Over-the-counter medicines are getting more expensive and harder to obtain. Think how much you regularly pay for mouthwash and pills for indigestion and flatulence. Natural mint infusion (long-steeped tea) helps keep your mouth and digestion sweet, and costs laughably little compared to OTC remedies. Here we’ll tell you how to use fresh or dried mint to save money and make your presence more agreeable in society.
Note: This post discusses the use of fresh or dried herb only, not oils, capsules, or other commercial products.
The two most commonly used mints (out of hundreds of varieties) are peppermint and spearmint.
Peppermint is the stronger, with more medicinal menthol and methyl salicylate, the active ingredients that sweep bacteria, fungi and virus out of the mouth and reduce them in the gut. It’s also the more antispasmodic of the two mints, relieving diarrhea and stomach cramps. Peppermint flavors many brands of toothpaste and commercial anti-acid remedies for those reasons.
Spearmint shares peppermint’s properties, but in milder form. It’s the safe mint to give to kids. Half a cup of tea every few hours is safe for children as a soothing warm drink when they’re down with a cold, or to control diarrhea; or, as a rinse after brushing teeth. NEVER give peppermint, in any form, to infants and young kids. The menthol content of peppermint may cause them difficulty breathing.
Swishing the mouth out with mint infusion after brushing (with an SLS-free toothpaste) completes daily dental care by treating teeth and gums to an antibacterial bath. Adults use peppermint infusion, and kids get spearmint. Most kids, by the way, enjoy the rinse-and-spit routine.
A bonus from mint infusion when combined with sage is as a mouthwash that prevents cold and flu viruses from latching on. Although safe to rinse and spit, it’s not to be swallowed. Mint/sage infusion won’t keep Covid or similar life-threatening viruses at bay, but with its antimicrobial properties, it’s amazingly effective in helping to evade the common cold. Think of overheated, crowded, under-ventilated classrooms and work spaces: hotbeds of illness. It’s worth the twenty minutes to steep the infusion and the few seconds to rinse the mouth. Recipe for mint infusion below.
Bad breath sometimes has other origins. Post-nasal drip can make the breath unpleasant. An inhalation of strong mint infusion opens nasal passages and can help relieve the condition.
Either mint, but especially peppermint, relieves indigestion, nausea and flatulence, as tea or even by chewing on a couple of fresh green leaves. Being antispasmodic, peppermint soothes stomach muscles and improves digestion, so food passes through more easily.
If you’re worried about flatulence before a social occasion, drink mint tea or chew on a mint tablet, or pluck a couple of fresh leaves off that mint plant on your windowsill and and chew them up. You’ll be worry-free for hours afterward.
Some caveats with regard to peppermint: if you suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peppermint may make your heartburn worse. This is because peppermint, in relaxing the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract, might allow more stomach acid to escape into the esophagus.
In other words, a bout of heartburn after overindulging in spicy, greasy food can be safely treated with mint tea, but if you suffer from chronic heartburn, forgo peppermint and talk to your doctor.
Related: Relieve Flu Symptoms with Kitchen Remedies
Peppermint may interact with certain medications. It should not be taken with cyclosporine, a drug taken by organ transplant patients. It may also reduce the effect of medications metabolized in the liver or drugs that reduce stomach acid.
Parsley and Mint Mouthwash
Blend:
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint
1 cup of filtered water
1 tablespoon of vodka.
Strain. Keep the herbal refrigerated between uses: can be kept for 3 days.
Rinse the mouth with 1 tablespoon of the herbal mouthwash. Do not swallow; spit it out.
Mint tea with fresh herb:
Boil 2 cups of water.
Put a handful of fresh mint leaves in a teapot or saucepan.
Steep, covered, 5 minutes.
Sweeten to taste.
Mint tea with dried herb: Use 1 tablespoon dried leaves. Or use a commercial mint teabag, keeping the tea covered until you drink. Check the production date on the box: if the tea’s over a year old, the mint will have lost most of its properties.
Drink mint tea hot in the winter and cold in the summer. Add a healthy slice of lemon, either way, for lemony tang and added vitamin C.
Mint infusion:
Chop a handful of fresh leaves or use 1 tablespoon dried mint.
Put the herb into a teapot or saucepan.
Boil 1 cup water. Pour it over the mint.
Cover the teapot or saucepan. Steep 20 minutes before straining.
Take 2 tablespoons every 2-3 hours.
The infusion is excellent, reheated, as a decongestant inhalation. Place a bowl of steaming tea on the table. Lean over the bowl and cover your head with a towel to trap the steam. Inhale the tea for 5 minutes. Take a breather out of the tent if it’s too hot, but return to the steam for 5 minutes’ inhalation.
Interesting fact about mint nutrition: mint has as much vitamin C by weight as oranges. While no one expects to eat that much mint at once, here’s a good winter salad with tender spearmint leaves (peppermint is too strong):
Orange and Mint Salad
2 fresh, juicy oranges, peeled and sliced
1 large tomato, sliced
Small handful of spearmint leaves, coarsely chopped
Your favorite salad dressing
Intersperse the orange and tomato slices on a flat dish.
Scatter the chopped spearmint over the orange and tomato.
Drizzle your favorite dressing over all, and serve.
Can’t find tomatoes at this time of year? The salad’s good without them too.
And a mild, minty note for next summer: Steep a healthy handful of whole mint leaves, plus a thinly-sliced lemon, in filtered room-temperature water for an hour. Refrigerate before serving, or serve over ice. Many like it just as it is, without sweetening.
Image of mint tea by jaida-stewart-Bmek6EYG9Uk via unsplash
Image of mint leaves by anna-hliamshyna-VDR-uVIHP_8-unsplash
More cool herbs and how to use them:
