They say you are what you eat – and that goes double when talking about herbs.
Certain plants have been utilized by medicine men and women for centuries, and for good reason. Mother Nature has created any number of plants that help our bodies be their best, from the inside out.
At Mr. Moxey’s, we’ve harnessed a little of this natural power when concocting our Calm Peppermint formula, utilizing a few key ingredients known for their ability to encourage a little inner-peace.
CBD
Of course, CBD is the star of the show.
Cannabidiol, as it’s scientifically named, may have only recently come on the market, but research on the substance has long shown its propensity for calming our nerves.
One way CBD achieves this feat is by working with our body’s own endocannabinoid system (ECS), which functions to keep our insides at homeostasis, creating a balanced and well-functioning inner-environment.
When our bodies are kept in such tip-top inner shape, our brains tend to respond, sending out more chemicals that create calm and happiness. And further research has shown CBD has the ability to activate extra receptors in our bodies that receive serotonin, the chemical that helps relieve stress.
So CBD can not only help us feel naturally calmer, it can actually increase our body’s capacity to feel relief.
Hawthorn
These tiny little berries grow on trees and shrubs that sprout up all over the world, but Hawthorn has long been a staple in traditional Chinese medicine for its calming properties.
Among its myriad other medicinal traits, Hawthorn has long been linked to fighting anxiety. And the plant has, indeed, been found in recent years to have a very mild sedative effect. This isn’t enough to knock us out by a long run, but has shown to be enough to help decrease anxiety levels in some studies.
Hawthorn is also a vasodilator, which means it can relax blood vessels. This makes the berry good at aiding high blood pressure, which, in turn, can also have a calming effect.
Ashwagandha
Another ancient medicinal herb, Ashwagandha is known as an adaptogen, which is literally a class of herbs that help our bodies manage stressors.
A small plant originating in India and Northern Africa, the herbal substance has long been linked to anxiety relief. On a scientific scale, Ashwagandha goes about this feat in several different ways.
The plant has been found to help lower levels of cortisol, the hormone given off by our brains when we incur stress. Levels can reach chronic proportions in some people, which can have devastating effects on blood sugar levels and body fat storage, but one study showed that Ashwagandha was able to lower cortisol levels by as much as 30 percent in adults with chronic stress.
Still other ventures showed Ashwagandha blocking the stress pathway to the brain, through the regulation of certain chemical signaling. Those studies found using Ashwagandha led up to a 69 percent reduction of anxiety and insomnia in adults with chronic stress.
Lemon Verbena
Another plant that has found many uses in herbal medicine over the centuries, lemon verbena doesn’t come from the bright yellow citrus fruit its name may bring to mind, but rather a plant that grows wild in South America, Northern Africa, Southern Europe, and Iran.
While it’s used in similar ways as its lemony cousin—for brightening up teas and making sweet-smelling essential oils—the substance of the stuff has some powerful medicinal properties, including a propensity for reducing anxiety.
Lemon Verbena has been found to help create hormonal balance in the body, which naturally leads to less internal stress. The trick also leads to an overall calming of the mind and body, which can help even further encourage relaxation.
And just like all these other ingredients, anxiety reduction is only one of the magic tricks Lemon Verbena has up its sleeve. All told, the herbs can offer aid with any number of health benefits, from digestive help to pain relief to a boost of antioxidants.
Taken together, the ingredients in these calming mints make a powerful cocktail for inner-peace, created from the inside out, with a formula that would make ancient medicine men and women proud.
REFERENCES:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/hawthorn-berry-benefits
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-proven-ashwagandha-benefits
https://neoskosmos.com/en/119118/the-perfect-winter-pick-me-up-lemon-verbena-tea