We found this tree with the word “Peru” carved into it last fall in Colorado. Think it’s a sign we should be here now?

I gave you some great recipes on Wednesday that showcased one of my favorite herbs – holy basil or tulsi.

I guess the altitude here in Peru has gotten to me, because now that I look back, I think it would have been better to explain holy basil and the adrenals first – then give you the recipes.

But I didn’t and today, I have a chance to redeem myself.

This is the amazing thing about a blog – you can always write more and clarify what you said without it being printed in 10,000 books.

So here we go, Holy Basil and Adrenals 201 (201, not 101, because you guys are an advanced bunch)…

What is Holy Basil?

Just like Ashwagandha, holy basil is an Ayurvedic herb. It’s also an adaptogen.

Adaptogens, as you may know, are tonic herbs that work with the body and the endocrine / hormone system to bring you to balance.

Holy basil is in the mint family and it’s latin name is Ocimum sanctum.

I’ve heard that nearly every household who practices Ayervedic healing has holy basil growing in their gardens – just like an Italian would grow basil and oregano.

(If you have seen this to be true in your travels, please let me know this is true and confirm it in the comments!)

Holy basil has a strong tea taste, which is why I like to use it in my teas and drinks.

Just like any herb, if you want the stuff that works and is most potent you have to search for it. You can buy holy basil tea or capsules at the health food store, but some just don’t make the cut.

We’re found some very high quality holy basil that is cold extracted, just like the ashwagandha, that seems to be the most potent and therapeutic.

I urge you to do your own research, but if you want a shortcut trust us on this one.

You can check this out here: buy high quality holy basil.

Holy Basil Can Cool You Like a Cucumber

Well, kind of.

I think the holy basil is more effective. LOL!

Holy basil, because of its adaptogenic properties, works to bring the body back to a proper balance – but what I’ve found is that it works extremely well with people who are experiencing stress and poor adrenal function.

Anyone who takes stimulants, stresses out, or is a high anxiety type, runs the risk of burning out the adrenals to the point where they don’t produce enough pre-hormones to help regulate the body.

For those of you who don’t know, the adrenals sit on top of your kidneys and are small glands that secrete hormones like cortisol (fight or flight) and pregnenolone (a pre-hormone that assists in the formation of others). The adrenals of course produce other hormones as well, but I want to focus on these two.

Most of you probably know that when you stress out, your body releases excess cortisol into your system. This is remnant from the times when we were chased by hippos and lions (or other people).

These days the computer we’re sitting at or the people we encounter – for the most part – aren’t trying to eat us nor are they threatening enough to cause us to run for cover.

But even though we’ve not running from anything, we still register stress from external happenings like a deadline, a relationship, traffic or simply watching TV.

We also produce excess cortisol when we eat or drink stimulants like coffee, caffeinated tea, sugar, or chocolate.

This excess cortisol in the system interferes with the production and efficacy of other hormones in the body.

So, to bring this back to home, if you’re stressing out you’re creating a cortisol stew in your body that causes hormone imbalance.

If you’re body is producing too much cortisol on a regular basis, it’s also putting a stress on the adrenal glands to produce the other hormones it needs to manufacture. Cortisol production also uses raw materials that are needed to produce other hormones, so you have more production of only one “product” and less raw materials to produce everything. It’s a losing battle.

You wouldn’t want your heart to overwork on a regular basis. Science has shown that people with a lower resting heart rate (not too low!) live longer.

Your adrenals are similar. The less cortisol your adrenals have to pump out, the more likely you are to be slim, healthy and well balanced – nutritionally and emotionally.

Like I said before, the adrenals also produce pregnenolone which is a precursor to hormones like progesterone, estrogen, DHEA and testosterone.

If you adrenals are busy pumping out cortisol, the production of pregnenolone takes a back seat.

Why?

Because your “survival” is more important than your sex drive or if you feel good or not.

This is why people who have poor adrenal function tend to be irritable, have low sex drive, can’t get out bed and suffer from mild to severe depression.

So to wrap up this hack physiology lesson, if you’re stressing out, it’s serious and you need to eliminate the source or at least learn how to manage it.

One way you can do this is with herbs that calm you down – like holy basil, Siberian ginseng, rhodiola and more.

In fact, Dr. Williams likes some of these other herbs for the adrenals more than holy basil, but none of those herbs were as effective for me (I tried them all!)

Holy basil, in my experience was what cooled my body down the best when I was experiencing some very intense adrenal burnout.

With adaptogens, I’ve learned, you have to try a few and see which ones work best with your body.

(It’s important to note here that holy basil – or any other herb – is only part of the solution that includes minerals, B vitamins, rest and possibly hormone supplementation – if things are really bad.)

I Burned Out My Adrenals on a Healthy Diet, So Can You…

My adrenal story, while seemingly complicated when I was in the thick of it, is actually pretty straightforward.

Some of my experiments, namely with a stimulant called cacao, caused my adrenals to overwork and burn out.

I ended up urinating frequently.

I was unable to get out of bed.

I became slightly depressed.

I lost sex drive.

I was ridiculously irritable.

My hands and feet would be excessively cold during the day.

My muscles would cramp when I even thought about exercise.

I didn’t know it at the time, but all these symptoms are classic adrenal stress or burnout symptoms.

It got pretty bad for a while, until I talked to Dr. Williams. He looked at all the symptoms and suggested I test my hormone levels – namely my pregnenolone.

When I got the tests back, he showed me that my symptoms matched the results.

My pregeneolone levels were around 6. That’s the level of an 85 year old, he told me.

The normal ranges are over 150.

I was shocked at the results, but it motivated me to take even more action than I already was doing.

Dr. Williams suggested pregeneolone as a supplement for a short period of time, plus some minerals, herbs and most of all rest. (Which of course was the hardest thing for me!)

After about 4-5 months, I tested my pregnenolone again and it was around 76.

The last time I went to test, which was about 6 months ago (and 18 months from the test before), the lab tested me for pregesterone by accident, not pregeneolone, so I have no idea what my levels are now until I test again! LOL!

I’m sure the levels are back close to normal if not perfect, because all the symptoms that I had are now gone.

It was not an easy recovery, but it was a recovery, which I’m happy to share with you now. Feeling the way I felt before is no way to go through life – and to think it was all due to the fact that I was trying to be even more healthy than I already was.

Important Adrenal Health Lessons Learned:

- Don’t take stimulants.
- Relax more.
- Find some good herbs that can relax you (legal ones!)
- Restore mineral balance.
- Make sure your nutrient levels are correct.
- Go to a health practitioner that can help you identify your issue easily.

So to wrap this up, I want you to think a little bit about those little guys resting on top your kidneys and honestly assess if your lifestyle may be wearing them down.

It was for me!

I’m going to guess that what you’re doing is causing more stress than your body wants – and if I’m right, now is the time to give them a little love. (Maybe even a little holy basil love!)

Extras…

I know you probably want to know more, just like I do, so I’ve dug up some facts from my archive to share with you about holy basil (Source: Health Book Summaries):

1. Holy basil also protects against radiation-induced damage in animals that are receiving radiation therapy. A formula of holy basil and vasa leaves (Adbatoda vasica) is used for animals with coughs and colds.

- David Winston, RH (AHG), and Steven Maimes, Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief

2. Preliminary studies indicate that holy basil might enhance CYP-450 activity, thus speeding up the elimination of some medications. There have been many animal studies indicating that holy basil has anti-stress and immunomodulating activity. However, there have not been any human studies confirming this.

- David Winston, RH (AHG), and Steven Maimes, Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief

3. The whole holy basil plant is used by farmers for animals with inflammation of the tongue, ulcers, pneumonia, constipation, liver flukes, opacity of the cornea and sore eyes (the fresh juice is squeezed into the animal’s eye), rapid heartbeat, and sprains. The leaves are used for cows and sheep with coughs, colds, udder infections, and for wound healing.

- David Winston, RH (AHG), and Steven Maimes, Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief

4. A decoction made from the [holy basil] root is used to lower malarial fevers, and a poultice made from the fresh roots and leaves is applied to bites and stings from wasps, bees, mosquitoes, ants, and other insects as well as leeches.

- David Winston, RH (AHG), and Steven Maimes, Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief

5. Holy basil affects the body’s “energy field” according to ayurvedic physician and author Dr. Vasant Lad. Ayurvedic tradition says that holy basil performs the indispensable spiritual function of balancing and toning the energetic chakra system. It is considered the maha guna (great quality) that balances sattva (pure quality), and it delivers nutrients to the mind necessary for the experience of enlightenment. Its quality is pure sattva. Holy basil opens the heart and the mind, bestowing the energy of love and devotion (bhakti). Sacred to Vishnu and Krishna, it strengthens faith, compassion and clarity.

- David Winston, RH (AHG), and Steven Maimes, Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief

6. Holy basil [is] widely cultivated for daily use. There are at least three types of holy basil. The green-leafed variety sri or rama tulsi is the most common. The second type, Krishna tulsi, bears dark-green to purple leaves; this variety has a stronger taste and smell. The third type, vana tulsi, is a green-leafed forest variety that often grows wild.

- David Winston, RH(AHG), and Steven Maimes, Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief

7. Tulsi is the name for Sacred or Holy basil in India and translates to “incomparable one.” Native to India, Tulsi has been revered for over 5,000 years, and as Yash Rai in his book Tulsi says, “The Hindu scriptures enjoin us to look upon Tulsi not as a mere plant, but as the divine representative of the God Vishnu or of Lord Krishna.” In other texts Tulsi is described as a consort of Krishna, leading to the name “Mother of the Universe.” Because of the divine nature of Sacred basil, the plant itself is worshipped both in the morning and at night by leaving a lamp burning at its base.

- Pam Montgomery, Plant Spirit Healing: A Guide to Working with Plant Consciousness

8. Though related to common basil, holy basil (Ocimum sanctum) is a different species. Animal experiments have found that its leaves can reduce fasting and post meal glucose levels. An Indian study of 17 diabetics found that 1 gram of holy basil leaf reduced fasting glucose levels by 20.8 percent. In addition, cholesterol levels went down by 11 percent and triglyceride by 16 percent. If you have needed an excuse to use less salt and pepper and to increase your use of more flavorful culinary herbs and spices, consider their glucose-lowering properties.

- Jack Challem, Burton Berkson, Melissa Diane Smith, Syndrome X: The Complete Nutritional Program to Prevent and Reverse Insulin Resistance

9. Ocimum sanctum, otherwise known as holy basil, contains phytonutrients that have “significant COX-2 inhibitory effect.” The phytonutrient “ursolic acid” is specifically recognized for its COX-2 inhibitory effects. In research conducted at the Dartmouth Medical School, a study confirmed that derivatives of oleanolic acid and ursolic acid possessed potential anti-inflammatory and cancer-preventing activity related to their inhibition of COX-2.

- Thomas M. Newmark and Paul Schulick, BEYOND ASPIRIN Nature’s Answer To Arthritis, Cancer & Alzheimer’s Disease

10. Zyflamend’s pharmacopoeia of herbs includes the following: Holy basil (Ocimum sanctum) has demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory effects in animal studies. It inhibits the formation of pro-inflammatory eicosanoids made from arachidonic acid by the action of COX and LO enzymes. It contains ursolic acid, a known inhibitor of COX-2, and many other antioxidant, anti-inflammatory substances, including eugenol, rosmarinic acid and apigenin.

- Freedom Press, Natural Cancer Cures: The Definitive Guide to Using Dietary Supplements to Fight and Prevent Cancer.

11. There have been contradictory animal studies showing that holy basil might be toxic to embryos. Until conclusive information exists, avoid using it during pregnancy. Holy basil also is reported to have an anti-fertility effect and should be avoided if a woman is trying to get pregnant.

- David Winston, RH (AHG), and Steven Maimes, Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief

I want to know your thoughts: Do you stress out more than you’d like? What are you going to do about it?

**
Need Come Calm in Your Life?

Maybe you’re burning out your adrenals and you don’t even know it….

To find out if you are, read this:

http://www.renegadehealth.com/adrenals/

Live Awesome!
Kev

Be Sociable, Share!

•