Can Peppermint Oil Soothe IBS Symptoms? What Experts Recommend

If you’re in search of a natural remedy to add to your irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) tool kit, you may not need to look any further than peppermint oil.

Here, learn more about peppermint oil’s potential effects and what experts recommend if you have IBS and want to give it a try.

How Peppermint Oil Can Soothe IBS Symptoms

So what is it about peppermint oil that makes it a potential IBS symptom reliever? “Peppermint oil is a muscle relaxant. As such, it produces an antispasmodic effect, targeting specific symptoms of IBS, in particular pain, cramps, and bloating,” says Scott McDougall, a cofounder and a pharmacist at the Independent Pharmacy in Bristol, United Kingdom.

When food is digested, a natural series of muscle contractions in the gut called peristalsis helps push food through your digestive system and urine to your bladder, McDougall says. In people with IBS, the nerves that facilitate peristalsis are much more sensitive, and the inner wall of the digestive system reacts more strongly to certain foods that don’t typically cause issues in people without IBS, he says.

Certain components of peppermint oil may calm the digestive pains common in IBS. “The menthol in peppermint has a decompressing effect on the intestinal smooth muscle. This leads to pain relief for bloating and constipation,” says Niket Sonpal, MD, an adjunct assistant professor at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and a clinical instructor at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in New York City.

Peppermint oil also has properties that can alleviate inflammation and ward off bacteria, Dr. Sonpal adds.

Science Has Spoken When It Comes to Peppermint Oil and IBS

What Kinds of Peppermint Oil Do Experts Recommend?

Peppermint comes in a variety of forms, including oral capsules, topical essential oils, and diluted extracts for food flavoring. Peppermint can also come in the form of teas, but according to McDougall, “Peppermint tea is not manufactured with medical use in mind, and it has no proven effect on IBS.”

For IBS symptoms, oral capsules are the most recommended form of peppermint oil, because research has suggested they are the most effective for medical purposes, McDougall says.

If you want to try peppermint oil, it’s key to know what to look for in an oral supplement. “When it comes to swallowing peppermint oil, look for ones that are labeled ‘therapeutic grade,’ since these are safer to swallow,” Sonpal says.

You should also be aware that peppermint oil supplements can result in mild side effects. “It can cause acid reflux and heartburn, so it should be taken in moderation or under consultation with a doctor or pharmacist,” McDougall says.

IBGard is a specific peppermint oil supplement that Jill Deutsch, MD, recommends to many of her patients with IBS. “IBGard is marketed as a peppermint oil supplement that acts premeal to help reduce gastrointestinal spasm that can cause pain in relation to eating, which is a hallmark of IBS symptoms,” says Dr. Deutsch, who is a gastroenterologist and the director of the functional gastrointestinal disorders program at Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut.

It’s important to note that in the studies where peppermint oil was shown to improve IBS symptoms, participants took the supplement daily for four weeks, Deutsch says. In other words, it hasn’t been shown to work when it’s taken only on an as-needed basis.

Be sure to consult with your doctor before adding a peppermint oil supplement to your IBS treatment regimen.