Page 31 - The Book of Lost Energy

The Book of Lost Energy

Use Adaptogenic Herbs to Deal with Stress

As you get older, using conventional medication can take a toll on your kidneys and

livers. This is the reason why many older adults prefer to use herbs to deal with
stress and boost their energy. Using food–particularly plants–like medicine, also

called adaptogenic herbs or adaptogens, has the ability to lower the number of

cortisol levels in the body.

Adaptogenic plants are a unique type of healing plants as they help restore balance

and protect the body without causing any undesirable side effects to the body but

instead should have normalizing actions to the body. Older adults can get the

benefits of using adaptogenic herbs not only to boost their energy but also to
improve the physiological function of the body. This section will discuss the

different types of adaptogenic plants that are great for bringing back youth and

vigor to older adults.

Panax Ginseng

Also called Asian ginseng or red ginseng, this well-known adaptogen is considered
as very potent as it has been shown to improve the memory and performance of

adults. Aside from improving memory, taking in ginseng extracts can also reduce

ulcer index, stabilized blood sugar levels and cholesterol, decreases the stress

hormone corticosterone, and decrease the enzyme creatine kinase that indicates

stress and damage to organs in the body.

In a 1988 study involving rats, a single dose of ginseng can affect the monoamine

neurotransmitter that, in turn, reduces the release of hormones serotonin and
noradrenaline as part of the body’s stress response mechanism. On the other hand,

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