Mint as a herb has been known for its medical benefits, such as treatment for nausea, fatigue, headache, asthma, and skin problems. It is also known for mint leaves to be used as treatment for depression and memory loss. The versatilities as well as myriad of healing properties made mint leaves suitable for many cosmetic and health products, such as tooth paste, inhalers, skin powder, and breath freshener.
Consumed as mint water, it offers a whole lot more than just cosmetics and topical products. In the following paragraphs, we will discuss the real benefits of consuming mint water.
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Thus, let’s check out the health benefits of mint water below!
1. Soothe the Stomach
People has been starting to add mint leaf to tea. The soothing feelings not only tastes cool to the tongue and throat, but also can induce the mild, refreshing feelings to the stomach. It is no secret that the mint leaves themselves are quite popular as appetizers, as the leaves are known to be able to promote digestion by soothing the indigestion and even inflammation that might happen.
Therefore, if there’s a symptom of stomachache caused by inflammation or other causes, you can try to drink a cup of mint tea. Also, as the mint water is derived from plant based source, it is quite fibrous in nature, which in turn might help in relieving the stomachache caused by constipation or indigestion.
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2. Aid in Digestion Process
Mint leaves also have the unique properties especially beneficial in promoting healthy digestion process. As we all know before, the substances in mint leaves can give soothing feeling to the stomach if drunk as a tea. Not only that, mint water also helps our digestive system in various other ways.
The aroma as well as the substances and essential oil contained in mint water can assist digestions by activating the salivary glands in the mouth and also stimulating the secretion of digestive enzymes. Therefore, we shouldn’t stop at using mint leaves as garnishes, directly consuming the leaves in the form of herbal tea prove to benefit our digestive system further.
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3. Might Help in Weight Loss
Admittedly, almost all herbal tea have the weight loss properties it should come as no surprise that mint water can also help in weight loss. The explanations behind this weight-loss ability is also quite straightforward.
First, mint leaves contain some dietary fiber which increases the fullness after meal. Second, as discussed in the earlier paragraphs, the essential oil contained in mint leaves can help enhancing the digestive system in some way that increases the necessary enzymes and reducing the risk of digestive problems.
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4. Useful for Breastfeeding Women
Breastfeeding is still the preferred method to pass nutrients from the mothers to the infants. Sciences also backed this up by finding various benefits which come with breastfeeding, both for the infants and the parents. Unfortunately, breastfeeding has caused some gripes among women, describing the activity as “damaging” to the nipples.
Thankfully however, mint water can also be the solution to this problem. In some study published in April 2007 by the International Breastfeeding Journal (yes, it existed), using mint water proved to be effective in treating the nipple cracks and pain in the nipple area mostly for the first-time mothers.
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5. Relieves Common Cold
The menthol content found in mint water is a well-known decongestant. In fact, he mint leaf itself has already gained renown for being used as ingredient for inhalers, balms and other solutions for respiratory problems. The good thing is, the same benefits can be derived from mint leaf even when it’s steeped in hot water.
Which is why for those with runny noses and nasal congestion, consuming mint water can be helpful in relieving the symptoms. The decongestant properties in menthol allows more air to be inhaled by nose by breaking up the build-ups of phlegm and mucus, in turn render them easier to expel. Mint water can also cool down the throat as well as relieving the soreness as one of the symptoms of common cold.
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6. Maintain Oral Health
Being essential oil, menthol oil contained in mint water also has some anti-microbial ability as well. That’s the reason why menthol is often paired along with ehtyl alcohol in some mouthwash products. The presence of mint water helps cooling the mouth area while also maintain the mouth hygiene. The plus side of using mint water, as opposed to alcohol-based mouthwash, is that it doesn’t leave the mouth dry. On the contrary, it freshen the esophagus and soothing the area from irritations and dryness.
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7. Contains Really Useful Vitamins and Minerals
Turns out, mint leaves are not just all essential oil either. There are other nutrients which most people aren’t aware of. It is said that two tablespoons of peppermint has two calories, 0.12 grams of protein, 0.48 grams of carbohydrates, 0.03 grams of fat and 0.30 grams of fiber. There are some useful minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosporus, iron, and some vitamins such as Vitamin C and Vitamin A.
While the nutritional contents in mint leaves are relatively small in amount, it is otherwise really nice to know that mint water can help adding some nutrients to complement our main diets in providing the required daily amounts.
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8. Relieves Troubled Respiration
If we brew mint water with enough composition of menthol oil, the result can be used as a treatment for many respiratory disorders, mostly the ones caused by congestion and irritations. The aroma of mint water, while might not be as strong as the pure menthol oil, can help clearing the congestion build ups inside of noses, throats, bronchi and lungs.
Which is why, drinking mint water as herbal tea prove to be helpful not only to refresh your body and mind, but also to relieve your oxygen circulation system and therefore helps making you fitter and healthier.
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9. Deals With Mental and Physical Fatigue
For us especially who are living in the busy working environments, the exposure to pressures and fatigues happens almost daily. The condition might harm our overall health further if not addressed accordingly. Which is why we need to take rests when the demands for it come, whether it’s from our bodies or our brains.
Physical fatigue is one thing, but mental fatigue can lead to even more dire conditions, such as anxiety and depressions. Therefore, if you happen to have some mint leaves in store, consider brewing mint tea for your drink of choice especially after a hard day’s work.
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10. Strengthens the Memories
Drinking mint water can also makes us smarter. As we all already learned, menthol in mint leaves has the stimulating properties, which means it can increase our alertness as well as cognitive function. The premise is based on some studies which found people who frequently consuming chewing gum (whose main ingredient is mint) had higher levels of memory retention as well as alertness.
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11. Relieves Symptoms of Allergies
Allergies, whether seasonal or not, might affect some people all over the world. Drinking mint water might help in relieving the allergies symptoms such as inner inflammations and irritations. This is based on the fact that mint can induce cool, soothing feelings to the surface of our respiratory systems. Although for topical uses, it is best advised to go for pure menthol oil instead, since the effect is stronger and more potent, therefore suitable for outer skins.
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12. Relieves Gastrointernal Problems
We have already learned that mint water can ease our digestion process. Turns out, the soothing, warming properties of mint water can also be used to relieve some stomach problems, such as bloating, upset stomaches and indigestion.
It is believed that mint has the ability to increase both the secretion and the circulation of bile, which further can aid speeding up the digestion processes. Even better, mint can warm the insides of our bellies, which eases the discharge of gases as the byproducts of the digestion process.
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Thus, here are more health benefits of drinking mint water:
Those are the health benefits of mint water. By now we should realize how beneficial mint water being consumed as tea, aside from just being applied externally. Adding mint water in our diet might improve our overall health while also relaxing us especially amidst our day-by-day lives.
It goes without saying that some cautions must be taken as in high doses, menthol oil from the mint leaves can be poisonous. We should seek advices and consult with experts and practitioners before using mint for further uses. Finally, we hope you enjoy reading this article and might learn something new about the benefits of mint water.
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