Although, there are quite a lot of herbs out there, and it can be difficult to know what, exactly, to keep in your herbal arsenal. Not to worry: Below, Rawls offers five of his all-time favorite herbs to have handy. You might be surprised by a few of these underrated players: Meaning: Rhodiola is really good at protecting itself from physical stressors (like brutal winds), “and it’s really great for protecting us against physical stress factors,” Rawls notes. “Rhodiola is a really nice herb just for getting you through the day and making you a little more resilient.” One clinical trial1 even showed that participants who took Rhodiola rosea every morning were more capable of fighting burnout and maintaining concentration throughout the day. “It has been found to have antiviral properties2,” adds Rawls, and may even help be protective for your liver3. “It just does all kinds of wonderful things for the body,” he says. Here’s how to add reishi to your regular routine, if you feel so inclined. Because of its intrinsic antioxidant actions and ability to promote a healthy inflammatory response in the entire body, turmeric is “really good for the joints7, protects the brain, protects really all cells in the body,” Rawls adds. “As we age, we lose the ability to process toxins [as efficiently] but also manage cholesterol and blood sugar,” says Rawls. As it turns out, a healthy liver over the long term is pivotal for effective detoxification, as well as glucose and lipid balance, he explains. A review from Phytocology Research found that silymarin (aka, the phytonutrient bioactive responsible for milk thistle’s many benefits in the body) largely supports the liver by protecting it and acting as a toxin blockage agent by inhibiting toxins from binding to liver cells. See, long ago when humans foraged for food, we used to eat a lot of dirt. “When we ate dirt, we also ate bacteria and fermented [microbes] from the soil, so we got a lot of fulvic acid and humic acid. We’re not [typically] getting that in our diets anymore,” says Rawls. Of course, that’s not to say you should start scarfing down some nutrient-rich soil. “Shilajit is a really nice way to replace that,” he adds.
