If you’re a fan of French cuisine, you may already be familiar with chervil. A member of the parsley family, this bright green herb has a light, delicate flavor similar to tarragon or anise. Delicious in salads or sprinkled on soups, chervil is a great addition to any dish. However, in addition to being tasty, chervil confers several health benefits and has many medicinal uses.
Chervil can help soothe eczema
Eczema is a condition that causes dry, irritated skin. It can be painful and itchy and is often chronic. Eczema can appear on any part of the body but often affects the face, neck, elbows, wrists, knees, or ankles. Chervil has anti-inflammatory properties that can help soothe the itch and swelling of eczema. Apply fresh juice from the herb to affected areas for relief, create a fresh poultice, or mix chervil into lotions or creams.
Chervil is good for digestion
Perhaps the French were onto something when they elevated chervil to one of the centerpiece herbs of their cuisine. The tender, fragrant leaves of chervil boast thousands of years of use as a digestive aid. Chervil is low in calories but very high in fiber, which is critical for regular and healthy bowel function. Chervil’s mild taste and pleasant fragrance make it easy to use in a spring tonic or as a finishing touch on egg, fish, or poultry dishes. As an added benefit, adding a little chervil makes your dishes both delicious and digestible.
Chervil is a nutritional powerhouse
Why take a supplement when you can eat your nutrients instead? If you are looking for an easy way to add a delicious and nutritious punch to some of your favorite dishes, chervil is a tasty solution fresh or dried. The dried herb is low in calories but high in essential nutrients like calcium, potassium, zinc, manganese, iron, and magnesium. Fresh chervil contains these nutrients and is also a great source of riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacin (vitamin B3), pyridoxine (vitamin B6), and thiamin (vitamin B1).
Chervil is packed with antioxidants
Eating foods rich in antioxidants confers all kinds of health benefits. A variety of antioxidants may be good for your heart health, lowering the risk of many common infections, and can even help ward off cancer. Antioxidants offer anti-aging benefits, as well. Chervil contains a plethora of antioxidants including vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Chervil also contains polyphenolic flavonoid antioxidants like lutein, which is excellent for eye health, and apigenin, which may be able to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Chervil may help treat high blood pressure
Maintaining healthy blood pressure is one of the most important factors in preventing heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular ailments. Chervil is a traditional herbal choice for lowering blood pressure. The exact mechanism is not known, but the herb also has diuretic properties that can help ease fluid retention leading to bloating or discomfort. Chervil tea can improve circulation, encouraging an overall healthier circulatory system.
Chervil is an antiseptic
Chervil is high in many beneficial volatile essential oils. One of these essential oils is eugenol, which is also known as oil of cloves. Dentists often use oil of cloves during routine dental procedures thanks to its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties and because of its ability to ease pain. Chervil may also be helpful for treating skin rashes, minor wounds, and insect bites. Prepare a simple poultice to apply to minor skin ailments by crushing fresh chervil leaves and adding a few drops of vinegar and salt.
Chervil is helpful for easing menstrual symptoms
Chervil has a whole host of benefits that can help make that time of the month more comfortable. The herb has long been used in traditional medicine to help ease menstrual symptoms such as cramps and bloating. Thanks to its diuretic properties, chervil can help ease uncomfortable fluid retention for a bloat-free period. Chervil is also rich in iron and can help ward off sluggishness and tiredness due to anemia. Though eating foods rich in iron is part of a balanced diet in general, it is especially important for women to make sure they are getting sufficient iron during their monthly cycle, and chervil is a painless way to up your intake.
Chervil is useful as an expectorant
During the colder months of the year, it seems inevitable that you may catch a cold or two. The fatigue, stuffiness, and sore throat are all unpleasant symptoms, but nothing can ruin a good night’s rest like a bad cough. Chervil can act as an expectorant, to help ease cough and related symptoms. Expectorants help loosen thick mucus and make coughs more productive. In addition to its expectorant properties, a hot cup of chervil tea will soothe a sore throat and ease a stuffy nose.
Chervil can be helpful for weaning mothers
When it’s time to wean a child off of breastfeeding, the mother’s body can often use a little help to recover from the hormonal shifts and challenges of childbearing and nursing. Traditional practitioners recommend several herbs including chervil to help naturally and gently decrease milk supply, to ease the weaning process and prevent engorgement.
Use chervil to create an at-home face treatment
Help keep your skin looking smooth and radiant with a face treatment made from fresh chervil. Bursting with powerful vitamins and antioxidants, chervil has the potential to deliver potent anti-aging benefits to your skin and promote the development of new skin cells. Unlike some skin treatments, chervil also has a fresh, pleasant smell that makes using it in a mask or tonic an enjoyable experience. As with any skin treatment, always spot test first to make sure you don’t have a sensitivity to the essential oils or other compounds in the herb.