How The “Queen of Herbs” Can Help You Deal With Stress and Improve Overall Health
Stress is a multifaceted topic. Understanding stress requires you to consider several aspects of your being, including emotions, physical aspects, environmental overload, nutritional/dietary deficiencies, and mental components, among many other things.
Gaining this kind of wholistic awareness of stress can be tough, and finding ways to help yourself feel rejuvenated, regulated, and support overall, optimum wellness can be even more difficult, depending on the nature of the stress.
Having the ability to adapt to stress is sometimes easier with a little extra support, which can often be provided by introducing certain foods to your diet.
One of these foods is called tulsi – otherwise known as holy basil. This amazing herb can promote wholistic wellness by helping our body adjust to the stresses of daily life.
Holy basil is an adaptogenic herb – meaning it will help you come back into a state of balance or homeostasis by supporting your vital energy, or qi. It meets the requirements of being an adaptogenic supportive herb because it too has had to learn to adapt and thrive in its surroundings just like we do.
This beautiful “queen of herbs” can help you adapt to the stress in your life by:
- Protecting organs against chemical stressors and pollutants
- Alleviating physical stress from exertion, excessive noise, or exposure to cold
- metabolic balancer of blood glucose, blood pressure, and lipid levels
- Providing positive psychological effects on memory and cognitive function
Tulsi is a fragrant plant of the basil family, and it’s native to India. It is used as part of Ayurveda’s wholistic approach to health. In Hinduism, it is recognized as sacred, and some Greek Orthodox churches use tulsi to create their holy water.
This herb may promote and/or support:
- Relaxation
- Wellbeing
- The immune system
- The respiratory system
- The digestive system
- Heart health
- Oral health
In addition, holy basil can also help with:
- Regulation of blood sugars
- Breaking up catarrh (mucous)
- Itchy skin
- Fatigue
- Mood
By supporting all the aspects listed above, tulsi/holy basil can greatly improve your body’s stress response and help you to achieve wholistic wellness!
You can try growing this beautiful adaptogen in your garden and harvest these beautiful, tender leaves once the plant is around six inches tall or about four months old.
Once you’ve harvested it, you can use it for this delicious tea recipe:
- Add 1 tsp of tulsi to 1 cup boiling water
- Steep for 15 min
- Add honey or stevia to sweeten, if desired
Try starting with small amounts and then increase the amount over time. But make sure to avoid holy basil if you’re lactating, pregnant, or trying to conceive.
If you’d like to learn more about this herb, you can read the study referenced below. Also, if you want to order holy basil/tulsi in supplement form so you can use it on your journey towards optimum wellness, click here to check out my dispensary.
And if you’re curious to know more about how herbs can influence your energy and support the physical, nutritional, and emotional aspects of your health, click here to learn more about “Western Herbs For Eastern Meridians”, which is just one of the many workshops I offer.
References
Cohen M. M. (2014). Tulsi – Ocimum sanctum: A herb for all reasons. Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicine, 5(4). 251–259. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4296439/
CONDITIONS OF USE AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION: This information is meant to supplement, not replace advice from your doctor or healthcare provider and is not meant to cover all possible uses, precautions, interactions or adverse effects. This information may not fit your specific health circumstances. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare provider because of something you have read. You should always speak with your doctor or healthcare professional before you start, stop, or change any prescribed part of your healthcare plan or treatment and to determine what course of therapy is right for you.
