Star Anise

How Does This Ayurvedic Food Improve Wellness?

CLINICAL AYURVEDIC REVIEW

Recipes with Star Anise: Roasted Pears & Raisins

Star Anise is a warming aromatic herb that moves blood, reducing cold-stagnation in Chinese medicine. It's known to have powerful antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties and is also one of the five spices in traditional Chinese five-spice mixture. It's been used in both Ayurveda & Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Shikimic acid which is the active ingredient in flu medications such as Tamiflu, is extracted from star anise making it a great spice to use during cold and flu season.

Digestive Health

Star anise is commonly used as a digestive aid helping to relieve an upset stomach with its antispasmodic properties. It's also used to relieve gas & bloating and to stimulate appetite.

Women's Health

Star anise is known to promote reproductive health in women, and also support lactating mothers by increasing the secretion of breast milk. It's also used for menopausal discomforts, as directed by a practitioner or physician.

About Star Anise

Star anise is a small evergreen tree native to China that closely resembles anise in flavor. Its licorice-flavored start shaped fruit is also grown in Japan and Vietnam. It has a dark brown color and contains six to eight seeded petal-like segments. It's harvested just before it ripens and its highly fragrant oil is used in cooking, perfumery, soaps, toothpastes, mouthwashes and skin products.

Cooking Star Anise

Star anise has become more popular in the West in recent years and is used as a less expensive substitute for anise in baked goods as well as in the production of liquor. It is a key spice in preparation of biryani and masala chai throughout all of the Indian subcontinent. It enhances the flavor of meat and is widely used in Chinese cuisine as well as in Malay and Indian cooking. It's also a major ingredient in the making of pho, a Vietnamese soup, and is used in the French recipe of mulled wine, called vin chaud (hot wine).

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SERVING SIZE: 1/4 tsp
FAMILY: Schisandraceae
SPECIES: Illicium verum
EAT IN: AUTUMN-WINTER

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Health Virtues of Star Anise

Personalized medicine systems use biocharacteristics to classify the metabolic nature of food, hebs, lifestyle choices, indivdual constitutions, and disease.

METABOLIC NATURE / BIOCHARACTERISTICS

Metabolic Nature / Biocharacteristics
Ayurveda assesses metabolic imbalances through 20 main biocharacteristics (vital qualtiies). Aggravating them weakens your body and causes imbalance. By knowing which biocharacteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct metabolic imbalances before you get sick. Every biocharacteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold). You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite biocharacteristic.
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LIGHT

ABOUT LIGHT BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Lightness is identified by reduced weight.

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HOT

ABOUT HOT BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Hot is identified by increased body temperature, metabolism, or inflammation.

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TASTES

The 6 Tastes
Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food. Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body. Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food. Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods. Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion. Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste. One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes. The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below?
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SWEET

ABOUT SWEET BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Sweet refers to anything builds tissue, including macronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

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PUNGENT

ABOUT PUNGENT BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Pungency is characterized by irritation, or sharp, spicy foods that irritate the mouth such as black pepper.

LEARN MORE ABOUT PUNGENT

AYURVEDA BODY TYPES (DOSHAS)

The Three Doshas / Body Types
Ayurveda is a metabolic theory of medicine that explains individual health, tendencies, and disease patterns through the concept of doshas, which can be understood as your metabolic patterns and tendencies.
Each dosha reflects a distinct metabolic nature and describes strengths & weaknesses in bodily function, and how these affect energy levels, digestion, susceptibility to disease, and many other tendencies.
Your metabolic nature not only affects your physical characteristics, but also influences your mental thought patterns, confidence, and enthusiasm.
Ayurveda balances these metabolic strengths & weaknesses to support your body's vitality and prevent recurrent disease cycles. This support is a critical aid, especially in chronic or incurable disease conditions.
The 3 metabolic body types (doshas), are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha).
Through dosha, Ayurveda empowers people to identify metabolic imbalances early, break repetitive patterns of disease, and cultivate habits that support long-term vitality and well-being.
Ultimately, these metabolic patterns also provide a framework for understanding yourself, including body, mind, and spiritual tendencies.
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PACIFIES

AGGRAVATES

GREEK MEDICINE / TEMPERAMENTS

The Four Temperaments / Humors
Ayurveda & Greek Medicine were the dominant form of medicine along the Silk Road from England to China and South Asia. They work by assessing your metabolic type, patterns, and nature. Greek medicine recognizes 4 metabolic temperaments, Melancholic, Choleric, Sanguine, and Phlegmatic.
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PACIFIES

MELANCHOLIC

ABOUT MELANCHOLIC BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Cold and dry with a slow, variable or erratic metabolism. Colicky, tense. Withdrawn, pensive, anxious, and hesitant. Analytical, intelligent, detail oriented and creative. Prone to ojas depletion, dehydration, an overactive nervous system, and depression.

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PHLEGMATIC

ABOUT PHLEGMATIC BIOCHARACTERISTIC

A Phlegmatic has a cold and wet metabolic nature. The coldness implies a slow metabolism, the moisture that you are well-nourished. Phlegmatics tend towards sluggishness and thickened fluids, including mucus.

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AGGRAVATES

CHOLERIC

ABOUT CHOLERIC BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Has a hot and dry metabolic nature. Enthusiastic, vibrant and bright. In excess burns up fluids and ojas, irritable. Corresponds to high bilirubin in the blood that irritates and heats up the body and liver.

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SANGUINE

ABOUT SANGUINE BIOCHARACTERISTIC

A hot and oily nature with a moderate metabolism and a well nourished body makes Sanguine individuals vigorous, vivacious, outgoing and generous, and prone to impulsivity and self indulgence. Bullish and intense when out of balance.

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Other Health Virtues

Subtaste:

Aromatic

AROMATIC

Herbs or spices with volatile essential oils that present strong aromas. Aromatic oils shock, refresh and numb tissue, with the end result of relaxing, opening and clearing stagnant fluids in tissues.

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Medicinal Benefits, Uses & Herbal Actions of Star Anise
Experiences are Personal
Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary. The list of herbal-actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition.

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Digestion:

Digestive

DIGESTIVE

Herbs that encourage healthy digestion.

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Spleen Tonic

SPLEEN-TONIC

An herb that strengthens spleen function by improving strength of the blood. Spleen tonics Builds agni, brighten the person's appearances & firms up tissues.

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Cleanse & Detox:

Burns Toxins

BURNS-TOXINS

An herb that detoxifies by helping your body metabolize toxins, as opposed to eliminating them.

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Internal Detoxicant

INTERNAL-DETOXICANT

Liquefies, dissolves, decongests or dislodges internal stagnant toxins. Decongests the lymphatic system.

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Mind, Stress & Sleep:

Nervine

NERVINE

Balances the nervous system. They can help with stress, memory, early alzheimer's, and even chronic pain. Often they are aromatic in nature.

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Heart & Circulation:

Cardiac Stimulant

CARDIAC-STIMULANT

Herbs that increase the heart rate. Useful in cardiovascular health, blood stagnation, and subjective feeling of heaviness in the chest area.

SEE ALL 'CARDIAC-STIMULANT' FOODS / HERBS

Vasodilator

VASODILATOR

A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area.

SEE ALL 'VASODILATOR' FOODS / HERBS

Foods with a Similar Nature to Star Anise

Marjoram

Marjoram has these Actions in Common
Burns-toxins, Internal-detoxicant, Vasodilator, Cardiac-stimulant, Nervine, Digestive, Spleen-tonic
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Oregano

Oregano has these Actions in Common
Digestive, Spleen-tonic, Burns-toxins, Internal-detoxicant, Vasodilator, Cardiac-stimulant, Nervine
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Ajwain

Ajwain has these Actions in Common
Burns-toxins, Internal-detoxicant, Vasodilator, Cardiac-stimulant, Nervine, Digestive, Spleen-tonic
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Celery Seed

Celery Seed has these Actions in Common
Cardiac-stimulant, Nervine, Digestive, Spleen-tonic, Burns-toxins, Internal-detoxicant, Vasodilator
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Nigella (black cumin)

Nigella (black cumin) has these Actions in Common
Spleen-tonic, Burns-toxins, Internal-detoxicant, Vasodilator, Cardiac-stimulant, Nervine, Digestive
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Cloves

Cloves has these Actions in Common
Cardiac-stimulant, Nervine, Digestive, Spleen-tonic, Burns-toxins, Internal-detoxicant, Vasodilator
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Basil

Basil has these Actions in Common
Burns-toxins, Internal-detoxicant, Vasodilator, Cardiac-stimulant, Nervine, Digestive, Spleen-tonic
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Allspice

Allspice has these Actions in Common
Burns-toxins, Internal-detoxicant, Vasodilator, Cardiac-stimulant, Nervine, Digestive, Spleen-tonic
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Ginger (Fresh)

Ginger (Fresh) has these Actions in Common
Digestive, Spleen-tonic, Burns-toxins, Internal-detoxicant, Vasodilator, Cardiac-stimulant, Nervine
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Rosemary

Rosemary has these Actions in Common
Cardiac-stimulant, Nervine, Digestive, Spleen-tonic, Burns-toxins, Internal-detoxicant, Vasodilator
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Herbs & Supplements with a Similar Nature to Star Anise

Wild Ginger

Wild Ginger has these Actions in Common
Digestive, Internal-detoxicant, Spleen-tonic, Vasodilator, Burns-toxins, Cardiac-stimulant
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Thyme White Essential Oil - 1/3 oz

Thyme White Essential Oil - 1/3 oz has these Actions in Common
Burns-toxins, Digestive, Internal-detoxicant, Nervine, Spleen-tonic, Vasodilator
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Cumin, Coriander, Fennel Tea

Cumin, Coriander, Fennel Tea has these Actions in Common
Burns-toxins, Digestive, Internal-detoxicant, Nervine, Spleen-tonic
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Pippali

Pippali has these Actions in Common
Cardiac-stimulant, Digestive, Internal-detoxicant, Vasodilator, Burns-toxins
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Trikatu

Trikatu has these Actions in Common
Digestive, Internal-detoxicant, Vasodilator, Burns-toxins, Cardiac-stimulant
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Yogaraj Guggulu

Yogaraj Guggulu has these Actions in Common
Burns-toxins, Cardiac-stimulant, Internal-detoxicant, Nervine, Vasodilator
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Dong Quai

Dong Quai has these Actions in Common
Internal-detoxicant, Nervine, Vasodilator, Cardiac-stimulant, Digestive
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Holy Basil Leaf (Tulsi)

Holy Basil Leaf (Tulsi) has these Actions in Common
Burns-toxins, Cardiac-stimulant, Internal-detoxicant, Nervine, Vasodilator
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Chandraprabha Vati

Chandraprabha Vati has these Actions in Common
Internal-detoxicant, Nervine, Vasodilator, Digestive
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Encourage a Sweat / Sweat Therapy

Encourage a Sweat / Sweat Therapy has these Actions in Common
Cardiac-stimulant, Internal-detoxicant, Vasodilator, Burns-toxins
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Sit in the Sauna

Sit in the Sauna has these Actions in Common
Burns-toxins, Cardiac-stimulant, Internal-detoxicant, Vasodilator
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Star Anise - Metabolic Impact Report

The reports shared below are part of an educational assignment completed by students at the Joyful Belly College of Ayurveda. These represent subjective experiences intended to help students explore principles of Ayurveda through personal observation. In each report below, students ate the selected food for 3 days and self-reported these effects. See other food & herb reports at Joyful Belly.