Digestion from eating holiday food? Try peppermint

[BabaRa]

Peppermint oil (sorry, not candy folks) has garnered a well-deserved reputation for its ability to treat numerous abdominal problems such as cramping and pain, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, flatulence, stomach cancer, irritable bowel syndrome and gallbladder disease. While most of its known benefits deal with stomach and digestive issues, some of the latest research now suggests that it may also be of assistance to curb cravings, ease tension headaches, boost concentration and even enhance exercise performance.



Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/043317_pe...#ixzz2oKjnmS29

[john parslow]

If you are lucky enough to have space and grow your own mint, snip a small bunch and make an infusion with boiling water, allow to cool and drink it down - same effect as Babara's ... xx

[Seikou-Kishi]

peppermint is absolutely fantastic for this. Ginger is good too. I know somebody with irritable bowel syndrome and I made her a batch of marshmallows. Every time she felt the discomfort of the syndrome, she'd eat a single marshmallow and it'd be gone and she wouldn't suffer it again for quite some time.

Peppermint's great for headaches too, as you say. Whenever I have a headache, I massage a few drops into the effected area. Within seconds the characteristic hot and cold feeling of peppermint will spread through the area. Whether it neutralises the pain or just confuses the hell out of the sensory neurons, I really don't know, but it works.

It's also good for aching muscles after a big workout or busy day. I put a few drops of the oil together with a few drops of eucalyptus oil in the bath if my body aches. Despite the hot water, your legs might feel slightly cold in the bath, but as soon as you get out of the water, that's when it really hits and it's very invigorating. I make peppermint and eucalyptus bathbombs just for that. I make shampoo with peppermint and teatree oils that does the same. It'll also get rid of a cold in seconds. I confess sometimes I have showers I don't need just to use my shampoos. My actual bathing is quite weird anyway though. I bathe normally first, then bathe in a tea of lemon balm (enough to fill the bath with clear but strong, dark water). To the "tea" I add lemon balm oil in a base of almond oil. I often add other ingredients, like dried birch or oak leaves or myrrh oil. Depending on what I feel I need or sometimes just what I fancy. Adding a smudge-stick or two's worth of white sage is great if you feel under psychic attack.

Also, I have a blend of oils that include cinnamon and sweet orange oils that I diffuse throughout the rooms at this time of year. It's a rich, fruity, spicy scent like mulled wine. It's also quite antiseptic and helps ward off the illnesses prevalent at this time of year.



Edit: if you have kids, their delicate little mouths are less accepting of peppermint than our aged old gobs are. If a child is suffering with indigestion this Christmas, you can give them the same relief without the ferocity of peppermint by using spearmint. Unlike peppermint, which is both warming and cooling, spearmint is only cooling but in terms of digestion has all the same utility as its fiery brother. It's gentler and its lack of seemingly contradictory properties makes it less distracting.