A very kind friend has been helping with my feedburner issues. They aren’t completely fixed yet, but there is a temporary fix on it now. Are you all getting the updates yet? So sorry for all of the technological difficulties lately! We are trying to resolve them. When it rains, it pours!
I recently read Dr. Mercola’s advice to drink tulsi (or holy basil) tea to boost the immune system. I was intrigued. Going to Mercola’s source I found these quotes.
“The anti-flu property of Tulsi has been discovered by medical experts across the world quite recently. Tulsi improves the body’s overall defence mechanism including its ability to fight viral diseases. It was successfully used in combating Japanese Encephalitis and the same theory applies to swine flu,” Dr U K Tiwari, a herbal medicine practitioner says.
Apart from acting as a preventive medicine in case of swine flu, Tulsi can help the patient recover faster.
“Even when a person has already contracted swine flu, Tulsi can help in speeding up the recovery process and also help in strengthening the immune system of the body,” he claims.
Dr Bhupesh Patel, a lecturer at Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar is also of the view that Tulsi can play an important role in controlling swine flu.
“Tulsi can control swine flu and it should be taken in fresh form. Juice or paste of at least 20-25 medium sized leaves should be consumed twice a day on an empty stomach.” This increases the resistance of the body and, thereby, reduces the chances of inviting swine flu,” believes Patel.
To read more of Mercola’s thoughts on Tulsi and other recommendations for the Swine Flu, go here.
In an article in Better Nutrition, I found a partial list of some of the traditional uses for tulsi.
“Known as tulsi in Ayurvedic medicine, holy basil has been used in India since before 1000 BC for numerous ailments, including fever, inflammation, malaria, dysentery, diarrhea, constipation, indigestion, bronchitis, bronchial asthma, arthritis, insect bites, skin conditions and painful eye diseases.”1
Interesting
This same article also mentioned that it helps decrease blood sugar, helps you adapt to stresses, and bolsters the immune system (like what Mercola mentioned)).
The only caution is unfortunately for those trying to get pregnant, pregnant, or nursing. Several places mentioned a possible anti-fertility effect or a (though untested) hypothesis that is could play around with your hormonal balance.
But for the rest of us, tulsi seems to be a very safe choice as it has been used for a very long time in India in every household!
How to take:
You can find this in capsule form, but I prefer more traditional methods of consuming it.
Fresh leaves: As you may have noticed the in the first quote, Dr Patel recommended fresh leaves. For that, you are most likely going to have to grow your own plants. I definitely want to try this next year! It would be great to have my own. I might consider growing some in an indoor pot this Fall too. Any gardeners have advice for me?
Teas: There is a great brand, Organic India, that has a wide variety of flavors of tulsi tea. I am a tea lover, and I’ve loved the flavors I’ve tried. A pretty painless way to get your tulsi down! This is also the brand that Mercola recommends (I’ve found it at local stores and on Amazon)
But you don’t have to get premade teas, as you can also buy this herb in bulk and make your own tea combinations, or just use it plain. This is a cheaper way to go. I bought half a pound of it, and am planning on mixing it with other different teas for flavoring.
Last night, I simply scooped a spoonful of tulsi and spoonful of rooibos into a teapot, poured hot water over it and let it seep for about ten minutes. We really liked it! It has a very mild, gentle flavor.
I think that boosting my immune system with a cup of tea is an easy way to go. And I am glad that I’ve found a more frugal way to do it!
What about you? Ever tried tulsi tea before?
Disclaimer: Please consult with your health care provider before making any medical decisions. I am not a health care provider and am simply sharing information for you to consider and am not responsible for your decisions. I encourage you to research yourself!
___________________________________________________________
1-Better Nutrition; Nov2006, Vol. 68 Issue 11, p24-24, 1p Ackerson, Amber D.
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yay, i’m getting the updates now! excited to try Tulsi, if it’s an immune booster, maybe it will help my (currently) horrible allergies too???
one question for you – do you get flu vaccinations? i never have, but am wondering if i should consider it. I’m curious to hear your thoughts.
I’ve never tried this kind of tea, but I will soon (thanks for recommending). I usually drink greek oregano tea when I’m sick, it really helps with respiratory problems.
Never heard of greek oregano tea! Thanks for the info. 🙂
Mandy,
Oh good! I am so glad that it’s working now. 🙂 It’s worth a try to fight against your allergies, who knows?
I got a flu vaccination once during high school. It basically gave me the flu and I was sick for a few days after it. I haven’t gotten one since. As far as the swine flu, I am very nervous about trying a vaccination that has so little testing done on it and we don’t normally get the flu vaccine anyways. We will choose to try to build our immune system up naturally. From what I understand, the swine flu is generally just like a bad flu, not fatal. So I feel pretty comfortable with that choice.
However no choice is completely risk free! And this is a personal decision, for sure.
Anyone else want to share what you are doing?
I may have to add that to what we are doing. We are taking a product called elderberry defense (we were doing homemade elderberry syrup but no one liked it and the little capsules are easier…chewy tablets for the younger ones in the family) we also do vitamin d3. Other than that we eat as many whole foods and nutrition foods as possible. We try to avoid processed foods (they slip in there sometimes).
I got the flu shot last year in early Oct. I never got the flu shot before and have been fine (no flu), but wanted to be “safe” because I was getting married in November and I teach 2nd grade…ample opportunity for germs! My arm was sore and I couldn’t move my neck (it hurt SO badly) for a couple days afterwards. I don’t think I’ll get it again this year…my neck pain was so bad and my theory is this: Most of my student’s parents give their children the flu shot. If they are “immune” then they will not carry the germs to school and I am therefore immune as well….sounds good, doesn’t it. 😉 My fall cold & flu prevention is fresh squeezed orange juice and more oranges for lunch and snack!
Oh man! That’s too bad! Yeah, it seems like a lot of people have minor reactions to immunizations.
Hey Kimi –
Just thought I’d add my two cents…
I used tulsi tea for quite some time last winter, and we really saw a difference in the amount of “icky” we didn’t have! 🙂 Unfortunately, I can’t use it this year (pregnant!), but my husband and boys are going to start getting their doses pretty soon! 🙂
That’s great to hear! Thanks so much for sharing. We already know people getting the flu, so we are starting to try to really build up.
I’ll have to look into the tulsi – I like having excuses to try new kinds of tea!
We have never, nor will we this year, get any kind of flu vaccine. We drink lots of garlicky bone broths, get a lot of vit D via the sun, etc. instead. I’m also making batches of the “Master Tonic” this year – we’ll see how that works. It’s finely shredded ginger, horseradish, garlic, onion, hot peppers and apple cider vinegar. If nothing else – it wakes you up in the morning!!
Kim,
Wow, that master tonic sounds intense! But it sounds pretty good, actually. How do you take it? It is like a broth?
I can’t remember how I found your site…but have enjoyed reading it over the last few days (made your WW biscuits this past Saturday and they were outstanding!).
I found this info on Tulsi very interesting, but was disappointed to learn that I can’t use it – I’m pregnant. I may see if I can find it for my son and husband.
As far a flu vaccines/natural prevention…we are increasing our fruit and veggie intake (via VitaMix drinks as well as cut up and served with each meal). We are still debating what to do about the H1N1 vaccine – of course my doctor recommends I receive it, as does my son’s doc. So hard to know what to do…
Amy,
I know what you mean. I obviously have chosen not to take it, but I don’t feel comfortable telling other people what to do! My advice would be to read both sides of the story-those for it and those against it, and find out what the real risks are to the flu. Then you can make an informed decision.
It would be nice if we had a risk free choice, wouldn’t it!
Interesting – I’ve been working on getting a bulk herb order together , so perfect timing.
I love hearing your ideas for the combinations you try – (like the tulsi/rooibos tea).
I also read that article a while back. Did you buy the tea from Dr. Mercola’s site?
Julie,
I was able to buy the Organic India tea from a local store when it was on sale( some of the Amazon prices are much cheaper then the store prices, by the way, but see what you can find in you area) and then I bought my bulk tulsi from Mountain Rose Herbs..
It was a great price too. The link above is my affiliate link, by the way, so if anyone decides to buy from them, you can buy through it to help support this blog too!
Hi, just wanted to let you know that the feed is working fine. I got a week of yur posts on Monday afternoon (Australian time) and now it’s working normally.
Rose,
Thanks so much for letting me know! That’s great!
did you know that the swine flu vaccine is stabilized with thimurisol – the same substance that has been thought to cause autism – in other words – mercury! And did you know that the other flu vaccine is stabilized with aluminum?
Tulsi Tea or vaccine – rather an oxymoron decision I think.
to Cindy –
Actually, the vaccine, as given to pregnant women and children can be manufactured Thimerisol-free. I confirmed this with my son’s doctor yesterday by asking if they would receive the Th. free version and she said they would. Still have not decided what we will do, but that makes me a bit more comfortable with him possibly receiving it. I will need to confirm with my doctor that the batch they receive will be Th. free also.
Wow, thanks for the information on tulsi tea…. I just sent my oldest daughter off to college and there seems to be alot of H1N1 going around the campuses already. I will look into getting some for her especially.
I don’t like the flu vaccines either, I prefer to boost my immune system in other ways, elderberry and l-lysine have been two of my favorites.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and discoveries.
Thanks for posting this, Kimi! I am all about boosting the immune system and warding off disease. 🙂 I am going to look into getting some tulsi for our household for the winter flu season. We also do not get the flu shots (DH, me, DD (almost 3), DS (almost 1). When DH and I received one several years ago, we BOTH got sick with the flu. Not fun! Of course, as a microbiologist, I know how the formulation of the annual flu vaccine works and also immunity, and getting sick, so I understand the irony of this. But still! I feel there are too many risks involved anyway, and the flu is generally not fatal – especially if you eat a whole foods (NT) kind of diet.
As well as tulsi, we are eating more citrus (vitamin C), adding GSE to our diets, lots of probiotics (yogurt, lacto-fermented foods) garlic, and good ol’ sunshine will help, too. Nothing like eating your way to disease-prevention! 😉
Oops, I forgot to ask: can tulsi be taken by little ones? My children are almost 3 and almost 1. Also, I am still nursing the little one, but it’s not as frequent as if he were a newborn, so I wasn’t sure how strict this recommendation was. Since he is walking now, I suspect he will be more interested in moving around and less interested in snacking, so the nursing sessions may drop a bit. 😉
Vicky,
I am assuming so, because I haven’t read any cautions in regard to children. Does anyone else have any thoughts on giving tulsi to children?
… I didn’t hear anything about avoiding giving it to children – but mine are still alive after taking it from a fairly young age (they’re 3 and 18 mo. now). I actually gave it to our youngest in his bottle, very diluted, of course. 🙂
We found Tulsi about a year ago and I like to buy it in bulk (Mountain Rose Herbs) and I do give it to all 4 of our little men (ages 7, 7, 7 and 3). I have been intrigued with this tea and ironically enough, I also like to mix it with my Rooibos! 🙂 Yummy! Our boys all like this mixture as well. Last year during the winter months, I would make sure they got their tea in the morning and again in the late afternoon or evening time. We are already beefing up again with our Tulsi to boost our immune system. We also do Probiotics via our raw milk, yogurt and kefir. We also are big apple cider vinegar users (tea, dressings, etc) and I think all these things coupled together really make a big difference in boosting and enhancing our immune systems. I load our daily smoothies good with kefir, coconut oil, and our organic berries and I think this really helps as well. . . I like to do blueberry smoothies a few times a week because besides the fact that they’re just super delish, the blueberries offer alot of antioxidant properties. Another favorite around here is our garlic herb biscuits and I serve it up with an herb oil that I make and LOTS more garlic! 😉 And then salsa is another way we use to boost our immune by keeping the yuckies at bay. . . I’m excited to give the cultured salsa a try tomorrow and I’m also going to batch and freeze some with all our fresh tomatoes we’re yielding in the garden! Yay! We just try to keep all the great, super foods in our system that the Good Lord has blessed us with, and always in their natural, whole state! Thanks Kimi for all you do Hun – you’re such a blessing!
Great article! This is the 2nd place I’ve read of Tulsi in the past 3 days.
I’d like to try growing my own plant, but any suggestions on where to get it?
We won’t be getting the flu vaccine either, and I’m looking for ways to boost our immunity – especially for my boys.
Tulsi is sometimes called Holy Basil. I grow it in my patio container garden with seeds from Seeds of Change. It’s easy to grow like basil and smells just wonderful!
Hi! This post made me jog my memory and then I ran to my tea cupboard to find out why. I bought a delicious tea from Aveda last year and the ingredients are: licorice root, peppermint leaf, sweet fennel and basil. This has been my favorite tea ever since and easy to make at home….but now I will add the Holy Basil in place of basil.
Also, I grabbed my herb manual and found out more about Tulsi: “Reduces stress, calms and relieves depression. Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiviral. Anticancer/antimutagenic. Protective to the liver. Enhances the immune system function. Recent research demonstrates protection from chromosome damage and death caused by ionizing therapy. Prevents or reduces gastric ulcerations.” Source: Therapeutic Herb Manual by Ed Smith
I’m going to drink this all fall/winter! Thanks for your post!
I think it’s the “anti-viral” effect that makes it so great for fighting against flu’s. Great quote! Thanks for sharing!
Hello! I don’t think I’ve commented here before, but I have your blog on favourites and enjoy checking it out regularly! I have a question that has nothing to do with this post, but as I couldn’t find your email address, I hope you won’t mind me posting it here.
A couple weeks ago I experimented with a new recipe…fermented pickles in a salt brine with a little vinegar. I covered the cucumbers with the brine in a glass bowl (brine ratio: 1/2 cup pickling salt, 8 cups water, 1 cup vinegar), and over the next couple days added more cukes as the garden produced them. Then I let them ferment covered with a tea towel in the kitchen. According to all the recipes, after a couple days, these cukes are supposed to start bubbling, and there should be skum to skim off. I have not have any skum form, and there have been no bubbles. The cukes turned an olive green, they look good, the brine smells good, no fishy looking substances.
Just last night I tasted a piece. It’s fairly salty, but not too much, and it’s not sour yet.
My question is: Are my pickles fermenting?
Do I need to do something else to them? Are they safe to eat?
Thank you so much!
Hi Elisabeth,
I am not familiar with the vinegar and salt type of fermentation, as I do just salt ones. But I do know this, it can take quite a while before they turn “sour”, ten days to 2 weeks. If it smells good and nothing seems, like you said “fishy” about it, I would assume it’s just fine but just needs a little more time. 🙂
Hope that helps! And I will try to get my email back on. I thought it was.
What a coincidence, I just ordered a pound of bulk holy basil from Mountain Rose Herbs this morning after reading Dr. Mercola’s article. I’m still researching it a bit since I’m pregnant. It seems that every bit of herbal advice always has the “not while pregnant or nursing” warning attached to it. I have found information that says women in India always consume tulsi while pregnant or nursing with no ill effects. I want to look into it a little deeper though before I take the risk.
Question for you if you have a second . . . do you know how many cups were in the half pound of Holy Basil that you purchased?
I’m working on a bulk herb order and trying to somewhat gauge quantity of herb per lb. I know it varies a lot. I feel like every post I make, I am giving my 2 cents for your blog . . . but if you (or other bloggers reading this) have experience purchasing herbs in bulk, this would be such a great, helpful, informational post! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Oops I mean informative post. Not informational.
Hi there,
i would be more than glad to help you with ur Tulsi questions. I started a Project Tulsi, giving the benefits and how Tulsi can be used on an everyday basis.
if u are interested, please check my blog – http://memoirsofeverdaylife.blogspot.com/2009/01/testingignore.html
it will help u in growing them from seeds or buy a plant from me, if u stay in and around Utah.
Thank you so much for this artical!!! So,how many times a day do you drink this tea? Should it be taken every day until flu season is over? Thanks again for posting this!!
VITAMIN D!
A care facility with close to 300 patients and 800 staff that treats and monitors the D levels of all patients; 103 staff members got the flu and only 2 patients, one of which was transferred to the facility already sick. The results were statiscally significant: the patients had greater protection against the flu!
For more info you can check out the vitamin D action newsletter (google it) or join the research study and get your vitamin D levels checked. Unless you live in the South and spend the majority of your days outdoors, you are almost definitely deficient.
Take your fermented cod liver oil!
I love holy basil tea, but I didn’t realize all of the benefits until reading your post. I brew myself a cup nearly every night after the kids are alseep, it helps me relax.
As far as vaccines, we don’t do any for our family. The kids haven’t had a single one. We do the same, work on building a strong immune system. Vitamin D plays a critical role, especially for us in the NW!
-Ali 🙂
This is great information. I would love to try it. I wonder how dangerous it is for nursing moms though and what it does to get that warning (dry up the milk? make baby sick?). I know they usually make those warnings for moms of infants (since most people don’t nurse past 6 months) but I am nursing a 2 1/2 yr old. Maybe I will buy a little and try it just to see.
Timely as we have been discussing the flu vaccine this week and as scary as the swine flu is being made out to be I really don’t want to get the shot. My husband probably will though. I guess that means he’ll have to look after all of us if we get sick!
I just made a batch of kombucha with tulsi tea. Worked fine and tastes so good!
I’m sipping a nice cup of the Red Mango flavor tulsi tea from Organic India right now. It’s so delish! I just wanted to let everyone know that I bought it at Food Lion, our local grocery store, in the natural/organic section. They had several flavors. I’m wondering about the hormone changes it may produce. Anyone know any more about it?
Has anyone had an experience with the tea that it makes you more awake? I got some at the health food store & had it before bed & then wondered why I was laying awake – and remembered the box said it was “energizing” to the body – but then this AM I read the box again & it sounded like the “energizing” was meant more to be “relieve stress” – but I am wondering. My husband who had some too was all jerky / kicking in bed which is not his usual. Any thoughts anyone?
Jessie, for the most part Tulsi teas are caffeeine-free; however, some Tulsi teas do contain caffeine. I would recheck and see if yours does. I hope this helps.