4 MIN READ
You may have heard about a recent craze taking over the holistic health and wellness world that incorporates adding adaptogens into your diet. Adaptogens are a group of potent and powerful ingredients that can be found in herbs, roots and plants like mushrooms. While their benefits may be news to many, they have been used in traditional ancient medicine for centuries, primarily in China, India and Nepal.
How do adaptogens work?
Adaptogens are believed to function by:
- Supporting your body’s natural ability to adapt to stress, anxiety and fatigue.
- Keeping any overproduction of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline in check.
- Helping your body stay in a state of balance, or equilibrium.
- Acting as an antioxidant that may protect your cells from potential health issues.
Where to find adaptogens?
Adaptogens naturally occur in a wide variety of plants and mushrooms, but they are also often found in the US as an ingredient in emerging products like teas, mock-tails, vitamins and supplement powders—most often available in health food stores or online. Some common adaptogens you may see in these products derive from plants like ashwagandha, holy basil and reishi mushrooms.
Are adaptogens proven?
Adaptogens are an ancient medicine, and while scientific studies and research on adaptogens in the US are still in the early stages, some studies indicate positive results for the plant extracts. Further studies are still being conducted to determine whether or not adaptogens may be truly impactful on one’s health and wellness.
Adaptogens are often found in vitamins and supplement powders, so it may also be important to consider that research done on a variety of vitamins and supplements in the past found some inconsistencies in how much of an ingredient is really in the product versus how much is stated on the label.
Are adaptogens right for you?
As of today, adaptogens are considered to be safe by healthcare professionals for most people to use. But it’s important to speak with your primary care physician before adding any new supplements or herbal remedies to your diet as they may impact certain medications or have side effects for some.
With Credence, you can use the Find Care tool to find a doctor that’s right for your health needs, and who can answer any questions you may have about adaptogens.
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