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Fenugreek is a widely used herbal plant in South Asia, the Mediterranean, parts of Europe, United States and China both for its medicinal and culinary uses. This annual herbaceous plant thrives in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Bangladesh and most especially, India. It is commonly used as traditional herbal medicine, food, condiment and dye. There are very few known side effects of fenugreek, which is why consuming this herb is encouraged with few warnings.
Also referred to as methi, Greek hay or fenigreek, fenugreek is an erect herb that can grow up to about 2 feet tall. It has white flowers that grow in summer and turn into long slender green pods, which turn to brown when mature and with at least 20 tiny yellow to amber colored seeds. The seeds or methi are cuboid in shape, 3 to 5 mm long and 2 to 3 mm thick. Methi contains protein, vitamin C, potassium, niacin, and diosgenin. Diosgenin is a compound that is similar to the female hormone, estrogen, which is why the herb is known to enlarge the breast in size and increase libido. Fenugreek also contains alkaloids, lysine, saponins and L-tryptophan.
While it is used to lower cholesterol and blood sugar and cure skin inflammation, heartburn acid reflux, and fever, it is more widely accepted to detoxify the kidney and intestines and used to help lactating mothers produce breast milk.
Taken as tea or food supplement capsule, fenugreek is known to increase breast milk production by 500 to 900 percent after only 24 hours of taking the herb. Although the scientific community is still not sure how fenugreek is doing this, lactating women who have little supply of milk are recommended to take fenugreek seed capsules, at least 500 milligrams, 3 times a day.
Other supposed benefits of this herb include healing of gastric inflammation, digestive disorders, tuberculosis, painful menstruation, and skin diseases, and it may be taken to aid weight loss and, ironically, also fight anorexia.
In India, it is believed to heal digestive problems, bronchial diseases, gout, and arthritis, and may be used as aphrodisiac. In China, traditional medicine men still use it to treat kidney problems, backaches, hernia, painful menstruation, painful testicles and edema of the legs.
Besides its medicinal and therapeutic uses, fenugreek has been used and enjoyed as food for centuries. It is a popular ingredient for curry powder, pickles and pastes, which are widely loved in the Indian subcontinent. It is also boiled as tea and coffee, while its fresh leaves and sprouts are used as greens and flavoring. The dried leaves have a strong bitter taste and smell, which is why they are used only sparingly. In the West, fenugreek is used as artificial maple flavoring.
Compared to its many uses and benefits, the known side effects of fenugreek are minimal, which include diarrhea and nausea when taken in excess. A hundred grams of fenugreek a day is enough. And since fenugreek induces labor, pregnant women should not take this to avoid premature labor. People with asthma, allergies or diabetes should also avoid taking too much fenugreek. At any rate, people should first consult a physician before taking herbal supplements.
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