Health Benefits of Asafoetida/Hing (Kitchen Spice)

Sometimes we do have spices in our kitchen rack, but we hardly know how to use it and why to use it. One such spice that lingers on our shelf is Asafoetida or "Hing" in Sanskrit. Native to Persia,

Afghanistan, and India this spice is basically a gum of the stems and roots of a plant called as "Ferula assafoetida" in Latin. Some of us knew this herb as stinking gum or Devil's dung due to its astringent taste and odd odour. How can this spice be of any help to mankind? Where to use this herb are some of the question that this article would answer for you?

1] Anti flatulence:
Beans, potatoes, cabbage are some of the known food groups that cause bloating, flatulence in excess and it remain very hard to avoid that. Bloating a natural tendency of our body to release gaseous can sometimes be exaggerated due such food products. The best way to avoid such bloating is by adding small amount of this herb while cooking them. Cooking beans just add a little bit of asafoetida to it and see the result.

2] Colic Pain:
Infants and toddlers are the number one group that do suffer with upset stomach and colicky pain due to excess eating or many other reasons. Even in adults bad eating habits lead to such painful conditions. Since ancient times healers in India and surrounding areas used to apply a mixture of asafoetida, rock salt and oil on stomach and the umbilicus to relieve such types of colicky pain. Try it the next time anyone has such colicky pain.

3] Anti Viral:
Recent studies in Kaoshing University of Taiwan reports that the roots of this plant do contain antiviral properties. The American Chemical society of Natural products quotes on certain of its research papers the amazing property of this herb to work against flu virus.
Asafoetida has been used to treat several viral conditions since ages. The 1918 Spanish influenza was one such where the use of this showed positive results.

4] Dental Issues:
According to Ayurveda this herb can show amazing results when one suffers with tooth ache. Take small cotton dipped in asafoetida and apply to the aching tooth. Keep the swab for some time and see the results.

Asafoetida have been also been used in different type of health conditions like asthma and mental health issue like hysteria, depression and others.