Browsing January, 2009
What is an Adaptogen?
An adaptogen is a substance that increases the body’s resistance to stress, anxiety, trauma and fatigue. The knowledge of adaptogens dates back thousands of years, to ancient India and China, but in the 1940′s there were significant studies done to verify whether or not adaptogens actually performed “as advertised.”
Nikolai Lazarev defined an adaptogen as an “agent that allows the body to counter adverse physical, chemical, or biological stressors by raising nonspecific resistance toward such stress, thus allowing the organism to “adapt” to the stressful circumstances”.
The tests that were run in the 1940′s, I must say, are a bit unnerving to say the least, but this is what happened. They essentially shocked laboratory mice until the went into cardiac arrest. They would measure how long that took and the intensity of the shock. (doesn’t seem pleasant!)
They then would give the mice a substance thought to be an adaptogenic herb, and did the same thing again. What they found was that when given these substances, the mice “coped” much better with the same amount of shock. Yes, this test is disturbing, but it did actually prove that these adaptogenic herbs do, in fact, work.
So, what does that mean to you and me? It means that in our daily lives, for example, adaptogens will help us to deal with stressful and anxious situations better. Plus, adaptogenic herbs are distinct from other substances as they balance the immune system and endocrine hormones. They have an overall normalizing effect on the body, toning down overactive systems as well as boosting underactive ones.
In 1968, Phd. Israel I. Brekhman further defined adaptogens, giving them the following properties:
- An adaptogen is nontoxic to the recipient.
- An adaptogen produces a nonspecific response in the body—an increase in the power of resistance against multiple stressors including physical, chemical, or biological agents.
- An adaptogen has a normalizing influence on physiology, irrespective of the direction of change from physiological norms caused by the stressor.
Most adaptogenic herbs have been used for thousands of years in both Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicines. Here are some of the herbs that are classified as adaptogens:
Amalaki (Amla)
Dang shen (Codonopsis pilosula)
Tulsi (Holy Basil)
Ginsing
Rhodiola
Schizandra
Ashwagandha
Astragalus
Lycium
Adaptogens are remarkable substances, and each person will, by definition, have a different response to them, as all of us are different and unique in our characteristics.
Modern science has now proven what the ancient holistic medicines have been telling us all of these years.
So, look for these substances- they will help you reduce your stress level, boost your immune system and balance your entire body.
To your health and well being,
Jamie