Do adaptogens work
Adaptogenic Herbs: Benefits and Effectiveness
Overview
Adaptogens are herbal pharmaceuticals. They work to counteract the effects of stress in the body. Stress causes very real physical changes in the body, including harming the neurological, endocrine, and immune systems. Adaptogens have stimulant properties that help counteract those harmful effects.
Adaptogens were first developed and studied during World War II. Scientists were looking for a way to help healthy pilots work at even greater levels. Basically, they were looking for a “superhero” pill that’d let the pilots fly better, faster, and for longer periods of time. And they thought they found it in the form of adaptogens.
The Soviet Union published military studies about a stimulant called Schisandra chinensis that was used. It was found that berries and seeds eaten by Nanai hunters reduced their thirst, hunger, and exhaustion. It even improved their ability to see at night.
Adaptogens work at a molecular level by regulating a stable balance in the hypothalamic, pituitary, and adrenal glands. These are involved in the stress response. They work by “hacking” the stress response in the body. Typically, when our bodies are stressed, we go through three stages of stress:
- alarm phase
- phase of resistance
- phase of exhaustion
As we encounter a stressor — say we start lifting weights — our body responds by kicking out hormones like adrenaline that improve muscle performance and increase our ability to concentrate and pay attention to the task at hand in the phase of resistance. Our body is literally resisting the stressor, so we feel energized and clearer, thanks to our body giving us a boost to fight the stressor.
And then, as we fatigue, we enter in the exhaustion phase. Adaptogens basically stretch out that “sweet spot” in the middle — the phase of resistance — allowing us to hang out in the powerful part longer.
Adaptogens have been studied in both animals and isolated neuronal cells. Researchers have found they have several effects on the body:
- neuroprotective elements
- anti-fatigue properties
- antidepressive effects
- stimulant for central nervous system
Oh, and they increase mental work capacity, enhance attention, and prevent stress and fatigue.
Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, according to research on adaptogens, they might actually be as good as they sound.
Three main adaptogenic herbs have been studied and found to be both safe and nontoxic: Eleutherococcus senticosus (Siberian ginseng), Rhodiola rosea (Arctic root), and Schisandra chinensis.
Siberian ginseng: This herb isn’t actually ginseng, but it works in similar ways. One study found that it may help ward off fatigue, depression, and stress.
Artic root: This is sometimes referred to as “rose root” and grows in cold climates in Asia and Europe. It’s a historical herb that’s been used in Russia and Scandinavia to treat minor health ailments like headaches and flu.
Schisandra: This herb is most useful for promoting liver health and stabilizing blood sugars, as well as acting as an adaptogen.
One study review found that adaptogens really can be used to promote health for general well-being and when used as a supplement with other traditional medications for specific conditions and health problems.
They’ve been shown to help people with cardiovascular health and certain neurological disorders, especially ones that may happen more frequently as individuals age.
The herbs are associated with boosting mental clarity for people with many health conditions. In that same study review, Arctic root was found to help boost activity and productivity when used alongside antidepressants while having no serious documented side effects. It also helps people bounce back more quickly and feel more energized after illnesses like the flu.
Schisandra was found to be most helpful when used in people who had overall exhaustion and low physical and mental performance. It’s also been found to be especially helpful with certain neurological disorders, mental disorders like schizophrenia, and in improving lung function. One of the unique properties of schisandra is that, unlike other stimulants like caffeine, the body doesn’t become tolerant to it quickly, so it can be used in the same doses effectively.
The available studies suggest that adaptogens really are helpful in decreasing symptoms of fatigue and exhaustion and may be most helpful when used alongside other therapies for people with chronic and acute medical conditions. So, while your doctor may not encourage you to take an adaptogen every day for no reason, it may be helpful if you experience low energy as a result of a chronic medical condition.
While there are some health benefits to adaptogens, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t monitor the quality or purity of herbs and supplements like over-the-counter products. Talk with your doctor before taking adaptogens.
Adaptogens aren’t a new concept. They’ve been studied throughout history as a way to improve the body’s ability to respond to stress, increase energy and attention, and fight off fatigue. New research is looking at how adaptogens may be helpful in treating chronic diseases, like respiratory and heart conditions.
Adaptogens are the latest wellness craze.
But do they actually do anything?Like so many terms co-opted by the wellness industry, I can’t remember when I first heard the word “adaptogen.” One day it was just there: in the mushroom coffee I was gifted, in the supplements in my medicine cabinet, and plastered on advertisements everywhere I looked.
Proponents claim these plant extracts can help the body adapt (hence the name) to stress, which many of us could seriously use right now. But before you spend your hard-earned cash on these supplements, let’s answer the crucial question: Do they do anything?
What are adaptogens?
Common adaptogens have been used long before they were called “adaptogens.” Ginseng, for example, has a centuries-long history in traditional Chinese medicine. But in the time-honored tradition of the Western wellness industry commercializing aspects of other cultures, these so-called “adaptogens” have become a buzzy wellness trend in recent years.
“I feel like I do one of these interviews a week,” Rashmi Mullur, an integrative endocrinologist at UCLA and the VA in Los Angeles, tells Inverse.
“Adaptogens seem to be all the rage.”
Mullur specializes in the treatment of hormone-related disorders but does so using a combination of conventional medicine and complementary treatments such as evidence-based supplements and behavioral and lifestyle modification.
According to Mullur, the word “adaptogen” is mainly used in herbal, functional, and integrative medicine. “It’s not a term that’s widely accepted in conventional medical practice,” she says. “It basically describes a natural product —usually an herbal agent or a plant-based product like a mushroom — that impacts the body’s ability to adapt to stressors.”
Stressors refer to an innumerable list of factors that cause the human body stress, says Mullur. It could be anything from “immune injuries, psychosocial stress, or chronic stress and fatigue.”
Mullur considers adaptogens as a type of nutraceutical — herbal or food-derived products sold as a means to support or enhance overall health.
Two researchers studying adaptogens in 1969 outlined four criteria a substance must meet to be considered an adaptogen:
- They must reduce the harm caused by stressed states, such as fatigue, infection, and depression.
- They must have positive excitatory effects on the human body.
- Their excitatory effects must not cause side effects such as insomnia, low protein synthesis, or excessive energy consumption.
- Adaptogens themselves must not harm the human body.
Siberian Ginseng is an adaptogen that’s been used in traditional Chinese medicine long before the term “adaptogen” was ever dubbed. Getty/ Bildagentur-online
Obviously, phrases like “harm the human body” are frustratingly vague. What’s harmful to one body might be perfectly innocuous to another. Still, it’s useful to have a sense of the criteria proponents of adaptogens are using to define them.
Do adaptogens really work?
Unfortunately, how exactly adaptogens work inside the body isn’t totally understood. There are likely countless mechanisms at play and not every substance works the same way inside the body.
“Adaptogens will impact several aspects of the body’s stress response.
Some of those are hormonal. Some of those are biochemical, some are neuro-hormonal, meaning they affect hormone signaling in the brain. But it’s across many pathways,” says Mullur. But that “is about all we probably know about it.”
Some adaptogens are better studied than others, and that research has allowed us to get a better understanding of what systems in the body are affected by various adaptogens.
For example, a 2020 review article noted that ginseng might stabilize blood pressure, both by reducing it when it’s too high and increasing pressure when it’s too low. While researchers don’t fully understand the mechanisms through which ginseng works, they think properties in the root promote nitric oxide secretion, which causes blood vessels to dilate, lowering blood pressure. Ginseng also might stimulate alpha-adrenergic receptors, which play a key role in the sympathetic nervous system, otherwise known as our fight or flight response.
However, the bulk of the research on the mechanisms through which adaptogens work in the body isn’t clear-cut.
“There’s data on the biochemical and mechanistic actions of each individual compound, but most of that is being evaluated in studies not in humans, but either in cell cultures or in animal models,” says Mullur. “When you look at ‘adaptogenic activity’ in humans, it’s less well understood.”
That’s likely not the messaging you’re getting from the wellness industry. More likely, you’re being sold a very expensive blend of adaptogens and promises of vastly improved skin, hair, and mental and physical health.
“Supplement companies are in the business of selling you supplements,” Mullur says. “There are baseline conflicts when the wellness industry is advertising the benefits of adaptogens without us having robust clinical studies.”
Further, most of the clinical studies she’s seen that do involve humans are usually in trials where people take adaptogens in moderate doses for short periods of time.
“The longest one I’ve seen is six months, but truthfully, more of them are about 12 weeks on average.
So that’s about three months of taking something and seeing a tiny bit of change, not taking something forever, which is what nutraceutical companies would love for you to do.”
Can adaptogens be dangerous?
As with any supplement, such as Vitamin D or B12, the most important thing to know is exactly what’s in the products you buy.
Adaptogens have become increasingly popular among those interested in alternative medicines. Getty/ Codrut Evelina
Because the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t regulate most supplements in the U.S., adaptogens included, there’s no guarantee that the products contain what their label claims they do.
As an integrative endocrinologist, Mullur cares for patients who take adaptogens on their own accord. She notes that often people turn to integrative medicine because they lack access to traditional care or lack trust in traditional systems of care. But it is smart to consult with a medical practitioner before starting any adaptogen regimen.
“Adaptogens can impact cortisol levels and they can change the hormonal responses in the body. So you don’t want to do this willy nilly,” Mullur says.
Should you take adaptogens?
In addition to overhyping certain supplements, adaptogens are sometimes marketed as replacements for other medications or supplements a doctor might have prescribed as a long-term treatment.
“From an integrative medicine and herbal medicine standpoint, plant-based or natural therapies are not designed to be ‘natural pharmaceuticals.’ You can’t just take a pill and forget about it,” Mullur explains.
“Cultures that use adaptogens as part of their treatment modalities use them for a time-limited period, so the person can ‘adapt’ to said stressor,” she adds.
That stressor may be anything from a new job to a recent breakup.
When exposed to a stressor, Mullur says, “the body has an acute response and, over time, if the stressor persists “adapts” its physiologic functions to maintain a near-normal equilibrium.
A concrete example of this is temperature or thermoregulation.”
“The idea that you could go to the local drugstore and pick up 1200 milligrams of ashwagandha and pop it for stress, that’s not the way it’s traditionally intended,” says Mullur.
Adaptogens are a lucrative market: the global adaptogens market was valued at $9.78 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach 16.25 billion by 2028. That’s a lot of incentive to maintain and expand aggressive marketing tactics. If done under the care of a doctor, some adaptogens may be beneficial to your health. But consumers should be clear-eyed about what the science shows, how supplements are marketed, and how these substances have traditionally been used.
Adaptogens - what is it?
In today's world, no one is immune from stress and fatigue. In addition, we are daily exposed to various effects from the environment - this is ecology, household chemicals, harmful substances in products. Of course, all these factors affect our health.
Thus, sooner or later there comes a point when the organism ceases to resist. Insomnia appears, we begin to react sharply to stress, then irritability, fatigue, and depression appear. And they are not so far away from chronic diseases. This is where adaptogens come in.
Adaptogens are drugs that help us adapt to certain conditions , increase the body's resistance to a wide range of different harmful effects. As scientists explain, adaptogens suppress the release of stress hormones. This means that daily stressful situations will affect the body with less force, without knocking it out of the usual rhythm of life. This will allow you to solve all problems with less loss of health, leaving more vital energy and keeping calm, relieve fatigue and normalize sleep.
Adaptogens capable:
• Increase physical and mental endurance;
• Protect from exposure to radiation;
• Reduce the side effects of chemotherapy drugs;
• Reduce the frequency of infections;
• Increase resistance to chemical carcinogens.
Adaptogens are:
- Vegetable;
- Animals;
- Mineral;
- Natural;
- Synthetic - pharmacy drugs produced by the pharmacological industry.
The first four classes of adaptogens were well known thousands of years ago. There are quite a few herbs that have adaptogenic properties.
The most famous are eleutherococcus, rhodiola rosea, astragalus, ginseng and many other herbs. A number of products can also be attributed to plant adaptogens: garlic, sea buckthorn, ginger and others.
Shilajit belongs to mineral adaptogens.
Natural include peat, sapropels, coals and other organic compounds that are formed under the influence of microorganisms under certain environmental conditions on decomposing animal and plant remains.
The class of adaptogens of animal origin, as well as vegetable, is very large. It includes beekeeping products, deer antlers, shark fat, salmon milk processing products.
Forms of release of adaptogens are different.
Herbal adaptogens can be purchased as a tea, alcohol tincture, extract, or herb. Mineral and animal origin are most often produced in the form of tablets, powder or capsules.
Studies have shown that adaptogens help to avoid the critical point when the body is not able to cope with "piled up" problems. The essence of their action is to help the body cope with stress, fatigue, adverse environmental effects. They increase the resistance threshold by releasing the stress hormone from the adrenal glands, affecting the functions of the pituitary gland. Previously, such drugs were called tonics or tonics.
Each class of adaptogens has its own beneficial and healing properties.
When taking adaptogen preparations, studies have shown that with overwork and great mental and physical stress, working capacity increases one and a half, two times. This effect occurs in the shortest possible time, literally within one hour after taking the drugs, and the effect can last up to several hours.
A persistent positive effect from taking adaptogens occurs gradually, over 15 to 30 days with daily intake.
All adaptogens have tonic properties. Therefore, their reception should be in the morning. As a rule, these drugs are taken once or twice a day. They drink them in a course and repeat depending on the situation.
Usually they are drunk before the onset of the season of colds, flu, SARS. It is useful for students to drink before the session, so that the body can better cope with great mental and psychological stress.
How much to take the drug depends on the specific drug. Therefore, it is better to choose the dosage empirically or in consultation with your doctor.
Side effects
The same adaptogen preparations are not suitable for all people. All people can react differently to the same drugs. Therefore, the dosage depends on individual characteristics. Precisely refrain from taking such drugs should be during pregnancy and lactation.
Before taking any medication, you need consult your doctor about the advisability of taking adaptogens. Their reception may not be compatible.
You can sign up by phone, at the reception of the medical center and on the website
Is it worth trying adaptogens - Lifehacker
August 24, 2018 Likbez Health
Not all adaptogens are equally useful.
What are adaptogens
The term "adaptogens" came into use in 1947 years. It was first used by the Russian scientist Nikolai Lazarev. He called adaptogens substances of natural origin, which have a tonic effect and increase the body's resistance to stress.
What is evidence-based medicine about adaptogens? Therefore, it classifies them as dietary supplements or traditional medicine.
Nevertheless, the term is actively used in research, and certain plants that are considered adaptogens really tone the body and protect it from stress.
Below are herbs proven to be beneficial in research.
Consult your physician before taking any medication.
Popular adaptogens to try
Ginseng
toptestosteronesupplements.comRegular use of ginseng tincture increases mental alertness and helps to cope with stress more easily. 9Ol000 the shrub helps to increase endurance and muscle strength and improve memory. In European countries, its use is approved for the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome and impaired concentration.
Where to get it
Cordyceps
freenatureimages.euA unique medicinal mushroom that increases resistance to stress. The beta-glucans it contains help support the body's immune functions.
Where to get it
- Cordyceps 90 capsules Now Foods →
- Cordyceps 90 capsules Fungiology →
- Cordyceps 60 capsules Doctor's Best →
Maca
lamaistas.
