Asafoetida – Hing Health Benefits, Home Remedies Using Asafoetida, Hing Home Remedies

Asafoetida Piece

Asafoetida or Hing is an ancient old Indian spice which is used not only to give an extra flavor in culinary dishes but also used for its medicinal properties. Asafoetida is the dried latex (gum oleoresin) extracted from the living underground rhizome or tap root of several species of Ferula, which is a perennial herb. There are two main varieties of asafoetida: Hing Kabuli Sufaid (Milky white asafoetida)  which is water soluble and  Hing Lal (Red asafoetida) which is oil soluble. Since pure asafoetida is not preferred due to its strong flavor, it is mixed with starch and gum and sold as compounded asafoetida mostly in bricket /piece form or in free flowing powder form or in tablet forms. It is said that this spice is antispasmodic, carminative, anthelmintic, emmenagogue, digestive, expectorant, and diuretic and hence used for a number of medicinal uses.

Asafoetida  or Hing Health Benefits

Check out the hing home remedies for various medicinal problems:

Hing or Asafoetida Powder

• Indigestion: Asafoetida is a common home remedy for indigestion, gastritis. For proper digestion, this spice can be consumed regularly by adding in curries and food. According to many scientific studies, the powder is considered as good anti-inflammatory and good anti-oxidant agent. Dissolve few small pieces of asafoetida in half a cup of water and drink to relieve from gas, pain and for digestion
• Flatulence: It provides quick relief from flatulence when taken orally along with buttermilk. 
• Stomachache:  Hing or asafoetida helps to release the locked-up gas from the abdomen and relieves stomachache. It can be applied  as a paste on the stomach when mixed with water to relieve pain and distention of stomach.
• Cancer: Hing can also cure many incurable diseases like cancer by preventing the incomplete division of cells and further growth of infected cells.
• Cough and Cold: Asafoetida is one of the most common medicine used in Indian homes for the treatment of respiratory tract infections and in the treatment of coughs. It helps in relieving chest congestion and release of the phlegm. It is also helpful in  asthma and wheezing problems. In cough related problems, hing powder can be  mixed with other herbal mixtures like dry ginger, honey, tulsi juice etc. and can be taken 2-3 times a day. For treating whooping cough, hing is roasted with little bit of ghee and taken along with food.
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases: A study conducted in Egypt also says that asafoetida is anti-parasitic curing various genital infections and sexually transmitted diseases like Trichomonas vaginalis or Trichomoniasis.
• Nervous Disorders: It is revealed that hing acts like a sedative, an antidote to opium  and relaxes nerves, relieving depression, mood swings, hysteria etc.
• Menstrual problem and  dysmenorrhoea: Asafoetida is considered to be helpful for women with menstrual problems like menstrual cramps, irregular menses,  and aches and also helpful in the treatment of dysmenorrhoea. Use asafoetida fried in ghee regularly in diet to reduce the pain and discomfort accompanying menstrual periods and to promote free flow of fluid.

Other Health Benefits of Asafoetida or Hing

• Asafoetida helps in relieving from insect bites and snake bites. A thick paste of the herb applied on the infected area gives a quick relief.
• It is also used as an essential ingredient in the diet of lactating mothers for their good health.
• Hing also helps in preventing toothaches. A pinch of asafetida placed in a dental cavity will provide relief from a toothache.