Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

For a relaxing bath, tie a handful of balm in a cloth and run your bathwater over it. In addition to feeling its tranquil effect, you’ll love its lemony aroma.

To help treat wounds, make a hot compress using 2 teaspoons of leaves per cup of water. Boil 10 minutes, strain, and apply with a clean cloth.

For a light, lemony-tasting infusion, which may help soothe the stomach, fight infection, or ease menstrual pain, use 2 teaspoons of leaves per cup of water. Steep 10 to 20 minutes. Drink up to 3 cups a day.

In a tincture, use ½ to 1½ teaspoons up to three times a day. When using commercial preparations, follow package directions.

Medicinal infusions or tinctures of balm should not be given to children under age 2. For older children and people over 65, start with low-strength preparations and increase strength if necessary.

To help treat a minor cut, crush some fresh balm leaves and apply them directly to the wound

Balm the Safety Factor

Two recent studies show that balm interferes with the thyroid-stimulating hormone, thyrotropin. There are no reports of this herb causing thyroid problems, but anyone with a thyroid condition should discuss balm’s thyrotropin-inhibiting effect with a physician before using it.

Balm is on the Food and Drug Administration’s list of herbs generally regarded as safe The medical literature contains no reports of toxicity. For otherwise healthy nonpregnant, nonnursing adults who do not have thyroid conditions, balm is considered safe in amounts typically recommended.

Balm should be used in medicinal amounts only in consultation with your doctor. If balm causes minor discomfort, such as stomach upset or diarrhea, take less or stop using it. Let your doctor know if you experience any unpleasant effects or if the symptoms for which the herb is being used do not improve Significantly in two weeks.

Native Cultivation - Sweeten Up Your Garden

Balm is a branching, erect perennial that grows to 2 feet. It has the mint family’s characteristic square stems and small, two-lipped. white or yellow flowers, which bloom in bunches throughout the summer. The aboveground parts die back each winter, but the root is perennial.

Balm grows easily from seeds sown in spring or from cuttings or root divisions. Seeds germinate indoors or out and often do best when left uncovered. Simply keep them moist. Germination typically takes three to four weeks.

Balm likes well-drained soil with a pH near neutral. Thin seedlings to l-foot spacing. The herb prefers partial shade. It wilts in full sun and loses some aroma.

For medicinal use, the leaves should be harvested before the plant flowers. Cut the entire plant a few inches above the ground. Dry it quickly or the leaves may turn black. Balm loses much of its fragrance when dried. After drying, powder the leaves, then store them in tightly sealed opaque containers to preserve the volatile oil.

Contemporary herbalists tout balm’s traditional uses: It’s still used to induce sweat and menstruation and is recommended to treat headache, flatulence, hypertension, stress, bronchitis, indigestion, asthma, and infant colic. Modern science has not supported all of balm’s traditional uses-it has abandoned the 19th century notion that balm is a stimulant. and Culpeper was off base by saying it “opens obstructions of the brain.” But studies show this herb may have even greater healing potential.

Wound Treatment - Score one for Dioscorides. Balm contains chemicals (polyphenols) that may help fight several infection-causing bacteria, among them Streptococci and mycobacteria. Balm also contains eugenol, an anesthetic that may help relieve wound pain.

Herpes and Other Viral Infections - Balm helps fight mumps, herpes, and other viruses. American pharmaceutical companies have ignored balm’s possible antiviral action, but Europeans have not In Germany, where herbal medicine is more mainstream than it is in the United States, balm extract is an active ingredient in Lornaherpan Creme, an ointment used to treat cold sores and genital herpes Unfortunately, this product is not available in the United States.

A Natural Tranquilizer - Researchers have discovered that balm oil-the source of the plant’s pleasant fragrance-may have tranquilizing properties, supporting the herb’s traditiona 1 use as a relaxant. In Germany, balm is widely used as a tranquilizer and sedative.

Digestive Ald - German researchers have discovered that baim relaxes the smooth muscle tissue of the digestive tract, thus supporting its age-old use as a digestive aid.

Women’s Health - Herbs that relax the digestive tract may also calm another smooth muscle, the uterus. This potential effect could help support balm’s traditional use in treating menstrual cramps. However, balm has also been historically recommended as a uterine stimulant to promote menstruation. No contemporary research clarifies this confusing situation For this reason, pregnant women should not use it. Other women might try it to begin menstruation.

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.