Could Tea help your pain symptoms?

Pain

When I started getting really bad stomach pains my GP prescribed Gaviscon and told me I had IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I hated the taste of that medicine, it was awfully thick too thick with the taste of mint, a chalky mint but definitely mint. When my pain got worse he prescribed me Buscopan if I remember correctly this was when I started getting a a lot of acid reflux. I could be mistaken on this but I remember reading the ingredient list and I’m sure that it contained peppermint. 

Could Peppermint Tea really help?

I was taking Gaviscon from the age of 16 as my Dr diagnosed me with IBS. I didn’t have IBS I had Endometriosis but that diagnosis was a long way off. I did start drinking peppermint tea though. Before I was diagnosed with Endometriosis and ME for a long time I felt like I was losing my mind, I was given so many reasons for the pain I was getting but none of them made sense. I started cutting foods out of my diet and on Drs advice I was putting other things in my diet, of course, none of it made a difference. 

I started doing research myself!

All of this was going on over 10 years and for my sanity I needed to find something to help myself as I couldn’t take it anymore. Finding out Peppermint could potentially alleviate the pain was like a lightning bolt to the head. Why hadn’t I drawn that conclusion for myself , for so many years I had been taking products containing mint.  When the pain got really bad I couldn’t move a muscle as the slightest movement hurt. My periods were so heavy, scarily heavy. If I stood up on my period I could feel it, it was like a whoosh and even after challenging my consultant, he dismissed it as the pain was too high in my body to be related to my periods. I didn’t even understand what that meant.

I was tracking my pain and the dates of my cycle but I didn’t know what I was looking for. The pain would leave me exhausted, I was in so much pain at times I would even vomit afterwards or on many occasions, I would pass out. After carrying Becks for 6 months I had this awful feeling that my legs were going to go from under me. It felt like my body was splitting in 2. I felt like such an idiot bringing this up at a checkup but sure enough, I was right. My pelvis had started to separate. This led to a Consultant who finally listened, thankfully at last. I was put on complete bed rest.

While this led to lots of extra check ups I was fine and as you will already know if you have read any of my other posts here or on my social media I gave birth to the most amazing little Princess. She was perfect in every way. Throughout my pregnancy  I was drinking peppermint tea and eating gingerbread men to help with the nausea, it really helped. It also led to me looking at alternatives to medication.I came across an advert for a new product called 4head so instead of paracetamol when I had headaches I would use 4head.

How does it work?

All you had to do was rub it on your forehead and it would start working a lot quicker than taking 2 paracetamol. Your forehead would feel like it was burning for a moment then it would feel cool. I found out that happened because of the Levomenthol having a counterirritant effect on skin and mucous membranes , it stimulates the thermal receptors in your skin and increases the blood flow to the area which helps fight the cause of the pain. I still didn’t see the connection! All my life I was finding that mint made a real difference in my life yet I still wasn’t looking at the bigger picture when I should have been asking myself 

If Peppermint or Mint is able to make a difference in my life what other natural products could offer a solution?

Why didn’t I put this all together sooner?

Peppermint contains Menthol which is known for its cooling and analgesic (pain-relieving) effects. I knew this but didn’t join the dots yet. I had been using mint to give myself relief for years from pain for years. If I had a headache I would put 4-head on which has Levomenthol in, if I felt nauseous I would inhale mint, and I would drink peppermint tea to help calm my stomach. I had a roller ball of peppermint essential oil in my bag which I would rub on my wrists if I needed a wake up. It didn’t end there, If I had a cold I was inhaling peppermint oil and reaching for VapourRub which also contained Levomenthol. If Becks had sniffles as a baby I would always reach for Karvol to help her breathe easier at night, I would put a few drops on her baby grow and it would work its magic.

In the early days of my illness, it hurt all over so bad that I couldn’t even walk up the stairs to get up to our bedroom. I took lots of baths in those early days, the nights when I woke in agony My Hubby would run me a bath with a handful of Epsom Salts with a few drops of peppermint essential oil. I didn’t know it at the time but drinking peppermint tea or sitting in a bath with peppermint in it was relaxing my muscles. It didn’t stop there as when I was having those severe bouts of pain or when I was inhaling peppermint, it was helping relieve my muscles spasming, it was opening my nasal passages and helping my body get rid of the extra mucus, it was also acting as an anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant which could have also been helping give my body the relief it needed from those awful symptoms.

Back in time

The evidence was all around us, just think about this for a moment, What are you offered after a meal in many restaurants around the world, a mint! What flavour is most toothpaste? Mint!.  The evidence is out there,  just go back in History. Medical text from 1550 BC  claims that Peppermint eased stomach ailments and In the Middle Ages, Holy Monks would use Peppermint to clean their teeth. In the mid-1700s, Peppermint was listed as a medicinal agent. Peppermint was even mentioned in The Bible as currency.  The Gospel of Luke talks of the tithing of mint. While tithing means to pay or contribute today, I can not be sure that it did not have a different meaning in the Bible as over the years this could have been lost in translation.  The Early Native Americans were said to have made tea using wild mint to give relief to an upset stomach. Persians were said to have chewed peppermint leaves for relief from a toothache. Then In 1879 we had the first published report linking Peppermint and the relief of headaches.

Medical Study shows us the proof

In the late 90s, researchers conducted a controlled study that showed for the first time that 10% peppermint oil in an ethanol solution efficiently alleviates a tension-type headache intensity. Evidence suggests that enteric-coated peppermint oil may be effective in relieving some of the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.

Even Old wives’ tales told of peppermint oil giving relief from menstrual cramps. We still do not know the full effects of relief and discomfort just by using mint, something I can grow in my garden or on a window basket. I can say for sure that it’s always going to be something I have a supply of in our medicine cabinet.

All across the world since the beginning of time, it seems that everyone knows just how versatile Peppermint can be when it comes to your health. Colds, Flu, Aches, Pains, Nausea and even toothache could all be helped by drinking tea or chewing on the leaves.

Could drinking tea help you? 

While I always reach for the peppermint tea we have many different types of tea in our cupboards. Most recently Graham has been drinking Lemon/Ginger and Manuka honey tea while he has been suffering from flu, trust me I was not happy when he passed it on to me. So what about other teas and what can they help with?

Chamomile tea may help with

• Supporting your immune system
• Anxiety
• Could help lower blood sugar in people with Diabetes
• Reduce Inflammation
• Mild Skin infections
• Sleep and relaxation

• Cancer?  While lots more research needs to be done tests have suggested that compounds in chamomile could help prevent the growth of glioma, liver cancer, cervical cancer, and leukaemia. 

Ginger Tea may help with –

• May help manage body weight and blood sugar management 
• Relief of pain and inflammation
• Its gingerol and shogaol content may have cancer-fighting properties
• The gingerol and shogaol content could offer protection against age associated decline of brain function
• Ginger extract may increase cell survival against beta-amyloid – more tests needed on humans to be able to say that this could help in Alzheimers Patients but beta-amyloid is a protein related to the toxicity in brain cells of patients with Alzheimer’s
• Alleviate Nausea
• Reduce muscle pain and soreness
• May lower blood pressure and it may have a blood thinning effect so beware of this !
• Reduce bloating and gas

Turmeric Tea may help with –

• Could lower blood pressure
• Turmeric contains antioxidants that can boost your immune system
• Contains curcumin, known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects 
• Could lower blood pressure
• May help to reduce levels of fat in the blood
• Could help reduce the bad cholesterol levels
• May be effective in helping to manage osteoarthritis pain

Drinking Green Tea may help with –

• Research on humans shows taking green tea and green tea extracts could help to reduce body weight, mainly body fat, by increasing postprandial thermogenesis and fat oxidation
• In Asia, it is known that Green tea is effective in treating any type of diarrhoea and typhoid 
• Green tea has been known to prevent dental caries
• The high amounts of polyphenols, which are potent antioxidants may be the reason that Green Tea consumption has been linked to the prevention of many types of cancer, including lung, colon, esophagus, mouth, stomach, small intestine, kidney, pancreas, and mammary glands
• Green tea catechins may treat patients suffering from metabolic syndromes
• An ointment of green tea extract has been approved by the FDA and is available on prescription to treat genital warts
• May help regulate your blood sugar levels
• Green tea is rich in antioxidants, particularly catechins.

Could drinking tea make a difference in your life?

It’s important to remember that individual responses to these teas or their ingredients can vary, some effects may be subtle or only occur when making the tea at a specific temperature or instruction.

It is extremely important if you are taking any medications or if you have any existing health conditions that you should speak to your GP, Consultant or healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet.

While research is happening it has to be done under laboratory conditions and may be carried out on animals first. However, if you have spoken to your Dr and incorporating one of these teas into your routine is something you want to go ahead with please do your own research. Please look to buy the absolute best quality ingredients you can afford, if you can buy organic great.

If you can find a recipe online to make your own that’s great but walking into a supermarket or health food shop will show you just how many choices there are, you are literally spoilt for choice. If tea isn’t your thing you have lots of alternatives. You might find that taking a shot of Ginger works better for you than drinking Ginger tea.

Very important advice You know your own body better than anyone so try different things, buy from different brands, and experiment using dried or fresh ingredients. You may not see an increase after a few days but don’t just dismiss it as not working. Give it a fair trial, lots of the research I have been listening to talks about making it at a specific temperature, having to drink several cups a day or it may only work if you drink the tea after food.

Teas and the ingredients used in teas have been mentioned in the Bible, Ancient Egypt and Ancient Rome so there really is a wealth of information out there. If you find something that works or a brand of tea that you think is beneficial to others please mention it in the comments.