If you’ve been paying attention around here, you might have noticed that I favor natural products and home remedies over chemically processed. Not only are they generally better for you and your home, but they’re usually far cheaper too. I like my money which means I want to keep more of it around. Lemon balm is one of my favorite herbs to use for one reason. There are so many ways to use lemon balm that it blows my mind! Plus, it’s easy to grow and has so many benefits that it doesn’t make much sense to me to skip over it when you’re looking for homeopathic healing methods or for use in your home.
I have to tell you that as I was typing this post, I remembered that Lemon Balm can be used to help relieve symptoms of Graves Disease. It just so happens that I have a longtime friend who has Graves and has been fighting it for years. It makes sense that one of the ways to use lemon balm is for health issues since it is anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant, anti-viral, restorative and a whole bunch of other fantastic qualities. That and many of the other ways to use Lemon Balm are what make it one of my favorite plants to use around my home! I made sure that I shared this info with my friend and hopefully it will be a help to her.
Ways to Use Lemon Balm
As always with this type of post, the team at Six Dollar Family are not doctors. If you’re planning on using lemon balm for a health condition, talk to your doctor beforehand. Also, there is very little information on how lemon balm affects a pregnancy, an infant or small children so it is not recommended during pregnancy, while you’re breastfeeding or for small kids. Just keep that in mind before you start to use it. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
As I’m always trying to find ways to save money, one of my favorite places to balm lemon balm and other natural items is Thrive Market. I love that they have lower prices and that I ca get the items I need delivered right to my door. Plus, when you shop at Thrive Market, you will save 20% on your first purchase. If you purchase a yearly Thrive Market membership, they also donate one to a family in need.
Make lemon balm tea –
I love a warm glass of tea at night because there are so many benefits of herbal tea. My favorites are dandelion root tea and stinging nettle tea, but a warm glass of lemon balm tea has a special place in my heart as well. Use it to calm yourself before a stressful meeting or take away nerves. Plus, drinking it as tea incorporates all health benefits of lemon balm too in one little cup. As always with herbal teas, since you’re drinking them and you don’t want any added chemicals in your cup, make certain that you’re drinking a certified organic lemon balm tea.
Protect Your Garden from Bugs –
If you’re trying to have the best garden you can on a budget, lemon balm can help you not only keep more money in your pocket, but also help you to keep creepy crawly things that would destroy your plants away. Grow or spread lemon balm leaves around the garden to help keep destructive bugs away.
Keep Mosquitos Away –
Citronella is great for keeping mosquitos away which is why we make DIY Citronella Candles during the summer, but lemon balm is also a great natural mosquito repellent. Add a drop or two of lemon balm essential oil to a carrier oil and wear it around your neck in a diffuser necklace to keep them off your body. If you’re trying to keep mosquitos away from an area, you can spread lemon balm leaves away or diffuse lemon balm essential oil.
Attract bees to your garden –
While one of the ways to use lemon balm is to keep unwanted bugs out of your garden, another is to attract bees to your garden. Honeybees are such a vital part of our ecosystem so having a way to attract them is a fantastic thing! Simply grow lemon balm in your garden and you’ll attract those good bugs that our world needs!
Help calm anxiety –
If you suffer from anxiety, you know how destructive it can be to your life. Lemon balm can help. Drinking it in a glass of lemon balm tea or adding it to other foods that you consume is a great way to get a dose and help calm your nerves.
Treat a pimple –
Lemon balm makes a great homemade acne treatment which is great for me since I often get adult acne. To make a homemade acne remedy with lemon balm, steep lemon balm leaves in hot water for 15 minutes. Once they’re done, remove the leaves and mix the steeped liquid with bentonite clay until it makes a paste. Spread the paste onto the pimple and let it sit for around 15 minutes or until it hardens. Rinse well with warm water and you’re done!
Soothe a bug bite –
Have a bug bite that is driving you nuts? Lemon balm can help! To soothe bug bites with lemon balm, just follow the steps above for treating pimples with lemon balm! The procedure is the same and your bug bite won’t bother you anymore! Also, next time you’re outside, make sure you take a homemade bug spray with you. You won’t have to deal with bug bites if you prevent them from happening.
Make a homemade cleaner –
I love making homemade cleaner recipes for my home since they’re so budget friendly and much healthier for us than most others. Lemon balm makes a fantastic homemade all-purpose cleaner that is both antiviral and antibacterial! Simply mix equal parts water and white vinegar in a glass spray bottle with a few drops of lemon balm essential oil and you’re good to clean! Be sure not to use a plastic spray bottle since the essential oil in the cleaner can cause the plastic to degrade.
Make a honey-lemon butter –
Want to really kick up the flavor of your butter? One of my favorite ways to use lemon balm is by making a honey-lemon butter! Just take 1/4 stick of softened butter (not margarine) and mix it with a pinch or two of finely chopped lemon balm leaves. Drizzle raw honey into until it is sweetened to your taste and mix well. It is fantastic on homemade biscuits, homemade dinner rolls and more!
Make Candied Lemon Balm Leaves –
Just like the honey-lemon butter, lemon balm leaves can be candied into a yummy treat that is super easy to make! Just take freshly cut lemon balm leaves and dip them in beaten egg whites (whites only, no yolk). Then, cover the dipped leaves in sugar and dehydrate them in a food dehydrator until they’re fully dry. It’s super easy and super yummy!
Make infused honey –
Honey is a very much loved home remedy for its healing properties and when you make a lemon balm infused honey, you only bump up that healing power! To do so, finely chop lemon balm leaves and add a couple of pinches to your honey. Leave it sit for a week or so for the leaves to infuse the honey with flavor and goodness then eat like you normally would!
Treat cold sores –
Cold sores are a fact of life for some people, but lemon balm can help treat them. To do so, steep lemon balm leaves in boiling water for 15 minutes. Allow the water to cool a bit then dip an organic cotton ball into it and saturate it. Place the saturated cotton ball onto the cold sore and dab the liquid onto the spot. Repeat up to 4 times a day until the cold sore is gone.
Get a good night’s sleep –
Lemon Balm is a member of the mint family which means that like its cousins, it can induce a calming effect. It has been used since the middle ages as a home remedy for insomnia. To use it for sleep, a lemon balm supplement is best. Take it a few minutes before bedtime and you will find yourself snoozing deeply very soon. If you’re really having trouble getting to sleep, combine lemon balm with a low dose of Valerian Root.
Lose Weight –
I have never met a person who wasn’t looking to lose a bit of weight and lemon balm can help! Research shows that lemon balm can actually stop fat cells from forming by preventing blood cells that the fatty tissue needs from forming. There is also some research that shows that lemon balm can actually reduce the protein that forms fat cells.
Lower your blood sugar –
Diabetes is a beast when it is out of control. It killed my father which is why I took the time to learn how to treat diabetes naturally when I was diagnosed with it myself. If you’re having issues with high blood sugar readings, lemon balm may be able to help. There is some research that shows that taking a lemon balm supplement or using lemon balm essential oil for 6 weeks significantly lowered blood sugar. More research needs to be done for it to be conclusive, but speak with your doctor since it is worth a shot!
Detox your liver –
Looking for a liver detox? Lemon Balm can help! It has been shown to activate enzymes that create fatty liver tissue as well as reduce inflammation and white blood cell activity in the liver. Just be careful how much you actually consume. There is some research which shows that lemon balm in super high doses can actually cause liver toxicity.
Make a bath soak –
We’ve already talked about how comforting lemon balm can be and that extends to the bath as well. To take a calming lemon balm bath, brew a cup or two of lemon balm tea. Instead of drinking it, pour it into your bath. Get in and soak your worries and anxieties away!
Use as a beautiful garnish –
Lemon balm leaves, candied or not, make for an impressive display when they’re used as a garnish. If you’re serving dinner and want to help your meal look its best, add a few lemon balm leaves to the plate! Their color and smell will help make your meal!
Make a simple syrup –
Ya’ll? There is nothing greater than a sweet simple syrup to flavor drinks and other yummy food items with and a lemon balm simple syrup falls under that “nothing greater” label. If you’re looking for a good recipe, The Garden of Eating has a fantastic lemon balm simple syrup recipe you can try!
Make a smoothie –
If you, like me, love new smoothie recipes, you’ll love this way to use lemon balm! Add it to your smoothies! Food and Style has a fantastic recipe for an Apricot Smoothie with Almond Milk and Lemon Balm, that I absolutely adore!
Add flavor to a favorite cheap family meal –
Having a few cheap family meals on hand is always a good thing for your budget, but let’s face it; sometimes the same old thing gets old quickly. One of my favorite ways to use lemon balm is to spruce up an old recipe. Roasted chicken is especially good with the addition of lemon balm. Give it a shot! I think you’ll love it!
Help fight the flu –
Lemon Balm is antiviral which means that if you’re looking for natural remedies for the flu, it will work very well! Treat colds or the flu with lemon balm tea until you’re feeling better!
Ease PMS Symptoms –
Not only is lemon balm antiviral, but it is also analgesic which means it is a great natural treatment for pain. If you’re suffering from PMS pains, drinking lemon balm tea can help. Drink a cup anytime you feel cramps or other pains starting to come on. As a side note, if you suffer from severe PMS pains, consider switching to cloth pads. When I did, my PMS issues went away almost entirely.
Soothe a toothache –
If you’ve got a toothache, making a lemon balm mouth rinse can help deal with the pain. Add 4 tablespoons of lemon balm leaves to 1 liter of water and rinse your mouth with it anytime the tooth begins to hurt. This is one of the ways to use lemon balm that I have used quite often.
Calm an upset stomach –
Because lemon balm has an analgesic effect, it is great for soothing an upset stomach. Again, just brew a lemon balm tea and sip it while it is warm. If you would like to boost the effect on your upset stomach, add 1 drop of peppermint essential oil to your cup as well.
Relieve gas symptoms –
If you’re suffering from gas or indigestion, lemon balm can help calm it. Like calming an upset stomach, simply sip warm lemon balm tea. It can have an even better effect if you add a drop of peppermint essential oil and sweeten with a bit of raw honey.
Increase focus and concentration –
Taking a lemon balm supplement, using an essential oil diffuser to diffuse lemon balm essential oil, adding lemon balm leaves to food you consume or drinking a lemon balm smoothie or tea are all great ways to help improve your focus and mental clarity. This is one of my favorite ways to use lemon balm since it is especially useful for my daughter when she needs help concentrating on her schoolwork.
Regulate menstrual periods –
If you’re having trouble keeping your periods regular, lemon balm is often used to regulate them. Research has shown that it can help to stabilize the thyroid and to steady out hormone production which are both vital to having regular menstrual periods.
Relieve stress
Not only is lemon balm great at reducing anxiety, but the calming effect it has also helps to beat back stress. You can use it to reduce stress by taking a lemon balm bath or by sipping lemon balm tea. Since it can help you fall asleep too, make sure that you don’t use it to calm yourself when you need to stay away.
Make a foot soak –
I spent years working on my feet in factories and I will be the first to tell you that it is extremely painful on your feet. Thankfully, lemon balm makes a great foot soak. Because it an analgesic that can help reduce pain and because of its stress reducing properties, it will ease pain in your feet and help remove tension from them as well. To make a lemon balm foot soak, add lemon balm leaves to boiling water. Allow it to seep for 20-25 minutes. Add the steeped water to a foot spa and top off with the amount of water your foot spa needs. Soak your feet and enjoy the comfort! If you feel as if your tea wasn’t strong enough, feel free to add a drop or two of lemon balm essential oil.
Polish furniture –
Looking for an amazing homemade furniture polish? Try lemon balm leaves! There is nothing else needed! Simply rub the leaves on your furniture and the lemon balm oil will polish it better than any commercial polish you’ve ever used!
Make homemade dish soap –
One of my favorite ways to use lemon balm is to make homemade dish soap. I have a pretty severe reaction to most commercial dish soaps so being able to make a homemade one that works well is super important in my home. While my homemade dish soap recipe calls for lemon essential oil, it is super easy to switch it up to lemon balm if I want a bit of a different scent.
Assist in Mono treatment –
Because lemon balm is antiviral, there is some research that shows it can assist with mono or Epstein-Barr. Since both illnesses can be severe, make certain that you speak to your doctor before using lemon balm for mono.
Treat minor cuts and scrapes –
Again, because lemon balm is antiviral and analgesic, it is great for soothing minor cuts and scrapes. The best way to use it is to and add a few drops of lemon balm to the original recipe. It won’t cause your final product to turn out any differently and the addition will help boost the healing power of the ointment.