Essential Oil Usage: Peppermint (on ingestion)

I actually have a few more things to say about Peppermint (see previous page if you haven't already on the usage of Peppermint essential oil).  While I normally do not suggest internal usage for essential oils Peppermint is one of the ones that is especially good for when one has an upset tummy, travel sickness, neasea, or I have found it to be especially good for mild cases of food poisoning (where one isn't even certain that it is food poisoning but just feel icky after eating a meal).  But one must be SUPER careful (I went over contraindications on the last page).  I would say that before one ever ingests an essential oil that they use it several times in other methods first so that you have a real feel for how the oil behaves and can make a good assessment on whether this is something you really wish to do.

But ok let's say you have used it in a lotion on your feet for instance - it has got a nice cooling property (for most folks - for some folks it feels warming) and is antiseptic so that it makes for a nice foot rub mixed with lotion or Aloe Gelly (at 2% for feet - see dilution chart a few pages back) when your feet are tired or if you have a fungus or just smelly feet LOL.  And you've used it mixed with some Orange Essential Oil and then into a room spray with some alcohol and some water (say 10 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil to 30 drops of Orange Essential oil plus a tbsp or two of vodka and a 1/4 cup of distilled water into a glass or metal sprayer bottle), shake well and sprayed the room of someone who was sick and you wanted to freshen up the room.  And you've used it mixed with a carrier oil (at 1-2.25%) for when you had a neck ache and gave yourself a good neck massage with it.  Now you have some familiarity with the oil.  Before you ever do have a tummy ache try it.  Put a drop in a tsp of honey, mix it up really well but do not consume the whole tsp of honey - rather only take a toothpick's worth on your tongue and feel how your body reacts to it and do not be surprised if you have a rather strong reaction as just that amount would be akin to drinking a full cup or two of peppermint tea - that is one drop of a tsp of honey that had one drop of Peppermint Essential Oil FULLY mixed into it.  Now you can see for yourself just how very strong it is and why ingestion neat of any essential oil isn't the best idea.

When I have had a mild case of food poisoning - that is my belly feels neaseous after eating but I am not tossing my cookies (in which case a trip to the hospital is in order more often than not) I have used Peppermint Essential Oil to good effect.  Mix 1 drop with a tsp of honey and so long as you do not have heart problems, are not taking medication and do not have any kind of esophagus problems or problems with GERD or acid reflux or G6PD deficiency or are pregnant and you have familiarity with the oil and know for certain you are not allergic and have tried it before as I have laid out then go ahead and give it a shot.  It has cured my upset tummy in past quite nicely and quickly.  This works well I have read also for travel sickness although in that case just a whiff of a drop or two of Lavender Essential Oil or Lemon Essential Oil or a frankly a whole host of other essential oils on a tissue might do the trick alone but with Peppermint ingestion is actually the preferred method as it can sting your nose (never put Peppermint Essential Oil near or on the nose of a child where this can actually cause respiratory arrest).

NOTE:  The reason I am going ahead and making information on ingestio n available here is largely because people are reading blogs of others who do not make good suggestions and folks are ingesting oils neat in water allllll over the place.  So I figure why not make the correct usage information available to people.  That way at least there is a chance someone read my blog instead of the blog of someone who got it wrong.  It is never wise to drink water that you have put drops of essential oil in without a proper carrier (a proper carrier for adding essential oils to water would be Solubol which is food grade polysorbate 20 and is ingest-able and will essentially make the essential oil able to mix thoroughly with the water.  Honey isn't the best to mix with water but it will do in a pinch - better just to mix whatever essential oil you are wishing to take with the honey and then take that without the water and drink the water separately.)

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