Effect of lemon balm on blood pressure
Melissa helps return blood pressure to normal levels. This herb owes its lemony aroma to a chemical compound called citral. This substance has the ability to lower blood pressure.
Melissa is a common remedy for the treatment of mild forms of hypertension. You can use it as a seasoning for confectionery or hot dishes. It is also recommended to drink tea or decoction,
Expert commentary
Kardash Anton Borisovich
Therapist, cardiologist. Doctor of the highest category.
But people with low blood pressure should not use lemon balm, since the active substances in its composition can cause a critical decrease in blood pressure and lead to dizziness and fainting.
Melissa for hypertension: does the plant have a blood pressure lowering effect?
The use of this herb for hypertensive patients is completely justified. The components of lemon balm have a calming effect on the nervous system and also reduce blood pressure. Therefore, it can be used to treat this pathology.
In addition, it helps to cope with some of the consequences (or causes, since all these pathologies are interconnected) of high blood pressure: thanks to its antispasmodic effect, it soothes headaches, relieves spasm of blood vessels during coronary heart disease, and reduces the pulse rate during tachycardia.
However, any herbal medicine (and lemon balm is no exception) can only be used for chronic and mild forms of the disease. In our case, this is 1-2 degrees of hypertension. In addition, it is unable to stop hypertensive crises - i.e. sharp increases in blood pressure. Therefore, if you notice that the herbal preparation no longer controls your blood pressure, you should consult a doctor to prescribe stronger medications.
What is the reason for the hypotonic effect of lemon balm?
The main active ingredients of lemon balm are essential oils, which are contained in large quantities. It has a complex effect on hypertension and acts through several mechanisms, which explains its effectiveness.
Thanks to its sedative properties, lemon balm very well calms the nervous system and reduces the tone of the sympathetic department. This leads to a decrease in the concentration of adrenaline in the blood, as a result of which the blood vessels dilate, heart rate and pressure drop. It also prevents hypertensive crises.
The diuretic effect present in lemon balm helps remove excess water from the body, reduces the volume of circulating blood, and, accordingly, blood pressure.
Finally, due to its antispasmodic effect, it dilates blood vessels and relaxes smooth muscles, which leads to a decrease in blood pressure and a relief of headaches.
Contraindications and side effects
Like any other medicine, lemon balm has its contraindications that must be taken into account when using it:
- individual intolerance (also remember that if you are allergic to mint, it can also occur when consuming lemon balm);
- hypotension (low blood pressure);
- vegetative-vascular dystonia of the hypotonic type;
The plant also has a number of side effects, most often due to excess dosage:
- autonomic disorders (dizziness, nausea, sweating);
- weakness, drowsiness;
- sexual disorders in men (decreased potency);
- dyspeptic manifestations;
- skin itching.
In addition, it is not recommended to use lemon balm preparations (especially in large doses) when driving vehicles or other complex mechanisms, since the plant can disrupt concentration and cause drowsiness.
Use with caution in combination with other sedatives or antihypertensive drugs, as lemon balm enhances their effect.
Contraindications
- Individual hypersensitivity . The abundance of essential oils is a risk factor for people prone to allergic reactions. If you have already experienced allergy attacks when using herbal preparations, you need to be careful when using this plant.
- Hypotension . Melissa has a general beneficial effect on the vascular system, but still, with low pressure, its use can cause a deterioration in well-being.
- Stomach ulcer. The high content of biologically active substances, especially organic acids, makes drugs containing it strong irritants of the gastrointestinal mucosa. In the presence of a peptic ulcer, taking them can lead to a sharp increase in pain.
How is it useful?
The hypotensive effect of this plant is weakly expressed, so it can slightly reduce blood pressure at the initial stage of the disease. If the situation is more complex, then teas and tinctures with lemon balm only help calm the nervous system .
For many, increased blood pressure is directly related to nervous disorders and anxiety. Melissa has an excellent sedative effect, calming the central nervous system. It also relieves headaches, which are an invariable companion of high blood pressure.
The healing properties of lemon balm are due to the essential oil, which contains only 0.1-0.3%. The amount of this component is determined by geography and climate.
The oil contains:
- Geraniol.
- Linalool.
- Citral.
- Citronellal.
It also contains vitamins and minerals that treat hypertension:
- Potassium (458 mg).
- Phosphorus (60 mg).
- Sodium (30 mg).
- Calcium (199 mg).
- Vitamin C (13.3 mg).
- Vitamin A (203 mcg).
- Vitamin B1 (0.08 mg).
- Vitamin B2 (0.18 mg).
- Vitamin B6 (0.16 mg).
How to brew tea?
One of the medicinal drinks based on lemon balm is tea. It is the easiest to prepare and does not require any special effort. For health purposes, you can brew tea from lemon balm alone or by mixing it with other ingredients.
To prepare classic lemon balm tea you need:
- Pour 25-30 g of dry herb into a ceramic or glass teapot.
- Pour in 1 liter of hot but not boiling water.
- Close the kettle and let stand for no more than 10 minutes.
- You can add honey or fruit syrup to this tea.
If you remove the tea leaves from the drink, you can drink it throughout the day, pouring it into a thermos for convenience. Melissa goes well with mint.
If you use too hot water, some of the beneficial substances will be destroyed. The optimal water temperature is 80-85°C.
It can also be mixed with black and green tea
The delicate taste of lemon balm softens the astringency of black tea and adds freshness to green tea. Both freshly picked lemon balm and dry lemon balm are suitable for preparing the drink.
- For 1 tbsp of black or green tea leaves you need to take 1 tsp of dry lemon balm or 3-4 fresh leaves.
- Pour 0.5 liters of boiling water and let stand for 4-5 minutes.
The proportions for preparing the drink can be selected individually.
Let us remember that green tea itself lowers blood pressure.
Expert commentary
Kardash Anton Borisovich
Therapist, cardiologist. Doctor of the highest category.
The combination of lemon balm with green tea can significantly lower blood pressure.
How to properly grow, collect and store a plant?
If you do not want to depend on pharmacies, you can collect or grow lemon balm herb yourself, especially since it is very simple.
Collection, preparation and storage
You can see what the plant looks like in the photo:
The raw materials are the tops of the shoots (together with the stem); they are collected before flowering, which occurs in June-August.
Dry the grass in ventilated areas or in special dryers at a temperature of no more than 40 degrees. This is necessary to prevent essential oils from evaporating. Under no circumstances should the plant be dried in the sun. The material should be spread out in an even thin layer.
Dry raw materials must be stored in dark, ventilated areas, in bags made of natural fabric or in paper bags, for no more than two years, but the greatest effectiveness is maintained for 3 months.
Growing
It is better to grow lemon balm from seeds - in this case the plants will be more viable, although you can use any other methods - root cuttings, taps, seedlings, etc. Planted in spring (April), on warm soil, to a depth of 1 cm.
You need to choose the right place. Too much humidity leads to the development of fungal diseases. The soil should be of medium acidity or neutral.
Care is not difficult, watering is required only during dry periods, especially in the first year of growth, when lemon balm does not yet have a developed root system.
To prepare the medicine, cut off the tops of the plant; this can be done no more than 3 times per season.
Review of drugs
The bulk of drugs containing lemon balm are sedative and sedative in nature. But some of the medicines and dietary supplements created on the basis of this medicinal plant are intended to strengthen the heart muscle and blood vessels and normalize blood pressure.
- Herbal teas and preparations . This group combines various options for mixtures of dry lemon balm with other medicinal plants. Most often, its companions are thyme, fennel, and rose hips.
- Lozenges . An example of this group of medicines is Hawthorn forte and lemon balm. Its stated effect is to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
- Balm for blood vessels . This is a liquid form, more convenient for individual dosage selection. It also contains a number of extracts of medicinal plants: linden, hawthorn, hops, rose hips, as well as succinic acid. Prevents arrhythmia and reduces the risk of hypertension.
- Coated tablets . For example, Adestab. It contains various plant components - hops, fennel, hawthorn, calendula, horsetail, and also contains potassium chloride and magnesium citrate. Provides vascular protection.
- Syrups . Another liquid form, its feature is a more pleasant taste. An example of such a remedy is stevia syrup with lemon balm, strawberry, currant and mint leaves. In addition to the calming effect, it improves the oxygen supply to brain and heart cells.
- Kissels and porridges with bioadditives . Allows you to include a medicinal component in your daily menu. One of the proposed options is jelly “Normalizing pressure”. It is based on blueberries, lemon balm, and hibiscus. The jelly, which does not require cooking, allows you to preserve most of the acids and vitamins.
Recipes for preparing lemon balm products
The plant can be used either alone or in combination with other antihypertensive drugs.
There are the following main dosage forms of lemon balm:
- Herbal infusion - 1 tablespoon of raw material is poured with 200 ml of hot water (about 70 degrees), left for 3-5 hours and filtered. Take 1 tbsp. spoon three times a day before meals. The medicine can be stored for no more than 3 days.
- Fresh plant juice has more useful substances than the previous form, but is not suitable for long-term storage. Take 40-60 drops 6 times a day.
- Herbal powder also preserves the active ingredients well. To prepare it, the dry plant is ground in a mortar. Take 2-4 grams 3 times a day before meals.
- Finally, lemon balm is also consumed in the form of tea, which is prepared according to the standard method - a teaspoon of dry plant is poured with 200 ml of boiling water. You can add sugar or honey to taste.
A more effective remedy for pressure becomes in the form of medicinal mixtures with other plants. The combination with mint, valerian and chamomile enhances the sedative effect, with motherwort, oregano and periwinkle it has a vasodilator effect, and hawthorn normalizes heart function and reduces heart rate. In addition, almost all of these plants have a diuretic effect.
Typically, combined drugs are taken in the form of an infusion. It is prepared according to the above recipe, only instead of lemon balm alone, a mixture is used in equal proportions.
You can also make a tincture with alcohol, which will preserve more beneficial substances. To do this, 2 tablespoons of raw material are poured into 150 ml of vodka and infused in a dark room for 7 days, then filtered through cheesecloth. Take 40 drops before meals.
To treat arterial hypertension, any medications, including herbal medicines, must be taken throughout life, since they do not act on the causes of the disease, but only control blood pressure at the desired level.
