By the year 2050, nearly 260 million Americans are predicted to be obese or overweight. (1) It's a shocking statistic, so it's no surprise that people are looking for new and inventive ways to help them lose weight. Could a simple herb called lemon balm be the answer? Could lemon balm tea or lemon balm supplements help you to lose weight?
Let's investigate the science and find out....
What is Lemon Balm?
If you haven't heard of lemon balm, let me give you a quick ABC guide to this herb. It comes from the mint family of herbs and is known for its calming qualities.
Official name Melissa officinalis, it is native to western Asia and the eastern Mediterranean. It has long been used in herbal medicine in Europe and the Middle East for a range of potential health benefits, including to promote sleep (2), as natural stress relief, for the digestive system, and even for cold sores. (3) It has also been used to alleviate the symptoms of depression, anxiety, heart palpitations and more. (4)
As you can see that it's not some short-lived miracle cure. It has a long history. Products containing lemon balm have been on sale in the EU, for example, for more than 30 years, while its use in herbal medicine dates back to the Middle Ages.
Lemon balm may sound like a spa day in a jar, but it’s an old pro with centuries of experience. No crazy detox concoctions involved!
How to Take Lemon Balm Extract?
There are various ways to take lemon balm - you can make your own lemon balm tea by infusing broken herbs in boiling water, or you can buy ready-made lemon balm tea bags. Some say the lemon balm drink tastes faintly of lemon mixed with mint.
Alternatively, you can use it as a dried powder, as a tincture, as a liquid extract, a lemon balm elixir, or dried herb extract. Lemon balm is also included in dietary supplements.
Understanding the Benefits of Lemon Balm
Before we talk specifics and examine whether lemon balm may be useful for your weight loss journey, it's worth considering why lemon balm is potentially beneficial for so many things.
Several studies have concluded that the humble herb is rich in antioxidants, (5) which help to fight oxidative stress - an imbalance in the body between antioxidants and free radicals that can result in damage to cells and tissues.
Oxidative stress has been linked to an increased risk of numerous conditions, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's Disease and more. (6)
Lemon balm may also help to reduce stress and anxiety by increasing the levels of GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid), a neurotransmitter in the brain that helps to promote calm. GABA helps to inhibit nerve cell hyperactivity that is typically associated with stress and anxiety. (7)
Can Lemon Balm Help You Lose Weight?
Now we come onto the big question: can lemon balm in any of its formats help you with weight management? The first thing I should point out is that most trials examining lemon balm and weight loss have been conducted on animals and haven't yet been replicated on humans.
But let's see what we know so far...
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Lemon balm and obesity: One study testing lemon balm on obese mice (ovaries removed) saw a decrease in adipose tissue mass (fat), visceral obesity (internal fat) and body weight after 15 weeks. They also showed signs of reduced inflammation, serum lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood) and liver injury markers. The authors suggested that the lemon balm extract may help obese post-menopausal women. (8)
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Another suggested lemon balm may help to reduce blood glucose levels/ blood sugar levels and reduce weight gain in obese rats with diabetes. (9)
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A more recent meta-study analyzing lemon balm on cholesterol concluded that it has the power to reduce LDL cholesterol (the 'bad' cholesterol) as well as triglyceride and total cholesterol levels. (10) High levels of these can increase your risk of heart disease. High triglyceride levels can also increase your chances of developing insulin resistance, where your appetite may increase, the body stores more fat and hormones are disrupted, making it harder to lose weight. (11)
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Controlling appetite: This is a tricky one and is related to lemon balm's ability to boost the neurotransmitter GABA, as mentioned above. In some cases, GABA can help to reduce appetite and body weight. That's proven by science. Here's where it gets tricky - depending on the region of the brain involved, GABA can either reduce appetite OR improve appetite and promote feeding! Talk about contradictory. Both outcomes have been seen in clinical trials. (12)
Animal trials look promising, but until they are replicated and results duplicated in humans, it's impossible to definitively swear that lemon balm can directly help with weight loss. We would welcome further studies.
However, just because we can't yet prove lemon balm's direct impact on weight loss in adults doesn't mean it doesn't have the potential to help you lose weight indirectly... and these are proven! Let's take a look...
The Indirect Role of Lemon Balm on Weight Loss
Here's how this powerhouse herb from the mint family can potentially help in your daily diet and routine by...
Improving Sleep Quality
Poor sleep directly impacts appetite - lose sleep and you're more likely to crave high-carb snacks, eat bigger portions and snack late at night. Likewise, just four days of poor sleep impacts the body's ability to process insulin, with the associated weight issues that come along with that. (13)
The good news is that lemon balm is a great boon for your sleep. The sleep benefits of lemon balm have been studied well, with multiple trials demonstrating that it may increase sleep duration, enhance sleep quality, speed up sleep onset and potentially reduce sleep disturbances. (14, 15, 16).
So, prioritize those Zzzs — they could be your secret weapon for shedding those extra pounds.
Helping You to De-Stress
Stress is a particular trigger for emotional eating. Prolonged elevated levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, can also lead to overeating, fat storage and weight gain. (17) As we've already discussed, one of the primary benefits of lemon balm is to boost your GABA which helps to calm the nervous system and reduce anxiety and stress. Studies of lemon balm show significant improvements for stress and anxiety. Potentially helping you to avoid those triggers and stay on track. (18, 19, 20)
Fighting Inflammation
Lemon balm has demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory benefits, which could help you to control your weight. (21) Chronic inflammation, for example, slows down the metabolism, while obesity is linked to inflammation of body fat or adipose tissue. (22, 23)
Any herb that can offer all of these benefits, plus can potentially lower cholesterol and help glucose metabolism, is promising for overall health and a healthy weight. But there's no magic bullet for immediate weight loss - you'll still need to put in the work.
We'd also like to know more about lemon balm's impact on insulin sensitivity, but we agree that it's an exciting ingredient to keep an eye on.
And the benefits don't stop there...
Other Health Benefits of Lemon Balm
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May offer support for depressive symptoms. A 2021 meta-analysis discovered taking lemon balm helped to moderately reduce feelings of anxiety and depression. (24) As always, if your condition is severe or ongoing, please seek medical help.
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May help promote digestion: Many herbal over-the-counter products for digestive issues contain lemon balm. That's because it has been shown to relieve bloating, mild stomach troubles and calm spasms in your GI tract. (25) Obviously, if you have any ongoing issues, please see your health professional.
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May be useful for PMS symptoms and improve menstrual cramps. Several studies from Iran have discovered that PMS symptoms are greater reduced with lemon balm than with a placebo. Unfortunately, the trials are of low quality with a small participant group of young women, so further broader research into women's health and PMS is advised. (26)
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May help to combat cold sores: Studies show that a cream containing dried extract of lemon balm is moderately effective at reducing the symptoms of cold sores. Compared to a placebo, studies show it helps to reduce pain and boost healing. However, little research has been done on comparing it to prescription medications or antivirals. (27)
Potential Risks and Side Effects
The good news is that lemon balm has been taken for years - as lemon balm tea, using lemon balm leaves, and in supplements - with no reports of serious negative effects. Of course, a consequence of its calming effect is that it may reduce alertness, so be careful not to take if driving or avoid if taking other sedatives.
It may have unwanted interactions with thyroid medication, SSRIs, barbiturates, and HIV drugs. Anyone with thyroid issues, whether overactive thyroid or underactive thyroid, or glaucoma, should be careful as it can potentially influence thyroid hormone levels and intraocular pressure.
It's not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women as it's still under researched. May cause acid reflux on some people.
Please consult with a healthcare professional before taking if you have any health conditions or any of this applies to you.
Effective Ways to Incorporate Lemon Balm into Your Diet
Adding the herb to your diet is as easy as drinking lemon balm tea, made by adding lemon balm leaves to hot water and steeping them. If you don't want to drink lemon balm tea, you can also add it to soups, salads, and stir-fries instead, add lemon balm extract, or use the calming herb in herbal treatments. Be sure to use moderate amounts. Lemon balm supplements are also popular.
If taking lemon balm supplements, they are considered safe at up to 500mg a day for up to six months. (28)
Best Lemon Balm Supplement
Performance Lab Sleep offers a generous 200mg of lemon balm in a top-quality sleep stack that focuses on improving your sleep quality, and therefore your overall wellbeing.
It is combined with Montmorency tart cherry to provide a low dose of natural melatonin and tryptophan to help you increase your levels of the sleep hormone further. The final ingredient, magnesium, helps to relax nerves and muscles.
Good sleep is crucial to weight control and Performance Lab Sleep could play a useful role in your weight loss journey.
Final Thoughts
Lemon balm has been proven to potentially influence everything from your mental health to heart health, to sleep and overall wellbeing. It's a powerhouse ingredient that outshines many other herbs.
However, it lacks any direct research on its role on weight loss in humans, which is something we hope will change in the near future.
In the meantime, it may be something you want to take for its indirect weight loss benefits, alongside a comprehensive weight loss plan that includes regular exercise, a healthy diet and food intake, and stress management techniques.
