Archive for the 'Peppermint' Category
This is the time of year that I love; yet, I hate it too because my allergies really get triggered during the late summer and early autumn season. I am allergic to ragweed and as much as I love the colors of autumn, it gives me painful sinus headaches. Maybe you can relate to what I’m talking about. Anyway, I try not to take sinus decongestants because they dry me up and my heart starts racing faster, which is scary.
I use guided visualization. I envision my head pain and pressure vanishing and that seems to help somewhat. It doesn’t take all the pressure away. So, I have tried taking peppermint oil and saturating a cotton ball with it. Then, when I start to drive my 16-mile commute back and forth to work everyday, I stick the peppermint-soaked cotton ball in the heating vent so I sniff in the soothing oil, and, voila, it takes away the edge off the pressure and pain.
Be mindful that I combine this way of treating the headache with use of a netty pot and saline solution, along with inhaling of eucalyptus too. I avoid taking pain killers and I use the alternate treatment of natural herbs and plant medicine whenever possible. Peppermint 
and lavender are very soothing in combination with each other too.
By the way,Dr. Fred Pescatore, M.D. and director of the Centers for Integrative and Complementary Medicine in NYC and Dallas, reports that people who load up on pain killing meds when they are fighting viruses actually stay sick three days longer because those medications suppress the fever which actually kill the viruses. So, the next time you are sick with a virus, lay in bed and welcome the presence of a fever, since that is what will kill the virus that made you sick in the first place.
Stuffed Up Head? Open Your Airways with Peppermint Tea Instead
This time of year, I suffer intensely with allergies to ragweed, resulting in stuffy head, sinus headaches and stuffed up airways, making it difficult for me to breathe freely. I will wake up in the mornings and one of my nostrils will be blocked and by the end of the work day I get a serious sinus headache. Some of you who have ragweed allergies know exactly what I am talking about. It hits me at the end of August and into September.
Well, I grow alot of peppermint tea in my garden and it’s a good thing because I use it to open up my sinuses and it works. Instead of spending money on over-the -counter medications, which make me hyper and cause my heart to beat much faster, I find that sniffing peppermint tea 
in steamed water is much more pleasant smelling and soothing than just popping a pill.
It is menthol which gives peppermint its’ distinctive scent, and, according to Dr. Alan Hirsch, M.D., author of the book “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Sinusitis,” it is the menthol in this tea which is proven to drain mucous membranes and shrink swollen sinus tissues. Studies show that inhaling menthol vapor soothes a sinus headache faster than acetaminophen. Another added benefit is that there are no negative side effects.
To use add two peppermint tea bags to a pot of boiling water. Turn off the heat, put a towel over your head and lean over the pot, keeping your head about six inches above it. Then inhale the healing vapors, being sure to take deep breaths of the steam for at least 2 – 3 minutes. It works!
Sending Out a Plea to Drink Spearmint Tea – it Cuts Cancer Risks
Mint tea, either spearmint or peppermint, is amongst a group of foods which has been proven to help protect our bodies from predatory cancer cells. That’s right, the phytochemicals in this herb cut off the flow of blood and nutrients to cancerous tumors, thus starving them off without harming our bodies’ normal and healthy cells. If you can, pick fresh spearmint
or peppermint leaves from your garden, place them in a mug, cover with boiling water, cool and then sip. Remove the mint leaves, add ice and sweeten to taste. The good thing about this kind of tea is that you don’t need a tea bag. Use the fresh herbal leaves as they are!
Some other important foods which fight and prevent cancer are as follows:
- Sauerkraut : Believe it or not, the fermentation process loads it up with cancer-fighting compounds.
- Burgers, grilled medium-well; with less charring comes less exposure to cancer-causing chemicals.
- Lemonade (fresh); the compound in lemons known as limonene, is shown to cut the risk of certain cancers in half.
- Horseradish; Use as much as it as you can stand because this condiment stops cancer-cell growth by as much as 70% according to Michigan State University researchers. That’s because its compounds increase the liver’s ability to detoxify carcinogens.
- Filtered Water; a report put out by the Environmental Working Group suggests that home-filtered tap water is safer than bottled water.
- Cigarette Smoke; AVOID it because it contains over 60 different carcinogens which affect most of the organs in your body.
- Sunshine; get at least 15 minutes of sunshine per day to cut your cancer risk up to 36% by giving your body vital Vitamin D, a nutrient that shuts down abnormal cells before they can become cancerous. Avoid too much sun because even sunshine hurts if you get too much. If you are unable to get outdoors, take a supplement of at least 1000 units of Vitamin D everyday. Most Americans are lacking in Vitamin D and are suffering from many different kinds of disorders as a result. Fibromyalgia is one example of such a disorder. Most of these illnesses can be avoided. Just ask your family doctor to test you for Vitamin D levels.