Adaptogens: The Good, The Bad, and How To Use Them In Real Life

 

Stress is a killer.

No literally, it can truly kill you if it gets ridiculously out of hand. It raises your blood pressure, puts stress on your heart, raises your cortisol…the list goes on and on.

Up until now, we’ve been told that stress can be controlled by breathing exercises, meditation, going for a walk, or working out. Yes, these all work but I was curious if there were other natural foods, teas, or herbs that can be taken on a daily basis to help on the particularly crazy days.

That is where adaptogens come into play.

According to this study,  “Adaptogens are stress-response modifiers that increase an organism’s nonspecific resistance to stress by increasing its ability to adapt and survive.”

As mentioned on Dr. Axe’s website,

“Adaptogens are a unique class of healing plants: They help balance, restore and protect the body. As naturopath Edward Wallace explains, an adaptogen doesn’t have a specific action: It helps you respond to any influence or stressor, normalizing your physiological functions.”

Adaptogens are by nature and definition supposed to be non-toxic, produce a non-specific response in the body, and have a normalizing effect once in the body.

I have spoke about one of the most popular adaptogens ashwagandha in my post 3 Natural Anxiety Solutions (Tested By Ms Worrywart Herself…Me) .

I have also talked about maca, another adaptogen that helped me tremendously when balancing my hormones. Click HERE to watch a video on what I did to get my hormones in check on my Youtube channel.

However, I still received a lot of questions on them. So I decided to throw together a quick guide on them based on my experience.

 

The Good:

With so many moving parts, my life often feels like a crazy roller coaster of emotions and decisions. Adaptogens are a class of herbs that have personally helped me get a hold of stress in my life.

Ashwagandha was the first adaptogen I experimented with after reading about them. It is one of the most well studied herbs in ayurvedic medicine. According to this medical finding, “Studies indicate ashwagandha possesses anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antistress, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, hemopoietic, and rejuvenating properties.” 

Good ashwagandha has a very quick and efficient calming effect when taken orally. It is not necessary to consume a large amount either. In the last year or so, I have seen more health food companies start to incorporate it in their drinks. There is even a very lovely vendor named Grace from Furnace Creek Farm  that sells Ashwagandha and other herbs and teas weekly at the Union Square and Grand Army Plaza Farmer’s Market.

Other adaptogens that I have tried include reishi, schisandra (or schizandra) berries, cordecyps, goji berry and more.

The Bad: 

Overall, the good definitely outweighs the bad, but there are some to be noted nonetheless.

Each adaptogen has its particular “quirk”. What I mean by this is each one works differently in general and on each person. For some people, ashwagandha does nothing and to others it may make them sleepy. This is why it’s super important to DO YOUR RESEARCH before taking any of them. As with any supplement, herb, or drug, it may interfere with any prescription that you may be on in addition to each may have their own side effect. However, in order for a herb to be considered an adaptogen, it must be non-toxic by nature.

Personally, I have experienced mild stomach problems when I took more ashwaghanda than I should have. It was almost like I ate a bit of bad takeout or something and went away within a couple of hours. I quickly learned what my threshold was and only take small amounts at a time.

One of my favorite books on adaptogens is called Adaptogens: 75+ Herbal Recipes and Elixirs to Improve Your Skin, Mood, Energy, Focus, and More. It breaks down the entire world of adaptogens in a very understandable way.

Also, the brand and quality of adaptogen matters TREMENDOUSLY. I have used a couple of brands of adaptogens and notice that the efficacy definitely varies. As with anything, you do not know until you try them. Here are a couple of the ones I recommend based on my experience:

Maca Root (great for balancing hormones): The Maca Team  specifically the red raw maca for women

Ashwaghanda (great for stress and said to increase libido): BRI Nutrition  or Starwest (Bulk Purchase), Furnace Creek Farm

Brands I trust in general: The Moon Juice Shop &  Sun Potion.

I am still testing other brands out, but have yet to find my favorites of the bunch. I will update this as I find them.

 

How To Use Them In Real Life 

How would one go about incorporating them into everyday life? Easy.

I’ve posted a recipe for a chocolate smoothie using maca before which you can find HERE. However, you can simply throw the powders in with whatever smoothie or shake that you love.

I find that maca, ashwaghanda, and cordecyps work best with a coffee or chocolate flavored drink. The goji berries work with fruitier type of drinks in my opinion. But again, that is my personal opinion. I would say to experiment and see what works best for you.

Have you every tried adaptogens? Leave a message below letting me know if you have and if yes, which one.

FTC DISCLOSURE: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a small finder’s fee on the sale. This does not increase your price in any way shape or form. Using these links help support the continuation of this website. All opinions are my own. Thank you in advance.

 

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