Peppermint is one of more than 20 different types of mint, including pennyroyal and spearmint. According to Cathy Avila, a naturopath and supervisor of the Natural Medicine Clinic at Southern Cross University, in "Reader's Digest," the benefits of peppermint essential oil--which is extracted from the plant's leaves just before its flowers bloom--is the high menthol content. MedLine Plus, an online health resource published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, recommends limiting dosage to 0.2 to 0.4 milliliters (mL) of peppermint oil a day if you're taking the oil internally, three to four drops of oil added to steaming water for inhalation and 1 to 5 percent essential oil for topical application.
Soothes the Stomach
Very small doses of peppermint oil have an antispasmodic effect that can soothe an upset stomach, ease flatulence and calm stomach cramps. When combined with caraway oil, peppermint oil shows some promise for treating discomfort caused by heartburn, according to MedLine Plus, but there's not enough reliable research to recommend peppermint as a treatment. In fact, MedLine Plus warns that too high doses of peppermint oil can actually cause heartburn because peppermint relaxes your stomach and esophageal muscles so much that it causes acid reflux.
Clears Congestion
Peppermint oil is frequently used in cough and cold remedies because the menthol in it clears up congestion and helps relieve congestion-related headaches, according to an interview with Vara Maranda, aromatherapist and member of the Australian Traditional Medicine Society, in "Reader's Digest" magazine. MedLine Plus says there's some evidence to support inhalation of peppermint oil and topical application of peppermint oil in the form of a chest or nasal rub as a treatment for congestion, but the scientific research is not conclusive.
Relieves Nausea
Peppermint oil may help soothe nausea. Peppermint oil has a mildly anaesthetic effect on your stomach lining, which calms nausea caused by motion sickness, morning sickness and illness. Peppermint oil has traditionally been used to treat nausea, but both the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and MedLine Plus say that more scientific evidence is needed to prove the efficacy of the folklore use.
Eases Muscle Aches
When you rub peppermint oil directly onto your skin, it slows down transmission of the nerve receptors that transmit pain signals to your brain, making sore muscles hurt less. More evidence is needed to confirm these benefits as scientific fact, says MedLine Plus. NCCAM warns that peppermint oil can cause allergic reactions in some people, so you may want to try a small, test patch before applying peppermint oil to a large area of your body.
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