Mint: Temperament, Benefits and Cautions
Mint’s profile, hot and dry temperament, correctives, traditional uses and Dr Kalan’s advice, with cautions for children and reflux.
Mint tea increases sweating, which is why it is traditionally used for fevers caused by infection. It also reduces blood clotting.
Profile
- Latin: Mentha piperita (peppermint) and other Mentha species
- German: Minze
- English: mint
- Spanish: menta
- French: menthe
- Family: Lamiaceae (mint family)
- Genus: Mentha L.
- Temperament: hot and dry
- Correctives (muslih): celery, vinegar, pickles
- Constituents: vitamins A, C, B1, B2, B3, B5 and B6, folate, potassium, sodium, carbohydrates, iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, manganese, essential oil, tannins and resin
- Native range: the Mediterranean, Anatolia and Egypt
- Grown: all over the world, especially in moist regions
- Soil: sandy and rich in humus, in a mild climate
- Types: there are 25 to 30 species
- Harvest: from late spring to early autumn
- Parts used: the leaves and flowering tops
- Forms of use: food, spice, essential oil, extract, hydrosol
Traditional uses
- Warming
- Taken with vinegar, traditionally used to help stop internal bleeding (any internal bleeding needs urgent medical care)
- Used as a dressing with barley water on abscesses
- Applied to the forehead, it relieves headache
- Relieves stiffness of the tongue
- Used for bloody cough and breast abscesses
- Makes digestion easier and settles the stomach
- Stops hiccups
- Helpful in jaundice
- Increases libido
- Kills parasites
- Used with pomegranate in cholera
Dr Kalan’s advice
People with a cold temperament are always advised to use mint. It is effective at clearing phlegm and excess moisture from the body and at relieving headaches caused by cold.
Its aroma is used in toothpaste, mouthwash, foods and snacks. For digestive problems, mint hydrosol (mint water) and brewed mint tea are especially helpful. Mint tea increases sweating, so it is good for fevers caused by infection.
It reduces blood clotting. Mint oil is very good for burns, but because it can cause allergic reactions it should be mixed with coconut, ozonated, safflower or sesame oil. It benefits the lungs.
Moderate use of mint relieves bloating in the digestive system, but too much causes stomach inflammation and bloating. It is not good for headaches caused by heat. Overuse in children can cause breathing, lung and heart problems. Brewing maidenhair fern (Venus hair) with mint is very good for gas, parasites and colitis.
In bilious (safravi) people, who tend to anger, it increases irritability. It is not good for bleeding caused by heat. Pomegranate juice with mint helps with nausea, vomiting, indigestion and heartburn, but mint is not good for reflux. It calms the pressure and palpitations of the heart caused by fatty liver. Mint steam helps with asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia. To clear pests from plants, mint water made by boiling can be used as a spray.
Mint is especially effective at expelling abnormal phlegm and abnormal black bile (sawda) from the body.
Safety
- Do not put peppermint oil or menthol on the face or chest of babies and young children, or let them inhale it: it can trigger breathing problems.
- Mint can make reflux and heartburn worse.
- Use essential oil only diluted, and never drop it into the ear or swallow it undiluted.
This article is for information only and is based on traditional medical sources and general health knowledge. It is not a medical diagnosis, treatment or prescription and does not replace an examination by a doctor. If you have a health complaint, take regular medication, are pregnant, or are considering this for a child, consult your doctor before applying anything. Herbal products can interact with medicines.
