Let’s say you’ve got your diet nailed down, and your exercise routine is going along great, and you’ve even started taking a few supplements to fill in some gaps. You have more energy and hey, you’ve even lost a few pounds without trying, you sly dog you.
But then you hit that wall. It could be that 3 pm, post-lunch-take-a-nap wall, or the wall you hit when you get home from work that turns you into a zoned out zombie. It could be that wall you hit each time you try to go to the gym only to find you don’t have any energy.
The wall has been hit
You realize there’s something missing, something more you could be doing. And the truth is there is more, a lot more you could be doing – small tweaks you could be making that will make a big difference. One of which is making use of adaptogens.
No doubt about it, getting your diet honed in and specified to your goals, getting a healthy dose of exercise and improving your sleep habits are the foundation of any health promoting regimen, and the cornerstone of your success. But once that’s in place, how do you take it to the next level?
The Missing Link in Your Life
Today’s world is a high-stress world – we’re actually built to handle, even thrive, on small doses of stress, but chronic stress? Thats a killer. Good news is, nature has once again provided us with all we need, this time in the form of adaptogens.
An adaptogen is any substance that improves our ability to handle stress. Many of them lower or modulate levels of cortisol, our main stress hormone. Some adaptogens help us to actually rebuild our over-worked adrenal glands, helping to prevent or reverse adrenal fatigue. They provide us with sustained, jitter-free energy throughout the day, many improve libido, and they work in too diverse a way to sum up in this little paragraph.
Further, some help us to relax, much as a glass of wine does after work. Others can be more stimulating, great for the start of the day or before the gym, and yet others are neutral and balanced, while still being strongly anti-fatigue. I recommend picking either one neutral adaptogen to try out, or one that is stimulating and one that is relaxing, so you have one for day time use and one for the evenings.
Ginseng – This is the big boy on the block, the granddaddy of all adaptogens. Ginseng is the highest ranked herb in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for a reason, and that’s because it is so broad-spectrum in its actions, and because it’s the primary Qi tonic, it increases energy levels and stamina tremendously. Ginseng normalizes the activity of both the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, meaning it brings you into balance between your “rest and digest” mode and your “fight or flight” mode. Ginseng also regulates your endocrine system, helping to keep your hormone levels in check.
Ginseng root looks like a human body
In addition to being strongly anti-fatigue, Ginseng is also
- Neuroprotective
- Cognitive Enhancing
- Immuno-regulatory (increases immune response in those with low immune function, and decreases response in those with over-active immune systems)
- Anti-diabetic
- Anti-cancer
- Pro-libido
- Hormone-regulating
It should be noted that true Asian ginseng, called Panax Ginseng, is a different plant than either American Ginseng or Siberian Ginseng, although all three have similar effects. Panax Ginseng is generally more stimulating than the others, with Siberian Ginseng being neutral, neither stimulating nor relaxing, and American Ginseng being ever so slightly relaxing. Further, when it comes to buying ginseng, you get what you pay for. Higher quality roots will produce much better results, and will cost more, with some very mature and potent roots easily reaching close to a thousand dollars. I personally have used Dragon Herbs products with great results. Their House Ginseng and Ginseng Sublime are excellent choices.
Ashwagandha – This bad boy, sometimes referred to as Indian Ginseng, is a helluva plant. A mainstay in Ayurvedic medicine, the ancient healing system of India, Ahswagandha is my top pick in terms of relaxing adaptogens, and may well be my favorite adaptogen overall.
It has been proven to lower cortisol, our main stress hormone, in a dose dependent manner, making it a gift for today’s fast-paced, highly strung world. It excels at treating anxiety, as it actually works on the same receptors in the brain as pharmaceutical anxiety meds, without addiction or side effects. For this reason, it can be used in smaller doses throughout the day as a calming agent, and in larger doses in the evening to relax, much the way you would drink a glass of wine.
It provides a nice big boost to the libido, enhances fertility in both women and men, and boosts thyroid function, aiding in weight loss, as well as being anti-fatigue and immuno-regulatory.
But perhaps it’s greatest benefit is that it’s been shown to enhance the release of BDNF within in the brain. BDNF stands for Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, which protects brain cells from stress and toxins, repairs damaged brain cells and even promotes the growth of new brain cells! For this reason it deserves a place in anyone’s medicine chest, and especially for those who may be worried about cognitive decline. For this benefit to bear fruit Ashwagandha must be taken continuously over long periods of time.
Yeah, it makes you smarter, thinner and more fertile
Tulsi – Also called Holy Basil, this herb is known as the “Queen of Herbs” in Ayurveda (ashwagandha is sometimes referred to as the king). Tulsi is a highly revered medicinal plant that is found in almost every home in India, and for good reason. It’s said to be the most Sattvic of all herbs, meaning it promotes a sense of ease, peace and clarity and benefits spiritual practice.
This 2014 study sums Tulsi up quite nicely – “Tulsi has been found to protect organs and tissues against chemical stress from industrial pollutants and heavy metals, and physical stress from prolonged physical exertion, ischemia, physical restraint and exposure to cold and excessive noise. Tulsi has also been shown to counter metabolic stress through normalization of blood glucose, blood pressure and lipid levels, and psychological stress through positive effects on memory and cognitive function and through its anxiolytic and anti-depressant properties… Cultivation of tulsi plants has both spiritual and practical significance that connects the grower to the creative powers of nature, and organic cultivation offers solutions for food security, rural poverty, hunger, environmental degradation and climate change. The use of tulsi in daily rituals is a testament to Ayurvedic wisdom and provides an example of ancient knowledge offering solutions to modern problems.” Bolds and Italics my addition.
Tulsi is a calming herb, but not as relaxing as Ashwagandha. It promotes feelings of peace and well-being more than anything, and is a solid choice for evening or morning use. This product has been the most potent form of Tulsi I’ve yet to try, though it’s very common in tea form as well.
Which adaptogens have you tried, and which of these sound most interesting to you? Keep your eye open for more posts on adaptogens in the near future.