HOW TO IDENTIFY MINT LEAF FROM SCENT LEAF
ABOVE IS A PICTURE OF SCENT LEAVES (OCIMUM GRATISSIMUM)
Mint leaves (known as Menta in Spanish) are in the family of aromatic herbs that are used to add specific aroma to dishes. They taste like very mild peppermint with a cool aftertaste.On visual inspection, they look so much like our Scent leaves (Nchanwu, Efirin) in that the leaves are arranged in opposite pairs on the main stalk and the leaves from these 2 herbs look very much alike.
But the scents and tastes of Mint Leaves and Scent Leaves are not the same at all.
So can Mint Leaves be used as alternative to our Scent Leaves? It’s a big NO from me .
If you have never tried it and you are curious about the taste, do try it and see if you like it.
I must add that Mint Leaf is a great addition to some Mediterranean meals such as Meat Balls Sauce and they are great in detox water that is used for cleansing. But for these Nigerian meals mentioned (OFE AKWU,PEPPER SOUP AND BEEF STEW) Not a good idea if you have authentic Nigerian taste buds.
I know that some people use Mint Leaves as an alternative in these Nigerian meals so do you use Mint Leaves? What do you think about the taste in Nigerian meals? Is it a spot-on scent leaves alternative or are you just managing it?
HEALTH BENEFITS OF MINT LEAVES
Mint is the name for over a dozen plant species, including peppermint and spearmint, that belong to the genus Mentha.
These plants are particularly known for the cooling sensation they impart. They can be added to foods in both fresh and dried forms.Mint is a popular ingredient in several foods and beverages, ranging from teas and alcoholic drinks to sauces, salads and desserts.
While eating the plant offers some health benefits, research shows that several of mint’s health benefits come from applying it to the skin, inhaling its aroma or taking it as a capsule.
8 Health Benefits of Mint
Mint is the name for over a dozen plant species, including peppermint and spearmint, that belong to the genus Mentha.
These plants are particularly known for the cooling sensation they impart. They can be added to foods in both fresh and dried forms.
Mint is a popular ingredient in several foods and beverages, ranging from teas and alcoholic drinks to sauces, salads and desserts.
While eating the plant offers some health benefits, research shows that several of mint’s health benefits come from applying it to the skin, inhaling its aroma or taking it as a capsule.
This article takes a closer look at eight science-based health benefits of mint.
These plants are particularly known for the cooling sensation they impart. They can be added to foods in both fresh and dried forms.
Mint is a popular ingredient in several foods and beverages, ranging from teas and alcoholic drinks to sauces, salads and desserts.
While eating the plant offers some health benefits, research shows that several of mint’s health benefits come from applying it to the skin, inhaling its aroma or taking it as a capsule.
This article takes a closer look at eight science-based health benefits of mint.
In fact, just under 1/3 cup or half an ounce (14 grams) of spearmint contains (1):
- Calories: 6
- Fiber: 1 gram
- Vitamin A: 12% of the RDI
- Iron: 9% of the RDI
- Manganese: 8% of the RDI
- Folate: 4% of the RDI
Mint is a particularly good source of vitamin A, a fat-soluble vitamin that is critical for eye health and night vision .
It is also a potent source of antioxidants, especially when compared to other herbs and spices. Antioxidants help protect your body from oxidative stress, a type of damage to cells caused by free radicals
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common digestive tract disorder. It is characterized by digestive symptoms like stomach pain, gas, bloating, and changes in bowel habits.
Although treatment for IBS often includes dietary changes and taking medications, research shows that taking peppermint oil as an the herbal remedy might also be helpful.
Peppermint oil contains a a compound called menthol, which is thought to help alleviate IBS symptoms through its relaxing effects on the muscles of the digestive tract (4, 5).
A review of nine studies including over 700 patients with IBS found that taking peppermint oil capsules improved IBS symptoms significantly more than placebo capsules (6).
One the study found that 75% of patients who took peppermint oil for four weeks showed improvements in IBS symptoms, compared to 38% of the patients in the placebo group (7).
Notably, nearly all research showing IBS symptom relief used oil capsules rather than raw mint leaves.
Mint may also be effective at relieving other digestive problems such as upset stomach and indigestion.
Indigestion may occur when food sits in the stomach for too long before passing into the rest of the digestive tract.
Multiple studies have shown that food passes through the stomach quicker when people take peppermint oil with meals, which could relieve symptoms from this type of indigestion (8, 9).
A clinical study in people with indigestion showed that a combination of peppermint oil and caraway oil taken in capsules had effects similar to medications used to treat indigestion. This helped improve stomach pain and other digestive symptoms (10).
Similar to IBS, studies highlighting mint’s ability to relieve indigestion used peppermint oil rather than fresh or dried leaves.
In addition to ingesting mint, there are claims that inhaling the aroma of essential oils from the plant could provide health benefits, including improved brain function.
One a study including 144 young adults demonstrated that smelling the aroma of peppermint oil for five minutes prior to testing produced significantly improvements in memory (11).
Another study found that smelling these oils while driving increased alertness and decreased levels of frustration, anxiety, and fatigue (12).
However, not all studies agree that peppermint oil could benefit brain function. One study found that although the aroma of the oil was invigorating and led to less fatigue, it had no effect on brain function (13).
More research is needed to help understand how it may work and investigate whether peppermint does, in fact, improve brain function.
Breastfeeding mothers commonly experience sore and cracked nipples, which can make breastfeeding painful and difficult.
Studies have shown that applying mint to the skin can help relieve the pain associated with breastfeeding.
In these studies, breastfeeding mothers applied various forms of mint to the area around the nipple after each feeding. Typically, they used essential oil on its own or mixed it with gel or water.
One study showed that applying peppermint water after breastfeeding was more effective than applying expressed breast milk in preventing nipple and areola cracks, which resulted in less nipple pain (14).
Another a study similarly showed that only 3.8% of mothers who applied a peppermint gel experienced nipple cracks, compared to 6.9% of those who used lanolin and 22.6% of those who used a placebo (15).
Furthermore, an additional study showed that both the pain and severity of nipple cracks decreased in mothers who applied menthol essential oil after each feeding (16).
SEE THE BENEFITS OF SCENT LEAVE: HERE
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