Monday, February 27, 2023

The Medicinal Uses of Dill Weed

Disclaimer.  I am not a licensed health practitioner.  This is just another post on an item you might wish to have available if needed so that a physician can treat you and your family as best as possible.  No medication, including those available over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician.  Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only.  It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical care.  A qualified, licensed physician or other medical provider should be consulted before beginning any herbal or conventional treatment.


I started researching dill because it is an herb that grows so easily.  It self-seeds everywhere, which is probably why weed is part of its name.  And because it really didn't do a lot medicinally that I was interested in, I quit studying it.  But I kept my notes.

When I pulled them out this morning to review, there still wasn't a lot that intrigued me.  Yeah, it has some anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, but so do thyme and oregano.  I don't need more alternatives that work like something else.  I already have the something else because it works well.

However, dill weed and dill seed have a couple of jobs that they excel at, and which are particularly of interest in a grid-down world.

  • Cholesterol.  Dill is amazing in its ability to reduce blood cholesterol levels.
  • Epilepsy.  Dill has been used for hundreds of years in Eastern medicine for reducing the number of epileptic seizures.
  • Blood glucose.  Dill has been shown to lower blood sugars in diabetics, specifically working as well as metformin and other pharmaceuticals.  
  • Milk production in nursing women.  Dill stimulates milk production, but for nursing women, dill is only to be used in culinary amounts--what you would consume in small amounts in salads or bread or soup.  

If you suffer from any of the above, it would behoove you to research the use of dill yourself, as I'm a bit uncomfortable posting dosages here.  I'm not a licensed care provider and I don't know you or your situation.  Addresses for research articles are provided below.

Dill is ridiculously easy to grow and spreads its seeds everywhere.  Once you plant it, you'll have it forever.  The plants grow tall and wide, so it's easy to think that you're going to end up with a lot of dill weed.  But don't kid yourself.  When dehydrated and powdered, you find you have almost nothing.  If you're in a grid-down situation and trying to replace your pharmaceuticals, you'll need a lot of space for it.  It's probably not something you'll want to plant in the garden itself, but perhaps in its own plot somewhere else where it can be easily managed.

Also, when dill is used medicinally, it's usually taken in powdered form in capsules.  You may want to lay in a quantity of empty gelatin capsules and a little device for filling them quickly, but it's not essential.


Contraindications:  Avoid in medicinal quantities in pregnant and nursing women and before surgery. 

For further reading:  (all articles accessed on 20 March 2019)
https://draxe.com/dill-weed/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4707388/?report=classic#B5 (lowering cholesterol)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3957353/ (epilepsy treatment)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12797755  (antimicrobial activity of essential oils)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5088306/ (lowering blood glucose in diabetes management)
https://www.planetayurveda.com/library/dill-anethumn-sowa-uses-health-benefits/ (extensive use of dill in Ayurvedic medicine)

13 may 2019

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