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November 6, 2008; Vol. I, Issue 6, Published every Thursday
- The Top 10 Best Uses for Peppermint Essential Oil by Christa McCourt

Peppermint essential oil is one of the most versatile essential oils available. I carry my bottle with me everywhere I go. It's always in my purse when I am doing errands, working, traveling or at home.

I run into so many instances where I can use and share this wonderful essential oil.

Peppermint essential oil is incredibly powerful. Just one drop of peppermint essential oil equals 28 cups of peppermint tea! Knowing this fact, you can appreciate how effective peppermint can be when using it for the therapeutic applications listed below.

Also, my suggestions below are for an AFNOR/ISO certified therapeutic grade peppermint essential oil. Any other grade of essential oil will not produce desired results. But as I always say, be sure to know the growing, distillation and packaging methods of your essential oil supplier before purchasing essential oils.

The top 10 best uses for peppermint essential oil are:

(and in no particular order)

1. Soothe your digestive discomforts like nausea, diarrhea and indigestion:
Rub 1 or 2 drops of peppermint on your stomach. Or, put one drop under your tongue or in a cup of water. Peppermint acts to relax the muscles of the stomach and intestines, helping you feel better, fast.

Actually, this is how I got involved with essential oils. My friend gave me a couple of drops of peppermint to put on my stomach when I was feeling nauseous. Three minutes later my belly felt completely normal. I was sold! And have been an avid essential oil user ever since.

2. Lower your fever:
Rub 3 drops of peppermint essential oil on the bottoms of your feet. The peppermint will penetrate the pores of your feet and enter your bloodstream within minutes, working to cool your body and lower your fever.

This method for reducing fevers is especially beneficial in children. If your child is under 2, dilute the peppermint in an organic olive oil before applying it to their skin. I recommend diluting 1 drop of peppermint essential oil to 1 drop of organic olive oil.

3. Clear your stuffy nose:
Dab small amounts of peppermint essential oil on your cheeks and forehead. Within seconds your congestion should begin to lessen and you should be able to breathe easier.

Be very careful not to get it into your eyes! It will burn and make your eyes water! But if this happens, relieve the burning sensation by dabbing some organic olive oil in and around your eye. Olive oil is safe to use in your eyes to reduce the burning. Or you can just wait it out! The burning only lasts a minute or so.

4. Freshen your breath:
Use a smidge of peppermint essential oil on your tongue. You don't need much! Peppermint will kill the bad breath bacteria and make your breath smell minty-fresh!

Using peppermint essential oil as a breath freshener is a great replacement for chewing sugary gum or sucking on mints. Better for your teeth, too!

5. Cool you off from a hot flash or heat exhaustion:
Rub 1-2 drops of peppermint essential oil on the back of your neck. The peppermint will begin to produce a cooling and tingling sensation as it works to cool your core temperature.
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