Peppermint earns respect in mainstream medicine

I tend to hear a lot of the time something along the lines of, "Mainstream medicine doesn't care about natural alternatives, they want to pump us full of artificial poisons."

For the vast majority of the time, there is a reason why mainstream science rejects such ideas; it's because they don't work. There is a reason it is referred to as 'alternative medicine'. They have either never been scientifically tested, or they have been tested and they have failed. Once a natural compound passes rigorous testing and has been proven to be effective, it becomes medicine.

This is exactly what has happened in the case of the peppermint (Mentha × piperita)

University of Adelaide researchers have shown for the first time how peppermint helps to relieve Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which affects up to 20% of the population.

In a paper published this week in the international journal Pain, researchers from the University's Nerve-Gut Research Laboratory explain how peppermint activates an "anti-pain" channel in the colon, soothing inflammatory pain in the gastrointestinal tract.

Peppermint earns respect in mainstream medicine

So next time you go to say, "They're trying to poison us with artificial chemicals!" Remember this thread.

Cool! I have IBS and I just happen to have a huge peppermint plant on my deck!

Peppermint tea also helps with headaches, if they're mild.

I have heard peppermint helps babies with colic. It reduces the sensitivity of the nerve endings in the intestinal wall. It also helps with gas and bloating.

I drink Peppermint tea or tea with peppermint leafs.
I find it soothing, tasty and it does ease a headache.
Glad to hear it has earned respect in mainstream
medicine.

I had a lot of physical ails a few years back. One of the routines I did to get well was bomb the gut with either peppermint, or oregano oil, then repopulate it with a lot of different high quality probiotics. I also used a lot of "detox" teas, and now drink kombucha tea daily. It really has helped out tremendously. No more gastro issues at all.

It took them 3500 years of evidence for them to do this? Mint alone has been used since the time of the Egyptians (mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus) as something that aided in bowel issues and digestion among other things. It's even mentioned in the Bible as something people used to trade with so it was known for a long while that it wasn't just something for good breath. Other cultures have been using mints for centuries as a medicinal herb as it spread into Eurasia. As time went on people have discovered even more uses, such as keeping some food and drink from spoiling, relieving headaches, aiding fevers and coughs, etc. Peppermint itself was widely cultivated since the 17th century in the west (probably thanks to it being written about by botanist John Ray who differentiated the different types of mints) as being the most superior mint and in actuality a hybrid of other mints.

So you see, it's been known as a respectable medicine for a long time. # "mainstream medicine." Yes they are out to poison you, don't you dare think otherwise. Almost every man-made drug is a double-edged sword.

reply to post by AdamsMurmur


Many drugs are of natural origin. Foxglove tea was used to treat heart aliments for centuries and still provides us with digitalis and derivatives. Willow bark was used for headache and fever. Aspirin is more easily synthesized than stripping willow trees but the willow [salix] is why salicylic acid has it's name. The periwinkle [vinca] is the source of vincristine and vinblastine, anti cancer drugs. www.physorg.com...

Plants have provided us with many drugs as have molds [penicillin] and bacteria [erythromycin, polymixin] to name a few.

This topic reminds me of a personal experience using peppermint for its physiological effects once.

Back during my college days, I had a professor who would pass out peppermint candies before all quizzes tests, and exams, and claimed that our class had a much better average than her other classes. She swore that peppermint was an effective alertness and concentration aid, something about the peppermint oils. I never argued with her about it, just accepted my allotted mints and hunkered down on that exam!