Just at the start of last week, my 17-year-old son woke up with a runny nose, a sore throat and headache. He had had an activity-packed weekend, as the sunny, warm, Spring inspired action: going out on a trip to another city with friends, working out hard at the gym and not having enough sleep. However, when action is not balanced with rest, then we pay a price for it. Since I had spent time in the garden on the weekend, I had noticed that a plant that I have grown in containers for years now, is returning in full growth, after its winter dormancy and this plant would help my son get over his ailments. This is none other than the common Mint.
Mint is one of those common herbs that we find almost everywhere in our modern world. Go to the grocery store and you’ll find it on the herbal tea shelf, probably with many brands offering the same herb. You will also find it in the fresh herb section, packed in neat little boxes ready to be used. Move through the store and you’ll find Mint in so many of the products, from mint stracciatella ice-cream, to toothpaste, to chewing gum and candy that are called mints. Go to a bar or restaurant, order a cocktail and it’s used as a garnish. In Malaysia, where I come from, we use it in food as a garnish, to enhance the flavors; for instance, in Assam Laksa, a spicy, sweet, sour fish noodle soup dish.
Mint is a perennial, grows outside in almost all the continents of the world, except Antarctica, as long as there is sunlight and enough moisture in the Earth. It is an aromatic herb, as such it is often used fresh as a garnish and should not be cooked, in order to maintain its essential oils. If you are not careful to plant it in a container, it will take over your garden. This is the resilience of Mint, its growth will spread throughout the garden, coming back year after year, with little care; as long as conditions are suitable.
In Chinese Medicine, we call this herb Bó Hé 薄荷.Herba Mentha haplocalys or Mentha arvensis or Field Mint is the species of Mint that is used in Chinese Medicine, but there are at least 25 Mint species and numerous hybrid species in existence today. This herb enters the Lung and Liver channels, is spicy, cool and aromatic. It is used to clear the head, eyes and throat, as well as what we call Wind-Heat conditions, which includes the common cold/ flu symptoms, like sore throat, headache, fever, etc. It vents rashes, like in the case of early-stage measles. Mint disperses the turbid in the abdomen, meaning dampness with heat symptoms like abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea, as in the case of a gastrointestinal virus. Finally, it soothes and relieves Liver Qi Stagnation, which manifests as tension in the chest/breast and hypochondrium (rib area), headaches and emotional instability, which are common symptoms in PMS. One of its functions that I learned from my own personal experience but is often not stated as a function is that it slows down breastmilk production, especially useful when one wants to wean a child off the breast. So many functions for such a small, common, rather under-estimated plant, isn’t it?
I hear from new patients drinking the infusion of Mint often, but are unaware that it is cooling. If you are someone who tends to feel cold, this is not the infusion that you should be drinking too often, especially not in winter. Drink it in late Spring or Summer, like now, where days are longer and the sun is shining, and the leaves are in full-growth. If you experience PMS, then drink Mint regularly in that phase of the menstrual cycle. It is by the way, one of the herbs in the famous Free and Easy Wanderer Powder (Xiāo Yáo Sǎn) which I wrote about in previous blogposts.
As in the case of my son, he spent the day resting, taking the famous Wind-Heat formula, Yín Qiào Sǎn, which has Mint as one of its herbs, and drinking fresh Mint infusions, as our plants are right at our front door, guarding the entry to our home. The next day, he was well again ready to go back to school and everyday life. Even though I know the power of Mint, it never ceases to amaze me how this simple, common plant can provide such relief and healing in those moments that we so need. This is the magic of the simple and the everyday. You just have to know when to apply it and it reveals its magic to you.
Images by Elaine
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