All-Natural Foods for Improving Your Health: Fennel Ideal Vegetable for Dieters

All-Natural Foods for Improving Your Health: Fennel Ideal Vegetable for Dieters: A member of the parsley plant family, fennel looks like celery but possesses its own distinct flavor and nutritional qualities. Fennel ha...

Fennel Ideal Vegetable for Dieters

A member of the parsley plant family, fennel looks like celery but possesses its own distinct flavor and nutritional qualities. Fennel has been cultivated for centuries as an ornamental vegetable. Its close relative, wild fennel, is used as an herb.

Fennel was popular with the Greeks and Romans whose soldiers ate it to maintain good health – while the ladies used it to ward off obesity. In medieval times seeds were eaten during Lent to alleviate hunger, and dieters still chew raw stalks to suppress their appetite.

The first records of cultivation in England date from the early 18^th century where the Earl of Peterborough cultivated and ate it as a dessert. In 1824 Thomas Jefferson received seeds from the American consul in Livorno and sowed them in his garden. Jefferson is said to have remarked about fennel, “Fennel is beyond every other vegetable…delicious, perfectly white. No vegetable equals it in flavor.”

Low in calories fennel is a good source of potassium and fiber. Its leaves contain small amount of vitamin C and beta carotene.

Fennel eases flatulence, colic, urinary disorders and constipation. Recent research indicates that fennel reduces the effects of alcohol. Chew raw fennel to sweeten breath or infuse fennel as a mouthwash or gargle for gum disease and sore throats and to alleviate hunger and ease indigestion.

Celery Root Good Addition to Diet When Available

A member of the parsley family, celeriac (celery root) is a swollen stem relative of celery that has long been popular in Europe. Celeriac was introduced in Britain in the early 18^th century by writer and seedsman Stephen Switzer who brought the seed from Alexandria and wrote about in his book “Growing Foreign Kitchen Vegetables”.

The celery root is versatile, hardier and more disease-resistant than celery but with more flavor and aroma. It is often grated into salads or boiled and pureed to add body and flavor to soups and stews.

Low in calories celery root is rich in calcium, potassium and has small amounts of vitamin C. Celeriac is known to have a calming effect and is a traditional remedy for skin complaints and rheumatism. It is also said to restore sexual potency after illness.

The only drawback of celery root is that it is not always readily available in supermarkets and produce stores.