Oh my. Nothing more refreshing than mint. Mint tea, mint ice cream, mint brownies, mint in aqua fresca…. mmmm.

Mint is a really versatile herb. Most people think of it as being for digestion, and that is true – with limitations. Mint (specifically peppermint) is also a relaxant. So if your belly issues are related to a heavy meal, or slowed digestion, mint is a great tea to have (if you’re gassy, add some fennel). However…. if you have issues with reflux, mint is not a great choice. I’ll say it again – mint is a relaxant. So while it can help mellow you out, it also relaxes the sphincter at the top of your stomach and can allow acid to come up a little.

Peppermint is a very nice tea when you have a cold. The steam given off by a cup of tea can loosen the gunk in your sinuses and the tea helps to relax a cough. It is useful for nausea and vomiting – the relaxant effect also works on the lower end of the stomach and can help the stomach empty a little quicker.

Mint works as a cholagogue and a choleretic, meaning it stimulates the release of bile from the gallbladder and the production of bile by the liver. The tradition of mints after a heavy meal really has roots in herbal science!

You can recognize mint by the smell (different members of the mint family smell different), the saw-toothed leaves, square stems (roll them between your fingers and you’ll feel what I mean), and pale purple or pink flowers on spikes. It likes moist, shady soil and it (and every other mint) SPREADS LIKE CRAZY ONCE ESTABLISHED. Seriously, if you want to contain it, plant it in a raised bed. And that may not even work.

Other plants in the mint family are motherwort, lemon balm, catnip, and horehound. More on those later. Mint does have one cousin that is not so nice: pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium). Pennyroyal is poisonous, so if you are picking things in the wild – make sure you know what you are doing.

Mint also can repel insects and mice. That’s why I have it planted in my front flowerbeds. The menthol in peppermint can help stop itchiness of bug bites if you rub the plant on your skin. Gotta love an herb that is multipurpose like that!