Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) is an herb that’s been traditionally used in Asia for its heal-all abilities. The secret’s out in the West about its cornucopia of benefits for your brain and skin. This Ayurvedic herb can help you live a happier and more vibrant life!
What is Gotu Kola Good For? Get These Important Health Benefits When You Use Gotu Kola
We all want to feel and look our best throughout life. Lots of things can sap our energy and vitality, though, and that’s where herbs can really help.
Gotu Kola, also known as Centella Asiatica, is an herb that has been used for generations in Indian Ayurvedic medicine and in Indonesia. Studies prove that it’s an invaluable ally for the Gut-Brain-Skin axis. It’s good for keeping skin looking youthful, firm, and hydrated, keeping the brain calm and clear, supporting healthy digestion, and supporting healthy aging.
What is the Gut-Brain-Skin Axis?
Science is now showing that there are such close relationships between gut health, brain health, and skin health that it makes sense to approach them as an interrelated system as the Gut-Brain-Skin Axis.
When one system has a problem it can easily cause dysregulation in another organ or system. While holistic practices have always embraced a whole person view of health even allopathic medicine is now heading that direction.
The Gut-Brain-Skin Axis helps us understand that everything from digestive health (including our gut microbiome) to our emotional wellbeing can impact skin health and vice versa. Ingesting certain microbial strains and gut health helpers, like soothing herbs, can influence our mood, and our mood can in turn influence our skin. Digestive health can also influence our skin health. In cases of leaky gut digestion compounds that should stay in our intestines can migrate where they are not supposed to be and even show up in skin tissues.
The Gut-Brain-Skin Axis has been implicated as a factor in psoriasis, acne, eczema, and rosacea in skin and is also implicated in depression and other mental and emotional distress. If you want healthy digestion, a healthy mind, and healthy skin Gotu Kola will be one of your best allies inside and out.
Gotu Kola for Skin
Your skin is your largest organ, and Gotu Kola takes great care of it! Whether you choose to take a Gotu Kola supplement or slather on a Gotu Kola moisturizer you’ll see skin looking firming and calmer because of its unique phytochemistry.
Gotu Kola is good for sensitive skin, irritated and damaged skin, and mature skin that needs more resilience. It has even shown some benefits against acne and eczema.
Skincare with Gotu Kola may include it a tincture with a blend of alcohol and water, a water based extract, or as gotu kola infused oil. Many of the important compounds in Gotu Kola that are believed to be responsible for its health benefits are soluble in water or alcohol.
Gotu Kola also contains oil soluble compounds that can be extracted or distilled from the plant including calming compounds like β-caryophyllene, farnesene, and α-humulene that are incidentally also found in cannabis.
GOTU KOLA COLLAGEN PRODUCTION STIMULATION (EVEN BETTER THAN VITAMIN C)
Collagen is a structural protein that gives your skin strength. It is found in the dermis, and when it starts breaking down we begin to see wrinkling and sagging in the skin. Studies have proven that compounds in Gotu Kola can help maintain strong collagen to keep skin looking youthful and firm.
Stimulating collagen synthesis is important for restoring skin firmness and elasticity in addition to antioxidant power to mitigate the damage of UV exposure and free radical damage. One study describes a blend of triterpenes named asiatic acid, madecassic acid and asiaticoside which lend stimulation of collagen synthesis for tissue regeneration and additional antioxidant benefits.
When comparing Gotu Kola (Centella) to the popular skin care ingredients Vitamin C, Gotu Kola showed significant enhancement in collagen stimulation.
“The vitamin C (25 µg/mL) which was used as a positive control showed 2-fold collagen enhancing response. At 50 mg/mL, the Centella extract enhanced 3-fold collagen production compared to the control (untreated).”
Gotu Kola Contains Antioxidants That Protect Collagen
Gotu Kola is well known to contain antioxidant compounds like carotenoids, flavonoids, and phenolics that can defend skin from inside and out against damage.
Oxidative damage from UV exposure is one of the biggest contributors to degradation of the collagen and elastin structures of skin. By providing antioxidants we prevent the sun’s rays from breaking down our important structural tissues in skin.
A study estimating the preventative impact of the flavonoids found in Centella on photooxidative stressfound topically applied to be “excellent candidates for successful employment as protective agents in certain skin diseases caused, initiated or exacerbated by sunlight irradiation.”
This makes it a great idea to use sunscreen that includes Centella Asiatica / Gotu Kola as an ingredient!
Carotenoids in Gotu Kola for Antioxidant Defense
Carotenoids are oil soluble Vitamin A compounds that have a nice sun protective benefit for skin. Gotu Kola happens to contain lots of carotenoids including Beta-carotene, lutein, neoxanthin, and zeaxanthin. Carotenoids can quench free radicals and have also been found to inhibit the activity of enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases that degrade collagen structures.
Lower Stress for Better Collagen Protection
It doesn’t take sun to make free radicals either. Even just being stressed can create excess free radicals within your body. Stress increases oxygen intake and metabolic processes so your body can deal with difficult situations and emotions. Oxygen radicals are a natural byproduct of many cellular reactions.
Know anyone that feels stressed? Is it you? Well, good news. The natural antioxidants in Gotu Kola can help with neutralizing free radicals from excess stress, but it can also help in other ways.
The best way to get stress relief benefits from Gotu Kola is to take it internally. Eating fresh Gotu Kola in salads or other foods, drinking Gotu Kola tea, or taking Gotu Kola tincture can also help skin from the inside.
GOTU KOLA HERB SUPPLEMENTS FOR WHOLE BODY BEAUTY BENEFITS
Gotu Kola is uniquely valuable as both a food and herbal medicine. Many people in Asia eat the fresh leaf in salads and recipes. Gotu Kola contains vitamins B & C, proteins, essential minerals and a host of phytonutrients and medicinal compounds. The unique chemistry of Gotu Kola benefits the digestive system and helps the brain function better by improving memory and reducing stress.
The foods we eat and drink provide building block compounds for our cells and nutrients that help our body function well. A holistic approach to health addresses skin care, foods, and lifestyle. What we eat is literally medicine for our body, and Gotu Kola is a perfect example of this!
“Anti-oxidants used in such nutricosmetics or oral anti-aging products include vitamins A, C and E, fatty acids like alpha-lipoic acid, and botanicals such as green tea. Superior [nutricosmetics] also include ingredients, which promote skin health, have anti-inflammatory action, and include an anti-stress component.”
Gotu Kola is Good for Your Gut
A healthy gut means a healthy you. With each passing year science continues to demonstrate that your digestive tract is crucial to influencing your total health, inflammation levels throughout the body, chronic skin diseases like rosacea, and even neurological health.
Research has shown that the antimicrobial properties in Gotu Kola can help reduce harmful populations of the H. pylori bacteria. H. pylori is a known contributor to the development of ulcers in the stomach and digestive tract, and is often resistant to antibiotics.
H. pylori has a connection to rosacea as well, and overgrowth can lead to gut dysregulation that leads to rosacea symptoms. Reduction and elimination of H. pylori can be an important part of addressing rosacea in a holistic, sustainable way.
In animal studies Gotu Kola extract has been able to have a protective effect that helps avoid irritation and injury to the stomach. It protects the digestive system by reducing pro-inflammatory signals and increasing antioxidant compounds that can fight irritation from free radicals.
Additional studies have shown that Gotu Kola can improve liver function. Your liver is a crucial filter for regulating hormones, processing medications, and eliminating toxins.
Gotu Kola is Anti-Inflammatory
Asiatic acid, asiaticoside and madecassoside are several of the active compounds found in Gotu Kola. These beneficial phytochemicals have been found to demonstrate anti-inflammatory effects that can help the skin and brain.
Gotu Kola inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokines, which are messenger compounds that increase levels of inflammation in the body.
One study stimulated skin cells with exposure to the acne bacteria, P. acnes. They found that the compound madecassoside specifically reduced the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines that would have been prompted by the acne bacteria exposure.
Gotu Kola is also good for helping calm inflammation in the brain as well. Neuroinflammation is inflammation of the nervous system, and it can result from toxins, injuries, stress, auto-immunity, and other diseases. Studies have found that Gotu Kola is a fantastic way to protect your brain from neuroinflammation.
Gotu Kola Benefits for the Brain
Gotu Kola is a particularly good buddy for brain health.
Ingesting Gotu Kola is noted to be memory enhancing with neuro-protective qualities and antioxidant benefits. It has anti anxiety benefits and can help you keep calm and carry on through lots of life’s challenges.
Gotu Kola is Good for Calming Anxiety
Stress is one of the biggest challenges in modern life. It’s comforting to know that traditional herbal medicines like Gotu Kola can help keep our minds calmer.
The body’s stress response is meant to kick in only on a temporary basis. Chronic anxiety can seriously harm health by changing blood flow and nutrient delivery, negatively impacting digestion, elevating levels of stress hormones that impact how our body uses calories and stores fat, and even impacting how our brain makes and stores memories.
With a constant barrage of news from around the world, tight budgets, bad drivers, job changes and more it’s easy for our bodies to spend way too much time stressing out.
Gotu Kola can be an important herbal ally in keeping our emotions and body on an even keel. The compound asiaticoside was found to be a crucial contributor to imparting anti-anxiety benefits from Gotu Kola.
About 12 g of dry, whole herb was required to produce an anti-anxiety benefit in human volunteers in studies, which may be more than most people can ingest in supplement form. An extract with a standard amount of asiaticoside may give a better effect if you’re wanting to put Gotu Kola to work against anxiety. Purified asiaticoside at a 3 mg/kg dose was found to have anti-anxiety benefits. In a whole herb form this would be about two 500 mg capsules if the extract is standardized for 20% asiaticoside.
Gotu Kola is Good for Memory Function and Mood
Protecting against age related decline and damage to our bodies is important if we want to stay vibrant all through life. Research indicates that Gotu Kola can help protect our brain against damage. That keeps our thoughts and memories flowing easily.
Neurons in the brain can be damaged by free radicals and other processes. The triterpenoid glycoside compounds in Gotu Kola can boost mitochondrial respiration and antioxidant genes, helping it improve brain function.
In one study conducted with elderly women with dementia a dose of 500 mg per day of Gotu Kola was given along with an exercise program. At completion of the study the Gotu Kola group had improved antioxidant levels and memory function. Testing showed the participants taking Gotu Kola had higher levels of Super Oxide Dismutase, a beneficial antioxidant enzyme produced by our bodies. Memory testing also indicated successful improvements.
You don’t have to wait until trouble sets in to take better care of your brain. A simple addition of Gotu Kola can help protect memories for the long haul.
Gotu Kola and Sleep
When your head hits the pillow do you fall asleep easily? The good news is that Gotu Kola can help keep sleep disruptions from taking a major toll. You should still get your shut-eye, but we all know it can be tricky to keep bills, fights with friends or partners, and tomorrow’s to-do list from running circles in our heads at night.
Gotu Kola isn’t specifically an herb that will make you sleep, but if stress is generally keeping you up the anti-anxiety benefits could certainly help you rest more easily.
One study also found that Gotu Kola is able to help reduce the impact of sleep deprivation! Pre-treatment with Gotu Kola supplement was able to lower liver related free radical levels and increase antioxidant levels even with sleep disturbances. The control group had an opposite result with higher free radicals and lower antioxidant levels. Liver enzyme activity and liver cell degradation were also reduced in the Gotu Kola supplement group.
Since sleep is also when our brains organize and save long term memories it’s an extra crucial process if you’re looking for improved memory function. Luckily Gotu Kola is a great ally and can provide support whether you get great sleep or not.
Gotu Kola Herb and Ayurveda - a Traditional Approach to Health
In Eastern understanding, the ancient holistic health balancing system of Ayurveda (ayur: life // veda: knowledge/wisdom) outlines three energy principles (called doshas) of embodiment which are described by:
Vata: air & space
Pitta: fire & water
Kapha: earth & water
Every person is bespoke in their dosha make up, and the aim of Ayurveda is to balance each according to the original constitution and the external factors that are affecting the body.
While some herbs balance specific doshas, Gotu Kola is tri-doshic, which means it helps to regulate all three.
According to classic Ayurvedic texts, Gotu Kola will “give a favorable turn to one’s fortune, impart a lotus-like bloom [to the cheeks] with perpetual youth, unparalleled intellectual faculties, and a life that would cover a period of three centuries of song and sunshine.”
In Chinese Medicine, Gotu Kola is said to be a “miracle elixirs of life” and is referred to in Ayurveda as 'Brahmi’, the goddess of supreme wisdom.
This leafy green beauty is a true bounty of benefits for body, mind, soul & skin. Will you make it part of your natural beauty lifestyle?
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