Benefits, what it is for and how to do it

Melissa or lemon balm tea: benefits, what it is for and how to make it

Melissa, also known as lemon balm, is considered a medicinal plant thanks to the great health benefits it provides. This plant, increasingly used, can be purchased in natural products stores or in a specialized store. You can also grow it and keep it at home, in order to prepare a delicious tea and take advantage of everything it can contribute to the body.

On this occasion, at OneHOWTO, we will explain everything you need to know about the magnificent lemon balm or lemon balm tea: its benefits, what it is for and how to do it. Read on and make lemon balm tea your best ally in times of stress or anxiety!

Lemon balm tea benefits

Lemon balm is an herb native to the Mediterranean known for its mental health and pain-relieving properties. Although the power of its effects is still being researched, many people claim that consuming lemon balm or lemon balm tea brings countless medicinal benefits to the body. Among them are:

  • Helps relieve nerves: Thanks to its chemical composition, lemon balm has a calming and sedative effect.
  • Has diuretic properties: drinking lemon balm tea could help us reduce fluid retention.
  • Relieves digestive problems: helps reduce stomach cramps, thanks to its antispasmodic properties.
  • Calm the pain: Due to its analgesic characteristics, lemon balm tea can be useful to treat pain such as migraine headaches, tooth pain or menstrual pain.
  • It is an antioxidant: helps protect cells and promotes their regeneration.

If you want to learn more about all the benefits of this wonderful plant, do not hesitate to visit our article about the lemon balm benefits.

What is lemon balm tea good for?

Thanks to its benefits, lemon balm tea is widely used to treat mental and physical health problems. In addition, it is also a delicious flavoring, as it has a rich lemon scent that helps repel insects such as mosquitoes. Other of the lemon balm tea uses include:

  • Using lemon balm tea to sleepThanks to its relaxing and soothing properties, you are sure to sleep better if you drink a cup of this infusion before going to bed, especially if you have trouble sleeping.
  • Relieve stomach aches and gas, as well as other digestive disorders.
  • Calm stress, anxiety and hypertension: a cup of lemon balm tea helps us to be more serene and calm.
  • Purify the liver and improve liver function.
  • Help lose weight: Thanks to its properties to improve digestion and anxiety, lemon balm tea for weight loss can be an excellent complement to a balanced diet and a good exercise routine to lose a few extra kilos.
  • Improve concentration: Thanks to its qualities to stimulate concentration, lemon balm tea is excellent for students.
  • Help flush out fluid build-up of the body, thanks to its diuretic properties.
  • Relieve menstrual crampsas well as migraines and dizziness.
  • Improve symptoms of a cold, flu or colds.

As you can see, there are many uses that we can give to lemon balm tea, so do not hesitate to try this infusion! If you want to know more about its qualities, enter our article where we talk about what are the properties of lemon balm.

Moreover, you can combine the lemon balm and valerian tea to achieve a state of complete tranquility. In this way, you can calm your nerves and, in addition, you can use it to sleep, since valerian is the best known natural tranquilizer.

Melissa or lemon balm tea: benefits, what it is for and how to make it - What is lemon balm tea good for?

How to make lemon balm infusion

Do you want to know how to prepare a magnificent lemon balm tea? Next, we explain it to you step by step. Too easy! You will only need a tablespoon of lemon balm leaves and a cup of water.

  1. Put a cup of water in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.
  2. When it starts to boil, add a tablespoon of dried lemon balm leaves, cover and let it steep for about 7 minutes.
  3. After those 7 minutes, remove the infusion from the heat and let it rest for a few more minutes until it cools down.
  4. Strain the tea and enjoy this infusion.

If you prefer, you can also prepare the infusion with fresh lemon balm. The process is similar to the one explained above. You just have to add a good twig with its leaves and this amount will be enough to make a cup.

How to make lemon balm water

You can also do melissa water or lemon balm. To cool off with a great relaxing drink, just follow these steps:

  1. Place a lemon cut into slices in a container with a liter and a half of water.
  2. Next, shake a few branches of lemon balm and add them.
  3. Then, put the container in the freezer and let it sit for three to four hours before consuming it.
  4. You can sweeten it with sugar or honey, but it is preferable not to add anything else to take full advantage of its properties.

If you want to benefit from all the properties of this wonderful herb in the purest and most natural way, you can have your own lemon balm plant at home! To learn how to care for and how to plant lemon balm, you just have to visit the link. Is a very easy to maintain plant and very generous, in addition, its leaves give off a pleasant aroma that you can use as a flavoring in your home.

Melissa or lemon balm tea: benefits, what it is for and how to make it - How to make lemon balm infusion

Lemon balm tea contraindications

There are not many side effects when it comes to consuming lemon balm tea. However, there are certain considerations that must be taken into account before incorporating this infusion into the diet. Some of them are:

  • It can slow your heart rate, make you drowsy, and cause a drop in blood pressure.
  • It is not recommended for people with hypothyroidism.
  • Lemon balm tea is not recommended for pregnant women or breastfeeding women. If you want to consume it, it is advisable to consult with your doctor in advance.
  • Lemon balm or lemon balm tea can irritate the stomach, so it is not recommended if you have ulcers or other irritating digestive disorders.
  • In excessive amounts, lemon balm tea can be toxic. It is advisable not to ingest more than 3 cups a day.
  • It is not recommended to drink it if, at the same time, you are taking antidepressants, antihistamines, narcotics or other serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

If you want to know more natural ways to treat anxiety and stress, we invite you to visit our article about the best infusions to calm anxiety.

This article is merely informative, at oneHOWTO we do not have the power to prescribe any medical treatment or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to Melissa or lemon balm tea: benefits, what it is for and how to make it, we recommend that you enter our category of Medicines and supplements .

Bibliography

  • Gallegos-Zurita, M. (2016). Medicinal plants: the main alternative for health care in the rural population of Babahoyo, Ecuador. Retrieved on July 31, 2019, from Scielo Peru. Available at: http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?pid=S1025-55832016000400002&script=sci_arttext