Star Anise: A Great Digestive Aid for the Holidays
Digestive infusions can be a great help in reducing abdominal bloating and aiding digestion, but perhaps chamomile or boldo isn't what you feel like drinking. That's why having a pleasant-tasting spice that helps with digestion and prevents uncomfortable gas in these situations can be a great advantage. We're talking about star anise, a star-shaped fruit with a very sweet flavor, which is usually used to sweeten infusions and because it's very decorative, but that's underestimating it. Star anise, native to China and Vietnam, also provides medicinal benefits, such as being a natural digestive and anti-infective remedy.
STAR ANISE, A GREAT DIGESTIVE AID FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Star anise helps improve digestion and eliminate gas. Therefore, it is indicated as general relief in cases of indigestion, gastrointestinal spasms, gastroenteritis, and diarrhea. Like green anise and fennel, it is a very effective natural remedy for combating gas accumulation and flatulence. In fact, in the digestive infusion we propose in this article, it is combined with these two plants, as together they have a wonderful flavor.
IMPROVES BREATH AND BAD TASTE IN THE MOUTH
Star anise contains an essential oil, which makes up to 95% of its dry weight and contains anethole, linalool, estragole, cineole, and limonene, among other volatile substances. This essential oil also makes it very useful for combating bad breath, bad taste in the mouth, and even nausea. These properties can be very helpful after copious meals, when breath often suffers.
HAS A MILD DETOXIFYING EFFECT
In Chinese medicinal practice, star anise is known as Ba Jiao Hui Xian, and that's why in phytotherapy it is also called "Chinese badian." As a digestive and antimicrobial plant, Chinese medicine uses this spice for its detoxifying effect to treat arthritic and arthritic pains, as well as gout attacks. It is a natural remedy for weight loss, as it is considered to promote the loss of fluids and toxins through urine.
AT NIGHT, IT WILL HELP YOU SLEEP BETTER
If you take it at night, combined with relaxing and antispasmodic plants, star anise can also be useful to promote sleep.
STAR ANISE INFUSION TO IMPROVE DIGESTION
Although in herbal shops and health food stores you can find star anise in powder, capsules, and in the form of liquid extract and tincture, among other presentations, the most common when you want to use star anise in infusions is to use its decorative dried fruit. It is normally used to improve the flavor of infusions with a bitter or insipid taste. Many liver infusions have a bitter taste, as the bitter compounds contained in some plants are especially beneficial for liver health, so it will be very useful to have star anise in the pantry as a regular resource when you prepare infusions.
Ingredients:
- Star anise
- Cumin
- Dill
- Fennel
- Green anise
- Marshmallow
Preparation:
- Mix these plants in equal parts. You can ask your trusted herbal shop to make the mixture for you, for example with 20 grams of each plant, or buy them separately and make the mixture yourself.
- Mix the plants well in equal parts and separate 5 g of the mixture per cup of water.
- Boil them for 2-3 minutes and let them rest, covering the container where you have put them to infuse, for another 10 minutes.
- Strain and drink after eating. Up to three glasses of this infusion can be taken per day after meals.
PRECAUTIONS WHEN TAKING STAR ANISE
- Contraindicated in pregnancy and lactation.
- It is also important to avoid overdosing with star anise.
- Star anise should not be taken if you are undergoing treatments with antibacterial medication for the digestive tract.
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