Lemon Balm is a fairly common herb belonging to the mint family. It is regularly used in tea, tincture, and as aromatherapy. It’s personally one of my favorite herbs as I find its calming qualities to be extremely effective without being over sedative. Its Latin name is Melissa officinalis and it has been used for thousands of years to treat a variety of ailments including tension in the stomach, stress, anxiety, insomnia, mood enhancement, depression, libido just to name a few.
What makes Lemon Balm so effective?
The amazing thing about plants, in general, is that they contain compounds that have been developed through development that ensure the survival of the plant. These compounds work similarly to people in a similar manner, as we are interconnected with plants from an evolutionary standpoint. Plants are under a significant amount of environmental stress throughout their lifetime. This includes attacks from insects, harmful microbials including funguses and bacterias, as well as actual physical damage to the plant. All of these factors threaten the survival of the plant. Plants, therefore, develop chemical compounds to defend the plant against these threats.
One of the major compounds that is found in Lemon Balm that has this effect of essentially counteracting these stresses to the plant is Triterpenes. Triterpenes give the plant antimicrobial qualities, have a steroidal effect, are anti-inflammatory, as well as acting as an insecticide. The chemical compounds that are responsible for protecting the plant are also beneficial to humans in the same manner which is why Lemon Balm is effective for reducing the effects of stress.
Main Uses of Lemon Balm
Include effectively calming anxiety. If you ever have feelings of overwhelming, brain fog, a nervous stomach ache, Lemon Balm is believed to make the neurotransmitter GABA more easily accessible in the brain. GABA helps regulate your body’s stress response and is known as the “brakes for the brain”. Lemon Balm is also known as an uplifting herb and a mood enhancer while also being great for the libido.
Lemon Balm is one of the main ingredients of our Stress/Sleep Formula and with these uncertain times, I cannot think of one person I personally know that couldn’t benefit from the wonderful effects of this remarkable herb. Give it a try and experience it for yourself!