Mint
Tea - Health Benefits
By Alex
Zorach
Mint Tea is a popular herbal tea, frequently used
to make iced tea as well as hot tea. Mint tea has a cooling quality and makes a
particularly refreshing iced tea, both when used alone or when blended with
other herbs or with green or black tea.
Varieties of Mint:
There are many varieties
of mint, including both natural species, and hybrids and cultivars. Spearmint (Mentha
spicata) and peppermint (Mentha x piperita) are the most common
types of mint used in tea. Apple mint (Mentha suaveolens) is also
common, and resembles spearmint in flavor although it has fuzzy leaves. Usually
when the term "mint tea" is used and no variety of mint is specified,
it means spearmint tea. The mint family also contains a number of other species
used in tea, including lemon balm, oswego tea, and many culinary herbs.
Cultivars such as pineapple mint and orange mint can also be used in tea,
although they are less widely available commercially.
Health Benefits of Mint
Tea:
Many mints have numerous
traditional medicinal uses. The research on the health benefits of mint tea is
young and few human studies have been done--it is not fully known the degree to
which various benefits shown in lab studies actually transfer to people
drinking mint tea. However, there is preliminary evidence suggesting that mint
may have a variety of benefits:
·
Caffeine free - Like most herbal teas, all plants in the mint
family are 100% caffeine free.
·
Antioxidants - Spearmint, peppermint, and other mints have been
found to be rich in antioxidants, a broad class of chemicals thought to promote
overall health by preventing damage to the body and protecting against cancer
and tumors.
·
Iron absorption - There is evidence that mint tea can improve
the body's ability to absorb iron. In middle eastern countries, it is common to
brew black tea together with spearmint. Black tea is known to inhibit iron
absorption; mixing mint with black tea can mitigate these effects.
·
Antibacterial and antifungal activity - In vitro studies have
found spearmint, peppermint, and other mints to inhibit the growth of, and
kill, harmful bacteria, including MSRA (a dangerous antibiotic-resistant strain
of bacteria). Spearmint also has been shown to prevent the growth of a number
of types of harmful fungi.
·
Stomach & gastrointestinal benefits - Peppermint has been
traditionally used to settle the stomach and treat certain gastrointestinal
problems. There is some evidence that it is effective at treating irritable
bowel syndrome.
It is not fully clear the
degree to which these health benefits are available to those drinking mint tea.
Some of the human trials that have been conducted used capsules of concentrated
essential oils, which likely lead to greater concentrations than what would
typically be found in mint tea.
Safety of Mints and Side
Effects:
Most mints (including
spearmint and peppermint) are safe for use as a food seasoning or herbal tea,
but the mint family is large and diverse and contains some plants which are
less safe. A few species, including pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium), can be
poisonous in large doses.
Buying or Growing Mint
for Tea:
Dried spearmint and
peppermint for use in tea are widely available from a number of online tea
retailers, but the best mint tea is made from fresh leaves. Although fresh mint
can be purchased at some supermarkets, it is expensive and it is usually easier
to grow the plant yourself. Almost endless varieties of mint plants are
available at nurseries. Plants in the mint family also can be grown very easily
from cuttings. Mints are very easy to grow (and can easily take over your yard
or garden) in moist temperate climates. They are not quite as vigorous in
hotter or drier climates, but can be grown outside their preferred range with
some extra care.
Alex Zorach has an M.A.
in statistics from Yale University, and is an avid tea drinker and the creator
and editor-in-chief of RateTea, the first interactive website where
anyone can rate and review teas, with a searchable database of thousands of
teas classified by brand, style, and region, and a wealth of information on
each of these regions, companies, and types of tea. Read more about mint
tea, including listings and reviews of different sources of mint
tea, detailed references to scientific articles, and more in-depth discussion
of the health benefits of mint tea.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Alex_Zorach/433569
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