Spearmint

Hi! I’m a Registered Dietitian and Certified Yoga Teacher. My goal is to help busy people stay nourished and calm. In this blog post I offer you convenient ways to integrate spearmint into your life. I also share the nutrition science of mint and why you might want to add it to your diet!

But first, an advertisement…

Now, all about spearmint!

The beautiful and characteristic aroma of spearmint is created by a molecule known as Carvone. Let me briefly flash you back to high school chemistry and the periodic table of elements…

Carvone is made up of 10 carbon, 14 hydrogen and 1 oxygen. How those elements are arranged create the aroma of spearmint or a completely different scent; the aroma of caraway seed. The sterioisomer (R) carvone is responsible for the aroma of mint whereas the stereoisomer (S)carvone is responsible for the aroma of caraway seed. You have receptors in your nose that pick up on the subtle difference between the structure of the R and S form. When the R or S form come in contact with these receptors they tell your brain to interpret the scent as either mint or caraway.

Moving on to the nutrition of spearmint…

This low calorie herb can be used as a flavor enhancer for food and drinks. It contains several vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, iron, vitamin C and folate (1). Spearmint also has antioxidant properties due to the existence of phenolic compounds (2). Antioxidants protect your cells against free radical damage.

On a side note, if you want a home garden but find yourself worried you’ll be too busy to tend to it, Spearmint is an herb worth considering. Once planted it requires little maintenance and you get the benefit of being able to have fresh mint on hand. It grows year round in warmer climates. In colder climates it dies off in the winter but will come back in the summer without you needing to do much aside from make sure the soil is healthy. Too busy to start mint from seed? You can purchase a transplant from a garden center or grocery store. Just buy it, plant it and watch it thrive. You’ll have plenty of mint for all the recipes below! 😉

Spearmint is a great example of the importance of bio individuality and how there is no one size fits all diet. This is to say it might be suitable for one person but not so great for another. For instance, spearmint can reduce LES tone in individuals who have Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (3). In laymen’s terms this means it could make acid reflux symptoms worse. While it might be something to avoid if you have GERD, research shows that spearmint herbal tea has anti-androgen effects. This could be useful to someone with polycystic ovarian syndrome (4,5).

Here are some quick and easy ways to use spearmint leaves:

• Pour hot water over the leaves and steep for about 5 minutes for homemade mint tea. Consider adding the leaves to a mesh tea ball to keep them separate from the water.

• Liven up your lemonade or limeade with mint leaves. I like to make my own homemade versions with the juice of 1 lemon (or lime), maple syrup, crushed mint leaves and ice water. Play around with a ratio of these ingredients and find what works for you.

• Add fresh mint leaves and cucumber slices to ice water for a cool and refreshing drink.

• Add mint to yogurt or in a fruit salad. See my recipes below. 👇🏼

As always, the choice to include mint (or any other food) in your diet is up to you. The content in this post is for general information purpose only and is not intended to be used as personal health care advice. Research shared in this post should be interpreted cautiously and discussed with your primary health care provider. If you have questions or concerns about information in this post please speak with your primary health care provider. You can also book an appointment with me!

Peaceful regards,

Jennifer

SOURCES:

1) (n.d.). Spearmint. USDA Food Database. Retrieved February 25, 2023, from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/173475/nutrients

2) Parham, S., Kharazi, A. Z., Bakhsheshi-Rad, H. R., Nur, H., Ismail, A. F., Sharif, S., RamaKrishna, S., & Berto, F. (2020). Antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Antiviral Properties of Herbal Materials. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland), 9(12), 1309. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox9121309

3)Newberry C, Lynch K. The role of diet in the development and management of gastroesophageal reflux disease: why we feel the burn. J Thorac Dis. 2019 Aug;11(Suppl 12):S1594-S1601. doi: 10.21037/jtd.2019.06.42. PMID: 31489226; PMCID: PMC6702398.

(4) Grant P. Spearmint herbal tea has significant anti-androgen effects in polycystic ovarian syndrome. A randomized controlled trial. Phytother Res. 2010 Feb;24(2):186-8. doi: 10.1002/ptr.2900. PMID: 19585478.

(5) Ashkar F, Rezaei S, Salahshoornezhad S, Vahid F, Gholamalizadeh M, Dahka SM, Doaei S. The Role of medicinal herbs in treatment of insulin resistance in patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A literature review. Biomol Concepts. 2020 Mar 26;11(1):57-75. doi: 10.1515/bmc-2020-0005. PMID: 32229652.

(6) Akdoğan M, Tamer MN, Cüre E, Cüre MC, Köroğlu BK, Delibaş N. Effect of spearmint (Mentha spicata Labiatae) teas on androgen levels in women with hirsutism. Phytother Res. 2007 May;21(5):444-7. doi: 10.1002/ptr.2074. PMID: 17310494.