Ginseng, rhodiola, ashwagandha...: an adaptogenic plant is a medicinal plant with very powerful regulatory benefits. Adaptogenic plants act in a holistic way to strengthen the body and allow it to adapt to different sources of stress. Thus, adaptogenic plants are considered to be the best natural, non-addictive stress relievers. Everything you need to know about these great plants.
What is an adaptogen plant?
- medicinal plant
- regulatory function of the nervous system
- best natural anti-stress
Definition of an adaptogenic plant
Adaptogens are a group of plants, mushrooms and berries with powerful medicinal properties. Indeed, an adaptogen plant is a type of plant capable of helping everyone to find their natural balance and harmony. These plants are increasingly used in phytotherapy to respond to the grueling and stressful pace of modern life. But, far from being a simple fashion effect, it is in fact a return to traditional medicines, in particular Chinese and Ayurvedic.
Holistic benefits for optimal well-being
The name adaptogen illustrates the properties of these extraordinary plants. Indeed, these plants have the ability to allow the body to adapt. Adaptation, the ultimate form of intelligence, is what allows the body to draw sufficient strength to face all sources of stress (physical, psychological, environmental, emotional) and external aggressions. In short, it is the story of the oak tree and the bamboo.
Another buzzword: "getting to the best version of yourself". If it's found in the mouths of fitgirls, it's a good mantra for considering your overall health. Adaptogenic herbs are the natural way to reach that optimal version of yourself. Their action is holistic, meaning that they are not specialized. It intervenes on the whole organism.
Adaptogenic plants increase the overall resistance of the body to fight against the harmful effects of stress and strengthen the immune system.
History of the use of adaptogens
As mentioned, adaptogens have been recognized for thousands of years, mainly in countries with extreme living conditions, such as China, India or Russia. These ancestral traditions had not really had any echo in the West before the work of the Russian toxicologist and pharmacologist Nicolaï Lazarev, to whom the term adaptogen is attributed thanks to his extensive research on the properties of these plants.
He was the first to define an adaptogen plant as follows: "a pharmacological substance capable of inducing, in an organism, a state of non-specific increased resistance, allowing it to counterbalance stress signals and to adapt to an exceptional effort".
Read also: Who are the adaptogens, the best health allies?
What are the properties of adaptogenic plants?
- Physiological regulator
- Anti-stress
- Cognitive function stimulator
- Immune system booster
- Anti-fatigue
A natural remedy for stress and anxiety
An adaptogen plant balances the nervous system. It regulates the mood for a better management of emotions. It helps to relieve tension and anxiety and helps the body and mind to relax gently.
Adaptogenic plants are the best allies for managing stress naturally. They act in prevention as well as in healing. They are plants that increase the body's natural ability to fight against all sources of stress. They opt for a non-specific response for a general effect on anxiety. They are called metabolic regulators.
Strengthen the immune system with plants
An adaptogen plant has the incredible power to increase the body's ability to adapt to environmental factors and stop the impact of their negative effects on the body.
Much more than simple tonic plants, adaptogenic plants have a lasting action thanks to their normalizing influence which increases the homeostatic capacities of the organism, that is to say, its capacity of adaptation and its power of resistance by involving all the biological mechanisms.
What are the best adaptogenic plants?
- Ginseng: increases the body's resistance to aggression, improves vitality, rebalances the mood, strengthens the immune system.
- Ashwagandha: regulation of the nervous system, stimulation of cognitive functions, calming of depressive disorders, anti-inflammatory properties.
- Rhodiola: better overall resistance, fight against chronic fatigue, boost physical performance and improve cognitive faculties.
