14 Incredible Peppermint Tea Benefits

Minty and refreshing, drinking peppermint tea offers many benefits for your physical health and mental wellness. Because of its amazing properties, peppermint tea is one of the most popular teas in the world, with long-standing roots in medicinal herbal traditions in cultures across the globe. Among its many health benefits, peppermint may help improve your digestion, reduce stress levels, minimize the effects of allergic reactions, and soothe a sore throat. In this article, we will discuss all the benefits of peppermint tea and how often you should drink it to get the most out of its healing properties.

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Health Benefits of Peppermint Tea

Along with its beloved taste, mint tea is regularly enjoyed for its various potential health benefits. Popular in ancient healing traditions, peppermint is one of the most well-known herbs globally. Peppermint leaves are loaded with antioxidants, nutrients, and antibacterial properties that can offer a host of health benefits. Some of the most notable peppermint tea benefits include:

• Anti-Inflammatory Effects: Peppermint tea has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects. This is due to the presence of compounds like rosmarinic acid and menthol in mint leaves. These compounds can help relieve inflammation throughout the body, which can lead to a reduction in pain, swelling, and several other related conditions.

• Dispelling Bad Breath: This advantage of drinking mint tea is self-explanatory — who doesn't want minty fresh breath? The antibacterial properties of peppermint leaves combat odor-causing bacteria in the mouth, while the fresh peppermint scent hides bad breath. Ditch the breath mints, and pick up a warm cup of peppermint tea for a long-lasting, pleasant smell.

• Improving Digestion: An upset stomach is no match for peppermint. Peppermint can help aid digestion, relieving issues like indigestion, gas, bloating, and even diarrhea. This is because peppermint tea relaxes the muscles of the digestive tract, which allows food to move through more easily.

• Cold and Allergy Relief: One of the most popular natural remedies for cold, flu, and allergy symptoms, the peppermint plant can clear the sinuses, reduces fevers, and ease a sore throat. If you're feeling the effects of seasonal allergies, peppermint tea may be just the cure for you.

• Fever Reduction: Peppermint's cooling sensation is more than just a side effect of the taste. Its compounds also work to help lower your body temperature, and in doing so, may provide temporary fever reduction, while soothing any fever-related aches.

• Soothing Menstrual Cramps: Thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties, peppermint tea is a popular solution to easing menstrual pain. An effective muscle relaxant, this herb helps reduce abdominal pain associated with menstrual cramps while providing a calming, cooling sensation. The next time you're dealing with painful menstrual cramps, reach for a hot cup of peppermint tea.

• Immune System Support: Even before sickness sets in, peppermint tea may ward off harmful bacteria and viruses. Research suggests that peppermint may boost immune function and prevent viral infections. Its antiviral and antibacterial properties help defend your body, strengthening your immune system, while providing a delicious drink.

• Headache Pain Relief: Peppermint leaves act as a natural antispasmodic and sedative to help relax both your mind and body, easing any tension headaches or migraines. Its ability to clear sinuses helps provide soothing relief from sinus headaches.

• Better Sleep: Because peppermint is caffeine-free and a muscle relaxant, it's an ideal choice for a bedtime tea. Peppermint tea may calm any tension within your body, preparing you for a good night's sleep.

• Enhanced Memory: According to some recent studies, peppermint may even improve long-term memory! Researchers found that peppermint tea enhances cognitive functions, specifically memory and attention.

Try these best peppermint teas for your health:

Peppermint Tea for Mental Wellbeing

In addition to its physical health benefits, peppermint is also great for your mental wellbeing. Peppermint tea can help improve your focus, fight fatigue, and even boost your mood. If you're feeling stressed or anxious, try sipping on a cup of calming mint. Here are just a few of the ways peppermint can add to your mental wellness routine:

• Reducing stress levels: Due to the naturally occurring menthol, mint tea has a calming effect on the mind and body, which can help to reduce stress levels. If you're looking for a natural way to wind down after a long day, peppermint tea is the perfect solution.

• Improving focus: If you're struggling to focus on a task, peppermint tea can help. The refreshing aroma of peppermint is known to improve mental clarity and increase focus, and research suggests that peppermint leaves may even aid in concentration and memory.

• Boosting your mood: Peppermint tea can also help to boost your mood and fight fatigue. This is due to the presence of compounds like limonene and menthol, which have mood-enhancing properties. Common in peppermint and spearmint leaves, limonene, a compound generally found in citrus peels and chewing gums, may provide a sense of happiness and bliss.

• Energizing: Drinking peppermint tea may supercharge your day without the jittery and anxious side effects of coffee. The minty freshness may help you feel more awake, while the limonene provides a boost of energy. Like most herbal teas, it is caffeine-free, but peppermint tea can still help you feel more alert, making it an excellent substitute for coffee.

Here are some of our favorite peppermint teas for mental wellbeing:

How Often Should You Drink Peppermint Tea?

Drinking peppermint tea is ideal for any time of day. Thankfully, peppermint tea is naturally caffeine-free, making it an excellent bedtime tea. If you're looking for a caffeine-free alternative to a morning cup of black tea, mint tea can still provide a boost of energy without the caffeine content. Drinking peppermint tea may help fight afternoon fatigue and increase alertness as you go about your day.

There are no set guidelines for how much peppermint tea you can drink, and it's nearly impossible to consume too much peppermint. Cases of overconsumption of peppermint have been rare and limited to peppermint oil, which contains much higher concentrations of peppermint extract than mint tea. This mint tea is safe to consume multiple times a day, so sip to your heart's content. However, if you suffer from heartburn or GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), avoid peppermint tea or any teas in the mint family, as they may trigger acid reflux by allowing stomach acid to flow more easily between the stomach and esophagus. Additionally, some people experience mint allergies, so if any itchiness or signs of allergic reactions occur after drinking a mint tea, stop consuming immediately.

Peppermint Oil vs. Peppermint Tea

While peppermint oil and peppermint tea both boast many advantages for your health, they are not the same. Peppermint oil is a concentrated extract of peppermint that contains menthol, while peppermint tea is a brewed infusion of dried peppermint leaves in hot water. This means that peppermint oil is more potent than peppermint tea and should be used with added caution in limited dosages, for risk of heartburn, nausea, and vomiting. Peppermint oils can be used topically or aromatically, but should never be ingested. Peppermint tea, on the other hand, is safe to consume orally and provides all of the benefits of peppermint oil without the risks.

Whether you enjoy using loose leaf tea or tea bags, peppermint tea is a much safer (and tasty!) way to consume peppermint. Peppermint oil, and other essential oils, may be beneficial for aromatherapy in an essential oil diffuser. Still, we prefer the convenience and taste of a cup of peppermint tea to reap the aromatic and health benefits of peppermint!

Drinking Peppermint Tea for a Healthy Lifestyle

As you can see, peppermint teas offer many health advantages to the sipper. From relieving a runny nose to calming headaches or even dispelling bad breath, peppermint's nutritional benefits make it a handy kitchen staple. The confirmed therapeutic properties of peppermint expand beyond the physical body and can bring peace and clarity to your mind and soul.

While some claim that peppermint tea aids with weight loss, these claims have not been proven, and research in this area is very limited. However, peppermint tea's holistic health benefits still make it a great addition to a healthy lifestyle. Plus, there are hundreds of varieties of mint teas to explore. Mint green tea, for one, combines fresh mint with a heart-healthy green tea base, like Cool Green Mint by Um'licious Me. Mint + Coco by Aesthete Tea creates a tropical blend of peppermint leaves and coconut with black tea leaves for a unique twist. Several chocolate teas combine fresh peppermint with decadent cacao, like Double Chocolate Peppermint by Key to Teas. Or you can combine the health advantages of peppermint with other herbs in an herbal tisane, like in the loose-leaf teas Miraculously Relaxing Mint Herbal Tea by Mentaliteas or Moringa Mint by Golden Flourish:

Want to try more peppermint teas? Here are some of our favorites:

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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About Sips by: We’re a female-founded and led startup that makes discovering tea fun, personalized, and affordable. The Sips by Box is the only multi-brand, personalized tea subscription box. Each month, we match tea drinkers across the U.S. with delicious teas from over 150 global tea brands that we’re sure they’ll love. Based out of Austin, Texas, we are adept at savoring a hot mug even when it’s seasonally inappropriate.