Dill leaves benefits – Many herbs and spices we use daily actually have some profound health benefits when we take a deeper look.
One such herb is dill.
A favorite ingredient both in traditionally eastern and western cooking, dill has a fresh, citrus-like aroma and flavor profile, which makes it popular for fish and poultry dishes.
You can get dill as a fresh herb or in a dried variant, aside from its flavor benefits, dill is also known traditionally for its health benefits. It has been used to treat a variety of ailments such as infant colic, halitosis, and digestive issues.
These benefits come from a nutrient profile which includes:
– Calcium
– Folate
– Iron
– Magnesium
– Phosphorous
– Vitamin A
– Vitamin C
In this article, we’re going to take things a step further and reveal some of the science-based facts behind how dill can benefit your health.
But before we do that, let’s take a quick trip to the Life Renu Shop. you can take a look at some of our health-boosting supplements, some of which contain similar health properties to good old dill.
You can check some of our other articles on health-boosting herbs and spices here, allowing you to build your ultimate shopping list.
4 Health Benefits of Dill
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Blood Glucose Management
One of the best benefits of consuming dill is its potential for lowering blood glucose levels. As you may be aware, chronic excess levels of blood glucose are one of the leading contributors to metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. Type 2 diabetes and its run-off effects are one of the leading causes of death in the United States.
Today, over 34 million Americans have type 2 diabetes.
This is largely due to a combination of high sugar, calorically dense foods, a lack of essential nutrients and a sedentary lifestyle. Type two diabetes leads to hypertension, heart disease, obesity, neuropathy, blindness and can even result in the amputation of limbs.
By lowering blood glucose, insulin sensitivity is preserved and many risk factors are limited. Lowering blood glucose also has a functional benefit, allowing you to maintain stable, productive energy levels. Evidence suggests that dill has a significant effect on reducing fasted blood glucose levels.
If you’re looking for a glucose management system that works, take a look at Glucozine, or very own glucose management supplement formulated especially for you and millions of others in need of a healthy blood sugar management system.
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Cardiovascular Health
An addition to the blood glucose management effects of dill, evidence also suggests it has the potential in improving cardiovascular health. As we mentioned, the onset of type 2 diabetes has a significant impact on your heart’s health.
By managing your sugar levels, you are taking away a major risk factor.
Dill extract has been shown to improve levels of HDL (good cholesterol while lowering LDL (bad cholesterol). HDL helps shuttle LDL out of the blood and into the liver where it can serve a more useful purpose.
This has the effect of limiting arterial damage through the accumulation of plaque on the inner walls of the arteries. With enough build-up, this plaque can lead to chronic hypertension and even a stroke.
Having an HDL dominant cholesterol balance also leads to an improved release of nitric oxide.
“But what’s so great about nitric oxide?” you may be wondering. You see, nitric oxide is useful in opening up your blood vessels in a process called vasodilation.
Vasodilation allows your blood vessels to widen resulting in a decrease in overall blood pressure. These heart-healthy qualities are made more possible through the rich antioxidant profile.
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Antioxidant-Rich
Speaking of antioxidants, this is where dill really shines.
As you may know, the fragrance and color of many plants, vegetables, and fruits are indicative of the presence of antioxidants.
This is also the case with dill. The phenolic compounds found in the plant are part of what gives it its distinct flavor. They are also the source of dill’s antioxidant benefits.
The antioxidants help protect cells and tissue from wear and tear, improving their metabolic function as well as lifespan. This is achieved by scavenging for free radicals.
“What are free radicals?” you might be wondering?
Well, free radicals are little unstable molecules that result from metabolic function or environmental exposure. These molecules pose the risk of damaging your cell membranes in a process called oxidative stress.
When this happens, your cells and therefore your tissues degrade at an accelerated rate, leading to signs of aging. The antioxidant profile of dill also helps boost your metabolism. This is great for your general health but is especially great if you’re looking to shed some pounds.
Lastly, as with any antioxidant compound, dills polyphenols help boost your immune system, keeping your healthy and able to ward off infections.
Anti-inflammatory benefits
The antioxidant compounds in dill also have a great anti-inflammatory benefit. They have the potential to decrease chronic inflammation, a problem persists with many people in America due to poor nutrition and a lack of exercise.
While acute inflammation is normal around events like injury trauma or infection, it becomes a problem when it persists. Inflammation is a natural response your body undergoes when things are going wrong.
For instance, at the site of an injury, inflammation will occur, thus sending a signal to your body’s defense system. Your white blood cells are activated and release chemicals that ward off any potential infection while other systems react to minimize the effects of the damage and maximize healing.
So inflammation is a useful tool. But sometimes, things malfunction, and this is where chronic inflammation occurs.
When your immune system senses trouble or an imbalance, it will trigger an inflammatory response to sort of shut down and quarantine the affected site or system from further damage while making sure it gets fixed.
When a normal state of health is being experienced, but your immune system still thinks something is wrong, inflammation can last for a long time, and thus becomes chronic. In such a case, you will begin to experience several negative health consequences.
These include
– Fever
– Chills
– Fatigue
– Headaches
– Joint aches
– Swollen joints
– Loss of appetite
– Muscle stiffness.
Chronic inflammation commonly manifests as things such as arthritis and autoimmune diseases. Evidence suggests that dill extract can counteract chronic inflammation, allowing you to improve your quality of life and general state of health.
Bone Mineral Density
Dill is potentially able to improve bone mineral density due to the availability of key minerals calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. This makes it a great addition to your diet if you are at any risk of bone disorders such as osteoporosis or are currently healing a fracture.
Osteoporosis is a condition where the bones become brittle due to a decrease in the availability of bone minerals or the ability to apply them as skeletal tissue.
This is typically due to a nutrient deficiency but is often also caused by an underlying health condition such as menopause or some sort of hormonal imbalance. One common hormonal imbalance is an excess thyroid hormone. Osteoporosis caused by an overactive thyroid is a common risk.
The decline in estrogen in women experiencing menopause is another common cause, while for men, having low testosterone can lead to the same issues.
Both estrogen and testosterone, although needed in different ratios depending on whether you are male or female, are essential to the maintenance of healthy tissue, especially healthy, dense bones in this case.
The risk is greater with age since bone tissue is being replaced at a rate slower than it is being lost as one grows older.
Age is also responsible for the decline in hormone production and hormone imbalance, which is another reason osteoporosis is so common in the elderly. The calcium in dill is also great for your teeth making it a great superfood for dental health.
Digestive Health
Dill has been remarked as a great digestive health booster. Since ancient times, dill has been looked to as a remedy for common gut ailments such as
– Flatulence or bloating
– IBS
– Colic
– Other gastrointestinal conditions.
For the benefit of your gut health, dill leaves and even seeds can be brewed into a tea and taken when digestive discomfort pops up. The active antioxidant compounds in dill are largely responsible for this gut soothing benefit.
That’s because a big factor in what leads to a decline in gut heal is inflammation. As we’ve already discussed, inflammation compromises the immune system big time, and your gut happens to be the headquarters of your immune system believe it or not.
So through the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits of dill, one can actively improve their digestive health, which not only assists nutrient uptake but also helps boost the body’s natural defense against disease right at your immune system’s main base.
You can help maintain optimal gut health by simply including dill as part of your ingredients in your meals and salads
Natural Antibacterial
Many plants, herbs, and spices have been shown to exhibit potent, beneficial, antimicrobial qualities.
One such herb is, of course, dill.
Besides dill’s natural immune-boosting effect, it contains compounds that could potentially help fight infectious microbes such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
Research has shown that dill extract is effective against several bacterial strains such as S. aureus which can lead to common staph infections.
Because of this effect, research is ramping up around dill and other natural remedies as the world races against the storm of drug-resistant bacteria, a global health problem which has been growing more and more over the past couple of decades.
Side Effects
Dill is generally well-tolerated by most people in normal quantities, however, just as with pretty much anything we introduce to our bodies, there are rare outliers, exceptional circumstances where some negative impacts have been recorded.
These include:
– Diarrhea
– Dry, sore mouth
– Swollen throat
– Swollen tongue
– Vomiting and nausea
It is also not advised for a pregnant woman to consume dill concentrate extracts such as pills or oils.
How It’s Used
Dill can be used fresh or dried, either way, it’s a great addition to most savory dishes.
It has a sweet but spicy aroma that lends itself to hot dishes such as soups and roasts and cold dishes such as salads.
Dill can also be sourced strictly for its health benefits in the form of extracts and essential oil.
These powerful compounds should be taken with care and some medical advice just to be sure.
It can also be brewed as a tea and even mixed with other great herbs and spices such as turmeric, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and ginger.
Storing this herb depends on what state you have it in.
Dried dill is easy to store in a cupboard or spice rack and will last far longer than fresh dill. Fresh dill is best stored in a sealed, refrigerated container and it should be used up as soon as possible to avoid spoiling and wasting.
You can easily grow your own dill and dry it or use it fresh. Just check out your nearest farmers market or herbarium for growing and potting kits.
Conclusion
So what’s the deal with dill?
Well, we think it's definitely a great way to enhance the flavor of your favorite dish, but more than that, dill seems to be a great health-boosting herb.
The nutrient and antioxidant profile speak for themselves, allowing you to experience a great boost in your gut, heart, bone, and immune health while lowering blood glucose levels.
We consider dill to be both nutritious and delicious, but if dill isn’t quite your flavor, check out our supplements store here. We have some amazing natural extractions of compounds that can provide the same, if not more benefits than dill and others.
Recommended Resources:
IMMUNE RENU – Boost Your Immune System
IMMUNE SYSTEM STACK – Boost Your Immune System By Taking Care of Your Gut Health
Sources:
Blood glucose:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5088306/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23111652
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