Brahmi for Stress, Worry & Brain Health

 The Ancient Solution to a Happier, Healthier Brain 

Some ingredients work so well, we wonder why they ever lost their place in the spotlight. Brahmi is one of those herbs. With recorded use for brain health and mental well-being going back at least to the 6th century and Ayurveda backing it up, it’s no wonder that brahmi is a naturopath’s favorite for increasing brain function and easing stress and occasional anxiety.

Why We Love Brahmi

• At Wile, we love herbs with more than one benefit. It’s that holistic thing. Brahmi’s abilities to enhance both mood and brain function make it a perfect ingredient to support women facing both emotional and intellectual demands, which is every woman we know. Thanks, society.
• Brahmi contains potent nootropic compounds called bacosides. Nootropics increase brain function. While some are synthetic, others, like brahmi, occur naturally. You know how that first cup of coffee snaps you into clarity each morning? That’s because caffeine is also a nootropic. Unlike caffeine, whose effects are almost immediately recognizable, the nootropic effects of brahmi increase over time. If you don’t immediately detect a difference, don’t give up! Some studies have found that the optimal benefits of brahmi use kick in at approximately 12 weeks of use.
• Brahmi is as effective as (if not more than) caffeine in increasing cognitive ability, and it doesn’t have any jittery side effects.

Key Benefits: 

Boosts cognition and memory - brahmi’s nootropic effects make it excellent for maintaining focus, even when you’re feeling burnt out or dealing with hormonal brain fog. 

Eases occasional stress and anxiety - brahmi is a popular anti-stress herb. There’s promising research indicating that the bacosides in brahmi can be effective in easing occasional anxiety and its accompanying symptoms.

Decreases symptoms of depression - clinical research is turning up more and more evidence that brahmi can reduce occasional depression, especially when the slump comes after experiencing a lot of stress. You know, that stress crash or hangover after a big project or emotionally charged event? By increasing stress resilience, brahmi can relieve those effects. 

May protect against future memory loss - This is the life stage where many of us start to confront Alzheimer’s, dementia and Parkinson’s disease in our older loved ones. You may be seeing small declines: repetitive stories, forgotten this or that, less confidence doing daily tasks. These are the wakeup calls that get many of us into prevention now. Brahmi is incredibly rich in antioxidants, which help protect the brain from something called lipid peroxidation. Avoiding lipid peroxidation is indicated as a great way to protect against and helps prevent future cognitive issues. 

Traditional Uses:

Brahmi has a rich history of medicinal use through Ayurvedic tradition. As early as the 6th century, an Indian text called the Charaka Samhita mentions brahmi as a remedy for occasional anxiety, lack of concentration, and poor cognition.

It has also been used in Ayurveda as a memory tonic, and Vedic scholars traditionally consumed brahmi to help them memorize long hymns and texts. 

About the Plant: 

Brahmi is a small plant with round or heart-shaped green leaves and five-petaled flowers. It is native to the wetlands of southern India, but it grows in warm wetlands all over the world. Brahmi is also known as water hyssop, thyme-leaved gratiola, indian pennywort, and herb of grace. 

Found In (Wile Products)

• Un-Worry
• Burnout Relief

Things to Know about Brahmi:

Brahmi is considered very safe for most people to use, but it may interact with some medications. Brahmi may lower the effectiveness of liver mediation and interact with cholinergic and anticholinergic drugs. Additionally, there’s some evidence that it could lower heart rate, which could be a problem if you take heart medication or have a heart condition.

Clinical Research

• Banerjee, Samarpita, Uttpal Anand, Suchhanda Ghosh, Durga Ray, Puja Ray, Samapika Nandy, Ganpat Dewaji Deshmukh, Vijay Tripathi, and Abhijit Dey. “Bacosides from Bacopa Monnieri Extract: An Overview of the Effects on Neurological Disorders.” Phytotherapy Research 35, no. 10 (July 12, 2021): 5668–79. https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.7203.
• Calabrese, Carlo, William K. Gregory, Michael C. Leo, Dale F. Kraemer, Kerry Bone, and Barry Oken. “Effects of a Standardized Bacopa Monnieri Extract on Cognitive Performance, Anxiety, and Depression in the Elderly: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.” Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 14, no. 6 (August 6, 2008): 707–13. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2008.0018.
• Dubey, Tushar, and Subashchandrabose Chinnathambi. “Brahmi (Bacopa Monnieri): An Ayurvedic Herb against the Alzheimer’s Disease.” Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 676 (November 15, 2019): 108153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abb.2019.108153.
• Jorm, Anthony F., Bryan Rodgers, and Helen Christensen. “Use of Medications to Enhance Memory in a Large Community Sample of 60–64 Year Olds.” International Psychogeriatrics 16, no. 2 (June 1, 2004): 209–17. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1041610204000298.
• Kadali, Ramana Murty, Das MC, Srinivasa Rao A.S.R., and Karuna Sri G. “Antidepressant Activity of Brahmi in Albino Mice - PMC.” Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research 8, no. 3 (March 2014): 35–37. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2014/7482.4098.
• S, Chopra V, Sharma R, Khajuria, Sawhney, and Kapoor. “The Psychomotor Effects Of Brahmi And Caffeine On Healthy Male Volunteers.” Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, January 1, 2009.
• Sekhar, Vini C., Gayathri Viswanathan, and Sabulal Baby. “Insights into the Molecular Aspects of Neuroprotective Bacoside A and Bacopaside I - PMC.” Current Neuropharmacology 17, no. 5 (May 2019): 438–46. https://doi.org/10.2174/1570159X16666180419123022.
• Stough, Con, Jenny Lloyd, James Clarke, Luke A. Downey, Christopher J. Hutchison, Thomas Rodgers, and Pradeep J. Nathan. “The Chronic Effects of an Extract of Bacopa Monniera (Brahmi) on Cognitive Function in Healthy Human Subjects.” Psychopharmacology 156, no. 4 (August 1, 2001): 481–84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002130100815.
• Sultana, Rukhsana, Marzia Perluigi, and D. Allan Butterfield. “Lipid Peroxidation Triggers Neurodegeneration: A Redox Proteomics View into the Alzheimer Disease Brain.” Free Radical Biology and Medicine 62 (September 1, 2013): 157–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2012.09.027.

Sources

• “BACOPA: Overview, Uses, Side Effects, Precautions, Interactions, Dosing and Reviews,” n.d. https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-761/bacopa.
• Clt, Erica Julson Ms, Rdn,. “The 14 Best Nootropics and Smart Drugs Reviewed.” Healthline, January 26, 2022. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/nootropics.
• Mohan, Harish. “From Brahmi and Ashwagandha: Herbs That Kill Stress, Improve Memory.” www.business-standard.com, November 10, 2018. https://www.business-standard.com/article/health/from-brahmi-and-ashwagandha-herbs-that-kill-stress-improve-memory-118111000835_1.html.
• Rd, Ryan Raman Ms. “7 Emerging Benefits of Bacopa Monnieri (Brahmi).” Healthline, November 1, 2019. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/bacopa-monnieri-benefits.