Abigails Herbs

Lemon Balm – (Melissa officinalis)

Although lemon balm may not be as well known as other herbs, it is no less remarkable in its sleep-enhancing abilities. Its pungent lemony-scent is tension relieving by itself. Used since the seventeenth century when it was known simply as balm, this herb is great for helping to relieve stress and anxiety, which in turn helps people to sleep better. Research in Germany has shown that a key compound in lemon balm, the volatile oils, calms the central nervous system.

How to Use:

Lemon Balm makes a great-tasting tea and is also effective when taken in pill or extract form. Take 1 or 2 teaspoons of extract and two or three capsules. For the tea, use two teaspoons dried herb to one cup of just-boiled water and let steep for 15 minutes.

People with fibromyalgia usually have a difficult time obtaining  a deep and restful night’s sleep. They toss and turn and sometimes experience joint pain, along with muscle spasms and pain.  Sleeping pills may help, however, there are side effects from prescription pills. For example, when I was going through my messy divorce, I could not get to sleep at night, so my doctor prescribed some sleeping pills for me. Well, the sleeping medication that she gave me was Ambien which worked well to put me into an immediate sleep. The problem was that eveytime I took the Ambien, I would wade up at four in the morning, suffering from bizarre and frightening dreams and nightmares.

I swithched to drinking  herbal teas a couple of hours before bedtime, and I slept deeply, without the nightmares and without waking up in the wee hours of the morning. There are other herbs for sleeping beside  lemon balm, but just the scent of this plant puts my senses at ease.

Chamomile is a  member of the daisy family. It is best known as a relaxing tea. However, the good news is that a compound proven to reduce the arrpearance of fine lines and wrinkles is found in the chamomile plant. Chris Kilham, author of  ”Hot Plants” declares that chamomile really works as a wrinkle reducer.

Just steep one teaspoon of  fresh or dried chamomile blossoms in one cup of hot water for 15 – 20 minutes, strain and pat on your face. Use this concoction as a facial wash. I place chamomile tea leaves in loose bags and brew as a tea. Then I place the tea bags on and around my eyes. It is soothing. It relaxes my mind as well as my fine lines. My crows feet are less noticeable too. It also reduces redness and irritation!

I have sinus headaches right behind my eyes with pressure which is excruciating. This sinus problem gives me dark circles and swelling on my eyelids and underneath my eyes. I also use potatoes to take away the swelling and dark circles as potatoes work better than cucumbers for my eyes. But the chamomile helps my fine lines to relax.

Chamomile is a pretty ground cover as the flowers resemble small daisies. Plant it in full sun and it will grow freely.

As we all know, green tea is a powerhouse of healthy living. Now there is new research from Japan that positively confirms the tranquilizing abilities of green tea: when the study volunteers drank three to four cups of tea daily, their stress levels dropped by up to 30%! This is a huge percentage of improvement.

The reason green tea is so relaxing is because of the L-theanin; an amino acid found exclusively in the green tea leaves, which positively lowers the output of worry-triggering beta waves, say researchers. Also, L-theanine supercharges the brain’s production of GABA, a neurotransmitter linked to contentment, claims Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S., author of  “The 150 Most Effective Ways to Boost Your Energy.”

Not only does green tea have a calming effect, but the L-theanine in the green tea helps your brain replenish its stores of dopamine, a so-called “happiness” hormone  that chases away mild depression, says Bowden. We should all drink four cups a day.

Some people suffer with chronic asthma, and some people become easily winded and have difficulty catching their breath just being in high places like Denver or Mexico City. There are sever natural ways of protection for our lungs. Of course, the most obvious way is to avoid tobacco smoke; studies indicate that just being around smokers is more harmful to our lungs than actually smoking it.

One way to keep your lungs healthy is to eat tomatoes. I grow tomatoes in my garden. They love the sun and tomatoes are easy to grow as long as you water them and put them in a sunny spot to grow. Research shows that a daily serving of anti-oxidant-rich tomatoes, (such as in 1/2 cup of marinara sauce), may reduce lung damage caused by air pollution. The great thing about tomatoes is that the leucopine in them becomes stronger in cooked and canned tomatoes. Pretty amazing! It is the leucopine that fights off the cancer causing oxidants in our bodies.

Fish oil is another means to ward off breathing problems. Many airway troubles like asthma are caused by inflammation; experts advise getting omega-3 fatty acids from fish, walnuts or supplemants to reduce swelling.

Of course, exercise is key to general good health. Studies indicate that even simple exercise, such as taking a short walk, to climbing a set of stairs, to swimming, makes your heart beat faster. So, when your heart beats faster, it improves your lungs’ ability to take in oxygen.

Last of all, drinking green tea really keeps your lungs safe. Sipping three, 8-ounce servings of green tea per day significantly reduces your odds of developing lung cancer; and this is completely backed up by recent research all over the world.

So, healthier lungs can be obtained through mild exercise, eating and drinking right and avoiding tobacco in all forms.

Just breathing in the fragrance of  lavender can help us to sleep better, feel more joyful and relax our tense muscles. I love the smell of lavender. It is just so soothing and beneficial to our health. Whether we inhale the scent of the lavender buds or drink  it as a tea, or bathe in the essential oil of lavender, it is an  herb which  soothes and relaxes our bodies as well as our minds. Consider just some of the research on this amazing plant:

In a four-week study, researchers in Korea found that when they administered the fragrance of lavender to 42 female college students suffering from insomnia, the women were less depressed and were able to sleep much better at night.

Japanese researchers found that lavender oil and the linalool in it  actually lowered renal sympathetic nerve activity and blood pressure of anesthesized rats. At the same time, the lavender elevated parasympathetic nerve activity in the laboratory rats.

In a preliminary experiment, another group of researchers in Japan discovered that lavender essential oil relaxed vascular smooth muscles. They further discovered that the ingredient in this herb, called linalyl acetate, produced the smooth muscle relaxation effect in rabbits.

There have been other studies done with Alzheimer’s patients which showed that inhaling the fragrance of this wonder herb  was effective in reducing agitation levels of the patients’ behavior.  There is more research which has revealed that lavender has been effective in the treatment of cancer; but that will be addressed in a different article. These studies help us understand that the healthy emotional benefits of lavender we enjoy are accomplished by empirical physiological responses.  I love lavender – especially the organic kind!

I just returned home from a large music jamboree in the beautiful  Pennsylvania Brandywine Valley. I pitched my tent in the middle of a field, surrounded by horse farms, tall pines and a pond. It was like heaven on earth. I came back home tired but feeling more human and alive. There was live music on a stage among the tall trees and I met some wonderful people who all believe in the power of music to heal and improve our health. We enjoyed a big bonfire last night.

In the morning, one of my good friends made a watermelon and spearmint salad. It was delicious; she put fresh squeezed lime juice in the watermelon, sea salt. black pepper and spearmint. It was delicious and extremely refreshing. Next time, you get a headache, try eating or sniffing fresh spearmint or peppermint. Recent studies show that this herb blocks pain signals to the brain, just the same way that acetaminophen (Tylenol) does.

If you are always hungry and trying to lose weight, try sipping some mint tea before eating  your meals. The mint sends specific signals to the brain which says, “I’m full.” It is very effective. Just crush 2 teaspoons of fresh ;;mit leaves in one cup of hot water and steep it for 5 minutes, strain and drink.

I have such bad sinus headaches due to high humidity and seasonal allergies. It gets so bad that I have foggy brain and I can’t think straight due to the pressure that builds up inside of my head, around my sinuses and through my eyes.  As I walk through the halls I can hear everyone at work say “Watch out; Abigail is really spaced out again today!” But, they are right. It is trud that these never ending allergies cause me to be totally spaced out and then I lack productivity and it seems as though I need to do all my work tasks in slow motion when all I really want to do is to lay my head down on a soft pillow to never wake up until the headache is all gone.

I hate taking allergy meds because they make me very hyper and my heart starts to beat out of control; like tachycardia. Some allergy medications do make me drowsy; however, they are not effective. A recent study points to an all-natural alternative herb that alleviates allergies without side effects; green tea! In the Journal of Agircultural and Food Chemistry , Japanese scientists found that green tea’s high concentration of the powerful antioxidant EGCG blocks the production of two allergy causing compounds- histamine and immunoglobulin E – that cause a runny nose, watery eyes, and scratchy throat!

Researchers have not yet figured out a one-size-fits-all dose, so sip one to four cups daily until you feel relief. I have tried to drink green tea, and, happily, when I sip only one to two cups per day, I don’t get the allergies or the sinus pressure that I normally get when I don’t drink green tea. I love it. Those Japanese researchers certainly know what they are talking about!

By the way, additional research has revealed that those smart  people who took a green tea supplement(450 mg. twice  per day, to be exact), were 33% less likely to get a summer flu or to catch a summer cold. Green tea pays off!

Did you know?  Research reveals that most of us have bigger bellies because of the bloatedness we carry due to food sensitivities. That’s right; the older we get, the more sensitive our digestive system becomes to certain foods. The good news is that there is an easy way to shrink our tummy fat without changing our diets. Get into the habit of sipping fennel tea. The oils in this licorice-tasting tea relax tense stomach and intestinal muscles, releasing air buildup. Fennel tea also has a mild diuretic effect, helping the body shed excess fluid, as expressed by Kemberly Beauchamp, N.D.

To brew fennel tea, steep one teaspoon of fennel seeds in boiled water for 10 to 20 minutes, keeping the cup covered to prevent the beneficial oils from evaporating. This tea can be served hot or cold.  Caution:  Always check with your physician before adding fennel to your diet. If you are taking certain prescription medications, you never know what side effects or contraindications could result.

You know how cinnamon lowers blood sugar levels, however, new research reveals that the herb, chamomile has similar health benefits. Sipping on a relaxing cup of chamomile tea in the evening  provides much more than a restful night’s rest. The chamomile herb may help control blood sugar fluctuations and prevent the ravaging  ill effects of Type II diabetes.

When researchers fed chamomile tea to rats with diabetes, the animals had significant decreases in blood sugar and lower levels of componds that can cause diabetic complications. Yes,  it is true that more research is needed, however, those of us diagnosed with diabetes can reap the same benefits from chamomile that cinnamon offers.

Be careful to stop drinking chamomile tea if you have allergies. Always consult with your doctor before drinking  or consuming this wonderful herb. Always drink this tea in moderation. Remember, too much of any good thing can have disastrous results.