Tulsi: Ultimate herb for the Global Traveller

By Bharat Mitra ORGANIC India started off as a trading company in the earlu 1990s, their aim was to share the wisdom of India and Ayurveda with the world. When they realized the toll which chemical companies and intensive agriculture had inflicted on the Indian farmer, they realized their true purpose’to help start an organic revolution in India. Organic India is not merely a corporate entity it is a living ecosystem in the heart of the corporate world, where everyone is treated with love and respect, and everyone benefits, starting with Mother Earth. The most important essential thing about Organic India is how productive and holistic it can be and how the nature of this ecosystem can nourish everyone involved with it. One of our products which you would find in many hotel rooms as well as airlines (we are in talks with Lufthansa to serve it on their flights), is our tulsi tea. Here I must quote an article by Professor Marc Cohen, Professor of Health Sciences at RMIT University in Melbourne Australia: Modern air travel has opened the world. In 2013, over three billion commercial passengers took to the skies. Yet, travelling in a pressurised metal cabin 10km above sea level has its drawbacks. Travellers are subject to a wide range of physical, mental and emotional stresses, from the time they leave home until they arrive at their destination. A review of the hundreds of scientific studies of Ocimum Sanctum, commonly known as Tulsi, or Holy Basil, reveals that Tulsi is the ideal solution. Science supports the ancient wisdom behind Tulsi, and suggests that Tusli is an essential travel companion. Tulsi has a unique combination of antioxidant, anti-infl-ammatory, anti-microbial and other actions that combine to help the body and mind adapt and cope with a wide range of physical, emotional, chemical and infectious stresses. Tulsi’s unique pharmacological activity particularly helps address many issues faced by modern air travellers such as infection, fatigue, thrombosis, anxiety and dealing with restraint, noise, hypoxia, radiation, industrial chemicals and poor sleep. The beneficial effects of Tulsi have been demonstrated in numerous animal experiments and human trials have shown that Tulsi can improve general anxiety and stress scores, relieve symptoms such as forgetfulness and feelings of exhaustion and assist with sexual and sleep problems, according to Dr Cohn’s research. Kicking the travel bugs The Centre for Disease Control in the US currently list over 60 infectious diseases related to travel (wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/ diseases). Travellers are more prone to infections due to greater exposure to different pathogens and the immune suppressant effects of travel stress. Yet, recent research suggests that Tulsi may support the human immune system to fight off infections while at the same time suppressing many bugs. Bharat Mitra is Founder President of Organic India. As told to Bikramjit Ray.