Brahmi: the Ayurveda “Herb of Grace”

Brahmi is often known for its benefits on brain health. Vallarai Keerai is a time-tested herb in Ayurveda, that is categorized as a “Medhya Rasayana” plant, meaning natural produce that remarkably promotes mental faculties, mood, memory and thinking However, that doesn’t explain everything about how it can be helpful. Here’s a more comprehensive list of benefits:

  • Brahmi can help enhance memory, increase intelligence, and boost concentration.
  • Brahmi can decrease the cortisol levels in the body and reduces stress and anxiety
  • Brahmi supplements are cooling and relaxing and can make excellent supplements for optimizing Pitta.
  • It can help calm the Vata in the mind and can help eliminate excess Kapha in the body.
  • It is one of the top Ayurvedic herbs to help reduce stress.

Vallarai Keerai, also known as Gotu Kola, is a powerful medicinal herb that confers immense health benefits primarily for enhancing brain activity and nervous system functioning, besides mitigating joint pain in arthritis, healing stomach ulcers and decreasing stress, anxiety. Scientifically known as Centella Asiatica, this green leafy plant is locally called “Vallarai Keerai” in Tamil, “Mandukaparni” in Sanskrit, “Sarswati” in Hindi
and “Swaraswataku” in Telugu.

Vallarai keerai is a popular green leafy vegetable utilised extensively in conventional South Indian cooking. The other segments of the plant, namely the stem, flowers and fruits are also used in numerous natural home remedies for skin ailments like eczema, boosting memory, aiding in digestion, in Ayurveda practice in India as well as in traditional Chinese medicine.

Vallarai Keerai Nutrition Facts:

A flourishing herbal wonder, vallarai keerai abounds in Vitamin C. It is also low in calories to help maintain body weight and supplies adequate essential dietary fibers and proteins. Furthermore, it also offers the key spectrum of B vitamins to regulate metabolism and cellular energy requirements.

Vallarai Keerai Benefits For Health:

Improves Brain Functions
Consuming a small portion of vallarai keerai as part of daily diet stimulates the neurotransmitter activity in the CNS, thereby ensuring normal relay of nerve signals from the brain to the other organs in the body, as well as heightened cognitive abilities.
Boosts Immune System
Consuming just a moderate quantity of vallarai keerai will satisfy the daily vitamin C requirement in healthy adults.

Maintains Heart Health
It also functions in promoting cardiac muscle activity, lowers the amounts of bad LDL cholesterol and raises levels of good HDL cholesterol.
Relaxes Muscle Cramps
The significantly high mineral content in vallarai keerai makes it an ideal option to provide relief from muscle sores and cramps.

Treats Constipation
Consuming some vallarai keerai soup also efficiently relieves intestinal conditions like constipation and indigestion.
Fortifies Bones
The calcium present in vallarai keerai is absorbed by bones in the body, thereby helping to maintain optimal bone density for day-to-day functions and flexible, unobstructed movement.
Combats Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
Vallarai keerai offers profuse amounts of vitamin C that confers anti-inflammatory properties to reduce swelling in the bladder, which is more
common in women than men.

Helps Cure Anemia
Taking some vallarai keerai salad with meals will guarantee ample uptake of iron, from foods, into the system and promote red blood cell synthesis and blood passage. 
Ensures Deep Sleep
Insomnia and anxiety are a result of an agitated, nervous, panicked mental state and Gotu kola is an excellent tranquilising agent that soothes stress, tension, promotes sound uninterrupted sleep at night, alleviates undue worry and augments brain health. Vallarai keerai is a panacea for human health, offering marvellous benefits for maintaining brain functions, heart health, lung, liver and kidney operations. It also supports strong bones and muscles and is a proven herb for healing depression, anxiety and mental stress.

Effect On Doshas
Vallarai Keerai, in essence, has a slightly madhura rasa (sweet taste) with intrinsically laghu and ruksha gunas (light and dry qualities). It possesses ushna virya (heating potency), balancing the kapha (earth and water) dosha (element) while excessively influencing pitta (fire and water) and vata (air and ether) doshas. Moreover, it fosters the positive and equalizing states of mind namely sattva and rajas, effectively eliminating tamas or a negative mindset.
Ameliorates Depression Symptoms
It is also a wonderful solution for improving conditions of memory loss and nerve decline in neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia, Alzheimer’s and others.

Offers Anti-Aging Benefits
Eating a gotu kola salad or drinking the juice will also help to boost the production of collagen, a protein essential for maintaining the elasticity and
firmness of skin texture.

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