Peppermint is one of the most classic scents of all time.
It also boosts serious benefit for your health, especially for your gut! While you might not think to add peppermint oil to your food, you might want to reconsider. Make hot teas, dishes, smoothies, and desserts and reap the many benefits while eating tasty 🙂
It’s also an essential oil that I always carry in my at home natural pharmacy.
Want to know why? Keep reading and I’ll tell you!
What ailments can peppermint essential oil help treat?
- It works as a treatment for a variety of conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), nausea, and other digestive issues
- The common cold
- Headaches
- Fatigue and brain fogs
- Anxiety
- It’s an antibacterial
- Use it as a topical application for relief from itching and muscle pain
Reduces IBS Symptoms
Peppermint oil is one of the most highly recommended natural cures for IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) symptoms like indigestion, gas, bloating, pain, and irregularity.
It’s also helpful for IBS because peppermint oil reduces stress, which reduces IBS symptoms naturally. IBS wreaks havoc on the gut during times of stress since the nervous system and digestive system work interchangeably together. Even just sniffing peppermint oil has been found to help symptoms, though ingesting the oil or capsules of the oil can help much more efficiently.
Peppermint tea is another popular option, though not as strong as the oil itself. Just a tiny drop of the oil in some hot water with lemon and ginger (other digestive aids) is a powerful, natural therapy for an upset stomach.
Reduces Indigestion
Indigestion is also quickly silenced with some peppermint oil. The condition known as dyspepsia (minor indigestion) can occur due to someone containing inefficient enzymes required for digestion or can occur if an especially acidic, or rich meal is eaten by sensitive individuals.
Peppermint oil (along with caraway, fennel, and wormwood oil) have all been found to be three times more effective than a popular drug used to treat this very common ailment. It works by reducing spasms, gastric acid, and relieving pain associated with poor digestion.
After your next meal, try drinking a little water diluted with some peppermint oil. Or, opt for a hot cup of peppermint oil tea with your meal as an even more effective method.
Headaches and migraines
Applying diluted peppermint oil onto the forehead has been found to be effective in the treatment of a tension headache.
I can say from using it myself that I consider it being as efficient as over the counter pills.
How to use:
Peppermint oil, like all essential oils, is very strong. A little will go a very long way.
Dosage recommendations by New York University Medical Center recommend using 0.2 ml to 0.4 ml per day as needed or as a preventative method.
Most essential oils come with automatic dispensers that allow you to shake the oil in tiny drops into whatever you like, but some may not, so you’ll need to measure before just pouring the oil into your water, tea, recipes, etc. Don’t overdose! It will highly overwhelm your beverages and food and more isn’t always better with essential oils due to their high potency.
Some words of caution:
Be sure to buy 100 percent pure, food-grade essential oil, preferably organic, for the safest option.
You should look for the botanical name in the ingredient list, which will ensure it’s 100 percent pure and derived from true peppermint. The ingredient (botanical name) should be: Mentha piperita.
Also look for steam-distilled, which will ensure it wasn’t processed with any chemicals that could harm your health.