Bacopa - What Is This Strange New Herb And Why It's Perfect For Your Skin

Bacopa is a new herb in the US, but in India and Asia, it's millennia old. Also called brahmi, water hyssop, thyme-leaved gratiola, and herb of grace, bacopa is an essential medicinal plant in traditional Ayurvedic medicine.

It's not hard to cultivate yourself, as in some places, it can be considered a weed. Supplementing this herb in your diet can bring a lot of health benefits.

What Is Bacopa?

Traditionally Ayurvedic medicine used bacopa for mental energy, reducing anxiety, and treating fits (seizures). Fortunately, science supports many of these traditional uses, lending it to be one of the best new herbs to find their way onto the market.

Bacopa is rich in antioxidants, particularly the ones that help prevent lipid peroxidation. This form of oxidation is particularly damaging to our cellular structure, particularly the myelin sheath around nerves. Once the myelin sheath is damaged, it's quite easy for pain and neuropathy to set in. Bacopa has been shown to help reduce memory impairment.

When it comes to inflammation, bacopa is quite powerful, nearly as powerful as some anti-inflammatory medications. It helps reduce the inflammation, particularly the pro-inflammation enzymes, such as cyclooxygenases, caspases, and lipoxygenases. Reducing inflammation helps reduce the signs of aging, pain, and fatigue.

The antioxidant potential also helps reduce anxiety and stress.

How Bacopa Helps Your Skin

All of these antioxidants don't just work in your brain. Our skin uses a tremendous amount of healthy fats to make sure we keep the outside on the outside and the inside on the inside.

In particular, bacopa seems to help the epithelium layer of our skin. This is the layer whose functions include secretion (oils), selective absorption, protection, and sensing. It's the growing layer of our skin that is actively alive.

Traditionally, Indian women infused bacopa into sesame oil and use that as a deep moisturizing liquid for their hair and scalp. It helped keep their hair long and healthy.

The antioxidant compounds in bacopa help reduce signs of aging, such as wrinkles and dark spots.

Some studies have reported a side effect of reduced asthma and allergy reactions when taking bacopa. Although this hasn't been studied directly, some participants of studies report reduced allergies during their trial. You know allergies make your face red and blotchy, so this can help keep your skin clear.

Where To Find Bacopa?

Although you can grow bacopa on your own, treating it much like many other water plants, getting therapeutic doses usually requires a supplement. Fortunately, there are many quality supplements you can choose from.

However, most of the bacopa gets used in various formulas, particularly because of its antioxidant capacity. Fortunately, taking this supplement will help both your mind and your body. The energy you get from having clear mental thinking will help radiate through your skin and help you feel better and move around more.

Certain people should not use bacopa, because of specific side effects. Those who have an already low heart rate may find bacopa lowers it even further. People with ulcers might find their condition worsening as it increases acid secretion. People with lung issues may find more congestion because it increases the flow of mucus. It also has some reported effects on thyroid hormone production, so people with thyroid issues and taking thyroid medication should use caution with bacopa.

Bacopa studies commonly use 300-450 milligrams of extract per day for healthy adults, and we recommend if you're new to this nutrient, you start at a much lower dose.  Some recommendations start as low as 20 milligrams per day. Bacopa is better absorbed with healthy fats, such as olive oil, avocados, or fatty fish.