Mints as Medicine
These Mints Provide Medicinal Qualities
When you think of mint, you likely think of things like mint jelly or mint in chewing gum. You likely do not think of mint as a medicinal option. The truth is, there are several members of the mint family that do have very strong medicinal qualities and can take the place of most over the counter medication options.
Here are four of those mints, their medicinal qualities, and how to extract as much of those qualities as possible.
Peppermint
Peppermint is the most common mint in the mint family. It is easy to grow in small herbal gardens in or out of the home. The medicinal qualities of mint are fairly straightforward. It is known for helping to ease stomach upset, to help with constipation, and to help with headaches including migraines and stress related headaches. The easiest ways to extract the mint are to either bruise the leaf in a mortar and pestle and place in teas or tinctures or you can eat the leaf directly though it may have a bitter taste that is unpleasant if you are already ill. You can also dehydrate mint leaves and use them later in tea mixtures and tinctures for later use.
Apple Mint
Apple mint may not be a common mint to most people, but it has some very beneficial properties for those seeking weight loss solutions. The mint can be taken in a tea form or tincture form and added to juices or as a daily supplement. The addition of this mint helps with boosting metabolism and helping with weight loss. It also helps with digestion and the common intestinal discomfort that may start when a new diet plan and workout plan is introduced. The mint can be grown easily in or outside of the home and the leaves harvested as needed.
Basil
When you hear the word mint, the last thing you likely think of is basil. Basil is actually part of the mint family and has some very beneficial properties for home medical use. The biggest benefit of basil for medicinal use is the antibacterial property it holds. It can be used on cuts and abrasions to help with healing. It can also be used to calm skin issues. These are, of course, in addition to the natural mint properties that most members of the mint family hold such as reducing stomach upset. Basil can also be used in toothpastes and homemade mouth rinses to help with bacteria issues in oral care routines.
Coriander
There are two reasons to keep coriander or coriander oil in your home above all other mints. Food poisoning issues and urinary tract infections. Both of these issues can happen, and both can happen when you least expect them. The issue with both is that they can render you unable to drive or go out of the home for medication. With that in mind, having coriander on hand can help. The oil or the mint can be taken orally and can help to combat the poison or infection that is bothering your system. You will still need to see a doctor if the issue worsens, but the coriander can be a life savior to initially get the issues under control.
By using one or more of these mints, you can cover the vast majority of the health issues that most people face on a routine basis. Remember you can keep the leaves dehydrated and mix them in teas and tinctures to use as needed and store for later use as well.