Adaptogens
ADAPTOGEN HERBS
Our Superherb Complex™
Hailed as ‘super herbs’ due to their ability to uniquely ‘adapt’ to the needs of the body to bring balance & strength.
These herbs help improve one’s resistance to stress, support the immune system, promote skin health & overall wellness.
Our Superherb Complex™ features across the range – each super herb is a force on their own, yet when combined they further gain in power making them even more super!
What exactly are Adaptogens?
As humans, we are continuously exposed to external and internal stressors from environmental, physical to emotional.
Stress imbalance impacts the functioning of our skin, body and mind, specifically it impacts our cortisol and sebum production to digestive system, blood sugar levels, sleep and even through to stamina and cognitive processing!
The result we often see first is inflammation and skin imbalance from dryness to oiliness, breakouts, redness, dullness, sluggishness, fatigue etc.
Arrghhh…something we all relate to.
Then comes our mighty ADAPTOGEN SUPERHERBS!
DE-STRESS & RESILIENCE
These unique non-toxic herbs literally help our body adapt to varying stresses by re-balancing and improving our resilience. In turn they can aid sleep, energy, relaxation, reduce anxiety, improve memory, general alertness, physical performance and more!
SKIN GLOW
Specifically for skin, they enhance the skin’s functioning, providing protection and improving skin longevity. When applied topically, adaptogens restore balance (regardless of dry or oily), improve skin strength, tone and brightness.
COLLAGEN’S FRIEND
When digested, adaptogens become biological response modifiers (BRMs) which regulate the release of our stress hormone (cortisol) from the adrenal glands, enabling the body to adapt to stress more effectively.
If our cortisol levels are too high or too low it is has a ripple effect across many known ailments and is now recognised as a vital link in premature ageing as it attacks collagen and elastin.
The regulation of cortisol also helps support a healthy immune system, enhancing both how we look and feel.
The Science
Adaptogens have been well-documented in traditional medicines for centuries. In fact they have been the ‘go to’ herbs within many Eastern practices for more than 3000 years.
‘Adaptogenic’ properties are only found in specific herbs and hence gaining the name ‘Adaptogens’ which was only coined as such in 1947 by Dr. Nikolai Lazarev when he defined these speciality herbs as ‘plant-originated adaptogens that can non-specifically enhance the human body’ against stressors.
And whilst some Western pharmacopeia recognised Ginseng (just one of many adaptogens) in the 1800’s as a stimulant and digestive remedy, it was only in 1969 that Western research was first published.
Scientists now consider (and as originally defined by Brekhman and Dardymov in 1969 [1]) Adaptogens as requiring four properties to gain such classification:
- Reduce the negative impact of stress
- Produce a non-specific response i.e. resisting a wide range of adverse conditions simultaneously
- To up or down regulate into balance and not to over or under stimulate.
- Non-Toxic & non-harmful when used regularly over long periods of time
In the 1990’s a group of scientists including Hildebert Wagner and Alexander Panossian, concluded the definition of adaptogens as ‘bioregulators that increase the ability to adapt environmental factors and avoid the damage caused by those factors…. minimising the bodily response to stress, reducing the negative reactions during the alarm phase and eliminating or at least decreasing the onset of the exhaustion phase’[2]
And only more recently has Westernised studies of adaptogens rapidly gained pace with James A. Duke, PhD Scientist & Ethnobotanist, Author of The Green Pharmacy stating
“Adaptogenic herbs can be most useful in the quest for health in our stressful society.”
Thousands of studies are now taking place and adaptogens are widely given credence for their preventative, protective and responsive benefits for managing stress and resilience.
In 1998, the FDA defined an adaptogen as a new kind of metabolic regulator that has been proved to help in environmental adaption and to prevent external harm.
References
[1]: Brekhman II, Dardymov IV. New Substances of plant origin which increase non-specific resistance. Ann Rev Toxicol. 1969;9(1): 419-430. Cited in ‘A Preliminary review of studies on adaptogens:comparison of their bioactivity in TCM with that of ginseng-like herbs used worldwide’ (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
[2] Cited in ‘A Preliminary review of studies on adaptogens:comparison of their bioactivity in TCM with that of ginseng-like herbs used worldwide’ (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
