5 HERBS FOR EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE
Jane Wrigglesworth looks into the science behind the herbs that have helped us through tough times.
In times of stress, some herbs can be helpful in reducing anxiety and promoting a level of calmness.
These are unsettling times – a worldwide pandemic, lockdown, bubbles and home detention. Stress and anxiety are bound to affect the lives of even the most well-adjusted Kiwi during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
It’s a good thing that we have our gardens to keep ourselves busy and to experience nature’s calming effects. I’m very thankful that I have a variety of herbs to keep me sane and improve my emotional resilience in these strange times.
I recently harvested a bucketful of chamomile flowers, much of which I passed on to family and friends before the lockdown. Chamomile tea is one of my go-to in stressful times. Even the act of sipping tea is calming; the warmth as well as the phytonutrients, nourishing.
In times of stress, some herbs can be helpful in reducing anxiety and promoting a level of calmness. Ongoing stress can be managed with adaptogens – herbs that normalise the body’s metabolic functions and increases resistance and resilience to stress – although anxiolytic and sedative herbs are useful too. Both types can be taken in combination. These are my five top herbs for dealing with stressful situations.
Ashwagandha
Withania somnifera is an excellent herb for reducing stress and anxiety. It’s defined as an adaptogen.
These herbs can improve energy levels while at the same time inducing a calming effect. They do this by regulating chemical signalling via the hypothalamic-pituitary axis (it works a bit like a thermostat) and inhibiting nitric oxide and cortisol. Ashwagandha is useful, then, to offset stress, to ease tension and to replenish energy levels.
In a randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 64 people with a history of chronic stress, significant reductions in stress levels were seen in the group taking ashwagandha (a capsule with 300mg of high-concentration full-spectrum extract, taken twice daily) compared to the placebo group after the 60-day study period. Their serum cortisol levels were also significantly reduced, compared to the placebo group.
Ashwagandha capsules on the market are often combined with lemon balm (an excellent calming herb), as well as B vitamins. The B vitamins are important for nervous system health; during times of stress they are quickly depleted.
Can you get your own plants to grow? You can, but they require a frost-free spot. Alternatively, buy the powdered root from online suppliers, or get supplements. The powdered ashwagandha can be taken in warm milk.
Lavender
Lavandula angustifolia is traditionally used in aromatherapy to reduce stress, anxiety, restlessness, depression and sleep disturbances. More recent studies have used oral supplementation to reduce stress and anxiety, with good results. One controlled clinical study found that 80mg of lavender oil (specifically Silexan, an extract of Lavandula angustifolia flowers) taken daily was as effective as 500mg of lorazepam in adults with
Numerous clinical trials have been undertaken, including one that compared the effects of passionflower and oxazepam.
generalised anxiety disorder (GAD).
Inhaling lavender essential oil works equally well. A review of 22 randomised controlled trials investigating the anxiolytic effects of lavender aromatherapy found that inhaling lavender did indeed relieve anxiety and decrease heart rate, systolic blood pressure and salivary cortisol levels.
Which means you can diffuse lavender essential oil at home and obtain similar results. It may help to do this in the evening if stress is keeping you awake. If you don’t have a diffuser, simply apply 1-2 drops of lavender oil on cotton and inhale for 20 minutes before bed. If anxious during the day, do this twice a day. Lavender oil can also be added to a warm bath and inhaled this way.
A lavender tea can be made from the flowers of Lavandula angustifolia, with 1-2 teaspoons of flowers per cup of water. Lavender and lemon balm have been shown to be synergistic, so including lemon balm in your lavender tea may be beneficial. Lemon balm
Melissa officinalis is a mild sedative so it is useful for aiding sleep if you’re experiencing anxietyinduced insomnia. Mixed with lavender, it can be quite effective, although it is also effective on its own. One open-label pilot study showed an 18 per cent reduction in anxiety, 15 per cent reduction in associated symptoms, and 42 per cent reduction in insomnia after 15 days of supplementing with a lemon balm leaf extract.
Lemon balm seems to work by inhibiting the enzyme GABA transaminase, which degrades the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid).
GABA is an amino acid that works as a neurotransmitter in the brain. Its main role is to decrease activity in the nervous system, which results in a calming effect. GABA is often
found in imported supplements for sleep and stress, but is a controlled drug in New Zealand.
Incidentally, glutamine is the precursor to GABA, and glutamine is found in high levels in raw cabbage, in particular red cabbage. Glutamine is damaged when exposed to heat, however, so it is best eaten raw (like in coleslaw and sauerkraut).
It’s easy to grow lemon balm. The fresh leaves make a lovely lemonflavoured tea. Or make a large pot of tea, allow it to cool and sip it throughout the day.
Lemon balm is also available in capsule, essential oil, tincture and tea forms. It can be taken throughout the day and before bed. It can also be used in aromatherapy.
Passionflower
Passiflora incarnata has a long history of use as a herbal anxiolytic and sedative. This plant is not grown in New Zealand (we do have Passiflora
edulis – passionfruit – but all studies focus on Passiflora incarnata, which has the greatest anxiolytic action), but you can buy the dried herb and tinctures from online herbal suppliers. It is useful for treating nervous restlessness, stress and anxiety.
Numerous clinical trials have been undertaken, including one that compared the effects of passionflower and oxazepam (a benzodiazepine) on outpatients with GAD. One group took 45 drops of passionflower extract plus a placebo tablet daily; the other group took placebo drops and 30g of oxazepam each day. Both groups showed significant reduction in anxiety after four weeks, with no significant difference between them. It did take a little longer for the passionflower group to start responding to treatment (seven days) compared to the oxazepam group (four days). However, the oxazepam group also showed an increase in impairment of job performance.
Passiflora tincture can be taken daily, as can passiflora tea.
Kava
Piper methysticum has been shown to be effective at reducing anxiety. In one placebo-controlled double-blind trial of outpatients with anxiety, those treated with a daily dose of the kava extract WS 1490 for four weeks showed a therapeutic reduction of anxiety compared to those taking a placebo.
There has been some controversy regarding the overuse of kava linked to liver disorders. In some countries, it is banned for this reason.
It is still available in New Zealand, however, thanks largely to a group of Kiwi herbalists who lobbied against its ban, arguing that the “risks are at best very low, and convincing evidence of a causative link lacking in most cases”.
Kiwi herb company Phytomed, who manufactures products from high quality organically grown kava root in a traditionally extracted 1:2 hydroethanolic liquid or dried powder form, say that used within the recommended dosage range, kava remains a highly effective and safe treatment for acute anxiety, insomnia and stress.
I have used this myself and found it to be excellent.
The group did issue a caution: “Until more evidence comes to light, for responsible herbal practice, it remains prudent to avoid use of kava with alcohol, or by those with existing serious liver conditions.”
So stick to the recommended doses only. Caution is required in liver disease and Parkinson’s disease as well as for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding,
The kava lactones in the roots are insoluble in water and destroyed by heat, so it is not taken as a hot tea. However, the chopped or powdered root can be infused in cold water and then strained through a fine cloth.
Kava is also typically taken as a tincture or capsule.
Other herbs
Other stress-lowering herbs to consider are chamomile, green tea (it contains the amino acid theanine, which has been shown to have a positive role in reducing stress levels), holy basil, skullcap and oatstraw. ✤