Be careful of fennel seeds during pregnancy - fennel seeds are used to bring on periods.
'Fennel Seed (Foeniculum vulgare)
Since the days of Hippocrates, fennel seed, or the fruit has been used not only as a tasty culinary herb but also to help ease flatulence, colic and indigestion, to help increase breast milk, as an anti-spasmodic, anti-inflammatory and to help dissolve mucous in the upper respiratory tract in children.
According to the American Botanical Council's Complete German Commission E Monographs, in Germany, fennel seed is licensed as a standard medicinal tea for dyspepsia. It is also used in cough syrups (antitussives and expectorants), and stomach and bowel remedies, especially in pediatrics. It is often used in combination with anise seed...as a component of galactagogue preparations.
Because fennel seeds are emmenagogues and promote menstruation, fennel seeds are not recommended during pregnancy in greater than culinary amounts. No restrictions are known during lactation.
So, these little beauties are beneficial for indigestion, gas and coughs; as a helpful aid to laboring women and to enrich and increase the flow of breast milk. Not bad for a small little licorice-flavored seed'
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