In a number of our interviews with different natural health gurus, there is one herb that keeps coming up again and again. It’s revered for enhancing brain function and has been used in India and China for thousands of years for its positive effect on memory, clarity and focus...
The crazy part? It grows all over the place and most of us westerners think it’s a weed when it grows in our yards…
The herb is called Gotu Kola and there is one woman who knows it like the back of her hand. On a visit out to Hawaii, I had the honor of hanging out with Genna Wolkon of Kauai Farmacy who gave us a deep-dive into this powerful plant and how it can be used to heal and turbocharge your brain.
This is one special herb – I hope you learn as much about it from Genna as we did!
FULL TRANSCRIPT
[Genna] So this is Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica). And gotu kola is an esteemed herb and Ayurvedic medicine. So this plant is amazing for the brain,
this is essentially brain food. And it’s really designed for calming the central nervous system. It’s amazing for a cognitive function and really, really helpful for people that are combating dementia or Alzheimer’s, or prone to that.
So another one of those amazing doctrine of signatures, this particular plant has the … you can look here it looks like two half spheres of the brain, the two lobes of the brain and all the neurological veins, see all the neurons. And then we have the long spinal column. So amazing brain food.
[Nick] Wow! So what’s, what’s in gotu kola that that helps it achieve those effects?
[Genna] It’s a really good question. There’s a compound in it … well there’s a couple of things, but there’s a compound in it, it actually is a cell regenerative compound. Similar to like that of comfrey. So again, this can be used topically. So you can use it for like cuts, scrapes, wound healing. It’s a really good … it’s really good for like a youthful complexion. So we do put this
in our botanical body butter for a multitude of reasons, but helping to create that next level of cells on our body.
Because we’re always, because everything is temporary, right. Everything
our cells are temporary, everything in our body, the food we put in goes in it comes out. So we’re just helping that process along and keeping up and hopefully having some preventive and some maintenance as we go. And the gotu kola helps us with that.
[Nick] So where does it grow? I mean can you can you find this in the states and like outside of Hawaii?
[Genna] Yeah, you know, it’s so funny because I was down on the east coast, the lower East Coast in Florida visiting family, and it’s just growing wild. It’s a weed. There’s different varieties this … that one happens to be a more succulent variety, has a little more water in it .We have others throughout
the gardens, different varieties, there’s the ones that I saw were smaller – a little bit more like leafier like a lettuce leaf, not as robust as this one. But I was so excited I was like, ‘oh this is fantastic.’
Now you have to watch … you have to make sure that you have a source that hasn’t been sprayed or, you know, or altered in any particular way. And that’s just the unfortunate world that we live in is that we can’t always trust everything that we see in nature anymore, because there are so many other environmental influences that could … that can change the actual intention
of the plant. So yeah, knowing your source and just making sure that you do your homework and you have enough information that when you do eat that herb that you find in the wild, you’re most likely you’re you’re fine.
[Nick] I mean it tastes almost like something you could add to a salad, like a
salad green. Could you eat it? Could you eat it like a food? Just, you know.
[Genna] Yes and this is one of those super foods. It’s amazing. It’s super high chlorophyll – great oxygenation for the body and and that helps with adjusting free radicals in the body and just making sure that all of the … that there’s no abnormalities in the cells. So this is just one of those plants that like we put it in our super foods. We put it in a lot of our teas and then we eat it whole. I mean I’m constantly munching on this. They say like, they say like, ‘5 gotu kola a day, keeps the doctor away.’ And then you know what I believe it! Do I believe it!
This is one of those plants in fact … and I don’t know exactly where I read this so I can’t give credit where credit is due, but there was a … elephants that had been tested for a high IQ. And they are very, very intelligent animals so they wanted to see what they were foraging in the in the wild, what were they eating? And so they followed the elephants and this is what they were eating in the wild. Just something to think about, pun intended.
Stay curious,
Nick Polizzi
Host of Proven: Healing Breakthroughs Backed By Science
& Founder of The Sacred Science
Many thanks for emails and information Nick, you do a marvelous job.
I have gotu kola (pennywort here in Down East NC) all over the place. . .and it is a weed! We can’t keep up with the growth in this area and we’re constantly pulling it out and throwing it away. I’ve been aware for a long time that it was edible and have been adding it to my salads long before it was dubbed “gotu kola”. Additionally, my yard is organic and has been for 20 years. I, however cannot attest to it being a “brain food.”
I do not know this herbaceous unless you write the scientific name – in latin universal language I use for plantas and animals which I learned at the university – Regional names are regional and diferentes even if I knot it visually
This is great!…. A very important report that should be more spread out.
I appreciate you sending me a copy to acknowledge me.
Now, I am going to look for it every where this plant.
Thank you.
Does Gotu Kola grow wild in Europe?
Jackie
Kiev
Ukraone
I loved the interview as I get to see the plant as I learn about it. In Colorado this one is definitely not native.. I’d like to know more plants for healing bulging disk and an “on fire” nervous system.
Nick please reply by email to my comment thanks
This plant looks remarkably like the miner’s lettuce I used to gather and eat in California. Are they related?
I really love the in depth information that encourages you to research. Understanding the actual food your body needs us just growing as a weed. I saw some of this plant growing alongside my fence a few days ago.
I am very interested in treating your product.
I am currently using doTERRA products but feel there is something that … there is ‘more’. Looking forward to having the funds to try your product! They look great!
Thank you for doing such wonderful work and for sharing. Love and Light to you Nick!
Thank you sharing this! I would like to try it…how do we get the special discount please?!
This Gotu Kola is growing on my lawn again, i noticed recently. In my book on Indian medicinal plants, it was called ‘Mendak Parni’, which means ‘frog’s paw’ in sanskrit.. (that book was never returned). It does spread fast, and i pick a few leaves to chew, occasionally, to help my occasional memory gaps. (i live in North India in the himalayan foothills)… i’m glad to see on the video that this herb is also helpful to treat varicose veins, i have a problem there, too. Thanks for this video, Nick.
Thanks Nick for sending me this video in your email.
It only goes to prove that mother nature knows best. She was here first, and will be here when we are all gone. We must look after our rain forests, farm lands and pastures, including our rivers and seas, as they supply us with most, if not all of our natural foods and medicines for generations to come. When the Earth is polluted through ignorance and misuse of chemicals, including plastic bottles, we have only our selves to blame. John
THANKYOU Jessica. Do you know if this is available in the Souther states of Australia?
I felt she did not answer the question about the plant. Of what in the plant does all these wonderful things. She went right back into more ailments it helps with
Hi Ben, Marie’s Eco Nursery Facebook page here in SW Victoria Australia will be able to help you. I’m contacting her to order hard-to-find potted herbs, including this one. Best wishes, Julia Olwyn
Cool. Looking forward to learning more. Mahalo!
Gotu-kola (brain food). I think is amazing. I LOVE LEARNING about herbs .. been learning different things on herb for 27 yrs.
I have just begun to study herbs and how they impact our health. I want to learn everything I can
Does it help with mitochondria shortening
I have asperger’s and high stress condition
which has led to periodic blackouts.
could Gotu Kola help reverse that.
I don’t drink or smoke and follow a vegan diet.
I recently started taking Seagreens food capsules.
sorry, there was no tone in the youtube.
sorry, my computer was mute. that is why I reported error. sorry.
the video is excellent. thanks for sharing.
Peace & Love
All War is Evil
No More War
Where best to source Gotu Kola seeds?
I was at the Kauai Farmacy last October. It was the highlight of my trip. Their products and farm are awesome.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful information Nick.
I read another comment posted here — Florence Rastogi says: “… i’m glad to see on the video that this herb is also helpful to treat varicose veins…” — I did not hear that in this video. Nick (or anyone who can answers these questions), do you know if this is true, or referred to in some other source? I would be very interested in knowing if Gotu Kola has been noted to help this ailment (an added benefit to the cognitive function/brain food)!
I enjoy all of your posts. After researching Gotu Kola , I do not think it is something to be taken by mouth. There are many serious side effects from the plant and it should not be taken with many medications. So BEWARE
I was hoping for more information about the active Chemicals in gotu kola. I grew some and when I tried eating one leaf, once a day, I had bizarre side effects: memory issues, motor coordination problems and inability to concentrate. Of course, I stopped using it, But I have been unable to find any mention of these side effects on the Web, Nor mention of what the active Chemicals are. I’m especially curious because I have similar side effects to tulsi.
Hi
Thanks Nick for let us get to know this plant.
I found out that it is also growing in Middle Europe and its latin name is “entella asiatica”
It belongs to the plant called “Apiaceae”.
Is Gotu Kola related to the nasturtium plant = looks very similar and nasturtium is also used medicinally and in salads etc
Where is it available, aside from foraging for it?
Thanks, I live in Central Texas and was wondering if Gotu Kola grows here, and where to buy it? Do you know if you can purchase it in stores? Also, where would I find the side effects, and can you use it if you have blood pressure issues? Thanks
How do you preparenthe above herb? Tea? Tincture? Just eat?
We and nature are one . Nature nourishes our body , mind and body . So whenever we feel discomfort we run to nature , our mom . Feel just like cocreated once you are in nature . There is no weird to find what we miss in nature and what to feed ourselves .
Thanks for sharing
In Saint Marys, GA where we used to live for a couple of years there was lots of gotu kola and its cousin “dollar weed” or pennywort growing all over the place and one day I couldn’t resist the urge and got a few leaves and started munching on them. Now, it just so happened that I was in pain at that time with my neck, shoulder and arm, but after I ate three to four leaves withing 15 minutes my pain went away and I got deep sense of joy, motivation and complete contentment. So, I wondered if there was any information online in regards to such effects and indeed I had found out that gotu kola can alleviate nerve pain and it does bring on either a sense of great calm or even euphoria which I had experienced that day. After that I started gathering lots of gotu kola and blended them with some water, strained it and drank the juice from it which I found it to be more pleasant to take it in. Also, I dried a bunch of it and I used it in the winter in my herbal teas. Even now, whenever I used it, it makes me feel really good and simply happy. 🙂 Both gotu kola and pennywort work just as well for me.
Thanks so much, Nick, for sharing your great finds & Knowledge of Alternative Medicine, with the rest of the World! 🙏
In 2007, 2 friends who studied herbalism told me about cleavers, a common weed on my half acre of land. They told me that if I took 3 or 4 inches of the tips of 25-30 plants, soaked it in cold water over night, and drank it in the morning, it would build my immune system. Up until that point, I would get the flu every year, it would last a couple of weeks from very beginning to very end. I began doing what they suggested, and haven’t had the flu for 14 years.
I am not a scientist, maybe it is all placebo effect (?) but I am so grateful to be healthy (at 80).
Love you reminding us to be curious – I reckon it’s one of the most important things in life!
Thanks for this interesting video!
I wonder if this can be purchased dried and made into infusions, etc. for those of us who don’t have it growing in our area, or live in a harsh climate. I am so interested in these topics and try to incorporate them into my lifestyle as soon as I learn of them.
I am from Ethiopia.
I know this plant.but I am not sure wether Its exactly this one or not.
How can I confirm it?
I would like to add natural things to my diet to help me lower my cholesterol…naturally, along with more exercise.
I’m loving all your shared knowledge and loooovveedd the remedy series… didn’t miss a episode. I now take ASHWAGANDA daily and have a super powder containing many of nature’s gifts your series covered and drink Gotu kola and hibiscus tea. Big thank you Nick from here on the other side of the planet In Melbourne Australia Xoxox
I would love to know more so I can help individuals with some of their illnesses. I am excited to know more I will be looking for it everywhere, thanks for your information very helpful
good way to enhance the memory level in this site.
I would like to see the a actual scientific research on this plant. Nothing in the interview gives evidence to the extraordinary claims.
Very Good. / Wonderful
Where can I buy this herb, Gotu Gola? Im afraid of looking for it in my back yard. Does it come in tea form.? Thank you for all the information. LOVE IT
Most Interesting. I would like to know where I can buy this in S. Africa please ?