Holy Basil Benefits

In India, the green-leaved tulsi is regarded as the God Laskmi and the purple-leaved, as Lord Krishna. Holy basil is not only cultivated for the religious purposes, but also for its endless miraculous and medicinal values, too, which are known for thousand of years in the Indian subcontinent. The scientific name of the holy basil plant is Ocimum Sanctum and it is believed that merely going close to this plant can protect the person from several infections. The plant can attain a height of 30-60 cm tall bearing hairy stems and accompanied by green leaves, sometimes purple, which are strongly scented.

How Does the Holy Basil Benefit the Body

Holy basil leaves have been known to be an excellent remedy to take care of fever in India. This quality of these leaves come from the fact that the plant is an excellent antibiotic, germicidal, fungicidal and disinfectant. Given to all these properties, the holy basil is known to be a potent defense against the invasion of protozoa, bacteria, viruses and even allergic substances and fungus. And when these elements are fought well, fever does not have a chance to occur.

The holy basil extract serves as an amazing remedy to relief congestion and various respiratory problems. It also helps reduce risk of developing severe lung disorders due to smoking, tuberculosis, lung cancer, etc.

As a child I have also experienced some of the benefits of the holy basil, when I was cough stricken. My cough had been going on for a couple of weeks and it was not getting subsided despite taking medications. Then my grandma made me a potion of crushed holy basil leaves and honey and advised me to take it whenever I feel the urge to cough. Amazing as it was, my cough left me within a day or two. What the plant does is that it mobilizes mucus and eliminate the infection which causes coughs. That is the reason why the plant is of a great help for patients of bronchitis and asthma.

Some More Benefits

Boil some holy basil leaves in water and drink the solution when it is lukewarm. This helps in treating sore throat.

Patients suffering from renal stone, if administer the mix of basil leaves juice and honey, then they might notice great improvements. It has been studied that taking this potion regularly for a period of 6 months may actually cause the stones to be expelled via the urinary tract.

The vitamin C and Eugenol content of the holy basil act as a protective shield for the heart against the damage of free radicals. To add to this, the agent Eugenol is known to bring down the levels of cholesterol from blood.

The plant is a natural adaptogen or anti-stress agent. Several studies conducted in recent times showed that consuming the holy basil leaves provided substantial amount of protection against stress. And the consumption is not only limited to ill people, even health individuals can chew the leaves and prevent stress.

You can get rid of about 99% of germs and bacteria in your mouth with the help of holy basil leaves. It acts as an excellent and cost-effective mouth freshener, while being an effective remedy for mouth ulcers. You can also keep a check on your dental health by making a toothpaste out of dried holy basil leaves. Simply mix the leaves with mustard oil and use it as a herbal toothpaste twice a day. Bad breath, gum problems, tooth decay, plaque, tartar and other dental disorders can be kept at bay with its use.

Get or make a decoction of holy basil and mix it in your bathing water. Regular use would keep you away from various skin infections. Even applying a paste made out of crushed tulsi leaves on the infected area of your skin will keep you away from various skin disorders, internally and externally as well. If your house is infested with mosquitoes, then rub some oil of this plant and shoo the insects away!

Most kinds of insect bites and stings can be cured by applying fresh juice of the holy basil leaves. However, the treatment must be repeated for a number of times. Even sore eyes and symptoms night blindness can be relieved by putting two drops of the leaves onto the eyes daily at bed time.

And to conclude, use of holy basil also helps treat eye disorders like cataract, macular degeneration, glaucoma, vision defects, opthalmia etc. If you have been affected by conjunctivitis or other eye infections, then consider washing your eyes with cool decoction of these leaves.