Adaptogens

Adaptogens may be useful for people with stress and who doesn’t have stress these days. Adaptogens are known to have an effect on the HPA axis (hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal glands) to balance out hormonal fluctuations such as cortisol and adrenaline, estrogen and progesterone, and a myriad of other hormones and their precursors. Due to this affect, adaptogens have been used for conditions such as Syndrom X, a metabolic disorder affecting millions of Americans. This disorder puts people in some-what of a pre-diabetic state, that isn’t considered Type I or Type II or even pre-diabetes really, but can lead to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, insomnia, thyroid conditions most often low thyroid hormone excretion, overeating, etc, etc. Doctors tend to treat the thyroid, but don’t really now how to treat the real cause, at least to treat with a pill. The use of adaptogens along with dietary changes may help the body to adjust and balance avoiding diagnosis such as Type I or Type II diabetes. Adaptogens can also be helpful for menopausal symptoms such as irregular cycles, mood swings, insomnia and night sweats. My favorites are schisandra, ashwaganda, eleuthero, american ginseng, dwarf american ginseng