Stress Less! Address the Root Cause with this Holy Solution

Stress Less Address the Root Cause with this Holy Solution

“It is believed that as much as 80% of all disease and illness is initiated and aggravated by stress.”
– The National Safety Council

Wow! A statement like this gives good reason for us all to ponder the role stress plays in our lives—and more importantly, what we can do to neutralize it and minimize its ill effects on our bodies… and brains.

A first step is to understand the physiological response our bodies have to stress. We’ve all heard of the “fight or flight” response. It’s our built-in system for dealing with threats, real or perceived. For instance, let’s say you encounter a danger—you are on a hiking trail and you see a rattlesnake crossing your path. Immediately, your hypothalamus at the base of your brain sends an alert signal out to your body. A combination of signals triggers your adrenal glands to release a surge of hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol.

The adrenaline gets your heart rate and blood pressure up and gives you a rush of energy to escape the danger. In a flash, you step back to a safe distance. Cortisol, your body’s primary stress hormone, releases glucose into your bloodstream, enhances your brain’s use of glucose and signals substances to be on the ready for tissue repair. It also puts your body in survival mode, reducing nonessential functions—altering immune responses and suppressing the digestive and reproductive systems and growth processes.

Mentally, your body’s natural alarm response communicates with the area of your mind that manages mood, motivation, and fear.

Overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones can disrupt almost all your body’s processes and lead to:

1. Anxiety
2. Depression
3. Digestive Problems
4. Heart Disease
5. Sleep Problems
6. Weight Gain
7. Memory and concentration impairment

No wonder so many of us lie awake at night, report fatigue, headaches, ongoing irritability and unexplained mood swings because of feeling stressed out. Studies are now showing that overall stress levels have increased, with greater percentages of adults reporting extreme levels of stress. Adults report that stress has a negative impact on their mental and physical health.

Address the Stress

While you may know about managing stress through lifestyle choices—exercise, diet, meditation, pursuit of hobbies, etc., you may not be addressing the underlying physiologic issue. If you suffer from everyday stress, you can supplement with herbs and nutrients that support your body’s natural return to calm. And that can make a huge difference.

A Holy Solution

If you’ve got stress, get holy…basil that is. (It’s not the basil you find in your favorite pasta dish.) Holy basil is an adaptogenic herb native to the Indian Subcontinent with a fitting name, as it is highly revered in the Hindu religion. Widely used in Ayurvedic medicine, clinical research suggests that it may help support the body’s natural response to stress:

• A six-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled human study examined subjects with stress symptoms. Those who received a holy basil extract formula showed a 39% greater improvement in stress symptoms than those who received placebo.
• Additional research showed that after a period of introduced stress and elevated stress hormones, the introduction of holy basil extract supplementation was correlated with a return to normal corticosterone and other stress hormone levels in the test subjects.

It appears that holy basil may play a role in helping your body to turn off the “stress alarm.”
When you address the stress response in your body, you’ll also be supporting the health of your brain, too.

The Amen Clinics biomedical evaluation is part of The Amen Method “Four Circles Approach” to mental and physical health. We treat each patient as an individual, and take a full personal history before beginning SPECT imaging or recommending any treatment program. Call us today at 1-888-288-9834 or schedule an appointment online.

14 Comments »

  1. Where do I by HOLY BASIL??

    Comment by Mary shelley — January 15, 2018 @ 5:45 AM

  2. How much should per day? 500mg or more?

    Thank you

    Comment by Robin Fajardo — January 15, 2018 @ 6:47 AM

  3. Try amazon. Com or health food store.

    Comment by Marian Earnest — January 15, 2018 @ 9:28 AM

  4. I drink holy basil tea. Fresh is fabulous but store bought (tulsi) is good. I grate a little ginger and turmeric in with it most days.
    Believe me growing it is so worth it!

    Comment by Nancy — January 15, 2018 @ 9:34 AM

  5. Where can I find a plant? Or seeds to get started growing Holy basil? Thanks!!

    Comment by Maureen Moulden — January 15, 2018 @ 12:14 PM

  6. I drink Tulsi tea. That is holy basil tea. Also take ashwaganda, another adaptogen from India, daily. I think they both help. I am a brain warrior from Dr. Amen’s clinic in Walnut Creek, CA.

    Comment by Linda Goldstein — January 16, 2018 @ 10:24 AM

  7. Is Holy Basil safe for a 15 year old? If yes, what is the preferred dose?
    Thank you.

    Comment by R A — January 26, 2018 @ 7:51 AM

  8. You can get if from most Health Food Stores, like Whole Foods or Sprouts

    Comment by Leonard — January 31, 2018 @ 7:18 PM

  9. I used to drink Tulsi Tea. Have you found it it improves sleep compulsive eating and mood? I am a Night Nurse, and sometimes I just don’t get enough sleep. I am approaching 60, and I’ve noticed that I don’t feel as active anymore and I eat instead. I have put on a lot of weight, and I just need to lose it. I was wondering if going back to Tulsi Tea would help.

    I think part of it might be the weather. I live in Northern California, and it’s been cold. As the sun comes out and it gets warmer I feel more desire to get out and do things.

    Comment by Bahra Anne Fisher — February 13, 2018 @ 9:58 AM

  10. Maureen- Basil isn’t easy to grow from seed. I often find fresh basil plants at my local Whole Foods but as it warms up you will find basil plants in every garden shop. Just clips a few leaves at a time, leaving the plant to keep growing.

    Comment by Bonnie Gail — March 2, 2018 @ 5:46 AM

  11. Holy Basil (tulsi) is not the same plant that local stores sell. Stores sell Italian or Thai Basil. I started with some tulsi seeds collected from a friend’s garden but you can purchase seed online. I plant the seeds directly in the garden and water regularly. I cut the top 1/3- 1/2 from most of the plants throughout the summer. They continue to grow back and I continue to harvest the tops until a frost kills them. I let a few plants grow unharvested so they produce seeds. After the frost I collect the seeds for the next year. I store the seed in an envelop or jar. I dry the harvested leaves in a dehydrator for tea in the winter. In the summer you can make tea from fresh.

    Comment by CeeCee — November 5, 2018 @ 6:41 AM

  12. Robin, Below is the summary of the study mentioned in the article above. To find the full study paper click on the words “study examined” in the article above. If I am reading it correctly the participants took 1200mg of actives per day for 6 weeks.

    A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of OciBest, an extract of Ocimum tenuiflorum Linn (generally known as Tulsi or Holy Basil). in symptomatic control of general stress. The participants received either placebo (n = 79) or OciBest (n = 71; 1200 mg of actives per day) for six weeks. The severity of stress-related symptoms was self-evaluated by patients at weeks 0, 2, 4 and 6 of the trial period using a symptom rating scale. After six weeks of intervention, scores of symptoms such as forgetfulness, sexual problems of recent origin, frequent feeling of exhaustion, and frequent sleep problems of recent origin decreased significantly (P ≤ 0.05) in OciBest group as compared with placebo group. Also, the total symptom scores of OciBest group revealed significant reduction (P ≤ 0.05) as compared to placebo group. The overall improvement in OciBest group was found to be 1.6 times or 39% more in the control of general stress symptoms with respect to placebo. No adverse events were reported during the study. The findings revealed that OciBest was found to be effective and well tolerated by all the patients over the six weeks of study period.

    Comment by CeeCee — November 5, 2018 @ 6:49 AM

  13. A great source is Holy Basil Essential Oil. It can be ingested or applied directly to your skin. The best EO’s we have available are at “Wisdom Of The Earth”. You can go on their website. These Essential Oils are the highest quality you can buy. The owner, Barry, is a very intuitive guy with wonderful integrity. They are not mixed with carrier oils nor are they ever blended.

    Comment by Dreamweaver — November 5, 2018 @ 6:55 AM

  14. Hi Linda,

    I’ve been researching Dr. Amen’s clinic and have wanted to speak to somebody who has gone there. Both my husband and I have memory problems, etc and have been interested in Dr, Amen. Can you tell me about your experience with the clinic? I would so appreciate hearing from somebody who has actually gone.

    regards, Harriet

    Comment by Harriet — November 6, 2018 @ 8:01 AM

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