Mmmmmm Mint

Working my way through graduate school I held a variety of part time jobs, but one of my favorites was being a hostess at a swanky restaurant. One summer we hired a new pastry chef and she reinvented the strawberry shortcake by revving it up with some mint. By marinating macerated strawberries with chopped up mint in a sugar bath and pouring the delicious mixture over an airy cake with fresh whipped cream, this easily became my favorite dessert. Perfect for summer and sprucing up an otherwise ordinary dish, drink, or dessert, it turns out mint is also good as a natural cure for things other than hunger.

As a natural health ingredient, mint can be used in many different potions, masks, and scrubs in order to use different parts of the mint as a remedy. If your feet are feeling extra tired these days, try this treatment from the book Easy Green Living by Renee Loux: mix sea salt, olive oil, and peppermint oil. Use as a scrub and rinse with warm water for an exfoliating treat that uses the mentholated mint to penetrate and relieve aching muscles.

Showering with mint has a few perks according to spa goers around the world. If you are not a morning person and need help waking up in the morning, invest in mint scents in your bathroom. In order to get a pick-me-up in the shower or a little more motivation to get started, washing your roots or lathering up your body with a mint-based shampoo or soap can invigorate your senses and stimulate brain activity. Mint is also known to fight dandruff—even though we know dandruff does not have a cure—and help dry it up. Make a potion by putting a sprig of mint and rosemary in a cup of cider vinegar and let it stew for a week before using. After you shampoo, massage a few ounces into your scalp. This motion stimulates the circulation in order to prevent flaking from dandruff, a deficiency of the natural oils that moisturize your scalp. Rinse after your scalp is fully moisturized.

Since tea tames many ailments, prevents certain diseases, and aids in sleep deprivation, this delicious beverage is also helpful in curing a stomachache. Mint tea—either store bought, or homemade by sticking a few sprigs of mint in hot water—soothes the stomach and prevents cramping. By relaxing the muscles of the digestive tract, says Dr. Walt Coyle, the gastroenterology director at Scripps Medical Center in La Jolla, California, mint can erase stomach pain and prolonged cramping.

A new study by Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia studied the effect mint has on calorie intake. If you are trying to watch what you eat, lose a few pounds for summer, or just curb your appetite when faced with large food temptation such as a holiday party or a midnight buffet. If you sniff mint, either the sprig that comes on your dessert plate, the piece hanging on the side of your drink, or by keeping a concealed vial of peppermint oil nearby, you may be in luck for keeping those New Years resolutions. The study had participants inhale peppermint oil every two hours, and at the end, results showed that eating 23 percent fewer calories over a group of volunteers who did not inhale mint oil throughout their day. The study concluded that mint is helpful enough to stop or lessen your cravings during the day and the percentages were significant enough to merit proof. Experts also say that popping a few cooling mints throughout your day can keep your sweet-tooth or indulgent cravings at bay and it can only be a good thing that your breath also gets a little fresher.

Another favorite mint product of mine is the classic mojito, a refreshing sugar and rum-based drink that is complex enough to annoy bartenders everywhere but delicious enough to keep ordering. You might want to think of mint the next time you yawn in the shower, notice how dry your scalp is, incur a stomachache from food that didn’t agree with you, or just want your clothes to feel a little looser; it looks like there is a new appreciation for the power of mint.