My girlfriend and I went to lunch last week and we both enjoy going to eat Indian food! Having an array of hot spicy, aromatic food choices on the buffet table, such as chicken korma, tandoori chicken, lentil dal, spicy pumpkin and onions, etc… The wonderful smells made me try a little of every dish. I loved tasting the combination of all the different flavors and spices that I normally do not cook with.
A few hours later, I felt bloated and the” sting of the hot spices” that I am not used too. My stomach was extended out and I felt a giant gas bubble under my rib cage, started having abdominal cramping and began sweating. I had to give a massage following our lunch and in the middle of the massage session, I had to take a break and took some antacids. It helped a little bit, but the pain persisted for 3 hours afterwards. I called my girlfriend to see if she had similar symptoms and she felt fine. As I whined about my abdominal pain, my girlfriend said, we need to try something holistic! She came up with using peppermint oil. As I hit myself on my forehead, thinking, “Why didn’t I think of that?” I remembered that peppermint oil is an anti-spasmotic and soothes the gastric lining. It also decreases muscle spasms, heartburn, nausea, and stomach aches. It also has a cooling effect when applied to the skin and relaxes muscles.
Since I had taken some antacids, I did not want to ingest the peppermint oil, so I diluted 3 drops in a tablespoon of jojoba oil and rubbed it all over my entire abdomen. I applied a hot compress wrapped with a towel to my abdomen to relax my muscle spasms and to increase the skin absorption of the peppermint oil. Within a half hour, I felt so much better. I no longer felt the gas bubble, nausea, or the muscle spasms and I smelled wonderful!
I learned my lesson and I now will reach for the peppermint oil whenever I have a stomach ache!
