Dill Essential Oil benefits includes stimulating the production of milk for nursing mothers, treating fungal infections, killing head lice, reducing anxiety and promoting good sleep. Other benefits are preventing cancer, promoting gastrointestinal health, eliminating gas and colic in infants, speeding up wound healing, and promoting digestion.
Dill essential oil has a legendary history behind it, being used as far back as during the height of the Roman Empire, by their soldiers prior to charging into battle. It was believed that it helped reduce stress and anxiety, and made for more efficient warriors. Today, that benefit is confirmed, along with many others.
What is Dill Essential Oil?
Dill Essential Oil can be obtained either from the seeds, or the fresh herb, though by far the majority of oil in use is obtained from the seeds. There are also two major sources of dill that the oil is made from, originating from Europe (Anethum graveolens) or India (Anethum Sowa). The smell of the oil is very similar toCaraway seeds, bearing a spicy-sweet aroma that makes it great at stimulating the appetite.
If you haven’t been making use of dill oil as much as you can, you will want to start after reading about some of its amazing benefits on health.
1. Galactagogue
A galactagogue is a substance that assists in the production of breast milk, by enhancing lactation. Dill oil is known to be friendly to infants, and now can also help in milk production. This property of dill oil is useful to first time mothers, who may have a difficult time producing enough milk to meet the needs of a young child. It is extremely safe, and can be consumed daily in tea or the mother’s choice of beverage. It is even believed that it can be applied directly around the nipple area (sparsely), since it stimulates appetite and can improve feeding of the infant.
2. Anti-Fungal Action
Dill essential oil is exceptionally good at treating fungal infections, both topically and when consumed. While most natural anti-fungals work to disrupt the cell membrane of the fungi, dill essential oil helps to cure these infections by triggering fungal cell apoptosis, or programmed death. This is superior in many ways, as it is an effective management technique and is less likely to be resistant to a course of therapy. Combined with conventional anti-fungal treatments, it may all but guarantee a high cure rate.
3. Kills Head Lice
Dill essential oil is surprisingly effective at killing and repelling head lice, pests that are always unwelcome on their host scalp. Though it seemingly has no effect on nits, it does disrupt the nervous system of adult lice, and can act as a natural repellant of sorts, keeping them from causing a re-infestation. It is best to apply to other members of the family as well, and sprinkle around the home to speed up clearance of the bugs from the surroundings.
4. Reduces Anxiety & Helps Sleep
Dill essential oil is an effective natural anxiety,reducing agent, being used to help manage symptoms of ADHD in children, and social anxiety disorder in adults. It is extremely useful as an alternative to prescription medications or habit forming sleep aides, as there are no lingering effects from its usage. Putting a few drops of this oil in your diffuser at night will help you get to sleep easier, and relieve high stress levels. Alternately, you can apply to the skin, or have a few drops in a beverage or meal prior to bed; either way, the benefits should be noticeable.
5. Diuretic Properties
The diuretic properties of dill essential oil come in useful for many purposes. One such purpose is in assisting with the management of blood pressure, as diuretics help to flush out excess water and sodium, which in turn helps to reduce blood volume and pressure on vessel walls. In addition, its diuretic properties can help in the passage of urine in persons suffering from kidney disease, urinary tract infections or an enlarged prostate gland.
6. Anti-Microbial Action
Dill essential oil has anti-bacterial properties that make its utility even more versatile. For one, it can help to preserve food, as its anti-bacterial actions help inhibit bacteria that promote degradation of food. This can help to keep cooked food longer. Dill essential oil can be consumed to aid in the clearance of bacteria from the blood, or to assist in recovery from infections affecting the respiratory or urinary tracts. Though care still need to be exercised to ensure that symptoms improve, or else you should consult your doctor.
7. Cancer Prevention Aide
Dill essential oil is a very effective agent in boosting your defense against cancer, especially those of the mouth and throat. This could be due to dill oil’s high anti-inflammatory potency, which helps suppress damage that could result in cellular changes to tissue, in particular at the locations of the mouth or throat. This anti-inflammatory ability also helps in the buffering of oxidative stress, a known contributor to cancer development in the first place.
8. Anti-Spasmodic Properties
Dill essential oil is well known for its benefits on gastrointestinal health and well-being, in this case being able to relieve common sources of intestinal pain and cramping. This is useful is trying to treat associated symptoms of food poisoning, bloating, and diarrhea. This effect can even extend to menstrual pain, as it is associated with the same type of smooth muscle spasm.
9. Eliminates Gas And Colic In Infants
One of the primary uses of dill essential oil is in the formation of gripe water, a soothing mixture specially designed to ease symptoms of colic in infants. However, it is also excellent at treating gas in adults, thanks to its carminative actions. It helps to gather small gas bubbles in the intestines and make them into one larger one, which can then be easily passed out. Dill essential oil is still used widely today as an alternative remedy for these conditions, and does it extremely well.
10. Speeds Up Wound Healing
Dill essential oil holds significant anti-bacterial property, as was previously established. It can be used for more than consumption, however, since applied to wounds, it can prevent infection and speed up the healing process. Bacterial co-infection can greatly slow down the healing process, and is likely to result in a more prominent scar from the delayed recovery. Clean the wound with alcohol and apply the dill oil twice daily to expedite the healing process.
11. Promotes Digestion
Dill essential oil is a powerhouse in the GI field, have numerous benefits on its health and well-being. In addition to curing numerous ailments of the digestive system, it can also stimulate the digestive process and improve your nutrient absorptive capacities. It starts by increasing saliva secretion, which starts the digestive process by breaking down starches we put in our mouth. It also stimulates the increased production of digestive juices, ensuring that macronutrient are sufficiently broken down to facilitate their absorption into blood. This is especially useful in conditions that result in accelerates gastric emptying, as nutrient deficiencies are more likely to occur and need management.
Conclusion
Dill essential oil has been known for its benefits for centuries, being used by arguably the best warriors in the world. Today, we doubt you will rub it on prior to going to battle, but it has numerous other benefits that are extremely useful, and which you are likely to gain from. Its ease of availability, cost effective and relatively palatable taste and odor make it non-offensive and safe for regular use or consumption. Don’t miss out on what it has to offer you.