Mother Nature has the solution of all problems of human beings. During the pandemic situation, many health-conscious people are consuming Tulsi tea as home remedy for colds and inflammation. But Tulsi has many more health benefits to offer. Though originated in Indian Sub Continent, Tulsi has been widely cultivated in Southeast Asian Tropics. As an aromatic perennial plant, Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) belongs to the family Lamiaceae. For its versatile medicinal properties, Tulsi is adored as ‘Holy Basil, ‘Queen of Herbs’ or ‘Elixir of Life’. Read this article to know the magical health benefits of Tulsi tea.

Tulsi Tea Health Benefits

Combats Respiratory Disorders

Tulsi tea helps to relieve certain respiratory illnesses including colds, sinusitis, coughs, bronchitis, asthma congestion, flu, sore throat, etc. Its ‘antitussive’ property can aid in relieving coughs. Furthermore, Tulsi is enriched with certain oil properties that relieve congestion. The ‘Expectorant’ property of this medicinal herb can assist in relaxing your respiratory system by ejecting the phlegm. Inhaling the fresh steaming Tulsi tea before drinking can alleviate the sinus problems.

Strengthens Immune

As an ‘adaptogenic’ herb, Tulsi can strengthen the overall immune system of human body and promote wellness, but how? This herb is a natural source of Apigenin flavonoid that can assist your body-cells to eliminate waste materials. By virtue of its ‘Immune Modulator’ properties, Tulsi can boost up your immunity. What is more? Tulsi can speed up the healing process of diverse infections and wounds like mouth ulcers, keloids, acne, etc.

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Prevents Inflammation

Tulsi contains a kind of terpene like chemical compound called ‘Eugenol’ that has analgesic or pain-relieving properties. People who are suffering from fibromyalgia, joint pain, or arthritis can drink Tulsi tea on a regular basis to alleviate the pain. This herb is also rich in Ursolic acid and Rosmarinic acid that offer anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and even anti-aging properties.

 

Lowers Blood Sugar and Cholesterol

Tulsi is a popular home remedy for reducing the level of blood sugar. If you are suffering from pre-diabetes or type-2 diabetes, you can start drinking tulsi tea besides taking medication to control your blood sugar in a natural way. Several studies in Animal as well as human trials revealed that Tulsi may aid in preventing weight gain, insulin resistance, excess blood-insulin (hyperinsulinemia), high cholesterol, hypertension, etc.

Besides contributing in the maintenance of ‘stable’ blood sugar levels, Tulsi tea can improve your metabolism and help your body in processing carbohydrates and fats more efficiently. Some research on animals show that Tulsi can lower the level of “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and increase “good” cholesterol (HDL) in blood. However, more human trials are necessary to get established results.

Read Coronavirus Tips: Immunity Booster Herbal Teas to Prevent Infection.

Prevents Stress and Anxiety

During the Coronavirus pandemic, many people are experiencing tension due to diverse issues like illness, career, relationships, etc. A simple change into diet can contribute to alleviate stress. Tulsi is bestowed with ‘Ocimumosides A’ and ‘Ocimumosides B’ compounds that can fight stress and maintain the secretion of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine in your blood.

In addition to these, the habit of drinking Tulsi tea can not only help your body in balancing the stress hormone ‘cortisol’, but also minimize your stress-level. Thus, adding Tulsi tea in regular diet, you can avoid various pushing factors of depression and keep anxiety at bay.

Improves Dental, Oral and Eye health

The multidimensional health benefits of Tulsi will continue surprising you. As a natural mouth freshener, Tulsi is capable of destroying harmful bacteria and germs developed inside your mouth area. Drinking Tulsi tea every day, you can get cleaner teeth, hygienic oral health and fresher breath. Additionally, Tulsi carries an antioxidant carotenoid called ‘Lutein’ that can improve eye health.

Read Easy Homemade Summer Drinks to Beat the Heat and Increase Immunity.

Treats Gastronomical Illness

Holy Basil or Tulsi can naturally promote stomach health through reducing stomach acid, improving mucus secretion, boosting mucus cells, strengthening mucus cells, etc. For this blissful medicinal property Tulsi tea can be useful as a home remedy in treating indigestion, ulcers, vomiting, gastric pain, stomach cramps, intestinal parasites, etc. Tulsi can also prevent stress-induced ulcers. Furthermore, consumption of Tulsi tea can soothe stomach-ache causing from kidney stones.

How to Drink Tulsi Tea

Those who admire organic tea will certainly enjoy the mesmerizing aroma and exclusive flavor of Tulsi tea. Depending on the preparation style Tulsi tea can taste a bit peppery to astringent. To augment the flavor, Tulsi leaves can be combined with other kinds of organic tea leaves such as black tea, green tea, or white tea. To get additional health benefits, you can brew an herbal blend of Tulsi tea with other organic ingredients like turmeric, lemon, ginger, etc.

How to prepare Tulsi tea? First, boil 1 cup of water. Then add Half teaspoon of dried Tulsi leaves, or one teaspoon of fresh tulsi leaves, or one-third teaspoon of Tulsi powder to the hot water. Now let the blend steep for several minutes. After that remove the leaves or strain the tea. You can add honey and/or lemon juice at desired quantity to enhance the flavor.

Read Vitamin C: Where to Found and How Much to Consume.

 

Side Effects of Tulsi tea

Tulsi may affect the fertility of men and women. So, people who are trying to conceive ought to abstain from consuming Tulsi in excess amount.  Especially, the breast-feeding mothers are recommended to avoid drinking Tulsi tea.

You can experience nausea, diarrhea, or similar kind of illness when you start consuming Tulsi as tea or in other dietary form. Therefore, the best practice would be starting with limited quantities and then slowly increasing the amount of consumption over the course of time.

Tulsi may cause blood clotting in a slow pace. This is why patients are asked to keep away from eating or drinking Tulsi for minimum of two weeks prior and following any medical surgery.

Tulsi properties can interfere with your pharmaceutical drugs. So, if you are currently taking medications for treating any chronic or acute medical condition, you need to consult with your doctor before adding Tulsi tea in your diet.

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A new study says US communities that made using face masks in public compulsory saw a decline in the spread of coronavirus.

After five days of mask mandates, the daily coronavirus growth rate slowed by just under 1 percent, while after 21 days, it slowed by about 2 percent, according to the study, reports Xinhua.

Researchers from the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Iowa College of Public Health reported the study result in the journal Health Affairs.

Between April 8 and May 15, governors of 15 US states and the mayor of Washington, DC signed orders to place mask mandates in public. The researchers studied changes in the daily county-level COVID-19 growth rates between March 31 and May 22.

They also projected the number of averted COVID-19 cases with the mandates for face mask use in public by comparing actual cumulative daily cases with daily cases predicted by a model if none of the states had enacted the public face cover mandate at the time they did.

Read Also: No ‘silver bullet’ to combat Covid-19 pandemic: WHO chief

The model estimates suggested that 230,000-450,000 cases may have been averted by May 22 due to these mandates.

The US is currently the worst coronavirus affected country in the world with 4,717,568 confirmed cases and 155,469 deaths.

Coronavirus cases were first reported in China in December last year. The World Health Organization declared it a pandemic in March.

The race for developing a vaccine is on but it is unclear when it will be available. Health experts suggest maintaining personal hygiene, washing hands regularly with soap and running water or alcohol based substance, wearing masks in public and maintaining physical distance from others as measures to curb the virus’ spread.

The young generation has to learn from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s nationalism, wisdom and internationalism to progress in the unprecedented times of 21st century, Professor Dr Haider A Khan has said.

Khan, a Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver and a member of the Advisory Board of Cosmos Foundation, was addressing a webinar on Thursday to commemorate the birth centenary of Bangabandhu, the founding father of Bangladesh.

The Center for the Study of Genocide and Justice (CSGJ) of the Liberation War Museum arranged a webinar titled ‘Bangabandhu, Nationalism and Internationalism: Lessons for Today’.

Speakers at the webinar discussed how Bangabandhu emerged as the key charismatic leader of the movement for political, economic and cultural self-determination.

Liberation War Museum trustee Mofidul Hoque said the lecture series was part of their effort to observe the birth centenary of Bangabandhu.

“We need to study his life, his contribution and his role in history. Every year we organise a lecture in August but this year is very special as it’s the birth centenary of Bangabandhu so we started this very special series focusing on many different aspects of his life. We are very happy that we are initiating this lecture series with Prof Dr Haider A Khan,” Hoque said.

He said they are organising the discussion virtually for the first time due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “Even though the doors at the Liberation War Museum are closed now, we’re opening our windows through this social media platform to use it effectively and meaningfully with lectures like this,” Mofidul Hoque said.

Lifelong commitment to democratic ideals

Dr Khan expressed his gratitude to LWM for arranging the webinar and explained that his agenda is to make the young generation aware of the eventful life and aspects of Bangabandhu as a journeyman behind the emergence of Bangladesh.

“For me, it is a lifelong project - and for as long as I am able to write and think, I will continue this,” he said.

Dr Khan discussed a brief manifesto through a set of 11 points of thought and action for the young generation to learn from the life of Bangabandhu. He also discussed his personal experience on what it was like to be alive during the most important political decade in the history of Bangladesh.

In the second part, he briefly discussed the main trajectory of the struggle since the founding of Pakistan until the beginning of Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971.

In the final part of his lecture, Dr Khan discussed Bangabandhu's internationalism and international activities after his return in early 1972 in Bangladesh.

“Bangabandhu’s internationalism was not a certain development [but] it was there throughout his life - from his earliest days of political involvement and certainly from the founding of Awami League in 1949 onwards.

“Throughout his life, Bangabandhu has been committed to deeply democratic ideals. Not just parliamentary democracy in its formal manifestation, but really the democracy of the people, for the people, by the people,” Dr Khan said.

The exact location where Dutch master Vincent van Gogh painted his last work has been identified after being hidden in plain view for years among a tangle of roots next to a rural lane near Paris.

The discovery by Wouter van der Veen, scientific director of the Van Gogh Institute in France, provides a new glimpse of the artist in his final hours.

Experts say the discovery sheds new light on the anguished painter's mental state on the day he is widely believed to have fatally shot himself.

 “Tree Roots,” was visible on a faded picture postcard featuring a man standing next to a bicycle on a back street of the village of Auvers-sur-Oise, 35 kilometers (21 miles) north of Paris.

Van Gogh spent the last weeks of his life in the village and completed dozens of paintings there. Helpfully, the card even included the name of the street.

It means art historians can now see that Van Gogh worked on the painting until the end of the afternoon, meaning he spent much of the day concentrating on the canvas.

“There has been a lot of speculation about his state of mind, but one thing that is very clear is that he spent quite a bit longer working on this painting right through the afternoon. We know that from the light fall in the work,” Emilie Gordenker, director of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday. “So, you know, he really was at work right up to  the end.”

The painting, which is not considered to have been completed by Van Gogh, hangs in the Amsterdam museum. Gordenker said its composition and execution — a tight focus on gnarled roots on a hillside — have led to it being seen as a “harbinger of abstraction.”

Van Gogh never got to further develop the painting style.

According to the museum’s version of Van Gogh’s life, after working on “Tree Roots” the artist walked into a nearby field of wheat later in the day and shot himself in the chest with a pistol.

He died two days later, on July 29, 1890, aged 37. Two American authors cast doubt on the theory in 2011, suggesting the artist was shot by two teenage boys.

Van der Veen believes the museum's version of events and agrees his new discovery shows that Van Gogh had his wits about him and was methodical in his thinking before he pulled the trigger to kill himself.

“So the final steps were also something he carefully thought about," he said. "So it was a lucid decision. It was not a fit of madness.”

The new discovery was made, in part, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.

While stuck at home during France's two-month lockdown, Van der Veen used the extra time to organize his numerous files and documents on Van Gogh, including digitizing images such as the old postcard from Auvers-sur-Oise.

One day in late April, during a phone conversation, he saw the card on his computer screen and it suddenly struck him that he was looking at the location of “Tree Roots.” Next to the man and his bicycle, roots and trees are clearly visible.

“It was an epiphany," he said. "A revelation.”

He wasn't able to visit the site for several weeks, but had a friend in the village visit and also took a virtual trip down the lane using Google's Street View.

Villagers know the spot and the main tree root well, even giving it the name “the elephant” because of its shape, Van der Veen said.

”It was really hiding in plain sight and it was even a little bit disguised as it had taken another identity,” he added.

The researcher says that while his discovery has given art historians more to mull about Van Gogh's last working day, it also provides tourists with an extra reason to visit Auvers-sur-Oise.

The French village already draws tens of thousands of visitors each year because of its links to Van Gogh, who spent his final weeks there and is buried in the village's cemetery alongside his brother, Theo.