Holy Basil/Tulsi: A Comprehensive Review of the Phytochemical Constituents and Bioactivities of Ocimum tenuiflorum

[helvella]

Holy Basil/Tulsi has been mentioned many times on the forum.

Holy Basil

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

This recent paper might be of interest.

That it has an impact of T4 might be of significance - or not! Certainly it looks as if it might impact blood tests.

ScientificWorldJournal. 2024; 2024: 8895039.

Published online 2024 Oct 22. doi.org/10.1155/2024/8895039

PMCID: PMC11521583

PMID: 39473808

A Comprehensive Review of the Phytochemical Constituents and Bioactivities of Ocimum tenuiflorum

...

The plant was investigated to explore antithyroid properties and the effects of the O. tenuiflorum leaf extract on serum triiodothyronine, and thyroxine showed significant decreases in serum T4 concentrations and no changes in T3 and the ratio between T3 and T4. This suggested that O. tenuiflorum exhibited antithyroid properties.

...

Full paper open access

europepmc.org/article/MED/3...

terebol humanbean SteveT3 Banaras arTistapple Capan24

[arTistapple]

Thank you yet again helvella. Very interesting indeed. This makes a whole lot of sense to me. Possibly more help to people suffering from hyperthyroidism, rather than hypo.

Struggling with undiagnosed hypo and getting Holy Basil from my personal trainer was probably exacerbating things for me, making my poor T3 having to work even harder.

A little knowledge can be dangerous.

[Mlinde in reply to arTistapple]

Yes, a few years ago, I tried HB and I thought it had a negative impact. The problem with all natural products, eg like ashwaganda, is the dose, you really don't know how much of the active ingredient it contains.

[arTistapple in reply to Mlinde]

Yes I was in such a mess anyway I could never be sure but I think I used it for about 18 months. As you say no idea really how much active ingredient. However another 18 months wasted, along with many others.

[Mlinde in reply to arTistapple]

Well and all because mainstream medicine has failed us! I've too have tried it all, holy basil, ashwaganda, selenium and all to no avail and levothyroxine only half works and initially, it too messed me up for about three years!

[humanbean]

I took Holy Basil between 2011 and this year. I stopped taking it about three or four months ago. I took a high dose in the beginning, but over time I gradually reduced my dose. In the final few years I was taking it at the recommended dose.

I have read suggestions that Holy Basil is addictive but despite the long time I took it, I reduced my dose over time, and then gave it up without difficulty. I suspect if it had been addictive I would have craved more over time and that didn't happen.

There has been no obvious effect on my thyroid hormone levels since I came off it.

I took Holy Basil because I read that it had a slight suppressive effect on cortisol. A couple of saliva tests I did years ago showed that my cortisol was high over range , but not high enough to get me tested for Cushing's so I decided to do whatever I could in the way of self help. Several possibilities I tried were too expensive for long-term use, and were not recommended for use for longer than about 1 - 3 months anyway. Holy Basil actually worked for me without side effects and, in comparison to other supplements, isn't terribly expensive.

In January this year I had a blood test for cortisol (I can't produce enough saliva for saliva tests any more) at 8.30am and that showed an over the range result (120% through the range). It was a random cortisol test done by Blue Horizon. The blood was taken at 8.30am in a venous draw. But I haven't bothered to show the results to a doctor.

[jgelliss]

Helvella Thank You for Great Post as always. I'm always very leary when something is recommended with different nutrients other than what I take and works well . Since my TT I'm very careful and don't pay much mind to the new and improved so called miracle pills.Thank you for sharing.

[RockyPath]

Thank you for this, helvella. I had an endocrinologist suggest Holy Basil seven years ago. It certainly didn't improve the situation and quit after a few months.

Endocrinologists do seem to spend too much effort poking around in the dark at things that are not productive for people with hypothyroidism.

[SteveT3]

I have indications of hypothyroidism with low body temperature, low heart rate, t3 to t4 ratio being low, feeling crazy cold, mild reynauds and so on. Yet I take tulsi periodically and get benefit for it. Not for thyroid but for relaxation, improved hrv, better sleep, quicker recovery after exercise and improved circulation.

Its worth noting that tulsi can contain lead depending where you get it so check consumerlab for reliable sources.

An addition, which most people don't know about is hair mineral analysis. For over 15 years I've done periodic htma (hair tissue mineral analysis) and for the first time in my life when I introduced tulsi, along with low carb diet did my sodium potassium ratio normalise into a balanced ratio. This is indicative of less cortisol stress.

Another indicative test (not exlplicit direct test) is measuring blood sugar via a cgm (continous glucose monitor, such as frestyle libre). How can you know what your cortisol is? You can't for sure but when my blood sugar went down it was from walking, or sitting or drinking alcohol, and made worse when I drank coffee, ate licorice, had too much salty food or exercised - all activities which are known to raise cortisol and what does cortisol do? inhibits insulin from lowering blood sugar.

I question why people have hypothyroid in the first place. Given the world of high blood sugar its not a variable to take lightly. So is Tulsi bad for hypothyroid because it may lower t4 or is it good for hypothyroid because it helps calm the body from excess cortisol which otherwise increases high blood sugar, in addition to imbalancing sodium potassium ratio and stimulating hyper states multiplying anxiety. Did you know anger weakens the immune system as well?