I don’t know about you, but I feel like we have more stress nowadays than we did 20 years ago. The stress may be mental, emotional, behavioral or physical, but no matter the source it can make you feel like you can’t cope.
Stress can make you feel beaten up, burned out, tense, irritated, overwhelmed, and foggy or just plain mad. To make matters worse, you probably don’t sleep well to boot.
If I’ve just described you, then it’s safe to say you’re in the market for something safe to help relieve the stress before it makes you sick.
Tulsi, commonly known as holy basil could be JUST what you need, but don’t t take my word for it, let’s look at some science.
Holy basil has traditionally been used as a medicinal plant
Holy basil is a treasured sacred medicinal plant of India. It’s known to ease pain, improve breathing (like for asthma), and reduce inflammation. It is a strong antioxidant too.
Researchers studied holy basil’s effect on stress reduction in a recent randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 158 highly stressed individuals. Participants had the classic symptoms like frequent headaches, exhaustion, heart palpitations, gastrointestinal problems, irritability, and a habit of avoiding people; they also reported insomnia, forgetfulness and low sex drive.
Half the group received 1,200 mg holy basil (tulsi) extract, while the rest of them received an inactive dud pill (placebo). After 6 weeks, and no other variables, it became clear that the tulsi group had improvements in their symptoms.
Holy basil improved symptoms up to 90%!
In fact, depending on the particular issue, participants enjoyed 33 to 90 percent improvements as compared to the placebo group.
Adaptogenic herbs give your body an adrenal vacation. Holy basil (tulsi) in particular allows you to rest in peace (and I mean that literally, not as in death)! The internal homeostasis and ensuing “peace” occurs because adaptogenic herbs interact at the level of your HPA axis which stands for hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
The HPA is like Highway 66 in your body, it’s a freeway that connects your adrenal glands to your pituitary, thyroid immune system and more. The HPA freeway signals your body so you can deal with a grizzly bear chasing you! Instead of thinking holy crap, think holy basil (but still run like hell!)
Tulsi supports your neurotransmitters
What about your brain? Research suggests that tulsi helps maintain catecholamines like epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Serotonin levels may improve too. All of these neurotransmitters are primary targets by prescription antidepressants! So if you have depression, a cup of tulsi tea (or supplementation) makes good sense.
Instead of coffee all day, try tea. Holy basil (tulsi) can work within minutes on those days when you’ve tried yoga, meditation and praying and you still want to smack someone. Try it, you’ll see what I mean.
In addition to writing a syndicated column on health which reaches 20 million people each week, Suzy is the author of a number of books on natural health.
You may have seen Suzy on The Dr. OZ Show (6 different appearances), The View, The Doctors, Good Morning America Health and hundreds of morning shows. Quotes from Suzy, as well as her articles, have also appeared in major publications including Woman’s Day, Reader’s Digest, OK Magazine!, First for Women, Fitness, Natural Health and Better Homes & Garden and dozens more.
Read more from Suzy at suzyCohen.com
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