Get in Mint Condition

Posted by: Janet on: January 20th, 2012  »  13 comments

While appearing on Canada AM this week, we mentioned some tips for melting a “FLABdomen,” the mysterious and unsightly midriff bulge that a lot of folks are noticing in the aftermath of holiday splurging. Rather than restricting or depriving yourself of foods to lose weight, I suggested adding some foods to your diet that can help burn fat, boost metabolism and prevent cravings–things like coconut oil (a thermogenic fat that actually helps you to burn fat!), lemon (boosts your liver, which is responsible for fat metabolism), cayenne pepper (turn up your body’s fat-burning thermostat. A mere 1/16th of a teaspoon will do the trick! Add it to a glass of water and lemon) and white tea, proven to get your metabolism humming.

I also talked very briefly about another weapon in the fat-fighting arsenal: peppermint! Ahhh, the cool smell of peppermint. Fights bad breath and fights…fat? Yes, it’s true! The essential oil of peppermint, not synthetic stuff or peppermint-flavored things like gum and toothpaste or Laura Secord mint chocolate (Yum! Is there anything better?) can help you lose weight because it suppresses appetite and curbs cravings, especially for sweet nothings. You just inhale the oil 5 or so times per day and it curbs appetite quite well. Or simply add one drop to a glass of water and they won’t be calling you Peppermint Fatty! A puny drop is the equivalent of 22 peppermint teabags as far as potency goes! This stuff is strong and powerful and I love it. Essential oils are the “life blood” of the plant (the REAL DEAL), which is why they’re so powerful–up to 60 times the strength of herbs. Wowie! I sometimes add a drop of peppermint oil to hot water and voila! A delicious tea!

Weight loss benefits aside, I use peppermint oil regularly for lots of other reasons. Historically, it’s been used as a digestive aid, stimulating the gallbladder and liver. If you feel your belly doing a flop after a greasy meal, take a couple of drops. Rub a little on the temples (not close to the eyes!) and you’ll block headache pain (confirmed by a University of Kiel double-blind placebo-controlled study). Peppermint oil is an effective pain-reliever in general because its volatile oils, like menthol and Eucalyptol, are anti-inflammatory. Achey-breaky joints? Stiff neck? Back killin’ ya? Just massage several drops mixed with some kind of carrier oil, like grapeseed oil, and you’ll find sweet-smelling relief.

My number-one use for peppermint? Okay, I’ll share my secret: It increases alertness and gives your brain a great, big jolt. A study at the University of Cincinnati showed that when subjects inhaled peppermint oil before a test, their memory retention and recall increased by 28 percent! Sure beats writing answers on your hand! (Not that I ever did that!) Peppermint stimulates the brain’s hypothalamus and pituitary, two glands often referred to as “The Genius Within.” When these two master-controllers of the body are operating on all cylinders, wow, look out! Daily life, with its stresses and strains and traumas and toxins, can cause the hypothalamus and pituitary to function sub-optimally, and that can lead to symptoms of disease. Why not pep ‘em up with peppermint? Go on, try it! Just imagine how you’ll be able to annoy your friends with tons of useless facts and trivia that you’ll effortlessly commit to memory and then easily recall. Oh, what fun can be had!

(The highest-quality essential oils I know of are from Young Living Essential Oils (www.youngliving.com). They’re organic, therapeutic-grade and distilled and created in a way that makes them far superior to anything else I’ve come across. You can only order from their website, unfortunately. It’s structured as a multi-level marketing company, but you can just order products and not participate in the business side of things, which is what I do.)

Comments (13)

  1. Reply

    Renee | January 20, 2012 at 10:44 pm →

    Love Eat Shrink & Be Merry on Food Network!!

    Are you planning a season 4???

    • Reply

      Janet | January 23, 2012 at 4:22 pm →

      Hi Renee! So happy you’re enjoying our TV show. We’ve filmed 3 seasons of Eat, Shrink & Be Merry (39 episodes), but for a few different reasons we’ve decided not to film more of this particular show. Perhaps a different format in the future, one that’s easier and less expensive to film. We’ll have to see what the future holds….

  2. Reply

    Rachel | January 30, 2012 at 3:16 am →

    What exactly do you mean by inhaled? Thanks!

    • Reply

      Janet | January 30, 2012 at 3:32 pm →

      Hi Rachel,

      With an essential oil, like peppermint, you can apply it topically on the skin, you can ingest it in water or a veg capsule (which you can buy) or you can simply inhale the oil straight from the bottle…take a few big, deep sniffs, that’s all!

  3. Reply

    Brian | January 30, 2012 at 9:26 pm →

    Wow, I never knew peppermint could do so many great things. For sure, i am putting it in my tennis bag and will be inhaling deeply the next time I take the court against one of my arch-rivals from Kitchener!

    • Reply

      Janet | January 31, 2012 at 2:12 pm →

      Brian, yes, you should definitely use peppermint when playing that “arch-rival” of yours. If constantly hitting it to his backhand doesn’t work, try spraying the peppermint in his eyes! It worked for me:)

  4. Reply

    Rachel | January 31, 2012 at 4:16 am →

    Ah ok. Thanks. I wasn’t exactly sure. I have heard of being able to vaporize it and inhale it that way. Thanks for clarifying.

  5. Reply

    Janine & Brad | January 31, 2012 at 1:13 pm →

    We’ve really enjoyed your products, purchased from Costco in Barrie, but they’ve not been in stock recently. Is it a seasonal thing? Are they available anywhere else? Will you have additional items for purchase in future?
    We really like all your books!!

    • Reply

      Janet | January 31, 2012 at 2:09 pm →

      Hi Janine and Brad,
      So glad you’re enjoying our food products. The chicken burgers are seasonal items at Costco. They’ll be back in the spring. It’s Costco’s decision, not ours. Right now, we have Corn & Crab Chowder in the stores, and out west we also have nitrate-free chicken sausages that are dee-lish. Hopefully we will be able to get all of our products stocked all the time someday! Thanks for writing!

  6. Reply

    Wendy | January 31, 2012 at 2:09 pm →

    Hi I heard you on the Hamilton, Ontario radio this morning and you talked about a recipe book, gluten free recipes, I didn’t quite catch the name of it, please could you let me know what this book is called.
    Thanks

    • Reply

      Janet | February 1, 2012 at 2:40 pm →

      Wendy, our new book is called The Looneyspoons Collection. You’ll find it at all bookstores and Costco, Walmart and on Amazon.ca.

  7. Reply

    Sarah | February 1, 2012 at 3:44 am →

    Hi, I use to love watching your show when I was living in Canada but I am back in Australia now and can’t watch it. Do you have any plans of airing your show ‘Eat Shrink and be Merry ‘ in Australiar?

    • Reply

      Janet | February 1, 2012 at 2:38 pm →

      So glad you’ve enjoyed our TV show, Sarah. Unfortunately, it’s just shown on Food Network Canada at the moment.

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