There are many kitchen spices and herbs that we associate with Christmas. Ginger and Cinnamon are favorites, and have some wonderful health benefits. Ginger helps with inflammation for pain or stomach distress. Cinnamon helps blood sugar balance, which may explain why it’s added to so many Christmas cookies.
But another delicious one is Peppermint. It’s use predates Christmas and it has been found in some Egyptian pyramids.
It is delicious as a tea, and helps soothe the stomach. But it’s medicinal use extends far beyond a comforting cup. Capsules of peppermint oil (enteric coated to pass through the stomach to the intestine) are a treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS. Studies verify that, for both children and adults, peppermint oil capsules taken twice daily, alleviate symptoms in up to 75% of patients. Abdominal pain and diarrhea are two of the symptoms that were helped.
If you look for peppermint oil capsules, be sure to check out the carrier oil. You don’t want to ingest soybean oil.
Peppermint oil helps with gastric emptying, which means that food passes more quickly into the intestine so that it does not ferment and cause discomfort. Infant colic is another use of peppermint oil, and is as effective as drugs sometimes subscribed to babies. It is so much better to harness Mother Nature rather than Big Pharma.
Peppermint has many other therapeutic uses. It has been used since the Middle Ages for fresher breath. It can help with allergies and tuberculosis, and can be applied topically for the pain of Shingles or during a Herpes Type I (Cold Sore) outbreak.
It protects against radiation used in cancer treatment and assists chemo-induced nausea.
Pretty powerful for a leafy herb that will take over your garden if you plant it, so always keep it contained in a pot, or garden bed if you want to grow some for yourself.
Peppermint (and Rosemary) also have a positive effect on memory, so they can be used in an aromatherapy pot. Peppermint will also provide a pleasant mood lift, and will help us to feel energized, and yet a cup of tea is calming. So, peppermint is a remedy for so many demands of living.
Sugar sticks with a crook at the top to mimic Shepherds’ staffs date back to a German choirmaster in 1670, who wanted the sweets to keep children quiet in Church. Peppermint flavoring and the red and white stripes seem to emerge in the 19th century in the US. Bob McCormack, the founder of Bob’s Candies, popularized the candy that became synonymous with Christmas.
Red Dye 40 is finally in the cross-hairs of the FDA. It is a synthetic food coloring that has been shown to increase symptoms of hyperactivity, allergies, and negatively impact gut health.
You can find candy canes from Yum Earth or naturalcandystore.com that are colored with natural vegetable dyes and are free of high-fructose corn syrup. Santa approved.
The fresh minty taste of peppermint conjures up frosty winter weather and snow angels, even for those of us who live in warm climes.
You don’t need high doses of the peppermint essential oil, to get the benefits. You can brew tea from your own garden mint, or masticate the leaves in a mortar and pestle to make a delicious mint drink, sweetened with monk fruit. Don’t use too much of the essential oil, either. The benefits are in the smaller doses.
Put a few drops of peppermint oil in a spray bottle of water and spray any room, including the bathroom, to freshen and revive. It’s a great way to avoid synthetic scented candles but make everyone healthier. I used a lot of peppermint spray in my closet this summer to foil the tiny clothes moths that seem to thrive in Florida. I also add a couple of drops to a cloth and toss it into the dryer to scent sheets or clothes.
Personally, I love peppermint in many forms, so I am happy to share some ideas with you. You can enjoy a little Christmas spirit all year long, using peppermint in so many forms. I didn’t realize how many medicinal uses there were of peppermint, until I researched it for this blog. I hope you will spread the word to family and friends so that we can all be less dependent on chemicals and money interests that haven’t always served us well.
We used to make peppermint and vanilla taffy candy canes when I was a kid. (in that little ol’ log cabin. Just kidding! My mom was from Iowa and loved to bake for Christmas.) We had to put butter on our hands and pull the taffy to stretch it. Great fun for kids.
I asked Chat GPT if you could substitute monk fruit for cane sugar in a taffy recipe. Surprisingly, the answer was yes! Let me know if you would like a copy of the recipe to try for yourself. Just add peppermint flavoring, twist the taffy into sticks (with a crook at the top) and you have homemade candy canes that won’t have kids bouncing off the walls. I use monk fruit for most of my baking these days. You can buy it with or without eurythritol online.
I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas season and creating or continuing lots of traditions that mean Christmas to you!