There are so many plants out in the world producing wonderful things that can be used in various ways. Some of them we do not know much about and some of them have been studied extensively.
An example of a really popular plant is peppermint. I personally love it.
Let’s take a look at how it can be used!
Its use spans back many years
Peppermint is native to Europe and the Middle east. It was first discovered in the mid-1700s and has been beloved ever since!
It needs to be grown in at least partial sunlight. Full sunlight is said to cause more flavor and nutrients to be produced in the leaves. It really spreads when it grows so it is important to have enough room.
Peppermint is just one of many different plants in the mint family. Other ones include spearmint, water mint, chocolate mint, apple mint, banana mint, lavender mint, Pennyroyal, strawberry mint and so many more!
Alleged benefits
Peppermint has been studied quite a bit. Like any other plants, further research could be done for more definitive answers. Many people seem to be happy with it though!
The following is a list of benefits that peppermint may have:
- Helpful for athletes: May cause faster reaction times and increase grip strength.
- Helpful for GI and bowel issues: May sooth issues such as functional dyspepsia and IBS.
- Has anti-bacterial and anti-microbial effects
- Helpful for general nausea
- Helpful for respiratory issues
- Helpful for aches and pains
- Helpful for hair growth
You can find various studies and anecdotal evidence behind the aforementioned benefits.
How you can use peppermint
There are different forms you can get peppermint in and different ways you can use it. Here are some of them:
- Using it as an ingredient in food: There are many different recipes that you can find that use peppermint leaves. From breakfasts to desserts!
- Chew the leaves: You can chew on the leaves for instant fresh breath!
- Drink it in tea form: You can use the leaves to make your own or buy tea bags. Peppermint tea might help you with digestion if you drink it after meals and it may ease nausea.
- Smell it: Smelling the leaves or the essential oil can help ease nausea, headaches and breathing problems.
- Rubbed on parts of your body: Diluting peppermint essential oil (here is a guide: https://www.nowfoods.com/now/nowledge/diluting-essential-oils) in a rollerball bottle is really useful to have around. It can be rubbed on places where you are experiencing pain (like on your temples for a headache) or on your belly/wrists for nausea relief. The diluted oil can also be used as a deodorizer for your armpits if necessary.
- Use on hair: For hair growth/health, you could put drops of the essential oil in your conditioner, use it as a hair rinse after washing, put it in a hair mask, use it diluted on your edges/eyebrows and as a hair deodorizer.
- Use in homemade cleaning products: If you like to make your own products to clean with, you can use peppermint essential oil as an ingredient. It could help give the DIY products a better smell and may provide some antibacterial action.
- Take it in capsule form: You can find peppermint oil gel capsules to swallow when needed for digestion, GI, bowel and nausea issues.
How I use peppermint
As I mentioned before, I love peppermint.
This is how I use it on a regular basis:
- Smell the essential oil for nausea.
- Drink the tea for nausea.
- Rub the diluted oil onto my head when I have my PMS headaches.
- Mix a few drops of the essential oil in my hair masks and handfuls of my conditioner (my hair requires a lot!).
I just ordered some peppermint drops from a company called, Tummy Drops (here is the product: https://www.amazon.com/Tummydrops-Natural-Peppermint-30-Drops/dp/B004BH503U/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=tummy+drops&qid=1588718115&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzVktOUThKRFVHTkhKJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDAzMzI4M0RFVjc1T1pQM0QyViZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDU3OTc4MUdQQVRNVzdCMEZYSyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=). These are candy made with peppermint and used for nausea. I want to try these to see if they work for my PMS sickness. If they do, I will replace them for drinking the tea (I cannot always handle drinking it).
One of my favorite dishes uses mint in it. It is called, Chicken Tagine and is a Moroccan recipe. There are different recipes for it out there but this is the one I like the best: https://thegoodheartedwoman.com/apricot-chicken-tagine-ginger-mint/
Maybe you will want to try using it
It is relatively easy to incorporate peppermint into your life. There are even more ways than what I put in this post. Some medications are said to have a negative interaction with it so make sure that you look those up beforehand.
I have had great results from using it in various forms and I hope you do too!
Do you use peppermint for anything in your daily life? Let me know!
Thanks for reading!
Some sources-
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3607906/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5814329/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16767798
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/mint/mint-plant-varieties.htm
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4289931/
#peppermint #essentialoils #plants #health #beauty #haircare #tea #stayathome
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