Ayurvedic Home Remedies: Medicinal Uses of Mint Leaves

Mint has been used as an herbal remedy for ages all over the world for treating various ailments ranging from halitosis (bad breath), headache, indigestion, to toothache and more. It induces appetite and cures bloated stomach. It contains menthol and is used in aromatherapy for its essential oils. According to Wikipedia there are 13 to 18 varieties of mentha or mint found all over the world. This is an invasive herb that can grow and spread very rapidly. It grows to a height of 30 to 100 cm. Both fresh and dried mints are used in preparing herbal remedies.

People suffering from phlegm in chest, bronchial infections etc can turn to mint leaves for strengthening their lungs. Once cured of these problems, they should strengthen the lungs to prevent recurrence of infections. This can be done by taking a spoonful of juice obtained from mint leaves along with carrot juice and honey of same quantity. For best results this mixture should be taken in the mornings on empty stomach. This is found to strengthen the lungs.

Mint is an excellent remedy for pitta aggravation. Some of the symptoms of excessive pitha are nausea in the mornings, headache, vomiting of bile etc. For those suffering from excess pitha one time tested remedy is to take a spoon of mint juice, one half lemon juice, and one spoon of honey and mix them together. This mixture is then taken for a few days to pacify the aggravated pitta.

Mint is also useful in treating halitosis. For this dried mint leaves are used. Thoroughly dried mint leaves are ground to a fine powder and this powder is used in cleaning the teeth. Regular application is found to be effective in curing halitosis. This also strengthens the gums and roots of the teeth.

Some are prone to nausea while travelling on a bus or car etc. This is a very embarrassing social problem which can cause undue stress in these individuals. Mint is a handy remedy for this annoying condition. You need to take a handful of fresh mint leaves and curry leaves and sauté them in sesame oil. Add a little bit of tamarind and fried Black gram to these leaves and grind them to fine paste adding water as needed. This paste known as thuvaiyal in Tamil is taken before travel. This is a general remedy for nausea and vomiting.

Mint is rich in protein, vitamin A and C etc. Water content in this herb makes it an excellent remedy for urinary retention. It is used to treat urinary tract problems. Mint is also a time-tested remedy for headaches due to stress and heat. A paste made from fresh mint leaves is smeared on the forehead and temples for a quick relief from these types of headaches. This paste is also very effective in removing dark circles under the eyes. For this purpose the paste can be applied as a thin layer in the affected area before going to bed. This is then cleaned with cold water the next day morning. Regular application for a week or two will help get back the lost complexion in these areas.

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Ayurvedic Home Remedies: Health Benefits of Oil Pulling

The best health benefit you can get from oil is to use it as a mouth rinse. This has been my experience. And you will agree with me if you browse through the experience of thousands who do ‘oil pulling’ everyday. I know many people who follow this simple process and safeguard themselves from unnecessary health complications. There are diabetics who are able to maintain their blood sugar at normal level just by adding ‘oil pulling’ to their usual daily regimen. Over a period of time they have even reduced the intake of insulin.

I have been ‘oil pulling’ for a couple of months. I use sesame oil of Idhayam Group. It comes in easy to use sachets. The company gives away these sachets for free as a form of social service and well as to create awareness among the people of Tamil Nadu. Thanks to our Parish Priest, every second Sunday people from this company come to our Sacred Heart Church in Kolathur, Chennai and give away free sachets. People from all walks of life, irrespective of religion, caste or creed gather here to collect the sachets. The participants number almost hundred and each share their experiences with one another. Each participant gets 30 sachets free. The ‘oil pulling’ community here is very active. Our Parish Priest got rid of his sinus problems with ‘oil pulling’ and prescribes this to everyone he meets.

I have seen here people cured of various ailments with ‘oil pulling’. Some of the ailments cured include headaches, eye irritation, hair loss, insomnia, migraine, bad breath, excessive sweating, heel fissures, acne, ulcers, etc. People with high blood pressure were able to regulate their BP with oil pulling. Most of the women told they were able to reverse hair loss with this simple process. Some were cured of asthma and bronchitis. It has helped people with varicose veins too.

I feel fresh everyday and have lots of energy. I don’t feel tired in the evenings. The food I eat tastes good. My mouth feels fresh. I cannot keep myself awake beyond 11 o’clock at night. I sleep like a log and get up refreshed in the morning. I am able to sit before the computer for quite a long time without getting tired.

Sesame oil and sunflower oil are considered best for ‘oil pulling’. You can use coconut oil also. Some use olive oil too. One of my earlier posts details how you can do this simple process. I request everyone of my readers to try this inexpensive ‘oil pulling’ and reap rich benefits. If you need any clarifications or help you can email me.

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Some more Siddha remedies for Teeth

For decayed tooth the following preparation can be used.

Chebulic myrobalan (kadukkai), Dried bael fruit or Bengal quince (vilva), salt, these three are collected in equal quantity. Squeeze lemon to these and grind them to a fine paste. Make the paste into a flat piece of cake and allow it to dry. Once dried, burn this cake to a fine ash. This ash is used to clean teeth. This helps cure decayed teeth.

Also to strengthen gums, the following procedure can be adopted.

Boil a few cloves of garlic (3-4) using a glass of water. Add equal quantity of warm water to this glass of water. Use this water to gargle your mouth. While gargling concentrate on the base of the teeth, gums etc. This strengthens the gums and teeth.

A few magizham poo (Mimusops elengi) flowers are chewed and the kept in the mouth for 4-5 minutes. Then they are spit out. Now gargle using water. This helps in strengthening loose teeth and toothache.

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Some Siddha Remedies for Teeth

In India the twigs of neem tree and banyan tree have been used from time immemorial to clean teeth. Even today you can find people in Indian villages cleaning their teeth using neem twigs. And their strong teeth bear witness to the efficacy of these twigs.

Last week, out of curiosity I started using neem twigs to clean my teeth. I could sense a marked difference in my mouth. My mouth remained fresh throughout the day, which had never happened before.

The neem is a disinfectant and antiseptic. No wonder the Siddha system recommends neem twigs, banyan twigs etc in preparing powders for brushing teeth.

I give below a time tested Siddha tooth powder that can be prepared at home using easily available products.

Twigs of neem tree, mango tree, black plum tree (syzygium cumini), Alexandrian Laurel (punnai), banyan tree, karuvelam or babool (acacia niletica), prickly chaff flower (nayuruvi) are collected. They are powdered and sieved using a piece of muslin. 100 gm of this powder is taken along with 10 gm of fried alum, rice chaff ash 10 gm, sambrani (boswellia serrata var glabra) 10 gm, cloves 3 gm, karuva pattai (wild cinnamon) 3 gm, they are again pounded to a fine powder. Sieve this powder again.

Brushing your teeth using this powder helps cure toothache, pain in gums etc.

Another preparation is as follows.

Pepper 5 gm, chukku (dry ginger) 2 gm, poonkaavi 10 gm, samprani (Boswellia serrata Var.glabra) 10 gm, karuvelam pattai (Acacia nilotica) 40 gm, bottom portion (near stem) of tobacco leaves 5 gm, fried alum 2 gm are taken. They are pounded to powder form. Sieve the powder using muslin. Add 5 gm of camphor to this sieved powder and store it in a bottle. Brush your teeth using this powder morning and evening.

Regular usage helps in curing bleeding of gums, tooth decay etc.

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