What Are Adaptogens & What You Should Know About These Amazing Herbs
Adaptogens—suddenly, they’re in everything from your superfood smoothie to your plant-based protein bar to your Chilean dark chocolate. Known to be great natural herbs for anxiety, they must be good for you. But what the heck are they?
How adaptogens help you adapt to stress
Let’s say you have a day where you’re running around non-stop. You go from the gym to daycare to work to the grocery store to your daughter’s softball game. The next day, you’re so tired you can’t formulate a sentence. Adaptogens can restore your energy levels.
Or maybe you spent an evening responding to Facebook messages, scrolling through your news feed and shopping for hiking boots online. Then when bedtime rolls around, all that screen time has you feeling anxious and wired rather than restful. Adaptogens can calm you down.
Basically, adaptogens have an amazing ability to act as your body’s thermostat. When internal and external stressors have you feeling less than your best, they can calm you or energize you, depending on what you need. They can improve your mental focus and mood too.
How do they do this?
By acting on your hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The HPA axis connects your central nervous system to hormone-regulating organs like your hypothalamus, pituitary gland and adrenal glands.
When something stressful happens (like a semi-truck cuts you off on the highway or none of your Facebook friends like the picture you posted of yourself shirtless on the beach), your nervous system releases epinephrine and norepinephrine, chemicals that kick your fight or flight response into gear and trigger your HPA axis. Your HPA axis releases stress hormones like cortisol, and before you know it, your body’s hormonal balance is out of whack. But adaptogens can shield the HPA axis from the effects of stress and keep your body (and cortisol levels) in balance.
How to “Adapt” to Your Life with Adaptogens
Amazing, huh? That’s why adaptogens are in everything you purchase from the health food store nowadays. But adaptogens are more than the newest “It” herb. They’ve been used in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic healing traditions for centuries. The adaptogen Asian ginseng, for example, was considered a panacea by ancient Chinese emperors. And the adaptogen ashwagandha was used in Ayurveda to treat everything from nervous breakdowns to goiters for more than 6,000 years.
This impressive history combined with modern research showing adaptogens reduce stress, anxiety, fatigue and burnout means you should seriously consider adding adaptogens to your supplement stash. But there are loads of apoptogenic herbs out there—ginseng, ashwagandha, eleuthero, maca, Schisandra, rhodiola, cordyceps. So, how do you know which ones to take?
Our Top Four Adaptogens for Fighting Stress, Feeling Good and Staying Energized:
- Ashwagandha. Studies show ashwagandha can help you feel happier, less anxious and less hungry (read: less fast food binges) when you’re dealing with chronic stress. It’s also helpful for counteracting the negative effects of sleep deprivation and oxidative stress [9;10;11;12].
- Cordyceps. According to research, cordyceps is a fantastic fatigue fighter. It also supports your immune system and liver.
- Maca. Maca is known for its effect on energy levels and sexual health. In fact, research shows Maca can improve fertility, help with sexual dysfunction and increase sex drive.
- American ginseng. Studies show that American ginseng has a calming effect. But it doesn’t make you groggy or spacey. It calms you while still boosting mental reaction time and improving memory.
These four herbs have an impressive effect on your stamina, mood and vitality, which is why they’re the backbone of our Mdrive line. If you’re curious whether adaptogens can keep you feeling strong and stress-free, try our Mdrive supplements and experience the amazing power of adaptogens for yourself.
Sources:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20378318
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28004351
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27023641
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20061697
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24467543
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Burning Fat With Thermogenics
Let’s be honest, most of us want to shed a few pounds. So, what we can do. To lose weight, you need to create an energy deficit by eating fewer calories or increasing the number of calories you “burn” through physical activity or both. We also hear the term “boost metabolism” as a way to shed pounds. Metabolism is the process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy and not fat.
You can burn more calories and boost your metabolism with:
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If you want to lose weight or meet specific fitness goals, you may need to increase the time you spend on physical activity even more. If you can't set aside time for a longer workout, try 10-minute chunks of activity throughout the day. Remember, the more active you are, the greater the benefits.
- Strength training. Experts recommend strength training exercises, such as weightlifting, at least twice a week. Strength training is important because it helps counteract muscle loss associated with aging. And since muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue does, muscle mass is a key factor in weight loss.
- Lifestyle activities. Any extra movement helps burn calories. Look for ways to walk and move around a few minutes more each day than the day before. Taking the stairs more often and parking farther away at the store are simple ways to burn more calories. Even activities such as gardening, washing your car and housework burn calories and contribute to weight loss.
Now, if you are eating right and exercising but want a little more help with “fat burning” and “metabolism boosting”, look into thermogenic supplements.
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