When my digestion's bad

My testimony

How many times have I had trouble digesting after a heavy or fatty lunch, or after a chocolate dessert? In the course of the afternoon, I’d leave the table with a full stomach, even though it had been 2-3 hours since my meal. I felt heavy and a bit woozy until the evening. I know I have a biliary secretion problem, which must be at least partly responsible for these slow or difficult digestions. Since I’ve been using hydrolats, they’ve become much less of a burden (that’s the word…).

My tip

My tip for difficult digestion is very simple: I drink spearmint hydrosol! I take the equivalent of a tablespoon, pure or diluted in a glass of water, as soon as I start to feel this heaviness in my stomach. I repeat this every 15 or 30 minutes until the heaviness disappears. If I’m on the move or at a meeting, I sometimes don’t have my bottle of hydrolat with me, or don’t have the opportunity to take some. In this case, I take out my bottle of angelica essential oil (which is always in my bag!). I place a drop on the top of my hand, and discreetly “lick” it
“discreetly. The taste is a little strong, but the discomfort disappears within minutes.

What does phytotherapy say?

Poor digestion is a functional disorder, i.e. a disorder in which there is no proven lesion, but an uncomfortable functioning of the digestive system, which can affect the stomach or the intestine. Mints occupy a special place in digestive phytotherapy, thanks to the molecules they contain.
Spearmint contains around 60% carvone. Around 80% is found in its hydrolat, giving it its typical mild, mentholated scent. Carvone is a powerful antispasmodic, especially digestive (Souza et al., 2013, Fitoterapia). In addition, it promotes the secretion of bile by the liver and its release into the intestine. Bile dissolves fats, promoting lipid digestion. Spearmint hydrosol thus acts as an antispasmodic and digestive tonic, particularly suited to difficult digestion, and is very pleasant as a drink.

Did you know?

Spearmint hydrosol is also very useful as an expectorant and mucolytic. The large quantities of carvone it contains also act on the respiratory tract, liquefying mucus. It is therefore useful in cases of bronchitis and mucopurulent bronchial infections

I use hydrolats SAFELY

As carvone is a member of the ketone family, spearmint hydrosol should not be taken orally by babies, young children or pregnant women. The same precautions apply to angelica essential oil. For these people, basil or angelica hydrosols are preferable.

MENTHA VIRIDIS Spearmint

Spearmint is a common perennial cultivated as an aromatic plant, acclimatized in many countries around the world. In gardens, it can reach 60 cm in height and become invasive. The deep-green leaves give off a very fresh, mentholated scent, milder than that of peppermint. Nanah spearmint is used in Moroccan tea and tabbouleh, and gives flavor to chlorophyll chewing gum and some toothpastes. Spearmint is refreshing, digestive, mucolytic, antiparasitic and antiviral.