What Are Adaptogens?

What Are Adaptogens?

adaptogens in little bowls

What are adaptogens and how can they help you live a healthy, energetic life? Keep reading to learn more about the health benefits of adaptogens. But what are adaptogens and how do they work?

Adaptogens are healing herbs that can be implemented into diets to help with everything from anxiety and mood disorders to depleted adrenal/cortisol levels. Adaptogens are growing in popularity — which means you might have spotted them floating around social media, health food stores, and even in your local cafe recently (yes, we love a good turmeric latte).

You’ll often find adaptogen herbs in capsule or powder form and they can be mixed into dishes like soups and smoothies. Some have been used for thousands of years and to this day, each adaptogen offers excellent health benefits to those who consume it.

Let’s take a closer look at adaptogens and see the many tasty ways you can start incorporating this form of herbal medicine into your health routine today.

Like all of the ingredients we’re passionate about, adaptogen supplements can help you live a healthy, energized life (one that’s, hopefully, filled with zestful days and a limited amount of stressors).

What are adaptogens?

Adaptogens are a group of herbal plants or fungi that help your body to adapt and deal naturally with stress. The word adaptogens comes from the herbs’ ability to “adapt” their unique function according to what the body needs. Whether that be stabilized blood pressure, regulated cortisol and adrenal levels, or chronic stress relief, adaptogenic herbs are able to help.

Adaptogens have been used for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic healing practices and are known to help manage daily stressors.

Classified adaptogens must meet three specific criteria.

  1. They must be nontoxic and generally safe.
  2. They must have broad benefits that improve overall immune system strength and not just for one organ or system.
  3. They must provide balance within the body.

Will Cole, a functional medicine practitioner, doctor of chiropractic and author of “Ketotarian: The (Mostly) Plant-Based Plan to Burn Fat, Boost Your Energy, Crush Your Cravings, and Calm Inflammation” says — “Adaptogens work to relieve stress by restoring balance to the areas of the body that are out of balance – for example, when your body’s main stress hormone cortisol is too high or too low, you’ll feel stressed, fatigued and inflamed.”

Each adaptogen behaves differently, especially depending on who is taking it, though they are all thought to help recalibrate your body’s response to stressful situations.

If you’re feeling lethargic or susceptible to anxiety, adding a combination of adaptogens to your diet might be a good place to start.

What does adaptogenic mean?

When you’re reading up on adaptogens, you’ll most likely see the word adaptogenic. If you’re curious about what adaptogenic means — it simply refers to adaptogens, or adaptogenic substances, that are used in herbal medicine.

Do adaptogens have side effects?

As with any plant, it’s good to keep in mind that there’s a chance you could be allergic to certain adaptogen herbs. If this is the case, they could cause gastrointestinal distress or have side effects.

How do you add adaptogens to your wellness routine?

Adaptogens can be found throughout many products and are often sold as teas, drinks, powders, and pills. You can drink the powders on their own as a tea with hot water or add them to salad dressing, smoothies, and soups. You can also take adaptogens as capsules, though shoppers are cautioned to make sure of the exact ingredients. Some adaptogens in capsule form might not be as pure as you’re led to believe.

How do adaptogens help manage stress?

Although the best way to combat stress is always at the source, adaptogens do help as a supplement to manage it. Each adaptogen acts different, though in some cases, they allow your cells to access more energy and eliminate toxins. You’ll be able to utilize oxygen more efficiently, which will help you to feel calmer and at ease.

These fermented adaptogens — turmeric, moringa, and ashwagandha — can help your body adapt to stress responses and correct imbalances. These adaptogens are fermented for better bioavailability, increased nutrition, and easier digestibility. They can be used together or separately and can be added to smoothies, soups, desserts, or water.

You can enjoy these supplements with food, or on an empty stomach, though they are best taken with a healthy fat like avocado, coconut, nuts, or oil for maximum absorption.

Harmonize

Our Harmonize power is made from fermented ashwagandha. Ashwagandha has been used for centuries to increase energy, endurance, and longevity. This adaptogenic herb supports healthy nervous system function, stress response, mental focus and cognitive function.

This organic ashwagandha supplement can help modulate hormone cycles, reduce stress and anxiety, and aid in increasing memory and cognitive function.

You can enjoy ashwagandha every day. Some find that it gives them energy when taken in the morning, whereas others prefer to have it to wind down before bedtime. As always, feel free to experiment to find out what works best for you.

Of the long list of benefits fermented ashwagandha offers, here are a handful of the benefits we like to mention:

  • Supports healthy stress response, whether it be physical, emotional or mental
  • Maintains cortisol levels
  • Supports healthy cognition
  • Helps promote mental clarity, concentration, and stamina
  • Increases muscle strength, endurance, and athletic performance
  • Improves sexual function and libido in both men and women
  • Increases testosterone levels significantly (in men)
  • Balances the hormones and boost the health of men and women
  • Supports healthy immune function
  • Supports a healthy weight
  • Supports a healthy outlook
  • Promotes a calming, relaxing state of mind
  • Helps promote restful sleep
  • Reduces stress to help promote more restful sleep
  • Boosts energy and reduces fatigue
  • Helps sustain energy levels

Nourish

Nourish is made with Moringa, a powerful herb known for its revitalizing properties and alkalizing benefits. This adaptogen is a potent antioxidant that supports a healthy inflammatory response. Our fermented organic moringa helps increase natural energy, has anti-aging effects, and contains a high amount of vitamins and nutrients, which makes it the perfect ingredient to add to your wellness routine.

Here are some of the main benefits of moringa:

  • protects the liver + kidneys
  • treats stomach issues, specifically constipation, gastritis, and ulcerative colitis
  • helps mood disorders
  • protects the cardiovascular system
  • helps wounds to heal
  • reduces the amount of glucose in the blood, thus maintaining blood sugar levels
  • can improve eye health
  • helps the body absorb more iron
  • helps to lower cholesterol and blood pressure
  • helps the body convert fats into energy
  • reduces fatigue and improves energy levels

Try experimenting with this adaptogen in our recipe for a delicious Moringa Smoothie. This lemon-lime moringa smoothie is packed with nutrients from Nourish and can help to keep you energized. It can also decrease bloating and digestive distress.

With cantaloupe as its mild base, the smoothie has a thick texture and a subtly sweet flavor. Of course, the green-colored moringa makes this smoothie high in antioxidants and gives it a mild, earthy flavor.

Purify

Purify is made from fermented Turmeric. Turmeric is an adaptogenic herb used in clarifying the body. It helps support the body in its natural detoxification processes, stimulates digestive fire, promotes joint health, and supports healthy inflammatory response.

Whether you’re using this organic turmeric to maintain a healthy immune system function, calm inflammation, support digestive health, or a little bit of everything, we’re certain you’ll love this golden powerhouse of nutrients.

Our fermented turmeric is fermented to improve liver function, which is crucial. As the body’s main detoxifying organ, the liver filters out toxins from the foods we eat and from environmental exposure. In addition to communicating with the stomach, pancreas, gallbladder, and the rest of the digestive system, the liver is responsible for storing and converting nutrients from the foods we eat into things the body can utilize. As an adaptogenic herb, turmeric provides a wide range of health benefits — especially when it’s fermented.

If you’ve been curious about what adaptogens are, know that the number of herbs that fall into this category are vast and varied and that they all share a few things in common. They’re nontoxic with benefits that are meant to improve your overall immune system strength and regulate stress hormones. They provide balance within the body and in doing so, tend to alleviate stress, combat adrenal fatigue, and enhance your mood.

At Clean, we are committed to only using the best quality ingredients we can source. We feel confident in our products and think you will feel the difference. Whether you’re looking for moringa for energy, turmeric for natural detoxification, or ashwagandha to increase endurance, we hope you enjoy exploring our unique and high-quality products.

Written by the Clean Team

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like The top ten benefits of doing a cleanse

Sources:

https://health.usnews.com/wellness/mind/articles/2018-11-14/are-adaptogens-natures-stress-busters