Struggling with stress, trauma or anxiety? Herbalist and holistic nutritionist Luis Mojica reveals his powerful trio of herbs to calm the nervous system and restore balance to mind and body
In 2014 I was experiencing debilitating symptoms from undiagnosed Lyme disease that I received from a tick bite.
It took me over a year to get a proper diagnosis, and during that time, the Lyme had progressed into my nervous system. This resulted in difficulty focusing my eyes, extreme fatigue and visual fatigue; I could barely read anything on a page without getting dizzy and overwhelmed.
My adrenals were shot, and my nerves were fried. I was having a hard time sleeping because of the nervousness that came from these unknown symptoms and the biological wear and tear that my body was experiencing.
At the time, I was working in a health food store in Woodstock, New York, where I installed and managed a full herbal apothecary. While working my usual 12-hour Sunday shift, I became more overwhelmed by my neurological symptoms as the day went on.
I walked over to the herb wall and gazed upon them: All were herbs I knew well. I’d used them all throughout the past few years for my own health.
I grabbed a jar and began intuitively adding herbs that smelled, tasted or felt supportive to my condition, ending up with oat straw, holy basil and lemon balm. I made them into an infusion and began drinking it every day.
The results were almost immediate. I felt softened, relaxed and supported all at once.
I’ve now recommended this nourishing, balancing infusion to thousands of people to help support the body’s recovery from stress and trauma. Oat straw, holy basil and lemon balm are the holy trinity of herbs that help your body settle by balancing your blood sugar, nourishing your nerves, and allowing the adrenals to repair.
Let me introduce you to each one.
Oat straw is one of the most supportive herbs I’ve ever used. When you shop for it, you’ll find two types with similar-sounding names: oat straw and oat tops. (The latter is sometimes referred to as “milky oats” or “oat seeds.”)
The “tops” are the seeds of the oat plant, and they’re more concentrated in nutrients. The oat straw is the stem and leaf of the oat plant, less concentrated but still very nourishing.
I have experimented with both over the years and believe both forms are incredibly effective at supporting the nervous system. Some claim the oat seeds act quicker, but I’ve seen equal responses in my clients and even in myself.
So, just buy what you have access to. If you’re able to get both, consider mixing them in equal parts.
This is the same plant we harvest the oat grain from that becomes oatmeal, and if you’ve ever eaten a bowl of oatmeal (or seen an oatmeal ad), you know it’s a plant we naturally associate with comfort, nourishment, satiation and wholesomeness.
An infusion of oat straw is loaded with calcium, B vitamins and a bunch of minerals like iron, manganese, zinc, magnesium and silica. Silica is used by the body to restore connective tissue and regenerates nerves; vitamin B1 (thiamine) helps the nerves communicate with one another and helps the body turn carbs into energy, which means better blood sugar levels; and vitamin B2 (riboflavin) helps reduce inflammation and oxidative stress in our nerves.
In 2020, a study was done on 132 adults over a 29-day period. They were split up into four groups and given different doses of oat straw extract to see which would be most beneficial. One group was given a placebo. By the end of the study, all the participants taking oat straw (regardless of the dose) found it significantly reduced stress while increasing both memory and mental performance.1
Oat straw contains nitric oxide, which opens up your blood vessels, allowing more blood flow to the brain. It can also inhibit an enzyme called monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B), which helps preserve dopamine levels in the brain.2 Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter that plays a role in keeping us interested, excited and motivated.
Oat straw also contains a compound that may inhibit certain enzymes in the body that can cause anxiety.3
Herbalists have always known what the science is just now proving: Oat straw is a powerful medicine for nervous system function, blood sugar regulation and whole-body nourishment.
The only adverse effect I’ve seen is in people with celiac disease. Even though oat straw contains no gluten itself, it’s often processed alongside wheat and other glutenous grains, so there is potential for cross-contamination. Make sure to buy a certified gluten-free oat straw if you have a gluten allergy or intolerance.
Oat straw is a balancer because it can stabilize blood sugar, nourish the nervous system and support the adrenal glands. But no herb supports the adrenals quite like holy basil, or tulsi, a wonderful plant native to India. Its ability to balance stress hormones, lower inflammation in the body and even regulate the stress response makes it an important friend and ally to our adrenals.
These glands are responsible for excreting stress hormones when we’re experiencing crises or threat and then resting when the threat is over. They play a major role in deciding whether we’re stressed out or at peace.
In 2022, a clinical study was done on 100 people. Over the course of eight weeks, they were given four capsules totaling 250 mg of holy basil each day. No other changes to their lives occurred. They quickly experienced some pretty amazing results.
First, they had a 37 percent decrease in Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) scores. The PSS is a test that assesses how stressful someone perceives their life to be. The group taking the holy basil also enjoyed a 48 percent decrease in insomnia and a decrease in cortisol levels. All that in just two months—and from a small encapsulated herbal supplement.4
I believe holy basil’s ability to lower stress hormones in our bodies is the reason for its many other benefits. Lower stress hormones mean less work for your nerves, your brain and your overall body.
I have seen holy basil work its magic on thousands of people, in both infusion and tincture form. While I prefer the infusion method with oat straw, I’ve seen plenty of great results with tulsi tincture.
I’ve watched holy basil tell many people’s bodies that it’s okay to rest right now, such as one particular adrenalized client. He worked 16-hour days, had an extremely stressful home life and marriage, and was always “on.” He could never rest and was rapidly gaining weight and medicating with two bottles of wine every night to fall asleep.
He began using holy basil tincture, which he lovingly referred to as “the drops.” The first evening he used it, he fell asleep on the couch while watching television.
All this is why I include holy basil in my holy trinity of herbs to help with recovery from stress and trauma.
This lovely herb couldn’t be more clearly named. It has flavors of lemon and mint with a light sweetness, and it is quite the balm for our bodies and nervous systems.
Lemon balm is known for calming people dealing with anxiety, insomnia and overall stress. What I love about this herb is how multi-beneficial it is for our bodies—especially bodies recovering from stress and trauma.
When we’re in a chronic state of trauma and living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), our bodies are constantly being flooded with adrenaline. This has serious biological consequences like gut inflammation, digestive issues, sleep issues, and difficulty regulating our emotions and thoughts.5 Lemon balm is able to address all these and is loaded with antioxidants that help combat oxidative stress.
The compounds that cause its minty lemon flavor are also responsible for supporting digestion. Excess adrenaline will cause the gut to become inflamed, but lemon balm has the ability to soothe the gut lining while alleviating muscle tightness, allowing the gut to relax and release gas, and softening the tension that can cause stomach upset and digestive issues in the first place.6
Lemon balm also has cholagogues, a fancy word for compounds that support a healthy liver and gallbladder, making digestion stronger and more efficient.7 One study focused on people who had both anxiety and insomnia, which tend to go hand in hand. Given a daily lemon balm extract for 15 days, a full 70 percent of the participants went into full remission of their anxiety symptoms.
Even better, 85 percent of the people reported better sleep and no more insomnia. So, even 15 percent of the individuals who didn’t have full anxiety remission still reported better sleep.8
This is thought to happen because the plant contains compounds that prevent the breakdown of the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). GABA helps keep our brains from becoming too overly excited (anxious) and regulates our mood, emotions and even responses to stressors.
Lemon balm’s ability to support the immune system is noteworthy, especially when you consider how stress affects the immune system. For example, herpes simplex is the virus known for creating painful cold sores. Well, guess what triggers the virus to become activated once it’s dormant? Stress hormones.
Being flooded with adrenaline means having impaired immunity, which can cause more viral outbreaks. But lemon balm is a proven antiviral that can boost immunity and even treat viral outbreaks.
A study was done with 66 people dealing with cold sores. They were given lemon balm cream to put on their lips, and within two days, the redness and swelling began to go away.9
The compounds in lemon balm have been tested on many viruses, from Covid and avian flu to HIV—studies show it’s an effective inhibitor of these viruses.10
When you put three powerhouses like these together, you create a truly incredible elixir that can soothe the nerves, repair the adrenals and balance your blood sugar. So, how do you incorporate these three beauties into your life? Two common ways are tinctures and infusions.
The main difference between a tincture and an infusion is that the tincture mostly extracts and preserves the phytochemicals of an herb, whereas infusions extract phytochemicals and nutrients. Phytochemicals are the active compounds in plants that act as medicine inside our bodies. A tincture preserves the phytochemicals but not the vitamins and minerals.
The phytochemicals from wild herbs offer important medicine to our bodies, while the wild whole-food vitamins and minerals literally nourish and feed our cells like a vegetable would.
I prefer herbal infusions over tinctures because you get the full spectrum of phytochemicals, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. But tinctures are excellent if you’re traveling, don’t have time to infuse or are looking for only the medicinal benefits of the plant.
Here are some details of how to make each one.
Herbal infusions. According to the Wise Woman Tradition, an herbal infusion is 1 oz of a dried herb in 4 cups of boiled water.11 Flowers should be steeped for two hours, leaves for four hours and roots for eight hours.
I always recommend steeping most herbs overnight so the infusion is nutrient-dense in the morning. There’s also something lovely about a jar of wild medicine working its magic while you sleep and then greeting you upon rising, like a gift in the morning. The more steeping time, the more of the plant’s nutrients and medicine get infused into the water—especially for infusions that use the roots of an herb.
If you want to try the trinity of herbs as an infusion, follow the recipe for my Happy Nervous System Tea (see below).
Herbal tinctures. Tincturing herbs is another excellent and traditional way to extract the medicine from the flowers, roots and leaves of medicinal plants and preserve it in a concentrated liquid form. Tinctures come with eyedroppers for administering. You squeeze one all the way and release.
One squeeze equals one dropperful, which is about 30 drops. You can release the contents right into your mouth or into a little bit of water.
The two best liquids for creating a tincture are alcohol and apple cider vinegar. Alcohol is my first pick unless you’re avoiding it due to being in recovery from alcohol addiction. The medicinal benefits of a tincture are far more potent than the side effects from the negligible alcohol content.
To put it into perspective, an average dose of a tinctured herb is one dropperful up to three times a day, which is about half a teaspoon. If you took the maximum amount every day, it would take you about one and a half weeks to get through a 1 oz bottle, which is less than a shot glass.
If you’re avoiding alcohol, look for apple cider vinegar extracts. If you can’t find those, look for non-GMO glycerin, which will also be sweeter and more palatable.
If you want to use tinctures, simply buy oat straw, holy basil and lemon balm in tincture form. Mix 1 full dropper (however much you can get with one squeeze) of each herb into a small amount of water, just enough to drink it with. Take one dose before dinner and another an hour before bed.
If you have a high amount of anxiety, and this tincture doesn’t make you sleepy, then you could increase your intake to four doses: one with each meal and one before bed.
Capsules. I’m not a fan of herbal capsules. While the herbs will still go to work in your body and they’re definitely quick and easy to consume, the downsides are considerable.
For one thing, they’re weak. You would need to take 62 capsules to equal the 1 oz that you’d use in an herbal infusion. They’re also encapsulated, meaning there’s a barrier between them and your taste buds, so you don’t get the same conscious, relational experience with the herb as you would from tasting it, nor will it contribute to redeveloping your taste buds.
This is why capsules, generally speaking, are my least favorite method of using herbal medicine.
Having said that, all the studies I’ve mentioned on the effectiveness of oat straw, holy basil and lemon balm have been done using small doses of capsuled herbs. In other words, they still work. As always, let your body, capacity and intuition guide your choices around which herbs and which form of herbs to use.
Some herbs can be taken long-term, and others are good to do seasonally or in short-term cycles due to their cleansing nature.
When it comes to studies for the three herbs I’m recommending, oat straw has been studied long-term with no safety issues, while lemon balm has been studied for use only up to six months and holy basil for use up to three months. This doesn’t mean they’re unsafe if you take them longer; it just means there are no studies to disprove or back up any safety concerns.
My professional and personal experience with these three herbs has continued for many years without any side effects or issues. I know many herbalists who recommend these herbs for long-term use and also haven’t seen any issues with their clients besides the wonderful benefits I’ve outlined.
After several months of use, sometimes it’s helpful to take a month-long break and then start again. If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, have an underactive thyroid, or are on medication, make sure to consult a medical doctor before beginning any herbs. It’s also a good idea to consult an experienced herbalist who can offer individual advice.
Grief, overwhelm, financial issues, relationship issues, dredging up old traumatic events in therapy—there’s an ongoing plethora of things in life to have stress about. And just being stressed about something is enough to impact your body the same way processed foods can.
Chronic, stress-induced hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) has been studied, and here’s what we’ve learned: When stress responses happen temporarily, the body recovers. This is what it means to be “regulated.” However, a chronic state of stress means your body is also chronically being flooded with adrenaline, which throws off your glucose levels.
Adrenaline is the catalyst for the release of stored glycogen from the liver, so whenever there is a stress response in the body, there’s also an increase in glucose. This can lead to hyperglycemia and even diabetes.1
Remember, being stressed is not just a state of mind but a state of the body. Adrenaline affects your entire being and, when it’s long-term, the body doesn’t have the chance to recover. This is unsustainable.
Consider that 1 oz of a dried herb is around 28 grams, and the common tea bag in a box is right around 1 g. You would need 28 tea bags, or the entire box of tea, to equal the nutrients of a single infusion.
For example, a tea bag of oat straw steeped in 1 cup of boiled water yields around 35 mg of calcium, while 1 cup of oat straw infusion yields over 300 mg of calcium.
Teas are lovely, but infusions are sources of natural multivitamins—multinutrients, really. They are filled with vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants.
The herbal infusions you drink flood your body with nutrients and deliver nourishment to your blood, organs and tissues. Tasting the wild herbs is another bonus because you’ll experience flavor profiles that have been leeched or bleached out of modern processed diets.
From the tart, tannic taste of certain flowers to the bitterness of certain roots, herbal infusions expand your taste buds and awaken your body’s ancestral cravings. Your taste buds may have once been conditioned to crave food made in factories that follow the mainstream salty and sweet profiles, but herbs expand and awaken your body’s much older, wiser, ancestral taste memories.
Ingredients
½ cup oat straw
¼ cup holy basil
¼ cup lemon balm
Method
I recommend drinking 1 cup of this tea, warmed to room temperature or to your liking, two hours before bed. If you experience high levels of anxiety through the day, have your first cup after lunchtime and then the other two hours before bed.
Some people get sleepy with this tea, so I advise testing it on an off-day instead of drinking it mid-work shift and feeling too tired to continue.
Adapted from Food Therapy: Conscious Eating to Navigate Anxiety, Stress and Trauma by Luis Mojica (Hay House, 2026), $18.99/£16.99
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