Gracious, Gota Kola

Ayurveda, The Ancient Indian Medicine

If you were to begin even a cursory exploration into the ancient Indian medicine known as Ayurveda (¹), one of the first things you will learn (and way before Hippocrates had any say in the matter) is how all disease begins in the gut. In Ayurveda, this distortion of gut health is due to “ama” (²): toxic substances that accumulate due to poor nutrition and digestion, poor sleep, poor elimination, the by-products of stress, and a contaminated environment. This leads to the upsetting of the natural balance in each individual, and can occur in different rations and to different degrees

One of the common ways to support the body to find equilibrium is through particular herbs an substances that encourage a natural adaptive and rejuvenative response. Such things are called an adaptogen or even rasayana. Rasayanas (³)revitalize the body, preserves youthfulness and promotes natural longevity. Brahmi, Centella asiatica, Gota Kola is both.

An aquatic plant whose leaves are compare to the shape of our cerebellum too, a fascinating hint that brahmi-gota kola holds a special endearment for the brain. In traditional use and scientific trials, Brahmi is able to re-vitalize the entire brain and nervous system, and is also a blood purifier.

Fascinating!

Note: This is different than Bacopa-Brahmi (link). Other names: Asiatic pennywort or Indian pennywort. Used for thousands of years with wide therapeutic properties, brahmi’s benefits have been called “extreme”, by some.

Dr. John Douilllard, an American Ayurvedic Physician describes Brahmi as a truly “deeply rejuvenating herb” and how the true test of these adaptogens is whether it can provide you enough energy during the day, and enough gentle energy to help you sleep at night. He shares that “brahmi helps support stress tolerance, cognitive function, immunity, and natural sleep cycles (⁴)”. It’s shown itself to be excellent at improving memory, cognitive functions, while also improve the work of the adrenal gland, (⁵) which thereby reduces stress, and incidents of depression, or anxiety. Brahmi strengthens the immune system. Its ability to reduce inflammation is comparable to the effects of NSAIDs like aspirin, without the side effects. When prepared with milk, it makes a great nerve tonic.

It also supports the flexibility and health of our skin, both inside and outside of the body “including a healthy lining of the stomach and intestines, while also boosting lymph drainage around the gut. (⁶)” Truthfully, few folks think about the skin INSIDE our body. It strengthens our collagen production and maintains healthy connective tissue, thereby restoring weakened veins.

Youthfulness is ascribed to skin luster in the face, wrinkles, etc. but outer depends on the inner. This is key when it comes to our digestion, for the skin and tissues that make up the interior of our epithelium, wrapping organ, artery, and structuring the lymph system, when skin begins to age, it sags, and “if the skin on the outside of your body is sagging” writes Douillard, (⁷) it’s likely happening on the inside too. Most of us don’t even think about how our intestinal skin responds to our food choices, toxins, emotional chemicals and other preservatives or pollutants.

We often forget that even our inner skin develops scar tissue in the face of damage; and such tissue limits our skin’s pliability, suppleness and elasticity. No wonder so many suffer from weakened and contracted abilities to digest and remove metabolic wastes from the body. Brahmi helps to prevent and heal these conditions. Alternative Medicine Review published research that found brahmi capable of boosting microcirculation and lymph flow, both of these promotes the resiliency of our skin (inside and out).

Centella asiatica has no known toxicity in recommended doses.

Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4908235/

https://paavaniayurveda.com/ingredient/brahmi/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18431001/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11666128

https://lifespa.com/ayurvedic-supplement-facts/brahmi/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3042688

https://nootripure.com/gotu-kola/

http://www.anaturalhealingcenter.com/documents/Thorne/monos/Centella-asiatica-mono_12.1.pdf

https://www.ayurvedacollege.com/articles/students/Brahmi

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9987956