Peppermint is a common medicinal plant. The history in medical pharmacopeia can be traced back to the Greek era thousands of years ago. It has anti-spasmodic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, congestive and antioxidant effects.
Today, the most common application of peppermint essential oil is mainly extracted by distillation of mint stems, leaves, and flowers. The main ingredients are menthol and menthone. Due to its special spicy and fresh taste And the cooling sensation after use is often used in cosmetics, personal hygiene products, food, and medical products.
Do you know the best peppermint essential oil?
Table of Contents
- What are the benefits of peppermint oil (essential oil)?
- Are there any side effects of peppermint oil (essential oil)?
- Where to buy the best peppermint essential oil?
What are the benefits of peppermint oil (essential oil)?
1. Improve Irritable bowel syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome is a multi-symptom periodic disease of intestinal dysfunction, affecting about 5% to 15% of the population. Due to the extremely disturbing symptoms, the patient often reduces the quality of life and has a high rate of absenteeism or absenteeism.
Possible symptoms of intestinal mania include abdominal pain or discomfort, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, pain in bowel movements, constipation after bowel movements, gas or mucus discharge, etc.
A meta-analysis (including 9 randomized placebo-controlled trials, 726 participants), compared with placebo, short-term (less than 2 weeks) oral peppermint oil helps to improve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome With abdominal pain.
*Conclusion: Oral peppermint oil may have a positive effect on intestinal mania, but more long-term research is still needed to confirm its safety and effectiveness.
2. Relieve tension headache
Tension headache is the most common type of headache, mainly caused by muscle contraction of the head and neck. Unlike migraine, nausea and vomiting symptoms do not occur.
The main triggers of tension headaches may be related to mood, stress, temperature, drinking, eye fatigue, smoking, cold, coffee drinking, and poor posture.
A randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study (for 41 patients with tension-type headache) pointed out that compared with placebo, topical application of 10% peppermint oil can help reduce the clinical headache intensity, and the improvement effect is not lost to the analgesic acetaminophen ( acetaminophen, analgesic ingredients such as Puna Pain).
*Conclusion: Local application of peppermint oil can relieve tension headaches, and has the advantages of high tolerance and low cost.
3. Improve athletic performance
The importance of moderate exercise to the mind, body, and soul is well known. It can reduce cardiovascular disease, obesity, some cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and anxiety symptoms.
A controlled study (targeted at 30 male college students) pointed out that compared with the control group, the oral mint essential oil can improve the performance of grip strength, in-place vertical jump, standing long jump, and can also improve the related vital capacity measurement values (such as maximum vital capacity, maximum Inspiratory flow rate, maximum expiratory flow rate) and visual response time, voice response time, systolic pressure, diastolic pressure.
Measurements related to improving vital capacity may be related to the relief of tracheal and bronchial smooth muscle tension by peppermint essential oil.
Another randomized controlled study found that ingesting peppermint essential oil did not significantly help maximum oxygen consumption, exercise to exhaustion time, and cardiopulmonary measurements at rest.
*Conclusion: The effect of oral peppermint essential oil on improving sports performance and related cardiopulmonary function values is still unclear and needs more studies to verify.
4. Relieve pregnancy itching (Pruritus Gravidarum)
Pregnancy pruritus often occurs in women around 31 weeks of gestation, with a prevalence rate of about 1-8%, which occurs in winter and is most serious during sleep at night. The main symptom is abdominal itching, but it may also extend to the limbs, causing The patient was deeply disturbed, and even caused depression.
Pregnancy pruritus can be subdivided into pregnancy urticaria (PUPPP), pregnancy intrahepatic cholestasis (ICP), pregnancy pemphigoid (PG), and pregnancy atopic rash (AEP), although there are different clinical signs, common symptoms It’s all very itchy.
A randomized, three-blind clinical trial (a 2-week period involving 96 patients with pruritus in pregnancy) pointed out that treatment with peppermint oil can help reduce the severity of pruritus in pregnancy.
*Conclusion: Preliminary research indicates that peppermint oil can improve itching in pregnancy, but more clinical trials are still needed to confirm.
Are there any side effects of peppermint oil (essential oil)?
For most people, it is safe to use peppermint oil in an appropriate amount and correctly (whether for outdoor or internal use).
However, the possible side effects of oral administration include heartburn and allergic reactions, such as flushing of the face, headache, and mouth ulcers. The possible side effects of topical applications are skin rash or tingling sensation.
Safety Precautions
Do not consume too much peppermint oil, it may cause poisoning.
Do not use peppermint oil on the face or chest of babies or young children, as it may cause muscle cramps and cause breathlessness.
Pregnant women and nursing mothers should confirm with the doctor or pharmacist before use to ensure safety.
Do not use if the liver and kidney function is abnormal (because the safety is unknown).
Do not use with immunosuppressant-cyclosporine, may reduce the efficiency of drug decomposition, causing unknown risks.
If you take peppermint oil enteric-coated tablets (enteric-coated), do not use it in combination with an antacid, it may cause the capsule to dissolve in the stomach earlier, affecting the effectiveness of the preparation.
Do not use together with drugs that need to be metabolized by cytochrome P450 enzyme, because mint may interfere with cytochrome P450 enzyme activity, which will affect the efficacy of the drug and increase side effects.
Common drugs that need to be metabolized by cytochrome P450 enzymes are antidepressants (amitriptyline), angina pectoris (propranolol), analgesics and skeletal muscle relaxants (carisoprodol), analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs (diclofenac, ibuprofen, celecoxib), coronary artery dilatation drugs ( verapamil), anticoagulant (warfarin), lipid-lowering drug (lovastatin), etc.
Where to buy the best peppermint essential oil?
In recent years, food safety problems in various countries have exploded, and it is not healthy but black-hearted products that everyone spends on. Therefore, European and American products with relatively strict quality control have become popular products.
And iHerb.com is a large-scale medical cosmetics e-commerce company in the United States. It has a high satisfaction rate of 97% in the evaluation of Google customers. It provides global home delivery so that you can buy it without risking buying fakes through purchasing high-quality health products.
