrass Recipes: The Scented Grass is also known for its versatile use in the kitchen whether it is being used in beverages, soups, teas, herbal medicines and any other dish. It mixes up well with coconut milk, adds flavour to chicken or seafood and there are uncountable Thai and Sri Lankan cuisines using their mixture. The Interesting point is that lemongrass’s stem is also used in teas, pickles and enhancing aroma of marinades. We can cook variety of dishes using it, let’s say, Lemongrass Skewed Shrimp, Mussels in Lemongrass Broth, Taro infused with lemongrass and ginger and many more.

A Medicine: Apart from being utilized as a scented spice, lemongrass oil also contain many medicinal properties. It is broadly used in many pharmaceutical experiments for its analgesic (pain relieving), anti-depressant, anti-microbial, anti-pyretic, anti septic, astringent, bacterial and carminative properties.
Lemongrass is used as a diuretic agent for fever and as an insect repellent. It is cooked with pepper and the mixture is used for relief of menstrual issues and nausea. Various Ayurvedic Doctors and Herbologists prescribe its oil as an ailment for headaches, toothaches etc. Being enriched with Vitamin C, It improves our digestion and blood circulation system too. It has been proven proficient in coping up with excessive fats, acne, and pimples. And because of its excellent anti septic and deodorising agent, various pedicure creams include it as an ingredient for foot baths and foot talc for smelly, sweaty feet and even for fungal infections of the foot.
The thickening of arteries with low level lipoprotein is called ‘bad cholesterol’ and is very harmful for the body. But the anti oxidant in lemon grass is beneficial for high blood pressure, lowers the cholesterol level, cleanses our body organs like kidney, pancreas, liver, bladder etc. This is the reason that Doctors also recommend their patients to drink tea made with lemongrass and honey everyday for best healthy results.
A component called Citral in Lemongrass can be used in treating Cancer and it has been proved as it can activate cell death program of cancer cells. Overall, Adding lemongrass in your daily diet will not only be healthy but also enhances the taste of the food.

Precautions: Sometimes, it is likely to irritate skin and produce other types of irritations too. So it is advisable to avoid its application during pregnancy period. It is also advisable to make use of fresh lemon grass. Therefore, the best way to make it easily available is to plant it in your own garden and make beneficial use whenever required.