In my first Botanical Medicine course at Bastyr University, in the first week, we were introduced to plants that work as nervous system tonics (nervines). My professor, an experienced herbalist and Naturopathic Doctor, introduced these important plants to us with the expectation that her overworked medical students could use them as allies during the year – and we did! Nervine plants are mild enough to use regularly and are agents that have a calming, soothing, or strengthening effect on the nervous system. Over the years, I have played with different combinations of nervines to calm me during a stress storm and quiet my mind when it is time to rest. I love these plants – they help shift my sensation of stress and increase my general happiness – they make such a difference for me – and my patients!

I explain to my patients that using nervous system tonics does not make your stress disappear, yet the tonics help create the feeling of a soft hand at your back gently supporting you forward through life. That is a nice feeling! Stress, fatigue, and sleep disturbances are incredibly common complaints for busy adults. Children often present with sleep problems, hyperactivity or emotional liability when their systems are overwhelmed by stress. I use a multifactorial approach when treating stress related emotional and physical manifestations, and this often includes one or a combination of these nervine tonics. I was thrilled to see them included in Rejuvila’s Elemental AGEx Nutrisqweeze.

Lemon balm, Melissa officinalis

This light, aromatic plant in the mint family has a mild sedative (calmative) quality. It is helpful for all disturbances of the nervous system, but specifically for indigestion and insomnia due to stress (1).

Passionflower, Passiflora incarnata

Research shows this beautiful plant to be antispasmodic, hypotensive, calmative, anti-inflammatory and pain reducer (2). This plant is used for agitated and restless individuals and helpful for exhaustion due to stress (3).

Chamomile, Matricaria recutita

For centuries this plant has been used as an antispasmodic and calmative for anxiety. It is specific for nervous system irritability or restlessness, irritability, and sensitivity. It can produce mild sedation and decrease anxiety without producing a depression of central nervous system activity (5). This plant is also antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory and useful for colic and indigestion.

Valerian, Valeriana officinalis

A relaxant used for restlessness, hysteria, emotional stress, pain, insomnia, nervous irritation, and pain. Valerian relaxes the mind without interfering with clear thought (6).

Hops, Humulus lupulus

Hops is indicated for an irritable digestive tract and nervous system. It is specific for nervousness with muscular irritability, indigestion, and sleeplessness (7).

These plant allies work synergistically to promote a sensation of calm, wellness, and general well being. After incorporating nervines into daily living, my patients often report a global sense of improved stress management, clarity of mind, and restful sleep.

1. Sharol Tilgner. Herbal Medicine From the Heart of the Earth. (Creswall: Wise Acres Publishing, 1999), 219.

2. E. Speroni and R. Billi, Sedative Effects of Crude Extract of Passiflora incarnata after Oral Administration. Phytotherapy Research. 1996;10:S92-S94.

3. Tilgner, Herbal Medicine, 219.

4. Tilgner, Herbal Medicine, 50.

5. Viola, De Stein, Wolfman, et al., Apigenein, a Component of Matricaria recutita Flowers, is a Central Benzodiazepine Receptor-ligand with Anxiolytic Effects. Planta Medica. 1995; 61:213-216.

6. William Mitchell. Plant Medicines in Practice. (St. Louis; Churchill Livingston, 2003), 344.

7. Tilgner, Herbal Medicine, 74.

Hillary Fredrickson, ND started her career in Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University, the largest university for natural health arts and sciences in the United States. At Bastyr, her focus was in naturopathic family health with much academic and clinical work in Chinese medicine. For many years Dr. Hillary was the Naturopathic expert at Pediatric Alternatives, an integrative pediatric practice in Mill Valley, California, offering integrative pediatric and family primary care.

The basis of her medical approach is using diet and proper supplementation to optimize daily energy and wellness while keeping chronic inflammation and disease at bay. In addition to her primary care family practice, Dr. Hillary created a two-week anti-inflammatory, liver detox protocol and supervises several detox programs throughout the year.

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Turmeric, or Cucuma longa, is a rhizome with a very long history of culinary, ceremonial, and medical uses. Turmeric, which grows wildly in South and Southeast Asia, is one of the main ingredients in Indian and Thai curries. The rhizome and powder have been used for centuries in both Ayurvedic medicine and Chinese medicine. In traditional Western herbal medicine, turmeric has been used as a digestive stimulant and to treat congestion and inflammation in the liver (1).

Currently, this powerful plant is getting attention in Western medicine and is being widely researched. Turmeric is a mighty antioxidant and has shown to be protective to DNA changes by reactive oxygen species. The protective ability of turmeric was higher than beta-carotene and vitamin E (2). Turmeric is also a potent anti-inflammatory and demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory activity in osteoarthritis (3) and has been used topically for wound healing and skin diseases such as eczema. Curcumin (an active ingredient in Turmeric) has also shown reduced tumor formation (antimutagenic) in smokers (4) and is demonstrating ability to inhibit the initiation and promotion steps in certain types of cancer. Turmeric is hypercholesterolemic (5) and a mild hypoglycemic agent.

Turmeric is also an important medicine to support the liver and detoxification pathways. Turmeric stimulates digestion by increasing gastric juices and bile secretion. It then serves as an antioxidant during detoxification and directly reduces hepatotoxicity (6).

This ancient plant has so much to offer our modern lifestyle and is one of the greatest tonic plants we can use. The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cancer fighting properties give this herbal powerhouse wide range of therapeutic benefits. Use your food as medicine! Turmeric is easy to incorporate into your weekly diet and daily supplementation.

1. Grieve M. A modern herbal, vol 2. Dover Publications, New York, 1971, pp 822-823.

2. Subramanian M, Sreejayan, Rao MN et al. Mutat Res 1994: 311 (2); 249-255.

3. Gianni Belcaro, et al: Alternative Medicine Review 2010: 15(4).

4. Polasa K, Rughuram TC, Krishna JP, Krishnaswamy K: Mutagenesis 7(2): 107-109. 1992.

5. Subbarao D, Chandrasekhara N, Satyanarayana MN, Srinivasan, MJ: Nutrition 100: 1307-1315, 1970.

6. Kiso Y,Duzuki Y, Watanabe N et al. Planta Med 1983: 49: 185-187.

Hillary Fredrickson, ND started her career in Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University, the largest university for natural health arts and sciences in the United States. At Bastyr, her focus was in naturopathic family health with much academic and clinical work in Chinese medicine. For many years Dr. Hillary was the Naturopathic expert at Pediatric Alternatives, an integrative pediatric practice in Mill Valley, California, offering integrative pediatric and family primary care.

The basis of her medical approach is using diet and proper supplementation to optimize daily energy and wellness while keeping chronic inflammation and disease at bay. In addition to her primary care family practice, Dr. Hillary created a two-week anti-inflammatory, liver detox protocol and supervises several detox programs throughout the year. Currently, Dr. Hillary is on sabbatical in Madrid, Spain and enjoying time with her husband and three young children.

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I’m drinking a cup of warm green tea on a cold morning in Madrid.  This is the drink in the morning that feeds my soul, my cells, and starts off the day on the right foot.  The antioxidant capacity of the polyphenol compounds (catechins) in this plant have been studied extensively and the data is extremely motivating to start incorporating this healthful beverage into your daily routine.  The antioxidants in green tea have been shown to be more powerful than Vitamin C and E and have widespread positive effects across many cellular processes (1).

Another very powerful effect of the polyphenols, and often less discussed, is their role in cellular detoxification.  The active polyphenols in green tea actually help our bodies fight against the daily exposure of toxins in our body!  Green tea catechins significantly increase the activity of detoxification enzymes including glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase with activity in the tissue of the small intestines, lungs, and liver (2).  Glutathione is one of our body’s most potent antioxidant and it is actually quite difficult to supplement.  Green tea directly stimulating the up-regulation of glutathione is likely one of the reasons this plant has been touted for increasing vitality and life extension!

Although green tea does have 30-40 mg of caffeine per cup, I rarely see it over-stimulate my patients.  If you are extremely sensitive to caffeine, steep the tea for 30 seconds, discard, and re-steep for 3-5 minutes.  Most of the caffeine will leave in the first steep and you are left with the positive benefits, without the caffeine.  Green tea is slightly bitter (a quality that helps stimulate liver activity and digestion) but is easy to get accustomed to drinking.  It is better to drink without milk, as it tends to bind the flavonoids and makes them less bioavailable (3).   I always recommend to new tea drinkers to head to your health food store and try some of the many different flavors of bulk leaves – my favorite is Earl Green.

Makes me want another cup…

1. Ho C, et al.: Antioxidant effect of polyphenol extract prepared from various Chinese teas, Prevent Med 21:520-525, 1992.
2. Khan SG, et al.: Enhancement of antioxidant and phase II enzymes by oral feeding of green tea polyphenols in drinking water to SKH-1 hairless mice: possible role in Ca chem prevention, Cancer Res 52:4050-4052, 1992.

Mitchell, William. Plant Medicine in Practice. St. Louis, 2003. Churchill Livinstone.

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Our genome contains all of the information to make us who we are, but the details of our behavior, appearance and health are actually determined by gene regulation and expression.  Agouti mice give us an example of identical twins (with the exact same genome) yet can differ entirely in color and size (1).  Though the genes are identical, the way the genome is expressed creates this difference in phenotype. The epigenome is the network of molecules intertwined with DNA that control the expression of genes (silencing, upregulating, downregulating), which effect both physical features and the condition of organs, tissues, and cells.   The genome plus the epigenome together create the phenotype of the organism and determine the health and vitality of the organism as it ages.

The agouti mice have been researched extensively and have been important in the field of epigenetics.  The agouti gene makes the rodents ravenous.  A typical agouti mouse is yellow, obese, and prone to diabetes and cancer.  In 2000, Randy Jirtle, a professor of radiation oncology at Duke University, and his postdoctoral student Robert Waterland designed a groundbreaking genetic experiment that showed that changing the mother’s diet (increase in methyl donors – B vitamins and Folic acid) before conception and throughout pregnancy completely altered the appearance of her offspring.  Although the offspring still had the agouti gene, it was not fat and yellow like it’s mother – it was smaller, thin and grey.  The offspring lived longer and did not have the same famous health problems (obesity, diabetes, and cancer) as the typical mice with the agouti gene (2).  The dietary change downregulated the expression of the agouti gene and it had a lifelong beneficial change on the phenotypical expression of the offspring.

Although there are genetic diseases that result from a single defective gene, most common diseases in our society are a result of environmental influences together with individual genetic susceptibility.  The study above illustrates the dramatic influence diet has on the genetic expression.  Similarly, researchers have also demonstrated that fish oil supplementation for six months altered gene expression to produce a more anti-inflammatory status (3).   Although we have been using Omega-3’s as an anti-inflammatory for a long time, these studies are both proving the effect and giving a mechanism of action at the genetic level.  This can explain why something like Omega 3 fatty acids have results in so many different systems – cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, neurological.

This is an exciting time in medicine.  Many researches across the globe are investigating natural supplements, diet changes, and emotional health to discover the epigenetic effects.  The story of nature vs. nurture is being rewritten.  I am now picturing it as a Yin-Yang symbol representing the balance and interaction of these two energies.  We are made of our DNA and genome, yet many factors that we can control in our own lives can influence how this DNA is expressed in our bodies.   We need to pay attention!  A diet in whole, organic foods rich in omega three fatty acids and antioxidants will actually support our health and vitality at the genetic level.  So, grab some chia seeds, kale chips, and sip some green tea while taking a minute to reflect on all that is good in your life – and know you are doing even more good for your DNA, body and soul!

1. Adams, J. (2008) Obesity, epigenetics, and gene regulation. Nature Education 1(1)
2. R. Waterland, R. Jirtle. Transposable Elements: Targets for Early Nutritional Effects on Epigenetic Gene Regulation. Mol Cell Biol. August 2003; 23 (15): 5293-5300
3. M. Bouwens, O. van de Rest, N. Dellschaft, et al. Fish-oil supplementation induces antiinflammatory gene expression profiles in human blood mononuclear cells. Am J Clin Nutr 2009;90:415-424

Hillary Fredrickson, ND started her career in Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University, the largest university for natural health and sciences in the United States.  At Bastyr, her focus was in naturopathic family health and Chinese medicine.  For many years Dr. Hillary was the Naturopathic expert at Pediatric Alternatives, an integrative pediatric practice in Mill Valley, California, offering integrative pediatric and family primary care.  The basis of her medical approach is using diet and proper supplementation to optimize daily energy and wellness while keeping chronic inflammation and disease at bay.  In addition to her primary care family practice, Dr. Hillary created a two-week anti-inflammatory, liver detox protocol and supervises several detox programs throughout the year.   Currently, Dr. Hillary is on sabbatical in Madrid, Spain and enjoying time with her husband and three young children.

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Clinically, there are four pillars of supplementation I address with nearly all of my patients. Along with a proper diet, the four pillars support health optimization and disease prevention and also reverse chronic inflammation.  The first pillar is proper essential fatty acid intake. Essential fatty acids are critical in maintaining fluidity of cellular membranes (enabling necessary nutrient transport and cellular communication) and producing anti-inflammatory immune modulators.  Antioxidants are the second pillar.  Antioxidants aid in cellular healing and significantly reduce free radical damage, thereby slowing aging and inflammation.  The third pillar is liver support. The liver is the primary organ of detoxification and critical in proper digestion and clearing toxins found in our environment and food. Finally, pillar four aids the nervous system and adrenal glands in counteracting the abundant stress in the American lifestyle.   A healthy nervous system is critical for a sense of balance and calm by day and restful sleep at night.

Rejuvila’s Elemental AGEx supports all four of my tenets of basic health and disease prevention in one food-based supplement (rather than synthetic vitamins and minerals).  Chia seed oil is a sustainable and rich source of omega 3 fatty acids which create an anti-inflammatory setting at a cellular level.  This ancient omega energy base is an excellent foundation for this product.  Elemental AGEx is also loaded with clinically proven, high ORAC valued antioxidants: trans-Resveratrol, green tea extract, whole grape and dark berry extracts, Holy Basil, and raw cacoa.  Curcumin is both a powerful antioxidant and a potent medicine to support the liver function.  Astragalus supports both the liver, optimizes energy, and is anti-inflammatory.  The plants chosen to tonify the nervous system and reduce the effects of stress are both potent and ancient medicines.  Chamomile, Lemon balm, Passion flower, Hops and Valerian have been used together for ages to promote a mindful calm during the day and help regulate good sound sleep at night.

My patients need support navigating though their busy lives. I believe that Elemental AGEx, together with a good whole-foods diet, will support your life by promoting a vibrant energy through your day and optimizing your overall beauty, health and wellness.

Hillary Fredrickson, ND started her career in Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University, the largest university for natural health arts and sciences in the United States.  At Bastyr, her focus was in naturopathic family health with much academic and clinical work in Chinese medicine.  For many years Dr. Hillary was the Naturopathic expert at Pediatric Alternatives, an integrative pediatric practice in Mill Valley, California, offering integrative pediatric and family primary care. 

The basis of her medical approach is using diet and proper supplementation to optimize daily energy and wellness while keeping chronic inflammation and disease at bay.  In addition to her primary care family practice, Dr. Hillary created a two-week anti-inflammatory, liver detox protocol and supervises several detox programs throughout the year. 

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