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 This famous herb was once believed to warm a cold liver, stir up bodily lust and heal the bite of a mad dog. And you thought you were just fighting cavities... While peppermint is best known as a flavouring, it's also one of the most popular therapeutic herbs, used for everything from seasonal colds to stomach troubles. Here then is the inside scoop on adding peppermint to your family's natural medicine chest Try Peppermint if: Your digestive system needs a jump-start. The menthol in peppermint soothes the lining of the digestive tract and stimulates the production of bile, an essential digestive fluid that helps your body break down the nutrients in your food. A hot cup of herbal tea is an excellent way to settle your stomach and improve the digestion after a big meal. You're all stuffed up and having difficulty sleeping. Menthol vapours are famous for relieving nasal, sinus and chest congestion. You're choking like a siamese with a hairball. Peppermint is so effective against cough that peppermint oil is an important ingredient in many cough drops. Peppermint seems to work by increasing the production of saliva, making you swallow more frequently and suppressing the cough reflex. You can drink peppermint tea on a cold day or when you are battling that cold. Use 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried peppermint leaves per cup of boiling water.
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