Nature’s secret stress solution

WF investigates the health world’s latest buzzword

How well do you cope with stress? Do you get irritable and snappy when under pressure? Or feel so exhausted at the end of each day that you can barely get off the sofa? Our bodies have a complex set of reactions to stress – or, more accurately, what we perceive as a stressful situation.

You’re probably most familiar with the reactions that happen as part of your immediate ‘fight or flight’ stress response. Your heart starts beating faster, you feel on edge, and you may even break out in a sweat. But if the stressful situation goes away after a few minutes or hours, you can quickly return to your natural, calm state, without it causing any long-term problems.

However, if the source of stress continues – as it often does – the consequences can be much greater. Your sleep and digestion can suffer. Your focus, attention and memory can be affected. You might start to feel drained, get anxious and worried at the smallest things, or even feel depressed and unable to enjoy life. Sound familiar? And it doesn’t end there. In the longer term, your immune system can be compromised, leaving you more prone to illness. Chronic stress is even linked to faster ageing, weight gain and high blood pressure.

So what can we do about it? The future doesn’t have to be this bleak. It’s important to realise that it’s not thesourceof stress that’s having these effects, but how your body and mind respond to it. This is why some people seem to cope better than others. So, while it’s helpful to get rid of external sources of stress where possible – such as sharing a workload, or negotiating time off – it’s virtually impossible to avoid all stressful events in your life. Instead, improving your ability to cope with stress can be key.

Adaptogens to the rescue

With stress becoming an increasingly important influence

in modern life, there’s a wealth of information and advice out there designed to help us cope. Meditation and mindfulness are among the most widely researched and effective techniques – and come highly recommended. But you may be encouraged to know that certain natural herbs can help, too. These specific herbs are often called ‘adaptogens’, and all of them have a long history of use in traditional herbal medicines.

What are adaptogens?

Adaptogens have been around for centuries, and were traditionally used in Chinese and Indian Ayurvedic medicine. There are various definitions, but it’s easiest to think of adaptogens as substances that can help you to

adapt to stress. ‘Adaptogens are substances – more accurately a combination of amino acids, vitamins and herbs – that are used to improve the health of your adrenal system, the part in charge of managing your body’s hormonal response to stress,’ explains Anastasia Bertacca, naturopath at Pollen + Grace.

‘They enhance the body’s ability to cope with external stresses such as toxins in the environment and internal stresses such as anxiety and insomnia. Think of them as a thermostat – when the temperature is too high, it brings it down, when the temperature is too low, it brings it up.’ Indeed, according to a 2010 study by professors Alexander Panossian and Georg Wikman, adaptogens can help improve energy and reduce fatigue in response to stress, reduce anxiety, help people feel more positive, and improve focus and attention, amongst other benefits. To be classified as an adaptogen, the herb must also have no known negative effects.

Herbs classified as adaptogens include ashwagandha (also known as withania), holy basil, rhodiola, schisandra and shatavari. The ginsengs – of which there are various types – are also known as adaptogens. Most of these herbs are readily available as supplements. They may all help you cope with stress, but they can each have slightly different effects. We take a look at some of the most helpful adaptogens.