Mint itself is an aromatic herb with square stems used for the flavoring of food. It belongs to the Genus Mentha in the family Lamiaceae.
Mint is a fast-growing herb whose life cycle is more than two (2) years. A moist environment facilitates its growth, and it often grows up to 195 cm. The applications of mint go as far as perfume, cosmetics, food, toothpaste, insecticide, and many others. Mint has numerous health benefits that have been discovered by scientists all around the world. This awesome discovery has contributed to the excellent health of individuals around the world. Ten out of these benefits will be discussed as follows…
10 Health Benefits of Mint
1. It Aids Digestion
Mint is said to be an excellent appetizer. It plays a significant role in the digestion of food in the body of an individual. This is due to the fact that the aroma instigates the mouth to produce both saliva and digestive enzymes in large quantities.
Mint also helps to significantly improve the flow of bile in the stomach to help speed up digestion. Frequent intake of mint can also lead to a healthy cholesterol level in the body.
2. It Enhances Dental Health
Mint has numerous health benefits to dental health. It is for this reason that it is included as an ingredient in numerous products meant for dental care. Mint possesses antibacterial properties that help in the eradication of dangerous bacteria from the mouth, which cause tooth decay and inflammation of the gums. Mint also prevents other forms of oral complications such as mouth odor.
Due to the effect of a compound found in the plant known as “menthol, “mint administers a cooling sensation at the point of intake, which brings about comfort in the mouth. Mint also possesses excellent teeth whitening capability.
3. It Helps With Nasal Congestion
Mint itself is very effective in the eradication of any form of nasal congestion. The pleasant aroma possessed by mint plays a vital role in cleaning out the essential components of the respiratory tract, including the nose, the lungs, and the bronchi. This is because it has anti-inflammatory characteristics.
…and again, mint, due to its antibacterial properties, helps eradicate the bacterial infection in the respiratory system.
4. It Helps to Enhance the Immune System
Mint helps in the improvement of the immune system. As mentioned before, mint has antibacterial properties that help the body to get rid of bacteria, which causes illness such as cough and fever.
Mint contains elements such as calcium, potassium, and Vitamin B, which assist the white blood cells in protecting the body from any form of harm.
5. It Facilitates Healthy Skin
Mint poses a very beneficial herb for the skin. This is because mint itself contains antioxidants that help to keep the cells in the skin healthy and prevents them from being dehydrated.
Mint is said to contain Vitamin A, which helps to reinforce the skin tissues and impair dry skin. The juice gotten from mint leaves is an excellent treatment for injury and bites sustained from harmful insects such as mosquitoes, bees, wasps, and so on. This juice is also useful in cleansing the skin from very common skin inflammations we encounter every day caused by dirt and dusty environment such as pimples.
6. It Prevents Cancer
Cancer is a disease in which the cells of the tissues in the body undergo rapid and uncontrollable procreation. Mint promotes the activities of Vitamin D in the body, which plays a major role in the regulation of cell production in the body.
When taken into the body, mint helps to impede the supply of nutrients and oxygen to the cancer cells, which in turn die after a while due to a lack of these needs.
7. It Helps to Stop Allergies
First of all, an allergy is said to be a reaction that the body has to a certain substance; the symptoms include sneezing, coughing, itchy and watery eyes, and red itchy rash. Mint is a powerful remedy for allergies. This is because it contains a very high level of antioxidants, which tends to reduce signs and symptoms of allergies by restraining the production of certain enzymes in the body, which most times are responsible for allergies in our system.
The aroma contained in mint helps to loosen up the airways in our respiratory system and makes breathing much easier.
8. It Enhances Mental Performance
Mint is one of the recommended tools for significant enhancement in the mental performance of an individual. This occurs due to the aroma contained in it. This mental performance, which is enhanced by mint ranges from quantitative reasoning and mental alertness down to excellent memory.
When mint of any sort is ingested into the human body, it facilitates the particular olfactory mechanism in charge of memory enhancement and hence enables the individual to retain information for a way longer period than before.
9. It Helps with Weight Loss
Mint is a very suitable herb for individuals who have made tremendous efforts to lose weight healthily. This is because mint itself instigates the production of certain enzymes that convert fat into energy, which can be utilized.
Metabolism is said to be the rate at which the body breaks down calories. Due to this, mint has a temperature increasing effect, which hastens up the metabolism in the body, thereby causing it to burn more calories than it produces, which in turn leads to a significant loss in weight.
10. It Eases the Pain while Breastfeeding
Most lactating mothers experience severe pains from nipple cracks in the process of breastfeeding. This has posed a great discouragement to breastfeeding a child all over the world.
A recent study shows that nursing mothers who often take refined products of mint, such as peppermint tea, often experience fewer pains while breastfeeding than those who don’t. This is because mint serves as a remedy to cracked nipples and also as a preventive measure, and as such, can pose as a solution to the agonizing pains felt by these so-called lactating mothers.
There you have it, 10 amazing health benefits of mint that you had no clue about. Let me know which health benefit you find more useful, and why you think it is better than the others, I would love to have your opinion.
