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Picture of
Peppermint
Peppermint Leaves as herbal remedy for nausea.
73868070 Photodisc Royalty Free Photograph
Peppermint Tea, herbal remedy for indigestion
IS202-025 Image Source Royalty Free Photograph
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Bankoro, Noni, Immune System Builder |
Peppermint Oil- Peppermint
is
an herb that is often used to flavor foods, and the leaves can be used fresh or
dried in teas.
Common Names--peppermint oil
Latin Names--Mentha x piperita
- What Peppermint oil Is Used For
- Peppermint oil has been used for a
variety of health conditions, including nausea, indigestion, and cold
symptoms.
- Peppermint oil is also used for
headaches, muscle and nerve pain, and stomach and bowel conditions such as
irritable bowel syndrome.
- Try our Herbal Remedy and Herbal
Medicine:
RealHeal Massage Oil Helps soothe and relieve pain, as well as promote
faster healing.
- Soothe and relieve pain and
promote faster healing after surgery (including cosmetic surgery) or after
physical injury or trauma
- Promote disappearance of
bruising
- Relieve arthritis, rheumatism
and all inflammatory joint and muscle conditions
- Soothe sore muscles related to
exercise
- Soothe and promote faster
healing of sports related injuries (including professional sports)
- Reduce the need for prescription
painkillers and anti-inflammatories
- How Peppermint oil Is Used
Essential oil of peppermint can be taken in very small doses in capsule or
liquid forms. The essential oil can also be diluted with another oil and
applied to the skin.
- What the Science Says about
Peppermint oil
- Results from several studies
suggest that peppermint oil may improve symptoms of irritable bowel
syndrome.
- A few studies have found that
peppermint oil, in combination with caraway oil, may help relieve
indigestion, but this evidence is preliminary.
- Although there are some promising
results, there is no clear-cut evidence to support the use of peppermint oil
for other health conditions.
- Side Effects and Cautions of
Peppermint oil
- Peppermint oil appears to be safe
for most adults when used in small doses. Possible side effects include
allergic reactions and heartburn.
- Capsules containing peppermint oil
are often coated to reduce the likelihood of heartburn. If they are taken at
the same time as medicines such as antacids, this coating can break down
more quickly and increase the risk of heartburn and nausea.
- Tell your health care
providers about any complementary and alternative practices you use. Give
them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help
ensure coordinated and safe care.
What's an Herb? An herb is a plant or part of a plant used for its flavor, scent, or potential
therapeutic properties. Includes flowers, leaves, bark, fruit, seeds, stems, and
roots. Herbal medicine products are dietary supplements that people take
to improve their health. Many herbs have been used for a long time for claimed
health benefits. They are sold as tablets, capsules, powders, teas, extracts and
fresh or dried plants. However, some can cause health problems, some are not
effective and some may interact with other drugs you are taking.
Dietary supplement is a
product that contains vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino
acids, enzymes, and/or other ingredients intended to supplement the diet. The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration has special labeling requirements for
dietary supplements and treats them as foods, not drugs.
To use an herbal product as safely as
possible:
-
Consult your doctor first
-
Do not take a bigger dose than the label
recommends
-
Take it under the guidance of a trained
medical professional
-
Be especially cautious if you are pregnant or
nursing
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Why should I use herbal products?
The decision to use herbs to improve your
health is, as with all health decisions, a personal one. There are, however,
many good reasons to consider herbal products to complement your own
health care methods. One of the best reason, however, may be the fact that
herbs and herbal products, continue to provide real health benefits while
maintaining a remarkable safety profile. Readily available natural
substances were the first medicines used by humans. Primitive and ancient
civilizations as well as contemporary cultures throughout the world have
always relied on herbs to provide the benefits that have been observed with
their use. In fact, the World Health Organization has estimated that 80
percent of the world's population continues to use traditional therapies, a
major part of which are derived from plants, as their primary health care
tools. In our own time and culture, most herbs are available in the form of
"herbal supplements." These products are found in the form of teas, tablets,
capsules, liquid extracts, and others. We now have ready access to products
that bring the herbal traditions from all over the world in a variety of
convenient forms. In addition, scientific inquiries continue to develop our
knowledge of the benefits of plants, and often validate the observations
made over the past centuries.
Are herbs safe?
Plants that enjoy broad culinary and
therapeutic usage are generally safe. We can flavor our food with any number
of herbs to make a meal more flavorful. We can appreciate a delicious cup of
peppermint leaf or ginger root tea, or benefit from the soothing properties
of marshmallow root or the bark of slippery elm. We can take an herbal
supplement containing dandelion root or saw palmetto berries, or any number
of the other herbs. Although allergies and reactions have been recorded for
a few herbs that are widely used in foods and supplements, such individual
concerns are also seen with many foods, and do not diminish the safety
profile of the many herbs that are generally recognized as safe. On the
other hand, and as everyone knows, there are any number of plants that are
highly toxic, even deadly.
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