Food Value
Mint contains plenty of vitamins and is rich in several minerals. The fresh
and dried leaves are used for mint sauce and jelly and to flavour foods. Mint oil is used in chewing gum, tooth paste and in confectionery and pharmaceutical preparations.
Natural Benefits and Curative Properties
Mint is valued as a carminative which relieves gastric discomforts, stimulant, antispasmodic which relieves muscle strain and stomachic for
improving appetite. It forms an ingredient of most drugs prescribed for stomach ailments
because of its digestive properties. It is good for the liver and helps dissolve gravel in the kidneys and bladder.
Digestive System Disorders
Mint juice is a good appetiser. Fresh leaf juice of mint mixed with a teaspoonful of lime juice
and honey is given thrice daily with excellent results in the treatment of indigestion, biliousness, flatulent colic, thread worms,
morning sickness and summer diarrhoea.
A cupful of mint tea taken every morning and evening assists the digestion and gives a fresh and healthy appearance. The powder
renders the same service, if one or two pinches are taken daily in food or in water. Mint prepared in milk or tea and drunk warm,
removes abdominal pains.
The seeds of mint are also beneficial in relieving severe abdominal pain due to indigestion in older children. The child
may be given a quarter teaspoonful of the seeds to chew and swallow with water in such conditions.
Respiratory Disorders
A teaspoonful of fresh mint juice, mixed with two spoonfuls of pure malt vinegar
and equal quantity of honey is stirred in four ounces of carrot juice and is given thrice daily as a medicated tonic during the
treatment of tuberculosis, asthma and bronchitis. It liquifies the sputum, nourishes the lungs, increases body's resistance against infection and prevents the harmful effects of anti tubercular drugs. It
prevents the asthmatic attacks and reduces congestion in air passages.
Oral Disorders
Fresh leaves of mint, chewed daily is an effective antiseptic dentifrice i.e. tooth paste. The
chlorophyll combined with other antiseptic chemicals in the mint, kills all the germs causing
harmful odour. It strengthens the gums by providing the required nutrients and thus prevents tooth decay, pyorrhoea,
premature fall of the teeth etc. It also keeps the mouth fresh and improves the sense of taste in the tongue.
Hoarseness
Gargling fresh mint decoction with salt cures hoarseness due to shouting or singing loudly. It keeps
the voice clear if used before singing. Therefore, it is a boon to singers and orators.
Skin Disorders
Application of fresh mint juice over face every night cures pimples and prevents dryness of the
skin. Juice is also applied over insect strings, eczema, scabies and contact dermatitis.
Natural Birth-Control
In Ayurveda, powdered dry mint is regarded as a harmless herb for birth control. It is
believed that the woman who swallows 10 gms of this powder a little before the sexual intercourse will be
free from pregnancy so long as she continues this practice. The mint should be dried in a shady place and
then powdered and bottled.
