Nausea plagues everyone from time to time. Reaching for peppermint or ginger may be your best bet for relief.
Everyone experiences nausea. Whether yours is related to pregnancy, acid reflux, or cancer treatment, remedies like ginger-infused tea, aromatherapy, and acupuncture may provide relief. But just as with over-the-counter medications, it’s important to check with your doctor to make sure any supplements or at-home remedies are safe and don’t interact with other medications you may be taking.
Nausea arises in a variety of situations, and understanding the cause is key to determining the most appropriate treatment. For example, nausea is frequently experienced in pregnancy. The Cleveland Clinic estimates that about seven in 10 pregnant women experience vomiting and nausea related to their pregnancy. Certain home remedies may be better alternatives for moms-to-be, especially since you need to be careful about the medications you take during this time. But whether pregnancy is the cause of your nausea, be sure to talk with your doctor about how best to treat it.
Ginger has been used to treat nausea, stomachaches, and diarrhea for millennia. In China, for instance, it’s been used for digestive and pain issues for more than 2,000 years. It’s unclear exactly how ginger works to ease nausea, but it’s thought that the active components — gingerols and shogaols — directly affect the digestive and central nervous systems.
“Pregnant women are in a special class of patient because there’s very little clinical trials done with them due to safety concerns,” says Christine Ryan, RDN, a registered dietitian-nutritionist in Seattle. “But what we do know based on all available evidence is that ginger is safe and effective.”
In a scientific paper published in 2020 in The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, scientists examined 13 previous studies involving 1,174 subjects and concluded that ginger significantly relieves nausea compared with placebo, but has no significant effect on vomiting.
More research is needed to gain a clear understanding of what ginger can and can not do, but so far it suggests that it is an effective treatment for postoperative and chemotherapy-related nausea as well. A systematic review of 23 human trials published in 2022 in the journal Nutrients found that ginger was effective in reducing the possibility of acute chemotherapy-induced vomiting in people with cancer. Study authors added, however, that further research is needed to gain enough confidence regarding the effects of ginger.
While the candied form of ginger is popular, Ryan recommends grating ginger into hot water with some lemon, which she says also helps lessen nausea. Lemon can work to inhibit serotonin receptors — nausea is triggered when serotonin is released into your gut faster than it can be digested, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) says that peppermint has been used for digestive disorders and other conditions since the times of ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt. Both its leaves and its oil are helpful in dealing with indigestion and irritable bowel syndrome.
“Peppermint has a calming effect,” says Ryan. “It can reduce nausea and relax stomach muscles.” The herb can also help ease inflamed tissues and inhibit bacteria and microorganisms.
Even a small amount of the oil can make a difference. A drop of peppermint oil applied on the spot between the upper lip and nose of patients three times a day during the five days following chemotherapy was effective in reducing the incidence of chemo-induced vomiting and nausea, according to a study of 90 people with cancer published in 2021 in Complementary Therapies in Medicine.
While the research shows inhaling mint may ease nausea, the NCCIH cautions that taking peppermint oil orally may actually produce nausea in some people. You can use essential oil of peppermint for aromatherapy, but you should mix it with a carrier oil, which is a vegetable oil that helps dilute the essential oil, for safe application.
Peppermint tea is one of the most common ways to take this remedy. Ryan suggests that iced peppermint tea may provide extra benefit because the cold can reduce nausea as well. Along those lines, a small study of 38 participants published in 2022 in The Journal of Palembang Nursing Studies revealed that drinking cold water could reduce nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy in people with breast cancer. Researchers theorize that cold drinks are easier to absorb than warm drinks, so they stabilize the body quicker.
A word of caution: If you have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), you should avoid mint. “It can be triggering in patients with GERD,” says Ryan. The calming properties of mint can relax the valve between the stomach and esophagus, causing gastroesophageal reflux and heartburn.
East Asian medicine practitioners have been stimulating pressure points throughout the body to alleviate pain and illness for thousands of years. Acupuncture, which is one version of this approach, involves inserting long, thin needles into the skin. Although there are numerous theories about the way acupuncture works, many scientists believe the needles stimulate certain nerves in the body, and those nerves then send signals to the brain to release hormones that reduce feelings of pain and nausea.
In a study involving 134 people with advanced cancer published in 2020 in the journal Chinese Medicine, researchers found that acupuncture used as a supporting therapy could alleviate the severity of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.
Mild nausea and even morning sickness may improve through acupressure, according to MedlinePlus. The technique can be self-administered by using your middle and index fingers to press firmly down on the groove between the two large tendons on the inside of your forearm approximately three finger widths from your wrist.
Pressing these points are thought to help your muscles relax and improve your blood flow.
Special wristbands that apply pressure and are sold over the counter at many drugstores can also help relieve nausea.
In a scientific investigation following 90 patients published in 2020 in Complementary Medicine Research, acupressure reduced the severity of nausea, vomiting, and retching in pregnant women. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs also recommends acupressure and acupuncture for managing chemo-induced nausea and vomiting.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, acupuncture and acupressure are safe, noninvasive treatments that may provide relief from nausea when used alone or in combination with conventional therapies — but be sure to consult with your doctor first before proceeding with either of these therapies.
Managing the scents in your environment is another way to ease nausea. Just as a drop of peppermint oil placed under the nose can soothe feelings of nausea, other types of aromatherapy (inhaling essential oils from plants) can have a therapeutic effect.
Research cited in 2021 in the Journal of Holistic Nursing found that an inhaled custom blend of essential oils containing lavender, peppermint, ginger, and lemon assisted in decreasing postoperative nausea and vomiting.
Essential oils, such as peppermint oil, can be very potent because they are undiluted. So a popular way to reap the benefits of the oils is by using a diffuser, which combines water with the oil so it can evaporate and be inhaled. Johns Hopkins Medicine warns that essential oils should not be ingested.
“Properties of many essential oils can be calming to the nervous system, and that can help relieve nausea,” says Ryan.
In addition to peppermint, ginger, and lemon, Ryan notes that quince, lavender, orange, and cardamom may also be used to reduce these ill feelings.
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4 Natural Remedies for Nausea Relief – Everyday Health
