| A new study on mint tea benefits suggests that | | | | occurs naturally in a plant. What we have done is |
| a cup of Brazilian mint tea has the same pain | | | | to take a plant that is widely used to safely treat |
| relieving qualities as commercially available | | | | pain and scientifically proven that it works as well |
| analgesics. We're not talking normal mint tea here, | | | | as some synthetic drugs. |
| as you might infer from some headlines, but | | | | "Now the next step is to find out how and why |
| rather the Brazilian plant Hyptis Crenata. | | | | the plant works." |
| Prescribed by Brazilian healers for centuries to | | | | As to the taste of the tea, it is more like a sage |
| treat conditions as varied as headaches and | | | | than what we might recognize as a mint flavor. |
| stomach pain to things like fever and flu, a | | | | Probably not the easiest for most of us to get |
| Newcastle University team has scientifically | | | | down, but then it does offer a natural pain |
| proven that this humble plant truly does have | | | | reliever so the taste might be worth it. |
| pain-relieving properties. | | | | This research is being presented at the 2nd |
| In order to mimic the traditional treatment as | | | | International Symposium on Medicinal and |
| closely as they could, the Newcastle team | | | | Nutraceutical Plants held in New Delhi, India, and will |
| conducted a survey in Brazil to see how the | | | | appear in the society's journal Acta Horticulturae. |
| medicine is usually prepared and how much should | | | | Clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of the |
| be used. | | | | mint as pain relief for people will be the next step. |
| Most often a decoction, involving boiling the dried | | | | And it's important to note that this isn't the first |
| leaves in water for a half an hour, allowing the | | | | time a plant has been the basis of some |
| liquid to cool before drinking it. | | | | breakthrough drug. Remember aspirin and digoxin? |
| The team then used the traditional preparation on | | | | Chronic pain takes control of your life, and a big |
| mice. When the mint was given to the mice as a | | | | part of pain management is regaining that control |
| tea in a dose to equal the ones prescribed by | | | | and living with your pain. |
| traditional healers, the preparation was as | | | | According to the American Pain Foundation, there |
| effective at easing pain as a synthetic aspirin style | | | | are over 50 million Americans dealing with chronic |
| drug known as Indometacin. | | | | pain, 25 million experiencing acute pain because of |
| Lead researcher Graciela Rocha, a Brazilian native | | | | surgery or an injury - any of whom may gain |
| who recalls being given the mint tea as a child | | | | from pain reliving mint tea benefits. There are |
| said: "Since humans first walked the Earth we | | | | options to deal with pain, so talk with your doctor |
| have looked to plants to provide a cure for our | | | | to find one that's right for you. There are |
| ailments - in fact it is estimated more than 50,000 | | | | different things that need to be considered before |
| plants are used worldwide for medicinal purposes. | | | | you undergo any treatment, by medication or |
| Besides traditional use, more than half of all | | | | alternative therapies. |
| prescription drugs are based on a molecule that | | | | |