Mint leaves are often used to decorate food, from cakes, and dishes, to salads. However, it is not uncommon for this plant to be added to drinks, such as tea, lemon or soda.
This type of leaf can make food and drinks taste fresher and create a cool sensation. Not surprisingly, many people use mint leaves.
Apart from that, it turns out that mint leaves also have a good impact on health, you know. Come on, see the benefits of mint leaves in the following article.
Benefits of Mint Leaves for Health
Mint is the name of many types of plants, including peppermint and spearmint, which are often added to food and drinks. Here are a number of benefits of mint leaves for health:
1. Rich in nutrients
Delivered by a Doctor, about a third of a cup or the equivalent of 14 grams of mint leaves contains the following nutrients:
- Energy: 6 calories
- Fiber: 1 gram
- Vitamin A: 12 percent of daily requirements
- Iron: 9 percent of daily requirements
- Manganese: 8 percent of daily requirements
- Folic acid: 4 percent of requirements
2. Relieve Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common digestive tract disorder. This disease is characterized by abdominal pain, flatulence, and diarrhea.
Quoted from BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, peppermint oil can provide benefits for reducing symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
This oil contains a menthol component which can relieve IBS symptoms by having a relaxing effect on the muscles in the digestive tract. Although the properties of mint leaves can help IBS sufferers, further research is needed to support the benefits of mint leaves.
3. Treats Asthma
Apart from treating a blocked nose, mint leaves are also effective in treating asthma. This plant can soothe respiratory tract problems.
Even though the benefits are good, it is not recommended to consume mint leaves in excess. The thing is, this plant can irritate the respiratory tract.
4. Improves brain function
Just inhaling mint leaves can actually help improve brain function, you know.
A total of 144 people in a study showed that smelling mint oil for 5 minutes before the test could significantly improve memory.
Unfortunately, more research is needed to help understand how the benefits of this mint leaf work.
5. Overcoming acne
Who would have thought, that mint leaves also have good benefits for skin health? This is thanks to the anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antioxidant content contained in mint leaves.
The antibacterial properties of mint leaves can help treat acne. Apart from that, these refreshing leaves are also useful for fighting free radicals, so the skin looks brighter and more youthful.
6. Reduces Cough and Cold Symptoms
The use of mint leaves can also help reduce cough and cold symptoms. There are many cough and cold medicines that contain menthol, which is the main ingredient in mint leaves or oil.
Many people believe that menthol is a natural ingredient that can overcome nasal congestion by improving airflow in the nose.
“Even though there is no scientific evidence, many people feel that their breathing becomes easier if they inhale menthol when they cough and have a cold.
7. Relieves Headaches
The menthol content in mint leaves can be useful for relieving headaches.
In fact, menthol can help the head muscles become more relaxed. This reduces the symptoms of pain.
To get the benefits, you can consume mint leaf juice or balm made from mint oil on your head.
8. Freshens your breath
Mint leaves are famous as a plant that can provide a cool and fresh sensation. This can certainly be useful for freshening breath and eliminating bad breath.
Therefore, many candies or chewing gum have a mint variant. However, you can also chew mint leaves directly to have fresh breath and kill the bacteria that cause bad breath.
9. Reduces pain when breastfeeding
During breastfeeding, sometimes mothers experience nipple pain and sores. This can certainly make the breastfeeding process difficult.
Fortunately, mint leaves can help reduce pain when breastfeeding. Apart from that, applying mint oil to the nipples after breastfeeding can also reduce the risk of serious injury.
10. Lose Weight
Thanks to its benefits which can improve digestion and metabolism in the body, mint leaves can also help you lose weight.
To get its benefits safely, you can drink mint tea which is healthy because it is calorie-free.
11. Relieves Indigestion
When someone experiences indigestion, this is caused by food entering the digestive tract too slowly.
But there’s no need to worry, you can overcome this by consuming mint leaves or adding peppermint oil to your food.
In fact, the combination of peppermint oil and cumin oil consumed via supplements can have an effect similar to medication for digestive disorders, namely improving stomach aches and other symptoms.
12. Encourages Hair Growth
The antioxidant and carotene levels in mint leaves are good for encouraging hair growth and preventing hair loss.
In addition, its strong antimicrobial and antifungal properties can also be used to treat dandruff and head lice. Try making a paste of mint leaves mixed with lemon juice. Then, apply to scalp and hair for 30 minutes before rinsing.
13. Increases body immunity
Mint leaves contain vitamins and antioxidants which are good for increasing the body’s endurance.
The reason is, the ingredients in mint leaves can help protect cells from damage. Apart from that, this plant can also prevent tumor formation.
14. Relieves Stress and Depression
The most common way to use mint leaves is as aromatherapy. The aroma produced from this plant can help reduce the hormone cortisol or stress hormone, so that stress levels can be reduced.
Apart from that, using mint leaves can also trigger the release of the hormone serotonin in the body. This hormone functions to relieve stress and depression.
15. Powerful Antioxidant
Mint leaves are a powerful source of antioxidants, especially when compared to other herbs and spices.
This antioxidant content can protect the body from oxidative stress, a type of cell damage caused by free radicals.
That way, using mint leaves for drinks can be a way to keep the body healthy.
How to Process Mint Leaves
Mint leaves are a plant that can be processed in various ways. One of the best ways is to add it at the end of the cooking process. The addition of mint leaves will help maintain the taste and texture of the dish.
Apart from that, a more practical way to process mint leaves is to make mint tea. Steep mint leaves for 5-6 minutes in hot water to serve as mint tea.
You can also add a few chopped mint leaves to the chocolate cake mixture to enrich the taste.
Make sure to wash the mint leaves thoroughly before using. Apart from that, consume mint leaves in reasonable quantities so that you can get the benefits of this plant.