Unique mint - an amazing plant with a magical fresh aroma and a lot of useful properties. Certainly, health can be significantly improved if you always have it at hand - fresh, dried, or even in the form of sweets. And especially mint is important for women - both its general and completely unique properties are available to them.
What can be said about the origin and uses of mint for women
Almost all plants of the mint genus (42 species) are characterized by a characteristic odor and are ubiquitous throughout the globe.
A person is interested in cultivating and harvesting, in particular, such types of mint as Japanese, aquatic, curly, marsh, as well as peppermint (a hybrid of spearmint and water mint).
Sometimes called lemon mint is a completely different plant from the family Iasnatkovye - melissa, which, of course, is good in its own way, but still not mint.
Mint is real and diverse unpretentious, so that it can be grown even on the balcony or window sill.
Fresh herbs are stored in the refrigerator for up to a week, almost do not lose their qualities in the freezer and after drying.
In cooking, peppermint is used for salads and sauces, soups, as a seasoning for meat, vegetable and fish dishes, for baking, desserts and drinks - from herbal teas (and the addition of peppermint to ordinary tea) to coffee with peppermint syrup or liquor. Mint leaves are good for decoration of served dishes. Jam is also boiled from mint - emerald green in its pure form and with the addition of other ingredients (from zucchini to strawberries). And they make sweets (for example, marmalade) and candy filling.
Interestingly, there is even chocolate mint, the dark leaves of which really smell like chocolate.
In addition, mint is a good honey plant, and although usually besides it, bees fly around many other flowers, the most useful properties of mint will still be present in such honey (in particular, it is rich in vitamin C and treats sore throats very well).
It is also important to note that not mint essential oil is intended for consumption, but its special food extract.
Outside the kitchen, mint is in demand in the pharmaceutical industry and traditional medicine (including aromatherapy), cosmetology.
The very taste and aroma of mint, in which it feels “chill,” creates the substance menthol, which gained fame largely due to the fact that it makes mint capable:
· Lower body temperature (with flu and acute respiratory infections);
· Reduce the manifestation of reactions (itching, swelling) to insect bites;
Anesthetize
· Improve blood circulation;
· Act as an antispasmodic;
· Lower blood pressure;
· Destroy many harmful microorganisms.
But, in addition to this widely known element of the chemical composition of mint, it contains in large quantities other substances:
Betaine - normalizes the acidity of gastric juice, helps to absorb the gland, prevents heart disease and cleanses blood vessels of cholesterol plaques;
· Rosmarinic acid and eugenol - prevent thrombosis and, as antioxidants, protect cells from the damaging effects of free radicals (molecules without one electron, which they readily borrow from ordinary molecules);
· Phytosterols - support the production of collagen and increase immunity.
In addition, the benefits of peppermint are based on tannins, minerals (copper, chromium, potassium, zinc, iron), vitamins (ascorbic acid, tocopherol), phytoncides (and a lot of essential oils).
Mint has a very interesting effect on the nervous system. A cup of tea with it after a hard day relieves a headache, helps to relax both physically and in a psycho-emotional sense - it relieves body aches, a feeling of weakness and depressed mood.
In the evening, the plant sets up for a healthy and sound sleep, and in the morning it helps to wake up completely and improves memory.
For respiratory and catarrhal diseases, hot and warm peppermint drinks (especially with the addition of honey) facilitate breathing and nasal congestion, reduce cough, accelerate the withdrawal of sputum and prevent its further formation.
Peppermint is effective to relieve symptoms of PMS, reduce pain and bleeding during menstruation, reduce their duration and normalize the duration of the cycle.
Mint is a good complement to the treatment of inflammatory diseases of the genitourinary system and in addition, it contributes to the removal of excess fluid from the body, which can be regarded as the prevention of edema of the extremities.
Thanks to mint, digestion can be improved (including faster food breakdown and the prevention of harmful fermentation processes in the intestines) and a flaccid appetite can be aroused.
Also, the valuable qualities of mint include:
· Improvement of the oral cavity, including the healing of damaged and inflamed mucous membranes and disinfection of the oral cavity from the causative agents of caries (naturally, mint also freshens breath remarkably);
· Regeneration of damaged tissues (including the healing of cuts and burns with virtually no traces);
· Removal of muscle cramps;
· Getting rid of nausea of any origin (it is not for nothing that lollipops for those who do not tolerate transport often have just a mint flavor).
Beauty, a slender figure and youth are special details of the benefits of mint for women
The complex of biologically active substances in the composition of mint has an extremely positive effect on what can be combined with the concept of "external beauty" and, in particular, thanks to this amazing greenery, it is possible to count on the following:
· hair condition improvement - silky shine, active growth, ease of styling;
· complexion improvement (redness disappears, age spots fade, pores are narrowed, the sebaceous glands normalize) and skin rejuvenation (superficial wrinkles are smoothed, it becomes more elastic and, as they say, shines);
· nail plate strengthening and some of their protection against fungal diseases.
Moreover, all this can be achieved both by applying peppermint externally, for example, as part of store and home care products, and by including it in your diet.
And for maximum efficiency, of course, it is recommended to combine all this.
As for the benefits of green peppermint for weight loss, it is not able to quickly burn extra pounds, it is not even within her power to quickly get rid of cellulite.
But do not disregard the fact that with systematic use, peppermint improves and speeds up metabolism, normalizes the elimination of old toxins and toxins from the body - all this is important for weight loss and creating new forms through training.
Is there any benefit from peppermint for women during pregnancy and breastfeeding?
A woman’s body experiencing increased stress during pregnancy especially needs strengthening, softly tonic substances that can, in addition, alleviate symptoms and manifestations of toxicosis.
With all this, especially at the beginning of pregnancy, peppermint tea will perfectly help.
And during the 2nd trimester of pregnancy, women especially note that mint relieves aches in the back and helps with discomfort, a feeling of heaviness in the abdomen.
With low lactation, doctors advise women to use a certain type of mint - curly. Firstly, due to the high content of a substance called carvone, it actively stimulates milk production. Secondly, it practically does not contain menthol, which can give milk a cooling aftertaste, because of which the baby could refuse to eat. In addition, many other types of mint are capable, if a woman uses this herb in large volumes, adversely affect the health of the child, lowering his blood pressure, disrupting the heart rhythm, provoking allergies.
Peppermint Harm for Women
With all its positive aspects, the use of peppermint, provided that this happens constantly and in large quantities, can have negative consequences, which include:
· a strong decrease in blood pressure;
Dizziness even with minor physical exertion;
Drowsiness during the day and insomnia at night;
· Pain in the heart.
Mint should be used with caution with varicose veins, since it is characterized by the properties of lowering the tone of blood vessels and expanding them.
With heartburn, mint can worsen the condition due to its ability to increase the production of gastric juice.
With regular use, the effect of mint as a sedative becomes clearly noticeable and this should be taken into account for those whose everyday life or work responsibilities require a quick reaction and good concentration. To avoid the harm of peppermint for women, so that it does not slow down the brain, depending on the individual sensitivity of the body, it may be necessary to reduce its use or completely abandon the plant.
It is important for women to take into account the fact that according to the latest scientific data, mint can negatively affect their ability to conceive a child, especially against the background of already diagnosed problems in this area and this is partly due to its properties to influence the hormonal background.
It is also recommended during pregnancy to refrain from using peppermint essential oil (including aromatherapy, baths with it) and drinking large quantities of drinks and preserves, sweets from this herb.
The fact is that in individual cases, substances from the composition of mint entering the body of a woman in large quantities, especially if the last trimester of pregnancy is taking place, can complicate the course of pregnancy or even provoke a premature birth.
But in moderate doses and the correct form, and also, possibly, after consultation with a specialist (doctor), during pregnancy, there is no harm for women in mint and, as already mentioned, it can even be very useful.
