Oh shock: Is fennel tea poisonous?
There is a lot of excitement in many online forums and social media channels at the moment. A popular household remedy for stomach ache and flatulence, but also for coughs, toothache and sleep disorders, is under suspicion: Fennel tea. And now all of a sudden it's supposed to be poisonous? Cause for panic or pure scaremongering? The doctor explains.
Firstly, the background to the current furore: There is a warning from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) against the consumption of fennel tea for children aged 0 to 4 years and a restriction for children aged 4 to 11 years.
With concerns and fears running high, it's important to explain and categorise a few things. The fact is: There is a substance in fennel called estragole. What we do know is that this substance has been shown to be severely damaging to the liver in animal experiments. What we also know is that the content of estragole in fennel products such as teas etc. varies greatly. It is therefore theoretically possible for a child to receive doses of the substance that are not healthy if it is "fattened up" with strongly brewed fennel tea. But, quite honestly, no father or mother needs to get nervous and wonder whether they have poisoned their child. The probability that something has happened in everyday life is extremely low.
Nevertheless, this guideline from the EMA is perfectly acceptable and we now simply have to teach parents to avoid fennel tea for the first four years under all circumstances.
In a way, all the fuss has two good aspects: Firstly, it is actually simply not necessary for a child to ingest fennel tea or for you to mix powders with fennel tea. And the second, even more important aspect is that people talk about the fact that a lot of what is often labelled as flatulence and stomach ache in babies is actually something else, namely regulatory difficulties. So perhaps the excitement surrounding fennel tea will help people to talk and learn more about the topic of regulatory disorders.
Conclusion: Anyone who has used fennel tea from time to time can remain relaxed. But now that we know more about it scientifically: In future, no fennel tea in the first four years of life and ideally also not for breastfeeding mothers.
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