How adaptogens change your body from the inside out.

I know, I know, this is a topic I love to go on about. But I was just thinking, in the day in age we’re in, it’s become imperative to understand how the inside reflects the happenings on the outside. 

With all that’s going on in the world, it’s going to take some pretty resilient humans to persevere. I’m not kidding when I say, the strongest nervous system wins. Sooooo, what builds a stronger nervous system? What creates resilience? Well, it’s an inside job. If you’re eating doritos and chugging coffee all day, you’re not creating a path of resilience. What we put in our bodies is what fortifies our tissues, strengthens our nervous system and puts our bodies to purpose. So in this cause and effect way, what we feed ourselves, feeds the quality of our life. Want to build confidence? Eat clean. Want to feel beautiful? Nourish your organs. Want to detox? Stop re-toxing. Want to feel calm? Healthy? Strong?  It’s really simple: Take care of your body. 

When you start taking adaptogens, something happens. Things begin to change not just internally but externally also. It’s one of those small step, big benefits phenomena. You’ll notice that your workouts get better, your relationships get better, even your attitude gets better. Adaptogens are like the gateway herb to a better life. They feel like these little warriors that fight for your well being and if you’re not paying attention, it could almost go unnoticed. 

When we make our insides strong, the outside responds in almost a mirror fashion. It’s not that you take adaptogens, and like some magic pill, your whole world is transformed. It’s more subtle than that. It’s much more subtle. Perhaps that wine craving starts to fade away or you suddenly find you have a few more boundaries in place around your habits or relationships. This is a natural progression. 

How adaptogens strengthen the nervous system 

There are many tactics for strengthening the nervous system. These include breathwork, meditation, sleep, exercise, diet and of course herbs. We want to work with as many of these as we can because they all aid each other in the fortification of the body. My second favorite classification of herbs is known as nervines and I want to touch on those briefly because of the way they compliment adaptogens so well. These include but are not limited to: Lemon balm, Skullcap, passionflower, chamomile, blue vervain and motherwort. These nervines come in handy, especially when the tactics mentioned above are not being utilized. In other words, they can help bolster the effects of adaptogens when other areas in the diet or lifestyle are lacking. 

Let's speak specifically on the power of adaptogens on the nervous system, not biochemical compounds (which are also important and we should probably talk about those), but the physiological process. The electrical side of things. 

If you lay very still you can feel the electrical pulses flowing through your body, this is your nervous system at work. It is transmitting information through chemical and electrical stimulus and it’s relaying messages from the brain to the rest of the body. So in a way, the nervous system is a network of communication, not unlike that of mycelium.  The ancients believed that this system resembled a tree (upside down) with the brain being the seed, the spinal cord the trunk and all the dendrites being the branches. These parallels to nature remind us that although our bodies can feel mechanical sometimes, we are actually a part of nature and operate through the laws of nature.  

The chemical side…. 

If you dig biology, you’ll love this part. This is where we meet the Neuroendocrine system and all its chemical messengers, like the infamous Cortisol. Obviously there are other hormones that play roles here like adrenaline, noradrenaline, TSH and ACTH, but cortisol is a primary stress hormone. Cortisol is released by the adrenals, when it is released continuously in a stress feedback loop, we end up with adrenal fatigue and that leads to a host of other issues. Some symptoms of this are anxiety, depression, fatigue, low libido, weight gain and insomnia. 

So let’s back up, why is cortisol released in the first place? 

It all starts with the HPA axis (that's hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal). The hypothalamus in the brain calls the shots and tells the pituitary gland what to do which then in turn tells the rest of the body via chemical messengers what to do. 

This is a system built into the body to help keep us safe. I’m sure you've heard of “fight, flight or freeze”? OR “rest and digest”? These are the states of being that are activated by the Hypothalamus, that godhead in the brain calling all the shots, but you know who talks directly with the Hypothalamus? That’s right, adaptogens!! This is why I believe adaptogens are the real food of the gods. They go straight to the source to make their changes. I love the efficiency in that. 

The biochemical side of adaptogens...

Each and every plant has chemical compounds. Some don’t speak very kindly with the human body and therefore make us feel sick and some speak our love language and are quite compatible with us. Here are a few that we find in adaptogens. 

Polyphenols: These prevent cellular damage and clean up free radicals in the body. They are anti-inflammatory and help reduce environmental stress in the body including heavy metals. Polyphenols fall into 4 main groups; flavonoids, lignans, stilbenes and phenolic acids. 

Terpenes: These are immunomodulating compounds. They are defense molecules that work to bolster the system as a whole and can be found in many foods and spices. 

Polysaccharides: These help with energy and with fighting fatigue. They work to return the body to its vital energy. They improve mood and have a direct impact on the immune system. 

Triterpenoid Saponins: These compounds work as anti-bacterial and anti-virals. These are some of the most active compounds in adaptogens. 

The magnetic side…. 

The number one rule of balance according to Ayurvedic wisdom is this, “Like attracts like and opposites heal” This means adding cold to cold = more cold but adding heat to cold = balance (warm). This is a magnetic principle. What you have, you tend to attract more of. If we look at the doshas we can see that what we are predominant in is where we tend to go out of balance. Our cup can easily overflow and before we know it what we have accumulated spills over into other areas. Pretty straightforward and simple, right? But adaptogens take this a step further because they carry an intelligence that regulates. This means that if you're up (think anxiety), they bring you down and if you're down (think depressed) they bring you up. They do the balancing work for us. 

So, how do adaptogens change your body from the inside out? In a nutshell, they restore us to our original essence; that place of calm and peace. So maybe it’s time we include these little peaceful warriors into our daily regime and build some resilience because remember, the strongest nervous system wins. 

In good health,

Amanda