A Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Perspective on Lemon Balm
A TCM Perspective on Lemon Balm
Are you already familiar Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and wondering how to use lemon balm with your other favorite bulk herbs? Or perhaps are you already familiar with lemon balm, and curious to learn more about TCM?
We will start with an overview of both lemon balm and TCM, and then dive deeper to learn exactly what lemon balm does in TCM. This article is comprehensive, so cozy up with a cup of your favorite tea and let’s get started!
What Is Lemon Balm?
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) is a lemon-scented shrub in the mint family, native to Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia, although it is grown all over the world.
Lemon balm blooms in summer and is upright reaching with height of about 1 meter, with strong heart-shaped hairy leaves. It is easy to identify due to its lemon-like flavor and fragrance which has led to other names like Lemon Leaf or Lemon Honey.
What Does the Latin Name for Lemon Balm Mean?
‘Melissa’ is the Latin abbreviation of its original Greek name melissophyllo, which means “honeybee", in reference to the fact that bees are attracted by the abundant sweet nectar of its flowers. The second part of its Latin name, ‘officinalis’ means that it is "used in pharmacy".
What Is Lemon Balm Used For?
Herbalists reach for lemon balm to help with an extremely wide range of conditions. Formulas for issues such as anxiety, insomnia, stress, heart and lung conditions, memory issues, and digestive problems may all be addressed with protocols that include lemon balm.
How Has Lemon Balm Been Used Historically?
Lemon balm has been used in TCM for about 2,000 years. Hindu, Arabic, and medieval European medicine all used lemon balm leaves too, as a medicine for insomnia, as well as to treat migraines, neuroses, and hysteria. European monks and nuns also used lemon balm as an ingredient in healing salves, both to treat wounds and as an antiseptic.
In Ayurvedic medicine, lemon balm has been used for thousands of years and is known for having antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, and anti-spasmolytic effects.
The essential oil that lemon balm produces is rare due to the low oil content naturally found in lemon balm. Historically, Arab people have used lemon balm essential oil in perfumes for a soothing effect.
The Iranian traditional system of medicine also prizes lemon balm for its use in the treatment of a wide range of conditions, including headaches, wounds, digestive issues, anxiety, anemia, and vertigo, as well as for a variety of lung and heart conditions.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
How Does Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Use Herbs?
TCM uses a practice called ‘phytotherapy’. Phytotherapy is the use of plants or herbs to treat health conditions, and most TCM practitioners consider it an essential pillar when prescribing treatment. Each prescribed herbal formula in TCM can be a combined product of various herbs, mushrooms and minerals, usually tailored to each unique patient.
How Does Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Work?
The objective of TCM is to balance the yin/yang, individual to each human being, to fully restore your health.
In TCM there are three methods to classify medicinal herbs:
1. The Four Natures
This classification is based on the contribution of cold/heat to the individual consuming it. Herbs can be hot, cold, warm, or cool. It is also possible for herbs to be a considered a combination of the four natures.
2. The Five Tastes
The five tastes are pungent, sweet, bitter, sour, and salty. Each taste has its own unique characteristics and health benefits.
3. The Meridians
Meridians are energy pathways in your body that TCM utilizes for healing. Each herb will act on different meridians, and TCM practitioners will understand which organs and body parts a herb is effecting based on the meridians being influenced.
Lemon Balm In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
How Is Lemon Balm Classified In TCM?
In TCM, lemon balm is used to eliminate wind and relieve cold symptoms, dispel blood stasis, and cleanse joints.
Nature: Warm
Taste: Pungent
Meridians: Lemon balm affects the Lung and Liver meridians. By extension of Lung, balm also affects the following in TCM:
Mucous membranes
Paranasal sinuses
Nasopharynx
Nose
Skin
The Lung’s Yang organ, the Large Intestine
By extension of Liver, in TCM lemon balm affects the following:
Sinews (ligaments, tendons, tiny muscles that move joints)
Peripheral nerves
Joints, especially hand and wrist joints
Eyes (Iris)
The Liver’s Yang organ, the Gallbladder
TCM classifies lemon balm as an herb that warms the interior and expels cold, and the spicy and pungent components help dry dampness, and circulate qi (energy) and bodily fluids. Due to its unique qualities, lemon balm is an excellent option for resolving internal coldness with qi and yang deficiency.
How Is Lemon Balm Used In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)?
Lemon balm has four main uses in TCM:
1. To Circulate Qi
You might find lemon balm used in formulas designed for someone who is experiencing a problematic lack of circulating qi. TCM formulas with lemon balm in this category might address health issues such as indigestion, colic, gas, menstrual pain, anxiety, nervousness, and hypertension.
2. To Warm The Lungs
Lemon balm may be used in TCM formulas designed to warm the lungs, clear phlegm, and stop coughing. This category of TCM formulas might address issues such as asthma, cough, and bronchitis with yellow phlegm.
3. To Clear Wind-Heat And Promote Sweat
In TCM, lemon balm can use its warming and cleansing nature to contribute to formulas designed to address acute conditions such as fevers and gastroenteritis.
4. Externally
TCM practitioners often prescribe phototherapeutic herbs to be used externally, most often as an herbal oil, extract, or wash. Lemon balm could be included in topical TCM formulas for muscle and joint pain, bruises, fungal infections.
In TCM, lemon balm may also be used to improve the way the body processes cholesterol, which can help lower blood pressure, relax the heart muscle, and restore tachycardia to a normal rhythm of the heart.
On its own, you might see lemon balm used in TCM as a treatment to cleanse and detoxify the liver, kidneys, pancreas, bladder, and digestive tract. This is due to the natural diuretic effects of lemon balm.