This video, titled 'Stress and Adaptogens,' discusses how chronic stress negatively impacts our physical and mental health. It explains the body's 'fight or flight' response and how being stuck in this mode can lead to various health problems. The speaker, Deb Ford, introduces adaptogens, which are natural herbs that help the body manage and adapt to stress, and suggests lifestyle changes for better health. She highlights specific adaptogens like ginseng, ashwagandha, licorice root, and astragalus.
Key Takeaways
1
Chronic toxic stress is a leading cause of illness and disease, affecting systems like the heart, immune system, and mental health.
2
The autonomic nervous system has two parts: the 'fight or flight' (sympathetic) for immediate threats and 'rest and digest' (parasympathetic) for healing and balance.
3
Adrenal glands produce essential hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which regulate metabolism, immunity, and stress response, but can become overwhelmed by chronic stress.
4
Cortisol imbalance can lead to issues such as sleep problems, fatigue, weight gain, and affects various bodily functions like digestion and bone formation.
5
Acute stress is short-term and can enhance performance and immune response, while chronic stress, often due to modern life, can lead to exhaustion and disease.
6
Lifestyle factors like excessive screen time, difficult relationships, poor diet, lack of sleep, and not prioritizing self-care contribute significantly to chronic stress.
7
Stress management techniques like mindful breathing, yoga, and meditation are crucial for rewiring the brain to shift from 'fight or flight' to 'rest and digest'.
8
Adaptogens are a class of herbs that help balance, restore, and protect the body from prolonged stress hormones, supporting the immune system, endurance, and mood.
9
Specific adaptogens like ginseng, ashwagandha, licorice root, and astragalus offer unique benefits such as balancing reproductive hormones, reducing cortisol, and boosting immunity.
10
Always consult your medical team before adding adaptogens, especially if you are on medication, as individual needs and treatments can vary.
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hello
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and welcome to the fourth wednesday at
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11 a.m
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where we dig into topics that can affect
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our health vitality and longevity okay
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so this month
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it is going to be on adaptogens and the
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stress
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response um i'm going to take all the
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questions
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at the end uh so that we'll have time to
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kind of go through
0:29
all of those so anyway a lot of good
0:32
stuff here
0:33
starting out though happy summer don't
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we just love this we have been
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um waiting for good weather for a long
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time we've been through a lot in the
0:43
last year and so i
0:44
am excited to bring this information
0:47
you know at the shop and in my office i
0:50
am more limited in time
0:52
with what i can give you but in these uh
0:54
wednesday webinars
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boy i can dive in deep and um
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[Music]
1:01
teach you people that are
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looking for healthy ways to
1:08
live your life and deal with the
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stresses we have
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it's it's just a great opportunity i
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love teaching
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people all the things that i've learned
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over the last 45 years my
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education and experience because i think
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with with education
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you can make better choices and with
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better choices
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you get better outcomes and the outcome
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of course that we're looking for
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is health vitality and longevity
1:36
going to give you the latest information
1:38
no gimmicks
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um no real quick
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fixes because when we're looking at
1:46
changing
1:47
uh and improving our health and
1:50
well-being
1:50
you know sometimes we have to dig deep
1:53
and clear out some stuff
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so we're going to be digging deep here
1:56
so that you can um
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you know be ready for any unforeseen
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challenge that may come in the future
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um i was reading this um one book right
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now
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that it's all talks about building
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resilience
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which is what we do i mean if if you're
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like me and a baby boomer
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we have never ever had the kind of
2:19
challenge that we've had in the last
2:21
year
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we did not have to go through world war
2:24
one we didn't have to go through world
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war ii we didn't have to go through the
2:27
depression
2:28
those things really required a lot of
2:31
resilience
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uh other things i mean you never know
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when there may be an accident
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we know that a healthy body
2:40
is more resilient you are going to
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far fare
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much better in a healthy body than one
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that
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is obese one that has a lot of
2:53
comorbidities
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so we need to reverse all that stuff and
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so much of it
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comes down to how we live our lives
3:02
and we've got choices so i want to be
3:05
ready for any challenge that's coming up
3:07
and i'm going to give you a lot of good
3:09
stuff here today i think you'll
3:11
like different pieces of the puzzle some
3:13
may be new
3:14
some maybe things you already know but i
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want to encourage you to start
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implementing some of these things
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anybody that knows me
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knows i've been doing this for a long
3:23
time 45
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years this summer that's a long time
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a lot of education a lot of experience
3:31
and i've studied what it takes to have
3:33
health vitality and longevity
3:35
and i kind of look at um what i call the
3:39
rules of biology
3:41
and the more rules you break the more
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chances
3:44
you are going to have a major illness so
3:46
um
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you know i i was a sick kid i mean from
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the time i was three years old i was
3:53
going to specialist
3:54
you know surgery all sorts of stuff
3:56
going on um
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i don't want that for anybody but i have
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fine found my way back
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from that and i i want to teach you and
4:05
share with you and encourage you
4:07
to make those changes and just dig in
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and know that life can be better i've
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got
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a uh a favorite
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saying from a customer of mine he's 99
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okay love him to pieces 99 he says he
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wants to die healthy
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well let me tell you he is fitter than
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most 45 year olds i know
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he is sharper than most 35 years old
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uh 35 years old i know uh he's just
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really
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sharp and i love that wants to die
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healthy
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what a great hobby health is
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i don't think there's a better hobby
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because when when you're healthy you can
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enjoy
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everything okay so we're going to dig in
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here
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i'm going to minimize this so you can
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see the whole screen and not have to see
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my face
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okay all righty so so today we're going
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to be talking about adaptogens
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and the stress response going to be
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talking to you about the nervous system
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different types of stress how chronic
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stress
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affects your body and your mind and can
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have
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devastating effects on your overall
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health and well-being
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i used to think stress didn't cause
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disease it just made whatever you had
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worse i was so wrong i
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know it definitely causes disease
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i look at people who've gotten very ill
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stress was the trigger
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most importantly i'm also going to be
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showing you
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alternatives to merely medicating
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or putting a bandage over the problems
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we're going after root cause
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i'm going to tell you about the many
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ancient proven herbs
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called adaptogens that help us manage
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stress
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i'm sure you agree that in my generation
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us boomers we've never seen stress like
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we've seen in the last year and a half
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and that isn't good stress chronic
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toxic stress can be a killer in fact
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chronic stress
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is one of the leading causes of illness
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and disease in the u.s including heart
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disease
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depression anxiety high blood pressure
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insomnia maybe even cancer
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because of the insidious effects it has
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on the immune system
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unfortunately we are reacting
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and treating our stress wrong the
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current response to common stress
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related illness is simply to
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medicate with over-the-counter or
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prescription medications instead of
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helping the body react healthfully
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drugs for this drugs for that not
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correcting the problem
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and perhaps even creating more from side
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effects
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now don't get me wrong sometimes drugs
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can be life-saving but
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understand they are not correcting the
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chronic problems
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we're going to talk about what humans
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have used historically
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and how now scientifically
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proven to correct and protect us
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from the toxic effects of chronic stress
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so first a little information about how
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the body works
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this slide represents the two parts of
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the autonomic nervous system
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automatic responses that we don't have
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to think about
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first of all we've got the fight or
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flight it's called the sympathetic and
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that's kind of the running shoes there
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and then we have
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the resting and digesting the
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parasympathetic
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represented by the slippers we need
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both to keep us alive but when we get
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stuck in the fight or flight mode
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it causes problems stress of course is a
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regular part of life
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it's been with humans from the beginning
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this stress response has helped us
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survive
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we are designed to be on the alert for
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things in the environment
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that could be a threat lions and tigers
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and
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unfriendly tribes anything that could
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threaten
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our survival fight or flight either way
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it's over pretty quick and we go back to
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resting and digesting
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when this stress response has kept us
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kept us alive
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in primitive times in modern life it has
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taken on
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a chronic aspect that can destroy
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our health we are in fight or flight
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way too much and not in the resting and
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digesting
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very much you know when you're in the
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resting and digesting that's when your
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hormones balance
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you digest properly you heal properly
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you sleep
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your immune system works best you
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respond to pain properly
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you thrive when it's in balance when it
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gets stuck in the fight or flight you
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don't heal right
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your hormone gives you fits your
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digestive tract is irritable and maybe
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even inflamed
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you don't sleep right and your moods are
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off
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this and a host of other problems we
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need to balance this fight or flight
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and the resting and digesting for health
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so what is your stress level
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on a scale from one to ten one you're on
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vacation where someone else is cooking
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and cleaning
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there's nothing on your agenda maybe
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no even cell service wow
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ten you didn't sleep well last night
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you're scheduled back to back you're
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running an hour late
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you had no breakfast forgot to pay the
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credit card bill last month
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hardly a bite for lunch your phone is
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ringing
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non-stop your kid's in trouble and your
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husband needs you
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and oh yeah no groceries at home to fix
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dinner
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i get it in fact the national institute
9:54
of
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mental health says stress may be brought
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on by
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and prolonged by things like work school
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finances or family matters
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basically life it really is how we
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handle it
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there's no time to recover and be in the
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resting and digesting phase when you're
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in all of that you're always in fight or
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flight putting out all the flower
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fires it's like always an emergency
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now we need to talk a little bit about
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the glands and the hormones
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that are associated with stress so it's
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the adrenal glands
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that are the first glands to respond to
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stress
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they're also the first glands to fail
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and get overwhelmed when under long-term
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stressful condition adrenal glands
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they're like
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little caps on top of your kidneys
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and they produce hormones you cannot
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live without including sex hormones
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and adrenaline and cortisol these
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hormones
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regulate your metabolism your immune
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system blood pressure
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response to stress of course and other
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essential functions that we are still
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figuring out so everything from weight
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to hot flashes can be affected and
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everything in between
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the hormones cortisol and adrenaline
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are produced by the adrenals in response
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to a feedback loop from the brain
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when this feedback loop gets overworked
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by a ton of stress
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the adrenal glands can't keep pace and
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then the problems
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begin
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a side thought here is all stress bad
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no not all stress is bad stress is
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actually
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one of the body's fundamental mechanisms
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short-term stress stress that just lasts
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a few minutes or a few hours can in fact
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enhance one's performance as well as
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your innate and
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adaptive immune responses so a little
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stress
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not bad in small to moderate doses
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stress can strengthen
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one's immune system and may improve a
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person's
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overall resilience helping you respond
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to
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other stressful situations better a
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little exposure to
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pathogens may keep the immune system
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strong no challenges it gets
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lazy not good in fact even with exercise
12:21
the reason
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exercise is so good for you is because
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it stresses you a bit
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it tears the muscle fibers so they have
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to rebuild
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making you stronger and more resilient
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the muscles get bigger
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you're stronger if you never exercised
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your muscles and your bones would
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weaken stress isn't all bad
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in small doses even crucial for survival
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and it's something we can benefit from
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but
12:52
back to the adrenals adrenal
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issues can create more symptoms
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than otherwise that are under otherwise
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unexplained
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cortisol controls a lot of things
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controls the sleep and wake cycle the
13:09
circadian rhythm
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which means that when levels are out of
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balance you may have trouble
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falling asleep or
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feel fatigued throughout the day or
13:20
wake up tired naturally cortisol
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secretion is supposed to be highest at
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sunrise to help you wake up
13:28
then you get a few bumps and then it's
13:30
going to be lowest
13:31
at midnight or when the sun goes down so
13:34
that then the
13:35
alternate hormone melatonin can take
13:38
over and make you drowsy
13:40
if you've got dysregulated cortisol
13:42
melatonin
13:44
wasted your time and money it's not
13:45
going to work cortisol
13:47
also contributes to the body's use of
13:50
fats proteins and carbs all the calories
13:52
it also suppresses inflammation
13:55
regulates blood pressure increases blood
13:57
sugar
13:57
and decreases bone formation
14:01
see how this can affect everything from
14:02
weight gain to diabetes to osteoporosis
14:05
when your body is on high alert cortisol
14:08
can alter or shut down other functions
14:12
that could get in the way of the
14:13
emergency such as your digestive or
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reproductive systems your immune system
14:18
or even your growth
14:20
your body is in emergency mode and
14:23
everything else
14:24
back seat one example menopausal women
14:28
invariably i have women coming in right
14:31
after christmas
14:32
with lots of hormone symptoms they had
14:34
extra stressors
14:36
over the holidays sleep excess sugar
14:39
more responsibilities financial strain
14:42
company overnight parties parties and
14:45
the body said
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to heck with estrogen we need cortisol
14:49
same thing happened with covid so many
14:52
stress symptoms
14:53
okay so take a moment and ask yourself
14:55
these questions
14:57
is your blood pressure abnormally high
15:00
or low
15:02
do you crave salt do you suffer from
15:04
fatigue
15:06
do you experience afternoon yawning do
15:08
you experience
15:10
dizziness like when you get up quickly
15:13
are you slow to recover from colds is
15:15
your circulation poor do you have cold
15:17
hands and feet
15:18
do you have muscular or nervous system
15:22
exhaustion they just don't work right
15:25
do you have ligament weakness always
15:26
spraining things do you wake
15:28
up tired are you prone to colds and
15:31
asthma and bronchitis
15:33
do you need to self-medicate with
15:35
alcohol or drugs to relax
15:38
if you answered yes to more than four of
15:42
these symptoms
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you could have imbalanced cortisol
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levels
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don't worry you're not alone and there
15:49
is help
15:52
so could your cortisol levels be too
15:54
high or too low
15:56
long term or dysregulated all day long
16:00
there is a way that you can easily find
16:02
out for yourself
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you don't test you don't know this is my
16:08
favorite adrenal stress kit i love it
16:11
and carry it my office so if you're
16:12
interested you can pick it up for about
16:14
150 dollars tells us a lot
16:18
let me know here is a sample report
16:21
that this is just the page one so you'll
16:23
see in this test
16:25
that the cortisol has all shifted to the
16:28
left
16:29
although this person is dog tired
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see how it bumps up the highest it's
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going to be at night probably hard for
16:36
them to fall asleep
16:39
okay now we're going to talk adrenaline
16:42
the flight hormone
16:43
what comes to mind when you think of
16:45
adrenaline a racing heart perhaps
16:47
adrenaline is commonly known for the
16:50
fight or flight hormone due to the
16:52
immediate reaction to stress
16:54
if you've ever experienced a car pulling
16:56
out in front of you out of nowhere
16:58
or see a child about to run out in the
17:00
road sensation you experience is a surge
17:03
of
17:03
adrenaline it's produced in the adrenal
17:06
glands anytime the brain senses danger
17:08
and immediately lightning fast faster
17:11
than the speed of sound
17:12
that is where the glands create natural
17:15
response to stress
17:16
and only presents a problem when the
17:19
adrenals become fatigued
17:21
and it starts receiving constant
17:23
messages
17:24
from the brain to produce adrenaline
17:27
this is what happens in cases of chronic
17:29
stress
17:30
and become dysregulated like in panic
17:33
attacks and ptsd
17:35
when you get an attack seemingly out of
17:38
nowhere
17:40
acute stress is a little bit different
17:43
it is the most
17:44
common type of stress and it is often
17:47
brought on
17:48
by every day occurrences driven
17:51
by both path past and future
17:55
anticipation pressures demands
17:58
humans we worry about the future and
18:01
fret about the past and
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be thrilling and exciting like the
18:04
feeling when you're on a roller coaster
18:06
ride
18:07
whatever the cause whether it could be a
18:09
near-death experience or
18:11
giving a speech in public or jitters
18:14
leading up to a race
18:15
acute stress is characterized by quickly
18:18
coming on and then dissipating soon
18:21
thereafter
18:22
in fact just thinking about the event
18:24
can cause the same
18:25
response if you relive
18:29
the event time after time ruminating
18:32
over it
18:32
the body can't tell the difference
18:34
between the thought
18:35
and the actual event so this constant
18:39
stream of stress perception
18:42
can lead to exhaustion think about
18:44
riding that roller coaster
18:46
over and over and over again due to the
18:49
release of adrenaline
18:51
acute stress can start causing all sorts
18:54
of problems
18:55
heart palpitations nausea chest pain
18:58
headaches
18:59
you know it's all in the emergency
19:02
moment that goes on way too long
19:04
abdominal pains and digestive problems
19:06
shunting
19:07
everything away from digesting and
19:09
breathing difficulties
19:10
that's in the short term chronic stress
19:15
that low grade chronic stress that is
19:18
life today cause of your stress may not
19:21
be as clear-cut
19:22
as you think you may think it's normal
19:26
because most people have it these days
19:29
being
19:30
constantly connected too much screen
19:32
time
19:33
can be stressing you out taking the time
19:36
to unplug
19:37
and restore your peace of mind is very
19:40
important
19:41
turn off the news the politics the drama
19:44
the social media the pressures from
19:45
society
19:47
fear of missing out fomo and then
19:50
also you might want to think about food
19:52
sensitivities
19:53
allergies intolerance digestive issues
19:56
headache and skin issues are all
19:58
symptoms
19:58
of food sensitivities and intolerances
20:02
you know exploring dietary changes
20:05
see if you feel better leaky gut one of
20:08
our earliest webinars
20:09
you can see where it causes stress
20:13
in the body also we're too hard on
20:16
ourselves many times we're our own worst
20:18
critic
20:19
you know we're piling up additional
20:20
stress my practice
20:23
i love this one this this self-love sort
20:26
of mantra
20:27
no competition no comparison no judgment
20:31
i love it another thing keeping
20:34
difficult people
20:35
in your daily life is there someone that
20:38
every time you see them your stomach
20:39
drops
20:40
or even if you think of them if so
20:42
they're likely adding a lot more stress
20:45
to your life than happiness
20:46
and that can take a toll on you lastly
20:49
consider your lifestyle choices and ask
20:51
yourself
20:52
these questions have i been consuming
20:55
too much caffeine alcohol
20:59
sugar or junk food or the next one
21:02
have i been sleeping at least seven or
21:03
eight hours daily
21:06
next one have i been engaging in
21:08
moderate exercise for at least 150
21:11
minutes a week
21:12
20 to 30 minutes a day next one have i
21:16
been eating enough greens and healthy
21:18
foods
21:18
daily and am i staying hydrated
21:21
also and this is a biggie have you been
21:23
putting other needs
21:25
others needs before your own if so you
21:28
are contributing to your chronic stress
21:31
these things are the basic rules of
21:33
biology that you need to be aware of
21:36
if you want health vitality and
21:39
longevity
21:40
if your answer is yes to one or more of
21:43
those questions you need to really
21:45
consider a healthy lifestyle adjustment
21:47
often a person experiencing chronic
21:50
stress
21:50
is someone who is not able to see their
21:53
way out of a miserable situation
21:56
pressures from work a bad living
21:57
situation a childhood trauma
22:00
can lead to chronic stress as these
22:03
pressures
22:03
are often internalized and constant
22:07
in fact one of the most dangerous
22:08
aspects of chronic stress
22:10
is it becomes a natural state we wire
22:13
into that just
22:14
the bite despite the havoc it creates on
22:17
the body system
22:18
and you know if we're to ask if they're
22:20
stressed they say no
22:22
not any more than anybody else they
22:23
think it's normal
22:25
but based on the research from the
22:27
national center
22:28
of biotechnology information all
22:31
bodily systems can be affected by
22:34
chronic stress
22:35
and if untreated it ultimately
22:39
manifests as illness when you're
22:42
chronically stressed
22:43
your body constantly stays alert
22:46
and over time it's going to lead to a
22:49
number of issues
22:51
physical health is going to suffer
22:54
okay so the physical health stress
22:57
affects our physical health in many ways
23:00
for many of us we consider stress as the
23:03
cause
23:04
of tight shoulders and headaches but
23:07
chronic step
23:08
stress plays havoc on the entire
23:11
physical body there is a bi-directional
23:14
relationship between the body and the
23:16
mind
23:16
i like to call it an eight-lane highway
23:18
go on the speed of light
23:20
it's a body response and the idea
23:24
that the mind and the body are separate
23:26
is like
23:27
oh so 1970s
23:30
gut microbes certain
23:33
less than friendly microbes thrive on
23:36
stress
23:37
your hormones are disrupted digestion
23:39
mood over the past 20 years there's been
23:41
a lot of scientific advances on the area
23:44
of how hormones affect the brain
23:46
hormones like estrogen
23:47
have been found to structurally nourish
23:50
and alter the hippocampal or
23:52
memory neurons while stress hormones
23:54
like cortisol
23:55
they can give us a burst of energy but
23:58
however
23:58
long-term activation can wear the brain
24:01
down
24:02
and actually kill brain cells and
24:05
prevent memory consolidation
24:09
poor memory symptoms of anxiety
24:13
are enhanced in the presence of
24:15
testosterone
24:17
hormones have such an effect on emotions
24:20
the brain
24:21
and the body there is a body mind
24:24
connection that
24:24
can't be overlooked in other words it's
24:28
been proven that stress is
24:29
clearly tied to the rest of the body and
24:32
your overall health
24:33
there is no system untouched by stress
24:37
the immune system the reproductive
24:39
system
24:40
and stress lowers a man's testosterone
24:43
level
24:44
women we know that stress is a leading
24:47
cause
24:48
of pcos polycystic ovarian infertility
24:51
problems in women
24:52
the muscular skeletal system it tears
24:55
down the bones and the muscles
24:57
central nervous system digestive system
24:59
you got
25:00
heartburn acid reflux diarrhea nausea
25:03
can occur when chronic stress is present
25:06
no resting and digesting is going on
25:11
okay and then the physical is is
25:13
accompanied by the mental and emotional
25:15
health
25:16
depression and low energy
25:19
stress causes sustained feelings of low
25:22
energy
25:23
that can lead to feelings of depression
25:28
bipolar disorder cognitive function
25:31
decreases the functioning actually of
25:33
the hippocampus
25:34
and the frontal lobes the executive
25:37
decision the pris
25:38
the the decision making so confusion
25:41
problems with decision making
25:43
concentrating and memory goes on
25:45
personality changes when you're stressed
25:48
irritability hostility anger frustration
25:50
and aggression we've seen so much of
25:52
that in this last year
25:53
so we've talked a lot about the chronic
25:56
effects of stress
25:58
so now shoot ready to talk about help
26:01
relieving some stress and balancing the
26:04
body
26:04
and so what if i told you there's a way
26:06
out to without this without medication
26:10
and most importantly it's natural
26:13
you knew i would okay
26:17
stress management techniques oh there's
26:20
so many of them
26:21
find one that works for you there are a
26:23
lot of them it can be breathing
26:25
i love this one it's free and you can do
26:27
it anywhere
26:28
box breathing five by five breathing
26:31
for eight breathing four seven eight
26:34
breathing
26:34
it doesn't matter just slow deep
26:38
mindful breathing i do it often every
26:41
day
26:42
and at night when i want to fall asleep
26:44
you can do yoga
26:45
you can walk in nature meditation
26:48
progressive relaxation the thing is it
26:52
needs to be frequent and this is really
26:53
important
26:54
because that's where we start to rewire
26:56
the brain and get it
26:57
unstuck from the chronic stress and the
27:00
fight-or-flight response so the body can
27:02
be more in the resting
27:04
and digesting restorative phase we've
27:08
got to remy
27:09
rewire so these techniques
27:12
take time to learn i found that most
27:14
people who are in the fight and flight
27:16
cannot even begin to think about this
27:18
because there's too many emergencies
27:20
no time at all to for themselves so
27:24
adaptogens to the rescue first
27:27
nutritionally your adrenals have to be
27:30
supported
27:31
by specific vitamins and minerals most
27:34
people
27:34
who are super stressed are nutritionally
27:37
deficient so
27:38
a terrific multivitamin is a must
27:40
vitamins associated with adrenal
27:42
support include vitamin c
27:45
and the b complex and i say especially
27:49
in the activated forms so instead of
27:52
seeking out
27:53
all these individual supplements
27:55
individually i recommend looking for a
27:57
good multivitamin that includes
27:58
all of them and these are two of my
28:00
favorite one or two daily
28:03
o n e or ultra preventive ii
28:07
then after you have the nutritional
28:10
needs supplied
28:11
the adaptogens that we're going to talk
28:13
about work
28:14
better adaptogens are a class of herbs
28:19
that help to balance restore
28:22
protect the body from prolonged stress
28:26
hormones
28:27
and due to the chronic stress that can
28:30
also help to adapt to stress
28:32
of any kind physical mental or emotional
28:36
they also support and boost the immune
28:40
system
28:40
they increase physical endurance and
28:43
mental focus
28:44
encourage balanced mood and in balancing
28:47
hormones
28:48
i mean who doesn't need to take these
28:52
each adaptogen has its own unique
28:54
properties
28:55
that can help with specific types of
28:56
stressors so i mean we're going to take
28:59
a look at a lot
28:59
of them but also think about turmeric
29:03
maca rhodiola holy basil
29:06
so many of them and so many of them come
29:08
from ayurveda
29:10
so we're going to talk about first
29:12
ginseng
29:14
pan x asian or red it's a slow growing
29:17
root
29:18
that's been used forever for stress
29:20
related benefits
29:22
you see it even looks like a human form
29:24
legs and arms
29:25
according to the national center of
29:27
biotechnology information
29:28
it is useful against anxiety and
29:30
depression and prevention
29:32
of stress associate associated
29:34
physiological
29:36
disease unquote ginseng not only helps
29:38
to balance reproductive hormones
29:40
but supports adrenal fatigue and
29:43
diabetes
29:44
good for energy and stamina gives the
29:46
immune
29:47
system support and cognition panic
29:50
sensing has been shown to
29:52
improve cognitive performance
29:55
mainly short-term memory great for aging
29:59
well men love it for male energy stamina
30:03
and virility
30:04
i have a lot of construction workers who
30:07
love it
30:08
next ashwagandha another one of my
30:11
favorites that i take
30:13
daily i started taking it before covet
30:15
in a formula that i have
30:17
but i am so glad i did it really helped
30:19
me stay
30:20
focused and centered and kept emotions
30:23
balanced
30:24
while life got a little crazy as we know
30:27
ashwagandha translates into strength of
30:30
a stallion
30:31
or strength of a thousand horses it is
30:34
powerful as immune system support
30:37
and natural stress reliever it relieves
30:40
stress by helping us correct hormone
30:42
imbalances
30:43
due to emotional or physical stress and
30:46
it's been proven to reduce elevated
30:49
cortisol
30:50
by over 30 percent because adrenal
30:53
fatigue and anxiety
30:55
takes a physical toll on the body it
30:57
reduces those physiological stresses
31:00
i love ashwagandha in addition
31:03
ashwagandha helps to balance glucose
31:05
levels in the body
31:07
blood pressure reduce brain cell
31:10
degeneration and restores the sex drive
31:13
so it is on my list of dailies to help
31:16
me to get to 100 years old
31:19
know i'm there and glad i'm there
31:22
ashwagandha okay two formulas i
31:26
recommend
31:26
ashwagandha complex is especially good
31:30
if fatigue is a problem
31:32
and ashwagandha forte if blood pressure
31:34
is an issue
31:35
this is the one we go to these are from
31:37
standard process
31:38
medi-herbs fine fine company one of my
31:42
if not my absolute favorite next is
31:45
going to be licorice fruit and i'm not
31:47
saying the sweet black candy you
31:49
probably associate with licorice
31:51
that's going to help you manage stress
31:52
in fact licorice candy
31:54
often doesn't even have actual licorice
31:57
anymore
31:58
real licorice root is a therapeutic herb
32:01
that's been used for naturally balancing
32:04
abilities for centuries it's a
32:07
powerhouse herb
32:08
when it comes to treating adrenal
32:10
fatigue as you know
32:12
leading to chronic stress research shows
32:14
that licorice can actually modify
32:18
the body's levels of cortisol you know
32:20
it isn't adaptogen brings it up or takes
32:23
it down
32:24
and production to support the healthy
32:27
adrenals
32:28
and preventing adrenal fatigue
32:31
licorice all also contains a compound
32:35
called glycerisic acid and that stops
32:38
the body from breaking
32:39
down cortisol if it's too high so it
32:42
can't become depleted
32:44
over long terms of prolonged stress so
32:46
you can see
32:47
how the energy benefits could come
32:49
quickly
32:50
i also know it's good for throat and
32:52
laryngitis i knew someone who had a
32:54
seasonal job it required a lot of
32:56
talking
32:57
he always got laryngitis and really run
33:00
down
33:00
started taking licorice root tea and
33:02
that took care of his voice
33:04
as well as keeping his energy up
33:08
now astragalus another one of my
33:11
favorites
33:12
astragalus root is an essential herb
33:16
in traditional chinese medicine to this
33:19
day they give it to people undergoing
33:21
chemotherapy
33:22
and it's been used as a natural curative
33:24
for thousands of years
33:26
you know it's it's most commonly known
33:28
as an
33:29
herb to slow the aging process
33:32
and also supports a strong immune system
33:36
one that the body systems that
33:39
are you know is under attack under
33:41
chronic stress
33:42
so like many of the other adaptogens
33:44
we've talked about
33:46
astragalus is used to balance the stress
33:48
hormone cortisol
33:50
and prevent adrenal fatigue also used to
33:53
prevent or reduce conditions that can be
33:55
related to that you know same thing we
33:57
always talk about
33:58
diabetes high blood pressure and it's
34:01
also a nice
34:03
anti-inflammatory i'd probably use
34:05
curcumin
34:06
a little bit more but it is a little bit
34:08
anti-inflammatory
34:10
astragalus is most commonly used as a
34:13
pill
34:13
but many recipes include this powerhouse
34:17
i love my soup recipes because they're
34:19
an easy way to get in
34:21
a lot of goodies so next up is the
34:24
immune boosting
34:25
soup you might want to take a screenshot
34:28
of the immune boosting soup
34:30
that is coming up because it's got a lot
34:33
of ingredients in it
34:35
you know i would probably add carrots
34:37
and
34:38
onions to this but this is a traditional
34:41
type
34:42
asian soup you know starting out with
34:45
some kind of bone broth i mean they may
34:47
use
34:48
fish bones but it doesn't matter you
34:50
could even use water
34:52
a little bit of olive oil onion garlic
34:55
ginger all these things not only taste
34:57
really good but they have a lot of
34:59
phytonutrients in them
35:01
and then uh some salted vegetable soup
35:05
stock
35:05
that you have leftover vegetables some
35:09
sliced astragalus root shiitake
35:12
mushrooms
35:13
reishi mushrooms little cayenne pepper
35:15
if you'd like
35:17
bring it all to a boil saute the the
35:20
onions and the garlic and
35:22
you can see it all there so take a
35:23
little screenshot
35:25
and uh you will have that when you need
35:28
it
35:28
it's a really good one okay little
35:32
caveat
35:32
get the green light before adding it's
35:35
an essential when considering adaptogens
35:38
for stress support that you first
35:39
consult
35:40
your trusted medical team your
35:43
pharmacist your doctor
35:44
chiropractor before starting any
35:46
treatment especially if you're already
35:48
on medicine
35:49
you know these are natural and chances
35:51
are you're going to be cleared
35:52
to adopt a treatment plan but every
35:55
person is unique
35:56
and even though the symptoms of stress
35:57
can present in
35:59
similar wares across multiple people the
36:02
treatment for each person
36:03
including what type of adaptogen and the
36:06
amounts
36:07
will vary on your individual needs
36:11
so now you're off thanks so much for
36:14
attending this class we hope
36:16
that you have left with more information
36:20
about the toll stress can take on your
36:22
body as well as the powerful benefits of
36:25
adaptogens
36:26
stick around another minute or two and
36:28
i'm going to ask
36:29
answer some of the questions that have
36:32
come into the chat
36:34
and let's see we will also go back
36:38
to the big screen okay so
36:41
um someone comes in saying i
36:44
thought astragalus was only for the
36:47
immune system
36:48
and it is fabulous i mean i i have
36:51
recommended
36:52
astragalus for so many people in this
36:54
last year because astragalus
36:56
nourishes and builds the immune system
36:58
it is really good
37:00
um and you don't need much of it it's
37:02
safe from
37:03
you know the little kids all the way up
37:05
to the elders doesn't really have a lot
37:07
of
37:08
interactions with a lot of things so yes
37:10
astragalus
37:11
definitely very very important for the
37:14
immune system
37:15
but now also as an adaptogen which
37:18
um that's maybe one of the reasons why
37:20
it is so good for the immune system
37:22
is that it has really supported um
37:26
the the whole cortisol and the stress
37:28
response being a really good adaptogen
37:31
okay another question is what about
37:34
ginseng they thought that was only for
37:36
men
37:36
yeah there there are some ginsengs that
37:39
are a little
37:40
more what they call heating um
37:44
you know the asian ginseng you know and
37:46
it's not
37:47
you really can't tell unless you try it
37:50
but um you know i i have used different
37:54
ginsengs over the years
37:55
and it does change depending on what
37:58
age bracket you're in um the red ginseng
38:02
the pan extension is
38:03
very good for vitality and men
38:07
across the board love it women a little
38:09
more individual
38:10
so um men definitely do but it doesn't
38:14
necessarily raise testosterone
38:16
but it can help the body um
38:20
balance the hormones and um
38:22
[Music]
38:25
it may have a little bit more of a
38:26
testosterone boosting effect but there's
38:29
a lot of different kinds of ginseng
38:31
um the the one peruvian ginseng we call
38:34
it
38:34
maca maca wonderful
38:38
for anti-aging i mean it really has been
38:40
shown to protect
38:42
the neurocells in the brain
38:45
great for the immune system it is
38:47
definitely a libido booster
38:50
they they have used that and and put it
38:52
in a lot of smoothie recipes
38:54
for um stress induced
38:57
hormone related problems so i
39:00
love maca for a lot of reasons it's even
39:03
in our
39:04
our one recipe we kind of like to call
39:06
it the fertile myrtle
39:08
but in in south america they have used
39:11
uh maca as a
39:14
fertility kind of plant for a long time
39:18
so i love maca it is uh well
39:21
tolerated by both men and women
39:24
okay another question here siberian
39:27
ginseng
39:28
you know there really is no such thing
39:29
as siberian ginseng
39:31
we still call it that but technically
39:33
it's not even the same species
39:36
uh ul euthro is the real name for it and
39:39
it's another
39:41
adaptogen it is very good more cooling
39:44
it's not going to be uh quite so
39:48
energy building as the the red ginsengs
39:52
but uh siberian ginseng or l-euthro
39:56
is another one i mean they've done a lot
39:58
of research on diabetics
40:00
and siberian ginseng um
40:04
so it they they all have their own
40:06
little nuances
40:08
but i think that these adaptogens are
40:11
something
40:12
that everybody should be taking
40:16
not only are we all getting older but we
40:19
all have stress
40:20
and it really does help reduce the
40:24
cortisol
40:24
balance the cortisol uh rejuvenate
40:28
protect and um that's a bottom line
40:31
what we really need uh to when we're
40:34
taking care of this body
40:36
i mean diet is very important sleep is
40:38
very important
40:40
hydration is very important exercise is
40:42
very important
40:43
but when we can add plants that have
40:46
historically been used
40:48
for thousands of years that
40:51
um you know they've been proven pretty
40:54
much to really have
40:55
great benefits so um i guess that's it
40:59
thank you so much a big hug to everyone
41:03
for attending this webinar on how to
41:07
overcome stress
41:09
use adaptogens and by the way did you
41:12
know that physical touch
41:13
also reduces cortisol so you know giving
41:17
everybody you love a big hug
41:20
is going to be good for you for them and
41:23
uh you know we've kind of missed out on
41:25
that in the last year
41:27
but thanks for attending this class i
41:30
hope that you're leaving with more
41:32
knowledge than you came up with
41:34
and maybe a little encouragement
41:37
to address the stress in your life if
41:40
you've got
41:40
a lot of chronic stress if you answered
41:43
yes to a lot of the questions i posed
41:46
not only maybe some lifestyle changes
41:48
but
41:49
maybe start using some of these
41:50
adaptogens that have been proven to be
41:52
so good for us
41:54
so anyway thanks and have a great day
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Stress and Adaptogens
Deb Ford DCN RDN
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Jun 22, 2021
42:02
Chronic stress can have devastating effects on our body and mind but there are ancient techniques and herbs that can help your body thrive under adverse situations. These herbs fall under a unique category of 'adaptogens'. They help the body adapt to stressors- physical, mental or emotional. Astragalus, Maca, Ashwagandha, Ginseng, Licorice, and many more.