Benefits and uses of Mint for human health

Mint

What Is Mint?

Mint is an aromatic herb produced by various species of the mint plant (Mentha). Native to the eastern Mediterranean, mint gets its name from a mythic nymph named Minthe (Mintho). As an herb, it is gluten-free and suitable for vegan, vegetarian, and paleo diets.

Varieties

Spearmint and curly mint are the varieties most often grown to use as an herb in cooking and beverages. Peppermint is a little too strong to use fresh for most culinary purposes.

Taste

Mint tastes sweet and produces a lingering cool effect on the tongue. Peppermint has a stronger flavor with more menthol taste. The fresh leaves have the most flavor and scent, with those much reduced in dried mint leaves.

Cooking

Fresh mint leaves are usually cut in ribbons (chiffonade) and added to recipes. A stalk with a few tender leaves is placed in a hot or cold beverage and may be crushed (muddled) to release more flavor. Dried mint leaves can be added to a sauce or stew as it simmers. Mint extract is used to give mint flavor baked goods or confections, or to flavor hot chocolate.

Health Benefits

Each variety of mint has been traditionally used to treat numerous ailments, ranging from an upset stomach to nervousness.

Rich in Nutrients

While not typically consumed in large quantities, mint does contain a fair amount of nutrients.

In fact, just less than 1/3 cup or half an ounce (14 grams) of spearmint contains:

• Calories: 6
• Fiber: 1 gram
• Vitamin A: 12% of the RDI
• Iron: 9% of the RDI
• Manganese: 8% of the RDI
• Folate: 4% of the RDI

Because of its dynamic flavor, mint is often added to recipes in small amounts, so consuming even 1/3 cup may be difficult. However, it’s possible you may come close to this amount in some salad recipes that include mint among the other ingredients.

Mint is a particularly good source of vitamin A. It is also a potent source of antioxidants, especially when compared to other herbs and spices. Antioxidants help protect your body from oxidative stress, a type of damage to cells caused by free radicals.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common digestive tract disorder. It is characterized by digestive symptoms like stomach pain, gas, bloating and changes in bowel habits.

Although treatment for IBS often includes dietary changes and taking medications, research shows that taking peppermint oil as an herbal remedy might also be helpful.

Peppermint oil contains a compound called menthol, which is thought to help alleviate IBS symptoms through its relaxing effects on the muscles of the digestive tract.

One study found that 75% of patients who took peppermint oil for four weeks showed improvements in IBS symptoms, compared to 38% of the patients in the placebo group.

Notably, nearly all research showing IBS symptom relief used oil capsules rather than raw mint leaves.

Relieve Indigestion

Mint may also be effective at relieving other digestive problems such as upset stomach and indigestion.

Indigestion may occur when food sits in the stomach for too long before passing into the rest of the digestive tract.

Multiple studies have shown that food passes through the stomach quicker when people take peppermint oil with meals, which could relieve symptoms from this type of indigestion.

A clinical study in people with indigestion showed that a combination of peppermint oil and caraway oil taken in capsules had effects similar to medications used to treat indigestion. This helped improve stomach pain and other digestive symptoms.

Similar to IBS, studies highlighting mint’s ability to relieve indigestion used peppermint oil rather than fresh or dried leaves.

Improve Brain Function

In addition to ingesting mint, there are claims that inhaling the aroma of essential oils from the plant could provide health benefits, including improved brain function.

Decrease Breastfeeding Pain

Breastfeeding mothers commonly experience sore and cracked nipples, which can make breastfeeding painful and difficult.

Another study similarly showed that only 3.8% of mothers who applied a peppermint gel experienced nipple cracks, compared to 6.9% of those who used lanolin and 22.6% of those who used a placebo.

Improves Cold Symptoms

Many over-the-counter cold and flu treatments contain menthol, a primary compound in peppermint oil.

Many people believe menthol is an effective nasal decongestant that can get rid of congestion and improve airflow and breathing.

Allergies

Mint plants contain an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent called rosmarinic acid.

However, the content of mint extract in oils and ointments may be far stronger than dietary mint. There is very little research into the effect of dietary mint on the symptoms of allergies.

Mask Bad Breath

Mint-flavored chewing gum and breath mints are some of the first things people reach for when trying to prevent or get rid of bad breath.

Add to Your Diet

You can easily add mint to green salads, desserts, smoothies and even water. Peppermint tea is another popular way to incorporate it into your diet.

However, many of the studies showing the health benefits of mint didn’t involve eating the leaves with food. Instead, mint was taken as a capsule, applied to the skin or inhaled via aromatherapy.

When using mint for health purposes, it is important to evaluate what you are looking to achieve and how the plant was used in the research for that particular purpose.

The list below should help summarize some of the research discussed above.

• Eating fresh or dried leaves: Used to treat bad breath.
• Inhaling essential oils: May improve brain function and cold symptoms.
• Applying it to the skin: Used to reduce nipple pain from breastfeeding.
• Taking capsules with food: May help treat IBS and indigestion.

The Bottom Line

Mint makes a delicious and healthy addition to many foods and beverages.

Although mint is easy to add to many dishes, research demonstrating its health benefits has mainly used mint taken in capsules, applied to the skin or inhaled via aromatherapy.

Mint’s health benefits range from improving brain function and digestive symptoms to relieving breastfeeding pain, cold symptoms and even bad breath.

You really can’t go wrong adding some mint to your diet.