As people grow older, many start having trouble remembering things. Many feel frustrated that they cannot recall information that was relayed to them mere minutes ago. Many are worried that their minds aren't as sharp as they used to be.
Well, ancient Indian ayurvedic medicine has just the sort of thing to help such people out of that rut.
It is an herb. It's called brahmi.
A perennial plant commonly found in the marshes of South and Southeast Asia, brahmi has been known for eons as a potent memory enhancer. Word has been passed down from generation to generation about the brahmi plant's strong brain and nerve stimulating capabilities.
In India, the brahmi plant is often used to consecrate newborn babies in the hope and belief that it will guide them toward the path of intelligence and greater knowledge.
A hot cup of brahmi tea is often taken to improve mental clarity and memory recall. Brahmi tea is made by steeping ½ teaspoon of dried brahmi herbs in a cup of boiling water for about 5 minutes.
Students in India are often encouraged by their parents to drink brahmi tea before they take their school examinations so that their brains would function optimally during the test. Brahmi is known to be most effective when taken at dawn.
Studies have shown that when taken, brahmi induces faster mental performance times, and reduces the rate of neural errors. It has been shown to considerably enhance the brain's capacity to acquire and retain learned behaviors.
More than just improving mental functions and clarity, brahmi has also been used extensively in India to treat other nervous system disorders. It has been used as part of overall efforts to treat anxiety, hysteria, restlessness, amnesia, nervous breakdowns and even insanity. Ayurvedic medicine practitioners also implement brahmi-based treatments for such other nerve problems as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease.
But just what is it in the brahmi plant that makes it a potent brain food? The plant contains several compounds, alkaloids, bacosides and saponins (particularly hersaponin) that imbue it with powerful restorative and revitalizing properties that act on the brain and the nerves. Brahmi is believed to enhance overall blood circulation in the nervous system that further strengthens its ability to treat mental impairment problems.
New studies have further expanded the healing attributes of brahmi to now include the ability to combat and destroy the free radical molecules that contribute to the onset of a host of killer diseases like cancer, heart and lung ailments and diabetes.
While extensive research on the brahmi plant has already made great headway in places like India, the UK and Australia, there is as yet comparatively less awareness on this herb in the United States. And despite its long history of providing a myriad of health benefits the world over, there is as yet no endorsement from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the said benefits. The FDA classifies the brahmi herb as a dietary supplement.
Will there ever be a day when the health properties of the lowly brahmi herb can be fully harnessed in the realm of conventional medicine so that the ancient Ayurvedic knowledge can be successfully melded in modern treatments? Only time will tell!
Nonetheless, countless evidence from all over indisputably point to the great potential of the brahmi herb to form the base on which to create medicines and drugs that may be a cornerstone in conventional ways of preventing, treating and curing brain and nerve disorders.
So drinking a cup of brahmi tea at the break of day may be an intelligent way for a person to "jump start" his day and deliver optimum brain and cognitive performance throughout the day.
