Anxiety remedies that work part 3: Lemon balm
Anyway, just like the plants in article 1. Lavendel and 2. Skullcap, (of this series), "Lemon balm" is from the mint family, but its origins are from the middle-eastern part of the Mediterranean area from south eastern Europe to Iran. It has been used in traditional herbal medicine in these areas and is now naturalized and grown in many other places.
Ingesting this herb did help a bit with anxiety, but I would almost recommend it as a sleep-aid more then an anxiolytic. I read that some people combine it with Yerba-maté to get a more "neutral effect" with less sleepiness. I had heard about "Lemon balm" being used and sold as a sleep-aid, but I did not really believe it had any profound effect, but now after doing some "beta-testing" I can tell you that it does help with both anxiety and insomnia, I took fairly large doses like a handful of dried up leaves, I also tried it as a tea in tea-bags. Drinking it as a tea from tea-bags was very nice but the effect was less prominent.
"Lemon Balm" contains a number of substances: eugenol, tannins, and terpenes. According to wikipedia the main active compound seems to be "Rosmarinic acid".
Rosmarinic acid is a potential anxiolytic as it acts as a GABA transaminase inhibitor, more specifically on 4-aminobutyrate transaminase: Source
Traditionally it has been used in conjunction with other herbs, and there could be a lot of synergy with other herbs, like skullcap and lavendel and such. It also potentiates some medications (for sleep and anxiety so keep that in mind).
I give "Lemon balm" three stars out of five, for being surprisingly potent.
Be careful not to use this herb when pregnant or breastfeeding and don't give large doses to infants, even though it should be quite safe, there has not been much research done on possible side-effects, so stay on the "safe side", I also read on webmd.com that it might be bad for people with Diabetes and Thyroid disease.
Sources:
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-437/lemon-balm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosmarinic_acid
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_balm
Read my other articles from: Anxiety remedies that work:
Anxiety remedies that work part 1: Lavendel
Anxiety remedies that work part 2: Skullcap
Peace, Happiness, Love and Abundance to all steemians!
I want to advertise: @sorin.cristescu he is extremely knowledgable when it comes to all things blockchain, and he is running a witness node: @lux-witness, they have also introduced a bar-owner (@gudde-wellen) to STEEM so there is now a bar in Luxemburg where you can pay with STEEM!, how cool is that???!!! Im wondering if there are any other bars that take STEEM?
Thank you @artopium for introducing me to @artturtle!
I also want to thank @bigtom13, @eaglespirit, @janton, @moderndayhippie, @mountainjewel, @pwny, @headchange, @surfermarly and @yallapapi for being so positive, responsive and just generally inspiring. Cheers! /FF
Never would have thought of using it that way. I use to grow it but aside from adding flavor to iced tea never used it much.
@headchange
Yeah, I know its crazy, Im wondering if the dried leafs that I got, was "normal", "Lemon Balm", or some obscure herb that had been "re-branded" or something. lol... =) Good thing you reminded me Im going to have a nice cup of Lemon balm tea right now...
/FF
Now that I know it will put me to sleep I will be sure to avoid the stuff. No time for that today.
But you go on and have nice dreams.
@headchange
Not going to dream just yet, but it will make me a bit more calm...
Maybe I should do a series on natural energisers...
=)
/FF
oh yeah energy is always needed. It is a hustle bustle life these days.
Yes @headchange, that is true!
hustle bustle... =)
/FF
Massive amounts of benzodiazepines mixed with equally large doses of barbiturates always seemed to work for me, but those where the good ol' days. Now i just breath and count to infinity.
Hey @solocult really nice to see you guys around these parts!
Whatever gets you through the night/day, I guess,
Im trying to figure out herbal alternatives here ...
Thank you for the useful input/comment!!! =)
(I really enjoy your music, glad you guys are on Steemit!
Anyone reading this should check out @solocult's music)
/FF
⬆️Facts
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Another great post! So glad that this series from you is catching on! Congrats! I really hope to try this soon, sure could use something. But, I should really cut down the caffeine that’s always my downfall. But kids aren’t sleeping through the night at the moment so that’s not an option lol. Really good quality content here!
This is a very friendly herbal friend, nothing too overpowering... Only use caffeine in the mornings and maybe the afternoon, but never in the evening that is how I do it, or at least when I need to sleep at night... Take care @balticbadger and thanks a lot for you comment it made me happy!
/FF
You a very welcome, my friend.
Thank you!!!
=)
/FF
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Thanks for the shoutout, @friendly-fenix ! I'm working day and night to explain to people how cool this blockchain is, stay tuned for more pretty soon :-)
I am staying tuned, you are doing great, Im going to do some kind of promotion as well, or I want to, I was thinking "STEEM stickers" maybe...?
And hypothetically (someone who is not me) could put them up in restrooms of "hip resturants" and bars where artist and trend-starters hang-out, (not sure if the same thing would work in the financial district, it could probably have the reversed effect)...
But something along those lines...
Cheers!
/FF
Try blue vervain https://www.alkalinerainforestherbs.com/store/p40/Blue_vervain_powder_%28Verbena_hastata%29_%28wildcrafted%29_.30_a_gram.html
Interesting, also from the mint family, Im reading that it was used for magical protection and kidney stones, never heard about it before, thanks for sharing @makkada
/FF
I can't help but say "Great Series!", since #ihaveanxietytoo =D Thought perhaps it's less noticeable now that I've found my very own road to dealing with it. I think I'll appropriate this tag (as secondary) for at least some of my articles, as an anxiety and depression veteran who's in the recovery stage I have some things to share!
Speaking of which, in part 2 you briefly mentioned trying CBD oil -- how did that work out for you? As it happens this August I've had a sip of Hemp seed oil -- the internationally legal stuff that has no psychoactive element, but is extremely low on CBD content -- and boy did it have an effect!
Somewhat too much of an effect, perhaps, because I was not aware of an appropriate dosage at first. It immediately alleviated not only my chronic back and knee pains, but even more importantly the dark clouds of anxiety started parting as well! However for my neglect of sensible precautions, like, you know, researching the stuff online first, I've had to pay with a few straight sleepless nights -- that's what starting with "couple tablespoons" of the stuff will do for you.
The thing works differently from most relaxant-based anxiety cures I've tried before -- it's almost like a kind of stimulant that boosts your cognitive functions -- an effect that seems to be somewhat poorly researched so far (I've seen only research on mice).
Anyway, if you ever give the thing a go, do start with very low dosages --one or two coffee spoons a day. Also, pairing it with a minimum recommended dose of fish oil could alleviate the potential for Omega 3/Omega 6 disbalance in your brain.
Hello @eccles!
Thanks a lot for sharing, Im not big on that specific plant, even though I met this doctor who wanted to prescribe it to me for medical purposes... So I don't think I remember mentioning that specific substance in my articles but maybe @mountainjewel did, or someone else might have?
Anyway, I have a friend (who lives where it's a 100% legal) the friend got diagnosed with cancer and this friend got a treatment with some type of strong extract and the tumour started to shrink, and this friend was miraculously cured, (but there was also a very large group praying, many healers, energy-workers and such)... The doctors did not believe their eyes looking at the x-rays...
And yes Omegas are great, that reminds me I should by some Omega supplements, so I can become even more friendly and happy...
=)
May the force be with you @eccles!
/FF
Right, it was in fact @mountainjewel you quoted, pardon me.
I understand your misgivings, I've not considered it for the longest time myself because of the cultural stigma attached. Just to be clear, we're not talking about Cannabis here, just the sort of oil used in cooking and available off-the-shelf in a supermarket (mine even has "Own Brand hemp oil").
I would not try to force you into anything you have strong misgivings about. There are a lot of interesting properties to hemp oil, certainly, but there are also side-effects. In relation to cancer in particular there's some research that suggest that certain forms of it can be exacerbated rather than healed by plain Hemp oil -- because it could potentially use those otherwise wonderful Omegas as fuel, allegedly.
That said, I've deeply regretted not trying Hemp oil sooner -- it could have made a huge difference to my life a decade ago. I'm still working out the kinks with this stuff, so I don't feel confident about writing about it myself.
I hope you find a safer alternative that fits you, I'll look forwards more Anxiety Remedies! (already put Skullcap on my "Wanted" list)
Oh, yeah as you notice @eccles, Im trying not to be another blogger, blogging about that plant, there are already so many people doing that here, there and everywhere... =)
But yeah I see, oil from the seeds, yeah that is good stuff I tried that as a salad dressing it was cold-pressed. I am going to post some more posts in the series, but next time it will be something more of an obscure compound that is kind of like a vitamin but not really, and its for ladies only...
/FF
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