The Health Benefits of Peppermint

The first thing most people think about in relation to peppermint is a sweet, striped candy with a refreshing taste. What gives our favorite candies and teas that awesome flavor, however, is actually a plant. This purple flower with bright green leaves boasts more than 30 different species of its kind. According to Greek mythology, Persephone turned Mentha the nymph into a mint. Thus, creating this plant out of raging anger which is a wide contrast to the calming benefits of peppermint. In addition to uses in food, it's also present in medicines such as cold remedies, muscle rubs, vapor rubs, and vapor bathing supplies. Peppermint is a multi-use herb, which can be incorporated into remedies for people of all ages to reap its benefits. There are also many forms which it can be used in, such as the whole plant form, diluted essential oils, teas, and in different skin conditioners. The method one decides to use really depends on which is the most convenient for them.

Peppermint is often used to flavor foods, as a food itself, or to disinfect. It contains a carminative (an agent that dispels gas and bloating in the human digestive system) and an antispasmodic that relieves stomach and intestinal cramps. Peppermint is widely known for its effect on the intestinal tract and stomach ills. There are several stomach teas containing this mint, which you can purchase at major retailers such as Walmart, besides health food stores. Peppermint can be used to subside gas, nausea, and the stomach pain of an irritable bowel, intestinal cramps, or indigestion. Some use it for too much stomach acid (hyper acidity) and gastroenteritis (nausea and stomach upset that we sometimes call stomach flu), and mothers incorporate it for safe treatment in infants with colic. Stomach ails in babies are treated with either a teaspoon of peppermint tea, or a cloth soaked in it placed on the belly. Pregnant women use it in the form of tea to relieve morning sickness.

Peppermint can also be applied to the skin for relief of certain conditions. Just remember that you should dilute it when using the essential oils. They are too strong to apply directly to the skin. Itchy conditions such as insect bites, eczema, and other skin irritations, including those of poison ivy can be temporarily relieved by rubbing peppermint onto them. It is also said that you can rub the oils onto the temples or scalp for relief of a headache. Peppermint foot lotions and creams kill the fungus associated with athlete's foot. The pain, burning, and inflammation of muscles will feel relief after rubbing them down with a muscle rub or ice treatment containing the menthol of peppermint. It is absorbed into the skin pretty easily, it has the temporary pain-relieving effect via its relaxing of organs or muscles that spasm. Virus, fungi, and bacteria can be decreased by the menthol in peppermint, but is often overlooked for this purpose. Some mothers give peppermint tea to their babies for treatment of thrush, by coating the inside of their mouth with a little bit of it.

As with any herbal remedies, you must still use caution with dosages and frequency in using peppermint. If you experience nausea, rashes, or headaches after consuming it, then you most likely have an allergy to peppermint. If this happens, continue all use immediately. People with gallbladder problems, GERD, stomach obstructions, or liver diseases should not use it, as it will worsen the conditions. It is believed by some in health care that peppermint may relax bile ducts, promoting the bile flow. Others report it as an aid in gallbladder disease, which can dissolve gallstones when combined with other acid therapies. Peppermint can slow milk production in nursing women from a slight amount to a much larger scale depending upon consumption. The essential oil should not be used in the eyes or open wounds, and never use essential oil of any kind in an undiluted form. Peppermint can leave the esophageal sphincter open in some individuals, allowing stomach acids to rise up the throat and cause severe damage. This is why those with hiatal hernia, GERD, or problems with the esophagus should not use peppermint.