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Yesterday, I wrote about peppermint helping with hiccups.  Last night I had the opportunity to use peppermint again.  I had indulged myself to a Braums hamburger, french fries and shake after our All-City Swim Meet (by the way Homestead placed 1st again, Way to Go Hurricanes!).  Before I even got up from my seat my tummy hurt.  My first recommendation is prevention, don't indulge.  As an American I still have the tendency to partake of the SAD (Standard American Diet).  I went home not feeling well and thought what could I take or these days "use" to help my tummy ache go away.  Well last week my daughter had a tummy ache and I had used some peppermint oil on her tummy (she had gone to bed, so I never knew if the peppermint had helped).   So, I got out the peppermint essential oil and rubbed it clockwise on my stomach and began feeling better in about 15-20 minutes.  Yeh!  I also smelled good as I wondered the house and walked the dog.  So, Why do restaurants give away peppermints?

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EDUCATE:  Peppermint's Origins:  While the origin of peppermint candy is unclear, historical accounts show that peppermint oils have been used since ancient times to calm the stomach and for other remedies. Farmers in Europe began commercially growing the plant, which is a natural cross between watermint and spearmint, in the late 1700s.  Peppermint in Candy:  It is not known exactly when peppermint-flavored candy first appeared. The confection is mentioned by slaves in the Library of Congress' American Memory project. Smith Kendon developed altoids in 1780 to relieve intestinal discomfort, and Life Savers introduced its Pep-O-Mint flavor in 1912. In 1927, Eduard Haas, of Vienna, Austria, invented peppermint Pez candy and the original dispenser. 
    What about those peppermint candies at the restaurants?  The primary ingredient is sugar.   The second ingredient in Brach's Starbrite Peppermints hard candy, for example, is corn syrup, followed by citric acid and undisclosed artificial flavors, according to the Candy Favorites website.   So after we are miserable from the food we ate,  we indulge in a peppermint candy full of sugar.  Which is known to cause your stomach to  hurt after eating too much because of  gas. According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, most carbohydrates can cause gas. Sugar, of course, is one type of carbohydrate.   So why do restaurants give away peppermint candy?  To help soothe your tummy.  Does it work? Probably not, unless it has real peppermint oil and isn't loaded with sugar.

EMPOWER:     No longer is our only choice in a medicine cabinet full of over the counter drugs or prescription drugs to help soothe a tummy ache.   We can use something natural like Peppermint oil.

ENJOY:  Rub a drop of peppermint on our belly, add it to a cup of water to drink , or a drop on our tongue to soothe our belly and freshen our breath.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/285229-stomach-cramps-after-eating-sugar/#ixzz1UO55VuQG
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/400099-peppermint-candy-ingredients/#ixzz1UO3u7yd1
Read more: What Is the History of Peppermint Candy? | eHow.co.uk http://www.ehow.co.uk/facts_7166459_history-peppermint-candy_.html#ixzz1UO2X3hJ4
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/peppermint-000269.htm
Studies on Peppermint Oil and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17420159
http://www.doctormurray.com/2011/03/peppermint-oil-for-the-irritable-bowel-syndrome/




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