Mint is also called yexixiang. What are its main producing areas, effects and functions?

Mint is fairly common in daily life and is often used as an air freshener, in chewing gum and so on. So, where are mint's main producing areas? What kind of growing environment does mint need? What effects and functions does mint have? What are the dietary restrictions for mint? Let's find out together.

1. Where are mint's main producing areas?

Mint is widely distributed in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It originated in China, and its main producing areas are Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Henan, Taiwan, China and other provinces. Countries that cultivate it abroad include Brazil, Paraguay, India, Japan, Korea, Argentina, Thailand, Australia and others. China ranks first in the world in mint planting area and output, followed by India. It is distributed throughout China, with Jiangsu and Anhui provinces having the largest output.

2. Mint's growing environment

Mint has a fairly strong ability to adapt to environmental conditions. It can grow in areas below 2100 m in altitude, and grows in moist places beside water, where the altitude can reach as high as 3500 m.

1. Temperature: Mint has a fairly strong ability to adapt to temperature. Its rhizomes overwinter and can tolerate low temperatures of -15°C. Its most suitable growing temperature is 25°C-30°C. When the temperature is below 15°C, growth is slow; when it is above 20°C, growth speeds up. At 20°C-30°C, as long as water and fertilizer are suitable, the higher the temperature, the faster it grows.

2. Light: Mint is a long-day crop and likes sunlight. Long sunshine can promote mint flowering and is also conducive to the accumulation of mint oil and menthol.

3. Soil: Mint is not very strict about soil requirements. Apart from overly sandy, overly clayey, overly acidic or alkaline soils, and low-lying soils with poor drainage, it can generally be planted in ordinary soil, with sandy loam and alluvial soil being best. A soil pH of 6-7.5 is suitable.

3. What effects and functions does mint have?

1. It can inhibit and stimulate nerves: Research shows that mint can stimulate human nerves. If applied to the skin it produces a burning and cooling sensation, which shows that it has both an inhibiting and numbing effect on nerve endings. Therefore it can be used as a stimulant and skin excitant, and at the same time it can also calm and relieve neuralgia and rheumatic joint pain.

2. It has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects: People who have generally been bitten by mosquitoes and insects can use mint, as mint has a desensitizing, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effect on skin bitten by mosquitoes and insects. At the same time, it also has a relieving effect on coughs caused by the upper respiratory tract.

3. It has a stomach-strengthening and wind-dispelling effect: Mint is also often used in mint products because it can excite human nerves and olfactory nerves, enhance appetite, increase blood supply to the gastric mucosa and improve digestive function. People who generally have indigestion and stomach bloating can also improve this condition by eating mint.

4. It has an aromatic flavoring effect: We know that mint has a cooling and throat-soothing effect, so in daily life it is mostly used to make chewing gum, because its pleasant fragrance can be used to mask and improve some unpleasant odors.

4. What are the dietary restrictions for mint?

1. Mothers who are breastfeeding had best not eat it: Because babies during the breastfeeding period need relatively more breast milk, and mint can inhibit milk secretion, which is not good for breastfeeding.

2. Women during menstruation and people whose bodies are themselves of a cold constitution had best not eat it: Because mint is also a cooling food, eating too much can worsen the condition, and for women during menstruation it can worsen menstrual pain.

3. Be careful not to eat too much: Because mint contains a trace amount of respiratory-paralyzing components, once too much is used it can cause aggravated breathing in people, so be sure to pay attention.