Adaptogens | Benefits and Side-Effects of Adaptogens

Adaptogens Benefits and Side Effects– I hope you all are doing well and are taking the utmost care of your health. Now as I mentioned in my last article that “there are certain ingredients that have been there amongst us for a very long time but are recently gaining popularity”. The more and more people become conscious about their health, the more ingredients will come to light. Now in this article, I’ll be talking about an essential class of herbs that have recently gained popularity. The class of herbs that I am talking about is ADAPTOGENS.

Now I don’t know whether you people are aware of this term or not but today I’ll try my best to make you aware about the same. These Adaptogens have several benefits. Their popularity and availability seem to be growing, and some benefits of these herbs are fighting fatigue or cancer to improve your sexual health and so on. Now let us dive further into the article and know more about it.

⚫WHAT ARE ADAPTOGENS?

Adaptogens are an essential class of herbs. However, this is not enough, if you want to know why they are gaining so much popularity. These Adaptogens were discovered by the scientists of the Soviet Union in 1947. They were originally made for the Russian soldiers so that their bodies will become more resistant and will also help them in coping and adapting to stress naturally. The type of adaptogen that was found there is Rhodiola. (There are different types of adaptogens and have different benefits. Now the types will be discussed but not in this article).

In a literal way “Adaptogens are essentially a class of herbs (found in many herbal supplements) that are intended to boost your resistance to and tolerance of stress-emotional and physical.” As the name suggests, adaptogens tend to adapt to meet your needs. For example, if you are tired they will provide you the much-needed energy or if you are restless they will help you in relaxing down. Apart from stress, restlessness they also deal with the issues like headaches, dry eye, high blood pressure, and even cancer.

Adaptogens and Ayurveda

The important point that needs to be noted here does not to add an adaptogen to your diet without the consultation of your doctor. This is so because adaptogens can affect our fight or flight hormones. Different adaptogens release different substances in our bodies that help in dealing with our issues. In some people, these herbs may urge the cells to produce neuropeptide Y which plays a role in regulating appetite and regulating mood swings. So you should consume these adaptogens only when you are under additional or extreme stress.

Adaptogens have been used in Ayurvedic practices for hundreds of years. However, looking at the changing situations and increasing concerns of people regarding their health, it is being made accessible for use in the Western world as well. Many people might be thinking how can we consume herbs directly? So let me tell you that adaptogenic herbs are made into powdered supplements (and taken as a capsule), smoothies, teas, or herbal drinks or integrated into tinctures (herbal supplements dissolved in alcohol and ingested in a liquid form). I guess now we know a good amount regarding adaptogens and how they came into existence. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits that we can get from these.

⚫ BENEFITS OF ADAPTOGENS

Adaptogens deal with the stress of all types. That is chemical, physical, and biological. Therefore, it’s suggested that you should take them only if your doctors recommend you to do so. The other issues for which adaptogens can be recommended are.

▪️Adaptogens help in improving attention. As I mentioned above, they were discovered for the Russian soldiers so that they can focus more.

▪️They also help in balancing hormonal levels.

▪️Adaptogens not only help in dealing with stress but also helps in fighting the fatigue that results from excessive stress.

▪️Apart from fatigue, there are other issues too that are caused due to stress and are further dealt with by adaptogens. Problems like impact on cognitive functions and mental performance due to stress can be dealt with by these herbs.

▪️It helps in increasing physical stamina and improves energy levels.

▪️Improve the function of organs. Organs such as the liver and adrenal glands.

▪️Improve the function of the body system such as the gastrointestinal system.

▪️Boosts immunity and helps in normalizing body functions.

⚫Effectiveness of Adaptogens

As I have been mentioning that adaptogens are the class of herbs that deal with stress. Although they won’t change the situations that are causing you stress, these herbs can improve the way your body will respond to stress. Now stress is a physiological condition associated with the nervous, endocrine (hormones), and immune systems. Stress can occur due to various reasons. Reasons such as an external event, environmental condition, or a chemical or biological agent, and so on. Our body reacts to stress in different ways and this sudden flood of hormonal change is called the fight-or-flight response. The changes such as an increase in heart rate and blood pressure.

When stress becomes too overwhelming or prolonged then it may cause diseases and reduce life expectancy. Therefore, it’s highly suggested that if you are experiencing any kind of stressful situation try to share it with your friends. If it is way too difficult to handle, consult your doctors. If we talk about the effectiveness of the adaptogens, there is very limited evidence from the past that will prove the effectiveness of these herbs. However, as the demand for these herbs is increasing scientists are figuring out their effectiveness of these herbs.

According to a study “Adaptogens may be regarded as a novel pharmacological category of anti-fatigue drugs that: induce increased attention and endurance in situations of decreased performance caused by fatigue and/or sensation of weakness, reduce stress-induced impairments and disorders related to the function of stress.” Therefore, all I can say is that with the coming time we will get to know more and more about this and as for now people are benefitting with these herbs and hence we can say that they are effective if taken properly.

Conclusion

I have been mentioning again and again that herbal supplements should not be taken unless and until your doctor suggests you do so. These supplements if taken irresponsibly can interact with other supplements, over-the-counter medications, or prescription drugs. Before choosing herbal supplements as a rescue you need to keep in mind that not all are going to benefit you. Some adaptogens have health-promoting abilities while others can produce side effects. You must have gone through adaptogens benefits above. If you want to benefit from herbs, ingredients then you need to make sure that they are being consumed by the recommendation of a renowned doctor, in a specific suggested way. Only then will they prove a boon to you. As for the types of adaptogens you need to wait for my next article and that will be up soon. Until then stay safe, stay health