hello everyone,

it's great to have found this site. it seems to have a lot of great information. i was just reading the news story about peppermint oil and irritable bowel syndrome and wondered if anyone had any experience using it?

i've suffered with gut problems for most of my life and have had a formal diagnosis of IBS (not that it means much!). i've tried all the meds the docs have given me and not had much relief from them. watching what i eat and keeping stress to a minimum seems to allow me to keep it under control for most of the time.

it would be great to hear if anyone has had success with peppermint oil though as it sounds like it's an effective remedy.

thanks all,

barbs

Hi Barbs,

I'm glad you found the peppermint oil for IBS article interesting. I also have a diagnosis of IBS (which followed ME/CFS) but have not yet tried peppermint oil supplements. Like you I have managed digestive symptoms mainly through diet and avoiding foods that aggravate them.

I do regular drink peppermint tea however and found that to be very calming. If my digestive system is playing up I definitely feel that a mug of peppermint tea helps. It also taste pretty good!

I have been interested in what I've read about peppermint oil supplements recently however so will probably try them soon myself. There have been a number of medical studies finding peppermint oil (and peppermint tea) to be beneficial in irritable bowel syndrome. Here are a few examples if you are interested:

A review of the bioactivity and potential health benefits of peppermint tea (Mentha piperita L.)

Peppermint oil

Peppermint oil (Mintoil((R))) in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: A prospective double blind placebo-controlled randomized trial.

...and the study the news story was reporting on:

Effect of fibre, antispasmodics, and peppermint oil in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Hi Barbs and Maff, I havn't tried Peppermint oil either as my change of diet (eliminating sensitivities) and daily Probiotics and probably my low dose daily magnesium (can cause constipation)has greatly improved my IBS. I also eat Peppermint lollies which I keep in the car. I wonder if they help too ?, G