How familiar are you with the different types of mint plant? When you think of mint plants, you likely think of mint jelly or mint in chewing gum. Most likely, you don’t think of mint as a medicinal alternative, but several members of the mint family have strong medicinal qualities.
Knowing the type of mint plant and its medicinal properties can help us in making a DIY salve, inhaler, or insect repellant.
Here are four mints, their medicinal qualities, and how to extract as many qualities as possible.
Four Types of Mint Plant to Try Out
Peppermint
Did you know that peppermint is the most common in the mint family?
It is easy to grow in small herbal gardens in or out of the home. The medicinal qualities of mint are fairly straightforward.
Peppermint tea for nausea is one of the most common benefits of this plant. It is known for helping with an upset stomach, constipation, and headaches.
Peppermint benefits for skin include fighting acne because of its antimicrobial properties.
One of the easiest ways to extract peppermint is to either bruise the leaf in a mortar and pestle it and place it in teas, or you can eat the leaf directly.
Just a reminder, peppermint has a bitter taste that is unpleasant if you are already ill. You can also dehydrate mint leaves and use them in tea mixtures and tinctures.
Apple Mint Uses
Is this the first time you’ve heard about apple mint?
This is because apple mint isn’t that common. However, just like the other types of mint plant, the apple mint uses are many.
The apple mint can be taken in a tea form or tincture form and added to juices or as a daily supplement.
The addition of this mint helps with boosting metabolism and helping with weight loss. Aside from this amazing benefit, it also helps with digestion and the common intestinal discomfort that may start when a new diet plan and workout plan are introduced.
The mint can be grown easily in or outside of the home and the leaves harvested as needed.
Basil
Did you know that basil is a type of mint plant? It’s also up there on the list of the ‘best indoor mint plant.’ Basil is part of the mint family and has beneficial properties for home medical use.
One of the benefits of basil is the antibacterial property it holds. Healthy mints like basil can also be used on cuts and abrasions to help it heal.
People often use the basil plant to calm skin issues, and it can also reduce stomach upsets.
You can also use Basil in toothpaste and homemade mouth rinses to help with bacteria issues in oral care routines.
Coriander
Coriander isn’t just amazing in your dishes. It also offers many health benefits.
Food poisoning issues and urinary tract infections can be treated by simply taking coriander oil or mint.
However, you will still need to see a doctor if the issue worsens, but the coriander can be a life savior to initially get the issues under control.
Takeaway
Who would have thought that they are more than just healthy breath mints. They can help us with so many things, from headaches to food poisoning.
Remember, using one or more of these mints, you can cover the vast majority of the health issues that most people face on a routine basis.
You can choose to keep the leaves dehydrated and mix them in teas and tinctures to use as needed and store for later use as well.