 There are a lot of health benefits to dill tea, but I'm going to just say this right out of the gate. It really doesn't taste very good. Let's just talk about it a little bit later in the video, and I'm going to get some to wipe this taste out of my mouth. Now, dill itself is awesome. It's been around medicinally as long as any other herb out there. The Egyptians would put it in their tombs. The Romans fed it to the gladiators to inspire courage. And during the Middle Ages, it was used to protect against witchcraft. You'll even find dill in the Bible where Matthew 2323 is just a little bit passive-aggressive towards it. Dill's been used for ages as a breath freshener, for ailing stomachs, and lots of other cool things. So why isn't it widely used today? Well, the problem is that ancient civilizations apparently knew a few things that modern science has yet to fully verify. Bone health is highlighted in a lot of different articles, but it's actually not that great of a sell. Many experts will point to the vitamins and minerals in dill for bone health, which are good, but it's going to take a truckload of dill to get the amount of vitamins and minerals you need. Yes, one of the possible abilities of dill is to increase the calcium absorption in your body. But really, it isn't going to show you a significant difference unless you're taking quite a bit of dill, which will get you into the side effects, possibly. Now, some herbalists will also lead you to believe that dill's benefits for heart health are a sure thing. But so far, study results have been mixed here, too. One study showed it can help bad cholesterol levels in animals, but other human studies on dill extract contradicted each other and haven't given us any clear evidence yet. Geez Louise, why am I picking on dill so much today? I'm supposed to be talking about its benefits. I love dill. Problem is, is the anecdotal evidence is strong, but the current research is very hit and miss. And unfortunately, we have the same problem for dill's cancer benefits. The monoturpenes in dill have been studied and shown to help with a variety of different cancer types. And the quercetin in dill has been shown to increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy. But actual dill research? Alright, dill is finally a solid hitter when it comes to blood sugar. Several studies show that dill improves fasting blood sugar levels. And there's research that shows that dill might prevent type 2 diabetes as well. Another nice bonus is that dill works really well with many of the foods that people with diabetes can have. Here we go again. While there isn't much direct research on dill, there is a lot of information about how dill's vitamins and flavonoids can help you not only get a better night's sleep, but help those with insomnia get some shut-eye too. Anecdotally, dill is considered to have calming and hypnotic effects that improve the quality and duration of sleep. And these benefits can extend to depression as well. Initial research shows that dill can be as effective as prescription depression drugs, sertraline and tramadol, but without their side effects. Most herbs in the APAC family are great at helping with digestion and this includes dill. Dill is a carbonative that is particularly good at helping with those embarrassing gas problems that ruin dates and elevator rides. Beyond that fun, dill can help with all kinds of different digestive problems, including excessive acids in the stomach and all of these problems you see right here. A surprising benefit of dill's carbonative and gas-busting abilities is its ability to get rid of both types of hiccups. There are acute hiccups, which is what most people get and lasts only up to about 48 hours. And intractable hiccups, which last up to one month. Phew! Man, I hope that isn't non-stop. That would suck. Did you even know there was two types of hiccups? Let me know in the comments. Dill's flavonoids can also help in a variety of ways to reduce a plethora of different respiratory issues. Well, you told me I have a plethora and I just would like to know if you know what a plethora is. Dill can also loosen sputum in your lungs, chest, and nose so you can breathe better. Now, there is one study that shows that dill can help reduce labor pain. There's also studies about how dill is helpful for menstrual cramps, but some of these studies' findings are a little bit weak. But there was a 2014 double-blind trial that said dill is as effective as methanamic acid. So I guess you're just going to have to try dill and see how it works for you. Trying to help you out and all I get is trial and error. Trial and error. Still, there's some research showing how dill can help with milk secretion for breastfeeding and it can help with those colicky babies too. So that's nice. Dill's been used forever for gout, joint pain, and arthritis for good reason. It's even in the old Ebers Papyrus as a painkiller. So yeah, we've known about this for a while. The name dill actually comes from Old Norse or English meaning to calm or soothe. So it's no surprise that dill is finally backed up by science as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory and can definitely help with various types of pain. Research has also shown that dill can work against a variety of bacterial strains, fungal strains, and molds. Dill has also been shown to reduce the incidence of infections from open wounds or small cuts on your skin. This actually goes back to the Romans who used to scorch dill seeds and place them on soldiers' wounds to heal them. Dill's antibacterial effects can help with bad breath, UTIs, and gum decay. Being a strong antiviral, dill is also highly touted for its ability to help your overall immunity to many infections. Dill can also probably help a variety of other problems as well. But if nothing else, research shows that dill oil has a pretty high pest mortality rate. So, you know, it might be able to help you get rid of some bugs too. Dill is considered to be very safe as it's one of the few herbs which professionals say is safe during pregnancy. And there are only very rare cases such as people with a dill allergy in which it could cause any of these problems. Using dill topically can irritate some people's skin and drinking dill tea or juice may leave you more sensitive to the sun. Yet another reason not to drink dill tea. Lastly, people with diabetes who are taking lithium and those undergoing surgery in less than two weeks need to be careful about using dill medicinally. I'm not going to go too in-depth into making dill tea. Teaspoon or two and boiling water, four to seven minutes. Done. You can try drinking dill tea and packaging it with some other herbs and that might work for you or try dill seed tea or really just eat your dill or have it as a supplement. You'll like it more. Though I don't expect you can eat a bunch of Zatziki and expect great health benefits. If you want another herb that's really good for you but the tea sucks, watch this video next. Please be kind. Take care of each other. And seriously, save yourself the trouble of drinking dill tea. It's not that good.