Gotu Kola
A small creeping plant from the carrot family, prized in Ayurveda as a "medhya rasayana", a tonic for the mind, and across Asia for skin, wounds and longevity. Sri Lankan tradition held that eating the leaves helped people live longer.
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Rhodiola
A hardy Arctic and mountain root that Scandinavian, Siberian and Russian folk medicine have long used for endurance, cold winters and recovering strength. Today it's one of the best-known "adaptogens" for everyday stress and tiredness.
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Lion’s Mane Mushroom
Lion's mane is the shaggy white "monkey head" mushroom of Chinese and Japanese tradition, eaten as a delicacy and used for centuries to support the stomach and, more recently, memory and mood. Here's what tradition says, what the early research shows, and who should be careful with it.
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Reishi Mushroom
Reishi is the glossy "mushroom of immortality" of Chinese and Japanese tradition, prized for over 2,000 years as a calming, strengthening tonic. Here's what traditional medicine uses it for, what the research says so far, and who should be careful with it.
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Ginseng (Asian and American)
Ginseng has been the prized "root of strength" in Chinese medicine for centuries, and American ginseng was a woodland medicine of Indigenous peoples before it became a major export to China. Here's how the two ginsengs differ in tradition, what modern studies show for energy and fatigue, and who should be careful with it.
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Peppermint
Peppermint has settled stomachs and freshened breath since ancient Egypt, and today it's one of the few herbs with solid research behind it, especially for an irritable gut. Here's how tradition uses the leaf and the oil, what the studies show, and who should skip it.
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Lemon Balm
For more than two thousand years, lemon balm has been the herb people reach for to “gladden the heart” and calm a racing mind. Here's how tradition uses it for nerves, sleep, digestion and cold sores, what the research shows, and why people with thyroid conditions should check first.
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Holy Basil (Tulsi)
Sacred in Hindu tradition and called the "elixir of life" in Ayurveda, tulsi has been a daily tonic in India for thousands of years. Here's what tradition uses it for, what the modern studies show, and who should be careful with it.
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Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)
One of Ayurveda's most prized rejuvenating roots, taken for centuries to build strength and help the body cope with stress. Members use it today for calm, sleep, energy and everyday resilience.