Contents
It is difficult to find a person who would not know the mint smell. Toothpaste, chewing gum, all kinds of fresheners and deodorants give us its chill. Many types of mint have been used in cooking, perfumery, and medicine since antiquity. The very name of this plant is closely connected with the myths of ancient Greece, even before our era, people knew and widely used its beneficial properties. Its popularity is not weakening today, some varieties of mint are grown on an industrial scale for the production of essential oils.
Description of mint
Mint is known primarily as a sedative for the nervous system. After worries or just a hard day at work, it is good to have a cup of tea with a refreshing mint aroma. But only the aroma should come from the leaf, often teas are flavored with menthol, obtained by the synthesis of chemicals that have nothing to do with the plant. Peppermint is often found in gastrointestinal medications because it has a choleretic effect. A pronounced diuretic effect helps rid the body of excess fluid, maintain water-salt metabolism for those who consume a lot of salt. It is said that too much mint tea can even lead to dehydration.
Mint is taken for colds, many infectious, nervous, when you need to get rid of a headache or nausea. The analgesic, anti-inflammatory and sedative properties of mint have found their application not only in folk medicine, but in traditional medicine, in cosmetology and perfumery. It is part of ointments and creams, it is used in skin and hair care, for anti-aging procedures and relaxation.
A perennial plant of the labiaceae family is so unpretentious that it grows on all types of soil in countries with a temperate climate. It does not require top dressing or special care, it grows in sunny areas and in the shade, only moderate moisture is enough, whether it be artificial watering or occasional rain. Mint is easy to breed – for this you need to settle one plant in your garden, and then creeping roots will do their job. It propagates by dividing the roots, cuttings, even rooting leaves. It is advised to protect the area with mint by burying a sheet of plastic, slate, roofing material in the ground so that the roots do not grow beyond it. You can harvest the leaves in the first year of the plant’s life.
There are many varieties of mint: at least 25 varieties and 10 natural hybrids are known. These are mainly herbaceous plants with a flexible stem, small flowers collected in inflorescences. They grow in height from 30 cm to 1 m, bloom almost all summer – from June to August. The leaves begin to be collected from June, but the largest amount of essential oils in the stems and leaves is concentrated towards the end of flowering.
At home, use fresh herbs or dried. It is necessary to dry, like all greens in general, spreading out a thin layer on special pallets (trays, dishes) in ventilated rooms or shaded places. Store dry herbs in glass or ceramic containers with tight lids.
Video “All about peppermint”
Informative video about peppermint and its properties.
Wild mint
Wild mint is also called field, meadow, oregano or mother. It grows around water bodies, in meadows, in light forests. Its aroma is only a little softer, more delicate than the aroma of peppermint, because its essential oil contains menthol, carvone, citral, geraniol and other useful and very fragrant substances. It is often used in cooking – it is wonderfully suitable for fish, meat dishes and sweet desserts. Wild mint is added to salads and drinks, it is used to flavor sweets, sauces, soups, and alcoholic cocktails. The combination of different ingredients allows its aroma to manifest itself from different sides and play with all its colors.
Since ancient times, there has been an opinion that wild mint helps to concentrate the mind, they say, it was from it that Pliny the Elder wore a wreath. Traditional medicine widely uses it to treat the respiratory tract, a decoction of oregano is taken as an expectorant and anti-inflammatory agent for bronchitis, asthma, and tuberculosis. Tea from it is recommended to drink in order to cleanse the body of toxins and restore the functioning of the stomach, strengthen the general condition after an illness.
The essential oil of the mother is used for relaxing treatments. It has a beneficial effect on the well-being of weather-dependent people when the weather changes, strengthens the body, helps to resist infectious diseases, stress.
Home
Mint can be grown on the window. This unpretentious plant, with the help of seeds or cuttings, takes root perfectly in a pot. It is not picky about the choice of soil, but needs a lot of sunlight, although direct sunlight is better to shade. If there is not enough light, the aroma will become weaker – less essential oils will be produced, which means that the benefits of eating leaves will also decrease. It is desirable to water with warm water, the earth lump should not dry out.
House mint is often referred to as the ornamental plant plectranthus. It also belongs to the mint family, similar to mint in appearance and smell. This evergreen plant prefers nutritious moist soil, plenty of light all year round. With a lack of light, its leaves turn pale, and the branches become thinner. In summer, you need to water a lot, and in winter, watering is slightly reduced, although the plant does not go into a dormant state, but its growth slows down somewhat.
Plectranus is also called the moth tree, because its aroma is an excellent remedy for moths. The leaves must be torn off, put in a gauze bag, the moth will not settle where it lies. Gradually, the leaves will dry out, periodically they will need to be crushed by hand to activate the smell.
menthol
Menthol mint grows up to 65 cm tall. This is one of the varieties of peppermint, differs from it only by a high content of menthol. She has a very pungent smell, if you put 1 leaf on a glass of tea, then this will already be too much. When grown in the garden, this plant is not attacked by pests, it is practically not susceptible to diseases. It differs from other varieties by dark stems and a very strong pungent odor. In the year of planting, the crop can be harvested as early as 3 months after rooting, and the next year, each growing leaf already has the entire set of useful substances, so you can pick it as needed.
Field
Field, wild, meadow mint, oregano, mother – all these are the names of one variety. It grows in height from 20 to 80 cm, is unpretentious, in the garden it will grow without vagaries with sufficient moisture. Traditional medicine uses it as an anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, expectorant, astringent. It contains tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, polyphenols, cardiac glycosides, saponins, in addition to many useful substances that make up the essential oil. People with problems of the stomach, gallbladder, liver, respiratory tract should grow wild mint in their country house or collect wild mint in the meadow – it will definitely improve their health.
Lemon
Lemon mint or lemon balm also has the following names: honey, bee, swarm, mother liquor. A strong branched bush reaches 1 m in height under favorable circumstances. It is difficult to find the unfavorable ones – if lemon balm settled on the site, then there will be many bees, it will disperse throughout the site if it is allowed to bloom.
Its green branches, rounded, slightly carved at the edges of the leaves, contain vitamins (especially a lot of vitamin C), carotene, rosmarinic and caffeic acids, tannins, flavonoids. Infusion of lemon balm relieves nervous tension, treats insomnia, lowers blood pressure. Honey tea lowers blood sugar, relieves asthma attacks, and relieves muscle spasms. But it is very important to observe a reasonable concentration, if you drink too strong an infusion or too much tea, the effect can be reversed, instead of relief, you can get an increase in symptoms. Lemon balm oil will help with flu, high temperature, herpes very quickly, so it is useful to have it at home.
Pepper
The most common and well-known mint is precisely peppermint, it is a hybrid of aquatic and garden varieties. It is used not only by traditional medicine, but also by modern pharmacology. Peppermint has vasodilating, analgesic properties, it will help get rid of nausea, help with asthma, flatulence. It has a tonic effect on the heart, relieves increased heartbeat, improves blood circulation. With swelling of the intestines, stomach pains, colic, a decoction of peppermint will help. It is used as a choleretic, diaphoretic. It is difficult to overestimate the benefits that a decoction of these tender green leaves can bring.
The presence of menthol determines the bactericidal properties of peppermint. Delicate sensitive skin gratefully accepts lotions from its infusion, it will remove any irritation, tones the skin cells, it is not in vain that it is used for anti-aging procedures. No matter how useful mint is, not everyone can use it, for example, people with low blood pressure or varicose veins, it is contraindicated.
Video “Useful properties of lemon mint”
Informative video about the beneficial properties of lemon balm.
