One of the most versatile plants is mint. The healing properties and contraindications of this perennial are diverse. They stock up mint before it begins to bloom: they break off the leaves and dry them in the shade, where there is access to fresh air. In no case should you dry it in the sun: many useful substances will evaporate. There is a misconception that lemon balm is peppermint. The healing properties and contraindications of lemon balm are similar, it belongs to the same family, but to a different genus. Melissa contains significantly less essential oil, smells like lemon, and mint smells like menthol; lemon balm flowers are collected in false rings, and mint has spike-shaped inflorescences. So what can mint help in?
Medicinal properties and contraindications
Peppermint reduces blood pressure and, when taken in moderation, has a beneficial effect on the circulatory system, heart and digestion. This herb has an anesthetic, antispasmogenic property. Mint will also help heal sore throats. The use of soothing varieties of this herb has a positive effect on the nervous system. With inflammation or headache, peppermint essential oil is rubbed into the skin; from colds make inhalations. Juice is squeezed from peppermint to treat kidney disease; it is also useful as a diuretic. With fever, inflammation of the respiratory system and the genitourinary system, mint will also help.
The medicinal properties and contraindications of this plant must be carefully studied before use, since it has a serious effect on the reproductive system. The result of treatment depends only on how appropriate the application was, so peppermint should be used with caution. If a person is sick in transport, he should smell and chew a fresh sprig of mint or breathe in a handkerchief, slightly moistening it with peppermint essential oil - this is likely to give a positive effect. Tea with this herb has a cooling, diaphoretic, choleretic effect, and is also able to calm or invigorate.
Mint tea, which soothes: mash fresh leaves of forest Russian mint in a cup with a mortar to make juice stand out; pour boiling water and insist for 5 minutes; clear tea through a sieve, add honey, cool. Drink cold or warm.
Peppermint tea that invigorates: grind the dried leaves of peppermint or English mint into powder. Brew without sieve with boiling water for a minute, stir soon and drink hot along with the precipitate.
Scientists have made a discovery: frequent use of menthol reduces the level of the body
testosterone. This means that the use of mint in large quantities is contraindicated in men. It should not be used for people with individual intolerance, as well as for those who suffer from arterial hypotension and drowsiness. If overused, this plant can cause heartburn and varicose veins. Invigorating varieties should not be used by people with increased nervousness. They should not be given to children of preschool age: they negatively affect the maturation of the reproductive system and cause hyperactivity. A few months before conception, it is best to abandon the use of menthol in any form: it is contraindicated for pregnant women and those who suffer from infertility, because it can cause fetal pathology and impaired reproductive function.
Here is such an ambiguous herb - mint. Its medicinal properties can turn into dangerous ones, if only carelessness is shown during its use.