When treated with peppermint oil, 63% of patients with disorders of the esophagus that cause difficulty swallowing and non-cardiac chest pain reported feeling much or slightly better, report Medical University of South Carolina researchers in Digestive Diseases & Sciences. Eighty-three percent of patients with spastic disorders of the esophagus reported feeling better. Peppermint is an attractive first-line treatment because it has few side effects and can be taken as needed by patients.