Peppermint Health Benefits

Peppermint on the Vine. Image Courtesy of Wikipedia

I suspect peppermint is one of the most popular herbs in the United States. It's uses outside of teas are many indeed, from flavorings to your toothpaste, flavorings in all sorts of candies, ice cream (you've never tried Peppermint Stick Ice Cream???), and quite literally...the list is endless. The reason for so many uses is due to its high menthol content, which produces a rather strong and sweet taste...perfect for sweet-tooth addicted Americans, such as myself.

Not surprisingly, peppermint has found its way into many, many herbal teas. Indeed, I have a sneaky suspicion, backed by nothing more than my own intuition, that peppermint teas are likely the most popular herbal tea in the United States. Even the worse peppermint tea generally tastes ok...and the good ones are absolutely spectacular.

In addition to having a knockout taste, peppermint has many health benefits...another reason for its popularity. The health benefits of peppermint include :

1. Indigestion & Upset Stomach : This is by far the biggest health benefit of peppermint. The oil in peppermint helps soothe the stomach and can greatly assist in relieving upset stomachs...or just relieve the "too full" feeling after eating a heavy meal. For me, I've found time and time again that a peppermint tea after a big dinner dramatically reduces that "full" feeling and, when I have an upset stomach...yes, the tea works wonders in quickly making it go away.
2. Muscle Relaxant : Some people also believe that the aroma of peppermint can be a muscle relaxant.
3. Vitamins : Peppermint oil, not necessarily in tea form, has Vitamin A and Vitamin C in it. How much depends on how it is processed. In a tea form, you'll get little of either. Generally, you'll get the vitamin benefits when consuming peppermint in pill, tablet or powder form. And no...you won't get vitamin benefits in a peppermint life saver!

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