Medicinal Mint: A Refreshing Remedy
Mint is a fantastic flavor for your food and beverages (hello summer iced tea!), but did you know it's also one of the most potent natural remedies around? See the list of what this healing herb can do!
Mint is a fantastic flavor in pastries, drinks, soups, salads and more, but did you know it’s also one of the most potent natural home remedies around for a whole host of ailments? While you may enjoy it in your ice tea or a mojito, after reading this long list of it’s medicinal properties, you’ll want to make sure you’re growing some this year. Here’s a look at some of the beneficial uses for this healing herb:
Mint Home Remedies
Aids Digestion: Eating some fresh mint or drinking mint tea can help to ease heartburn, nausea, abdominal cramps, morning sickness, irritable bowl syndrome, and more. Mint oil can even prevent diarrhea and reduce flatulence.
Eases Respiratory Issues: Chewing on fresh mint can clear out sinuses, relieve sore throats, calm coughs, and even soothe asthma and bronchitis.
Encourages Reproductive Health: Taking mint extract before and during menstruation can stave off painful cramps.
Heals Wounds: Mint oil has antiseptic properties and can be used to speed the healing of minor cuts and scrapes.
Promotes Healthy Skin: Apply mint oil to pimples, skin rashes, sunburn, bug bites, and hemorrhoids to reduce pain, itchiness, and inflammation.
Soothes Aches and Pains: Rub mint oil (recipe below) over sore muscles and achy joints to help with pain from overexertion, injuries, or arthritis. Rubbing mint oil on your temples can also help soothe headaches, including migraines.
Tames Toothaches: If you have a cavity, cracked a tooth, or lost a filling, you can ease your suffering until you can get to a dentist by rubbing some mint oil into and around the affected tooth. Try more toothache remedies here.
Make Your Own Mint Tea
You can buy pre-made mint tea bags, but it’s also easy to make your own. Just steep freshly-cut mint leaves in hot water for about five minutes and serve.
Make Your Own Mint Oil
For an effective home remedy for the above ailments and more:
Crush fresh, dry mint leaves with a mallet or a mortar and pestle to release the oils.
Place the mint in a jar and cover it with about 2 oz. flavorless, odorless carrier oil, such as jojoba or almond oil, and shake to combine. Place the jar in a warm place for 24 hours, then strain the oil through a piece of cheesecloth to remove the mint leaves. Apply topically to soothe sore muscles.
Helpful Mint Growing Tip:
If you’re growing mint, be sure to grow it in pots, as it can spread! See the tip here.
Jaime McLeod
Jaime McLeod is a longtime journalist who has written for a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including MTV.com. She enjoys the outdoors, growing and eating organic food, and is interested in all aspects of natural wellness.
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Jaime McLeod#molongui-disabled-link
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I was wondering if some of these practices were more common in some cultures than another. I am doing a school project for my botany class, and I must find 5-6 different groups/cultures/etc. that use mint for medicinal purposes. Any websites that a user could give would be great help. Have a great day! (and THANKS)
Plant mint to discourage deer and rodents from your garden.
Last summer I bought Chocolate Mint for my garden and it flourished in the partial shade I planted it in. Now we’re thinking of getting rid of that planting bed entirely(in front of the porch but under a tree so most of the area is covered in shade except the tiny section I put my mint in). How hard would it be to transplant since I don’t really want the kids trampling it. One of the neighborhood stray toms loves to lie in it as well.
how much dried mint leaves per tea bag? and when you order empty tea bags are they all the same size, if not what size should I purchase? I have many mint plants and want to harvest my own and make my own tea bags.
I have made my own mint tea for years. I dry the leaves and put them in bags you can get at tea stores or online. You just iron them closed. More potent than anything you can buy, and so much healthier. Great for illness, and for anyone who suffers from GERD. I give it away as gifts at Christmas. Also a nice change to throw in your milk when preparing hot chocolate. One tea bag steeped in the milk is good for many servings 🙂
I grew pineapple mint for the first time this past spring. Plant got huge and had pretty tiny red flowers.
Easy to grow in a container (because it spreads.) Wonderful in Mojitoes!
I bought peppermint oil at a spice store.
Is dehydrating a good way to save mint to use later?
I don’t mind if my mint takes over my yard, really smells good when you cut the grass and its green!! Who says we have to have grass in our yards!
Mint will subsume anything in it’s path. lol. lawns. cows. anything! I have some, but I keep it in a pot. It’s wonderful stuff. (btw, anything with a square stem is in the mint family and therefore potentially invasive.)
Love the simple TIP .. Square Tip*. Da moment.. FOR ME…THANK YOU SHELLA
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Than you for a very informative article…
Yes mint spreads fast like weeds and will be happy to take over. There are several mint varieties,,so crunch up a leaf and see how it smells,,most likely you have mint in your yard. I purchased my mint plants from Ebay actually,,but amazon and garden websites have it too
I live in SC, does mint grow wild? Someone told me that I have a lot of it growing in my cow lane. It kind of has a purplish tint to it and if I cut it it has a sweet smell. Afraid to try and eat it don’t want to just eat a weed
Jamie, can I use coconut oil to make the mint oil? I know coco oil solidifies at 75 degrees and lower. Any suggestions on using coco oil to make mint oil?
I have a type of minty smelling plant in my gardens , does it grow like a weed? spreads all over. Can you help me ?
That sounds like mint, all right, Marsha.
I see someone was going to lowe’s, remember they sell flowers with pesitcides that kills our bees 🙂
Love mint. I grow chocolate, apple, spearmint and pineapple mint.You can get them at a good nursery.
Is spearmint also medicinal or only peppermint?
I have so much mint …thanku for the wonderful post♥♥♥♥♥
Mint leaves can be purchased at most garden centers – they usually have a section with herbs for planting – mint oil most likely would be sold in health food stores
Are there types that are better than others? I’m going to try growing it in the house.
I got my peppermint to plant at my local hardware store. I plan to go to our Lowe’s to try to find some other types.
Better yet, I remember as a child the stands of mint throughout my parents’ garden. What a delight to go “pick mint” for numerous reasons…..especially to put into ice tea on a warm summer’s eve. Where can mint plants be purchased for starting? It seems to be very scarce.
sold in stores, but mint is easy to grow and spreads like wildfire in a sunny garden or pot in a window
Where can i get mint leaves or oil