Have you heard of tulsi? Tulsi is also known as holy basil, which is a really nice adaptogenic herb. Adaptogens balance the body and promote healthy stress response as needed. For example, if cortisol (your main stress hormone) is too high, adaptogens will lower it. If too low, adaptogens will raise it. Herbs have powerful healing properties!
Tea is a wonderful and soothing way to get the healing benefits of tulsi. It has a slightly sweet, exotic and herbaceous aroma. You can drink it hot, or in the summer, enjoy this wonderful iced tulsi tea to enhance mood support and relaxation.
You can take tulsi as a tincture, or drink two strongly brewed cups of tulsi tea daily for adrenal hormone support.
Here are some of the benefits tulsi offers:
- improves hormone balance
- increases energy
- improves sleep
- supports immune health
- high antioxidant levels combat free radical damage for youthful vitality!
- helps your body manage stress
In San Francisco, summer is basically winter (not kidding– I wear my down jacket at night when it’s cold and the fog is rolling in), so I really enjoy hot teas, and it’s not difficult to entice myself to get my 2 cups of tulsi in every day. If it’s hot where you are during this summer, enjoy this iced Tulsi tea cooler!
(photo courtesy of masalaherb.com)
3-4 bags of Tulsi tea, depending on how strong you like. I prefer the lemon-ginger, but the rose tulsi is lovely too.
1 gallon filtered water
local raw honey or liquid stevia, to taste (10 drops or so).
Boil the water and add to a nice pitcher. Steep 4 bags of tulsi in the pitcher for 10 minutes or more. Remove bags and add sweetener to taste. Refrigerate. Serve over ice with mint sprigs. Yum!
Mary Vance is a Certified Nutrition Consultant and author specializing in digestive health. She combines a science-based approach with natural therapies to rebalance the body. In addition to her 1:1 coaching, she offers courses to help you heal your gut and improve your health. Mary lives in San Francisco and Lake Tahoe in Northern California. Read more about her coaching practice here and her background here.
Thanks for the info. I just discovered this tea and an East Indian coworker has confirmed it is the real deal. He says it is definitely not an everyday drink. Regardless I will try using this as a partial coffee substitute and see how it goes.