The most important health benefits of catnip include its ability to calm restless sleep, relieve anxiety and stress, soothe menstrual pain, eliminate eating disorders, and ease stomach discomfort. It also helps speed up the recovery from colds and fevers, detoxify the body, reduce inflammation throughout the body, and even speed wound healing.
The flowering perennial known commonly as catnip, catmint, or catswort actually has the scientific name of Nepeta cataria. Although most people don’t realize that this treat, so commonly reserved for its sedative, calming effects on cats, also has extensive benefits for human beings like driving aways infections. Its native range is quite diverse, stretching across Europe and parts of Asia, including China. It is potent due to a certain terpenoid, called nepetalactone, but various other chemical constituents and nutrients also affect human health.
Catnip can be applied topically via the leaves or the essential oil, while catnip tea brewed from the leaves is also popular. As per the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the extracts and essential oils made from catnip are also quite popular for their uses. It is generally used in teas, juices, tinctures, extracts, salves, and even as an herb to be smoked, in addition to its culinary applications.Researchers J. S. Cauffield and H. J. Forbes have suggested that catnip can provide stress relief and reduce chronic anxiety when eaten, consumed in the form of a juice or tea, or when smoked as an herb. This can also help reduce the secondary symptoms of chronic stress and strengthen your immune system