Melissa lowers or increases blood pressure - Pressure and everything about it

Composition and medicinal properties of the plant

Melissa officinalis, popularly also called lemon balm, is a fairly common plant in our area. It can be easily grown in your summer cottage. Melissa has a charming lemon aroma and refreshing taste. It is widely used not only in medicine, but also in cooking, perfumery, and cosmetology.

The medicinal properties of the plant have been used by traditional healers since ancient times. Today, its medicinal effects are also recognized by traditional medicine. Melissa contains many vitamins and substances beneficial to the human body, including:

• vitamins of group B1, B2, C;
• potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, chromium, selenium, molybdenum;
• essential oil, which contains about two hundred components;
• biologically active acids (rosmarinic, coumaric, sinalic, ferulic, etc.);
• phenols;
• phenolocarboxylic acids (vanillic, lilac, salicylic, gentisic);
• flavonoids;
• sterols;
• tannins;
• coumarin;
• resin.

The benefits and medicinal value of lemon balm lie in the following areas of the plant’s effect on the human body:

1. Has a calming, antidepressant effect.
2. Relieves pain, including helping with migraines.
3. Improves sleep and has a mild hypnotic effect.
4. Relieves spasms of smooth muscle tissue of internal organs.
5. Helps cleanse the body of slagging, salts and toxins.
6. Activates blood pressure.
7. Strengthens the immune system.
8. Activates digestive processes, increases appetite.
9. It has a beneficial effect on the intestines and stomach, helps get rid of flatulence, increased gas formation, stomach, intestinal, and kidney colic.
10. Quenches gag reflexes.
11. Has a mild diuretic effect.
12. It has a pronounced antiviral, antibacterial, antiallergic effect.
13. Helps lower blood pressure.
14. Strengthens blood vessels and cardiac muscles.
15. Has an antipruritic effect for allergies and skin diseases.
16. Normalizes the menstrual cycle.
17. Reduces blood cholesterol levels.

Due to its beneficial properties, the plant is used in the treatment of a wide range of ailments, including: neuroses (including children's), the initial stage of hypertension and coronary heart disease, tachycardia, heart disease, atherosclerosis, anemia, dermatitis and eczema, dysbacteriosis, diseases of the digestive system tract, toxicosis during pregnancy, rheumatism, arthritis, toothache and headache, insomnia.

The effect of lemon balm on blood pressure levels

How does lemon balm affect blood pressure and can it be used by hypertensive patients? To find out the answer to this question, it is necessary to understand how the plant is able to act on the circulatory, cardiovascular and nervous systems of the body.

Lemon balm has the following effects:

• relieves spasms from blood vessels and muscle tissue of the heart and brain;
• calms, helps normalize the psycho-emotional state during depression, stress, tense situations;
• cleanses the blood of cholesterol, prevents the formation of cholesterol plaques on the vascular walls;
• stabilizes and calms heart rate;
• Replenishes the body with potassium reserves, which has a vasodilating effect.

Thus, the plant is able to have a beneficial effect on the organs and systems that determine blood pressure levels. Does Melissa lower your blood pressure or raise it? Having analyzed the mechanism of the herb’s effect on the body, we can say with confidence that lemon balm helps lower blood pressure. This occurs due to an increase in stress resistance, antispasmodic, sedative, mild vasodilator effect, and a decrease in blood cholesterol levels.

Some of the most common causes of blood pressure surges are stress and nervousness. Lemon grass has a pronounced calming effect, which helps relieve emotional stress and prevent further surges in blood pressure. Relieving spasms from blood vessels and muscle tissue of the heart and brain also helps improve blood circulation.

In addition, lemon balm helps cleanse the body of waste and toxins and has diuretic properties. Removing excess fluid and unnecessary metabolic products from the body helps lower blood pressure and prevents the appearance of swelling that often accompanies hypertension.

Cooking methods

Contraindications

It is not recommended to use lemon balm if you have an individual intolerance, which can be checked by doing a test for the body’s reaction before the first use of the plant. Melissa can cause great harm if used with persistently low blood pressure. Lemon balm in large quantities is dangerous for males, as it weakens libido. People whose work requires increased concentration should not drink products from this sedative herb.

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Who should not consume lemon balm?

If a hypertensive patient has high blood pressure, lemon balm helps lower blood pressure levels, but in case of hypotension, using a large amount of products based on this plant can lead to loss of strength and headaches. Therefore, people with low blood pressure can drink lemon balm only in small quantities.

The use of the plant also has the following contraindications:

• individual intolerance;
• children's age up to 1-1.5 years;
• with caution in case of exacerbation of gastrointestinal diseases.

As with any plant, a person can be allergic to lemon balm. Therefore, first you need to try a small amount of lemon balm drink to check the body’s reaction. If within 24 hours after using the product, signs of allergy do not appear (for example, rash, cough, itching, runny nose, difficulty breathing, increased sweating), the plant can be used for medicinal purposes without fear.

Melissa has no contraindications for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. However, in order not to risk the health of mother and baby, drinks and other plant-based products are first taken in small quantities to check the body’s reaction.

Possible harm and side effects

The plant has a powerful calming effect, so it can slow down the reaction like an “inhibitory” effect. Due to this effect, herbal products are not recommended to be taken an hour and a half before driving a car or other situations that require increased attention and concentration.

You should not combine the use of lemon balm with other sedatives and medications. This will increase their impact. As a result, apathy, loss of strength, excessive drowsiness, rapid onset of fatigue, and decreased performance, both mental and physical, may develop.

Melissa is given to children with caution. You should start with no more than half a teaspoon of the product to check that there is no risk of developing allergies or intestinal colic. The drug is given to children in small doses to prevent the development of apathy and loss of strength.

In addition, everything useful should have its own measure. Therefore, it is not recommended to drink more than 500 ml of lemon balm drink per day. For children under 12 years of age, the permissible safe dose is 250-300 ml.

Contraindications

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

Traditional recipes for restoring blood pressure

Melissa can be used for hypertension in the form of teas, decoctions, infusions, and baths. Both dried and freshly picked plants can be used. To improve the taste of tea, you can add honey, lemon slices, chamomile, and orange peels.

Tea

Melissa in the form of teas for high blood pressure is perhaps one of the most popular remedies. Such drinks have an effective calming, analgesic, and antioxidant effect. It also helps improve digestion and eliminate gastrointestinal disorders.

To prepare the drink, pour a teaspoon of dry or one and a half teaspoons of fresh herbs into 250-300 ml of boiling water and hold under a closed lid for 7-10 minutes. You can drink without straining, as the leaves settle to the bottom of the cup during the infusion process.

For hypertension, it is useful to add to tea:

1. Chamomile.
2. Lemon.
3. Motherwort.
4. Honey.
5. Hawthorn or chokeberry berries.

Such mixes have a complex effect on the body and contribute to a better reduction in blood pressure.

Melissa tea is best drunk after lunch or in the evening, a few hours before bed, as the drink can slightly “slow down” your performance.

Decoction

Melissa decoction is very useful for asthma, tachycardia, anemia, bronchitis, and for improving the functioning of the digestive tract. To prepare the drink, you need to pour two tablespoons of dried or fresh raw materials with a liter of boiling water and cook over water for 25 minutes. In this case, it is not recommended to bring the drug to a boil.

After the drink has boiled, it should be cooled to room temperature and strained. Drink 150 ml three times a day 10-15 minutes before eating. Keep refrigerated.

Fees

Infusion

An infusion of lemon balm leaves will help normalize blood circulation, calm down nervous excitement, in stressful situations, and relieve intestinal and stomach cramps. To prepare it you need 20 grams. dry or 30 gr. Pour a liter of boiling water over fresh leaves and place in a warm, well-ventilated place to infuse for 3-4 hours. Then strain the infusion. Drink 100 ml three times a day before meals.

Baths

Melissa baths have a powerful calming and analgesic effect. To prepare a bath, you must first brew a decoction of the plant. To do this, pour two tablespoons of raw material into 1.5 liters of boiling water and simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes.

You need to fill a basin with some warm water (two liters). Then pour the broth into the container and, if necessary, dilute the liquid with cold water to an acceptable temperature for the body. Place your feet in the basin and hold it there until the water cools down.

Melissa oil

If blood pressure problems are accompanied by migraines, nausea, or dizziness, aromatherapy with lemon balm oil will help alleviate the condition. You need to drop two or three drops of oil into the aroma lamp and relax. Calmness, lightness and relief of well-being will not keep you waiting long.

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:

1. Pour 25-30 g of dry herb into a ceramic or glass teapot.
2. Pour in 1 liter of hot but not boiling water.
3. Close the kettle and let stand for no more than 10 minutes.
4. 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.

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.

1. For 1 tbsp of black or green tea leaves you need to take 1 tsp of dry lemon balm or 3-4 fresh leaves.
2. 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.

The healing properties of lemon balm are widely known not only in folk, but also in traditional medicine. The plant is very popular for its calming, antispasmodic, analgesic effects, as well as its beneficial effect on the functioning of the digestive system. For hypertension, lemon balm can have a mild hypotensive effect.

Features of procurement and collection of raw materials

Melissa can be easily prepared at home. The collection takes place in June and lasts until the plant blooms. To harvest, you need to cut off the tops of the plant, starting from 10 centimeters from the ground.

For drying, the plant can be spread out in a thin layer or tied in small bunches. The plant should be dried in well-ventilated, dark places, and do not expose the grass to direct sunlight. When the leaves break easily when rubbed, this is a sign that the lemon balm is ready for use.

Raw materials should be stored in dark, well-ventilated places for no more than two years. Once every two to three weeks, it is advisable to ventilate the collection and inspect it for the presence of pests.

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