Papaya - a world class meat tenderizer, natural digestive aid, prevents ulcers, and also a soft contact lense cleaner.Balm also known as: Lemon Balm, Bee Balm, Melissa, Sweet Balm, Cure-all
Honey of a Healer
Family: Labiatae; (includes mint)
Genus and species: Melissa officinalis
Also known as: Lemon Balm, Bee Balm, Melissa, Sweet Balm, Cure-all
Parts used: Leaves
Bees love this fragrant herb, which explains its generic name, Melissa-Greek for “bee.” Balm is also a honey of a healer. It was popular among herbalists for some 2,000 years and is still sweet news for today’s herbal enthusiasts.
Be Merry-and Other Ancient Ideas
The ancient Greek physician Dioscorides applied balm leaves to skin wounds and added the herb to wine to treat a variety of illnesses. The Roman naturalist Pliny recommended it to stop bleeding. During the 10th century, Arab doctors recommended balm for nervousness and anxiety. The great 11th century Arab physician Avicenna wrote, “Balm causeth the mind and heart to become merry.”
Medieval Europeans adopted the Arabs’ use of balm for nervousness and anxiety. Melissa water, or Eau de Melisse, became so popular as a tranquilizer and sedative that Charlemagne ordered the herb grown in all the “physic gardens” in his realm to guarantee an adequate supply.
During the Middle Ages, European herbalists greatly expanded on balm’s earlier uses, prescribing it for just about everything: insomnia, arthritis, headache, toothache, sores, digestive problems, menstrual cramps, and as a menstruation promoter-so many ailments, in fact, that balm became known as a cure-all.
In his influential herbal, 17th century English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper echoed Avicenna, commenting, “It causeth the mind and heart to become merry, and driveth away all troublesome cares and thoughts arising from melancholy…” Culpeper also recommended balm for “faintings and swoonings… to help digestion… open obstructions of the brain and procure women’s courses [menstruation].”
In later times, however, the pendulum swung. North American colonists had surprisingly few uses for the bees’ favorite herb. They used balm mainly to treat menstrual cramps and to induce sweating, an old treatment for fever. Despite its long history as a tranquilizer, America’s 19th century Eclectic physicians considered balm only as a “moderate stimulant.” Nevertheless, today it’s still known as a powerful healer.