Why bellie's Prebiotic Herbal Teas Use Peppermint As a Key Ingredient to Support Gut Health
The Best Tea for Stomach Pain? Two Robust Meta-analyses Support the Healing Power of Peppermint Oil for IBS
Peppermint tea stands out as a traditionally-loved and scientifically-backed powerful natural remedy for IBS, offering a multifaceted approach to helping sensitive bellies. By calming the body and mind, it alleviates the anxious hypersensitivity that often exacerbates IBS symptoms. Its antimicrobial properties help fight bad bacteria, addressing dysbiosis in the gut. Additionally, its antispasmodic effects improve motility dysfunction. We take a look at a couple collections of studies on peppermint, to give you a sip-size sample of some of important new science.
Chumpitazi et al.: Physiological Effects
The comprehensive review by Chumpitazi et al. delves into the physiological effects and safety of peppermint oil in gastrointestinal disorders, particularly IBS. This review provides a detailed examination of how peppermint oil, primarily through its active component menthol, exerts its beneficial effects. Menthol is known to have significant antispasmodic properties, which it achieves by blocking calcium channels in smooth muscle cells. This action results in the relaxation of the gastrointestinal muscles, thus alleviating spasms that are often responsible for the discomfort experienced by IBS patients.
Additionally, peppermint oil's ability to modulate visceral sensitivity plays a crucial role in its efficacy. It interacts with transient receptor potential cation channels, which helps in reducing the sensation of pain associated with IBS. This mechanism is particularly important because it addresses the hyperresponsiveness of the gut to stimuli, a common issue in IBS sufferers. The review also highlights the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties of peppermint oil, which contribute to its therapeutic effects. These properties help in maintaining gut health by reducing pathogenic bacteria and inflammation, which can exacerbate IBS symptoms.
From a clinical perspective, the review discusses several studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of peppermint oil in reducing IBS symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, and gas. For instance, one study cited in the review found that patients who took peppermint oil capsules experienced a significant reduction in abdominal pain compared to those who took a placebo.
Alammar et al.: Meta-analysis of Clinical Data
The study conducted by Alammar et al. provides a robust meta-analysis of the pooled clinical data on the use of peppermint oil for IBS. This meta-analysis included twelve randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with a total of 835 patients, making it one of the most comprehensive reviews on this topic. The primary objective was to evaluate the overall efficacy of peppermint oil in improving IBS symptoms and to assess its safety profile compared to a placebo.
The findings of this meta-analysis are particularly compelling. The pooled data showed that peppermint oil significantly improved global IBS symptoms and abdominal pain compared to the placebo. Patients were more than two times more likely to exhibit improvement in global symptoms if they were given peppermint oil over a placebo, with a 2.39 risk ratio (for you stats people). For abdominal pain, the risk ratio was 1.78, further supporting the efficacy of peppermint oil. These results are statistically significant, with a p-value of less than 0.00001. This means the results hold even at a 99.999% confidence interval!
One of the interesting takeaways from this meta-analysis is the number needed to treat (NNT) with peppermint oil to achieve a noticeable improvement in symptoms. For global symptom improvement, the NNT was three, meaning that only three patients needed to be treated with peppermint oil for one to benefit significantly. For abdominal pain, the NNT was four, highlighting the oil’s efficacy in managing this specific symptom. And there is no downside: the analysis also examined the safety profile of peppermint oil and found no significant difference in adverse effects between the peppermint oil and placebo groups.
Overall, this meta-analysis provides strong evidence supporting the use of peppermint oil as a safe and effective treatment option for IBS, offering significant relief from both global symptoms and specific issues like abdominal pain. To briefly summarize in the researchers’ own words: The results indicate peppermint oil’s “remarkable efficacy in providing significant relief for IBS patients.”
Is there an anti-bloating tea? The Best Delivery Mechanism for Peppermint
At bellie, we select ingredients that are made to drink, and supercharge them with HMO prebiotics. Our prebiotic peppermint tea supports your belly on all fronts: by addressing dysbiosis, motility dysfunction, and anxious hypersensitivity. Peppermint tea can exert antimicrobial properties to fight bad bacteria, and its antispasmodic effects can improve motility. Unlike many remedies that require complex dietary changes or the consumption of large amounts of food, digestive tea can be easily incorporated into daily routines, along with the HMO prebiotics that are difficult to supplement. This means you can leverage peppermint tea to support your gut health without breaking your fast or consuming a substantial meal. Additionally, for those seeking prebiotics without the sugar load found in many drinks, our organic peppermint tea with honey offers a quick and efficient solution. We bring the best of nature down into a cup, so when you hear your can of iced peppermint tea crack open, you can think less about your IBS, and more about your taste buds.
Peppermint tea's potential ability to address dysbiosis, motility dysfunction, and anxious hypersensitivity makes it enjoyable for people who might be suffering from digestive sensitivity, or those with IBS. We also threw in some HMO prebiotics, to help the peppermint tea out in offering natural digestive support. Nature left secrets to harness the power of the body’s forgotten microbiome, and we dug them up for you, straight from the ground, and into your can. Our peppermint HMO herbal tea employs a 3x3 approach: it is convenient, natural, and enjoyable, while employing an ingredient that is known to impact the underlying microbiological, motility and mental components of IBS. See how that works?
Alammar, N., L. Wang, Behnam Saberi, J. Nanavati, G. Holtmann, R. T. Shinohara, and G. E. Mullin. "The impact of peppermint oil on the irritable bowel syndrome: a meta-analysis of the pooled clinical data." BMC complementary and alternative medicine 19 (2019): 1-10.
Chumpitazi, Bruno P., G. L. Kearns, and Robert J. Shulman. "The physiological effects and safety of peppermint oil and its efficacy in irritable bowel syndrome and other functional disorders." Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics 47, no. 6 (2018): 738-752.
