Do you often feel burnt out or edgy and wish you could put the brakes on your life? Stress is fast becoming an epidemic in the modern world and the cumulative effect takes its toll on our bodies, accelerating the rate at which we age. Enter herbal adaptogens, which can sustain and maintain you through challenging periods by increasing your ability to resist the ongoing physiological effects of stress, anxiety, fatigue and depleted immunity.

Adaptogen herbs come in many forms, such as herbal teas, fluid extracts, powders and tablets. They enhance your ability to age well, enjoy a good quality of life and live free of debilitating degenerative disease. Specific herbs are often combined for their synergistic effects. Talk to your practitioner about which adaptogens would be best for you and any contraindications you should be aware of.

History of efficacy

The use of adaptogens dates back thousands of years to ancient China and India. Both traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicines have long used specific herbs for their rejuvenating qualities and ability to strengthen the protective energy of the body. In Ayurvedic, Chinese and Western medicine traditions, these herbs are respectively referred to as rasayanas, “qi tonics” and “rejuvenating herbs” or “restoratives”. Over time, the generic term herbal adaptogens has also come to be used, “adaptogen” from the Latin adaptare, meaning to fit or adjust.

In 1947, Russian scientist Nikolai Lazarev coined the term adaptogen to describe a substance that assists one to “adapt” to a stressful situation. He established three criteria:

• An adaptogen must be non-toxic to the recipient.
• An adaptogen must increase the body’s resistance to multiple stressors through a wide range of physical, chemical and biochemical factors.
• An adaptogen must have a normalising influence on physiology. In other words, adaptogens are non-toxic, produce a non-specific defensive response to stress and bring your body back into balance.

The ability of adaptogens to modulate your stress response across all body systems has far-reaching, positive implications. Following are just some of the benefits that adaptogens can bestow on you to ensure a healthy ageing process and better quality of life.

Vigour

Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) is a stimulating adaptogenic herb of paramount importance in fighting fatigue and increasing vitality. It has a long history of use, dating back 5000 years, as a tonic for invigoration in times of fatigue and debility and is used to enhance health, energy and longevity.

Stamina

Siberian ginseng has been used by Russian athletes and cosmonauts to boost their performance, endurance and stamina by helping them adjust to extreme environments. Some studies have shown that Siberian ginseng can increase stamina by up to 70 per cent.