Peppermint is a common medicinal plant with antispasmodic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, decongestant, and antioxidant properties recorded in the medical pharmacopeia dating back thousands of years to Greek times.

Today, peppermint essential oil is the most common application. It is often used in cosmeceuticals, personal hygiene products, food, and pharmaceutical products due to its special spicy and fresh taste and the cooling sensation after use. What are the recommended benefits of peppermint essential oil?

1. Improve Irritable bowel syndrome

It is a cyclical disorder of intestinal dysfunction affecting approximately 5% to 15% of the population. A meta-analysis of the literature showed that short-term (less than 2 weeks) oral administration of peppermint oil was associated with improved symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and abdominal pain compared with placebo.

2. Relieve tension-type headaches

Tension-type headache is the most common type of headache. It is mainly caused by muscle contractions in the head and neck. Unlike migraine, there is no nausea and vomiting. A controlled study found that topical application of 10% peppermint oil helped reduce clinical headache intensity compared to placebo, and the improvement was comparable to that of pain medication

3. Improve athletic performance

A controlled study pointed out that, compared with the control group, oral administration of peppermint essential oil not only helped to improve grip strength, vertical jump in place, and standing long jump performance, but also improved spirometry-related measurements, and visual response time, voice response time, systolic blood pressure, relaxation pressure.

Homemade peppermint oil takes a few weeks, but it's inexpensive and easy.

Learn how to make peppermint essential oil at home using olive oil. Requires fresh mint leaves, olive oil, and a glass jar. Store-bought peppermint essential oil is made by heating the plant at low temperatures to extract the oil from peppermint. When you heat the peppermint leaves, the vapors produced cool down and form a liquid. This liquid contains about 45% menthol.

Ingredients:

fresh mint leaves

olive oil

1. Crush mint leaves

Crush the mint leaves with your hands or with a spoon.

2. Put the leaves in glass jars

Put the crushed leaves in glass jars and packed there until the jar is full.

3. Let the olive oil coat the mint leaves

Cover all the leaves in the jar with olive oil.

4. Soak for a month

Let the olive oil soak, and if you live in a warm location, in the sun for 2 days, then shake the glass jar every 12 hours. If it is winter, put the jar in the cupboard and let it soak for 1 month.

5. Filter

When soaking is complete, strain the oil through a double layer of folded cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer.

6. Store for 3 to 6 months

Store peppermint essential oil in a dark, dry, warm place for 3 to 6 months.