History

The name "Adaptogen" was coined in the mid-20th century by a Russian scientist named Nicolai Lazarev.  He was convinced that there were natural compounds in certain plants which could increase the organism's natural capacity to adapt to stress.   His protégé, Israel I. Brekhman, was the first scientist to begin serious investigation into this hypothesis.

Working in the natural laboratory of the Siberian forests in eastern Russia, Dr. Brekhman discovered that a few rare herbs used for centuries by the indigenous peoples for their restorative, supportive and health-enhancing properties actually showed profound benefits in clinical studies.    

Dubbed the "father of Adaptogens" for his pioneering work, Dr. Brekhman conducted thousands of studies to measure and define the extraordinary properties of these rare plants.

What Are Adaptogens?

Adaptogens have been called the "Kingly Herbs," gaining an aristocratic place among plants.  The three criteria for defining an Adaptogen are:

1.  Must be safe for long-term use in mammals, exhibiting few, if any, side effects.

2.  Must demonstrate the ability to raise the non-specific resistance of the organism to stress.

3.  Must demonstrate the ability to restore multiple body systems to homeostasis - or equilibrium - when disrupted by stress regardless of the direction of change.

How Do They Work?

The stress response - named the GAS or General Adaptation Syndrome - has been defined as having three distinct phases:

Stage One:  Alarm

It is important for this stage to function normally as it generates a number of critical metabolic responses for any athlete, human or horse.

Release of the stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, occur in this stage.  Valuable in the short term, these hormones become disruptive to effective cellular function over a long period of time. Cortisol, for example, is a hormone with wide ranging effects on tissues throughout the body. One of the most widely recognized is its immunosuppressive effect. But it also has a negative impact on energy regulation. Cortisol decreases the movement of glucose from the bloodstream into muscle cells (and several other types of cell). This is meant to be a protective response, conserving blood glucose for essential functions, such as brain activity.

However, during any prolonged stress, cortisol decreases the availability of this energy to the horse.  

Stage Two:  Resistance   

This is the stage where adaptive changes in the athlete appropriately take place.  Increased fitness is a perfect example of an adaptive response to physical stress.  When the adaptation occurs, the animal returns to "homeostasis" or normal equilibrium. However, each individual’s capacity to adapt is limited and completely unique. Overwhelm the individual’s adaptive capacity, and you risk illness or injury.  That’s when you enter the final stage – exhaustion. 

Stage Three:  Exhaustion

This stage is characterized by the observed onset of symptoms of fatigue, including injury or illness.

This three-phase model, called the General Adaptation Syndrome, has been widely accepted as the standard for measuring the stress response because these stages are readily graded, and the functional changes that take place in them have been well studied.  Perhaps, more importantly, any disease passes to a certain extent through one or more of these stages.

With the addition of adaptogens to the diet, the first two stages, in particular, are handled very differently. Adaptogens modify the alarm phase and increase the resistance phase. This is critical, as these benefits provide protection to a stressed animal by helping to maintain optimal cellular function as long as possible before the onset of exhaustion.

When adaptogens are added to the diet, the animal still mounts an appropriate response to a stressful event, but the changes in cell function that result are more moderate and have less of an adverse effect on the entire body. The general action of adaptogens is well illustrated by looking at the effect of stress on blood glucose levels. Shortly after an animal becomes stressed, the stress

hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) cause a rapid increase in blood glucose.  Once it peaks, the blood glucose rapidly falls to lower than normal levels.  Adaptogens moderate this response in the following ways:

    1. more rapid but less exaggerated response -

                blood glucose rises more rapidly after the onset of stress, but doesn't rise as high;

    2. more sustained peak -

                blood glucose is elevated (and available for cell function) for a longer period of time;

    3. more gradual decline -

                a less precipitous drop in blood glucose.

In other words, adaptogens do not block the stress response; rather, they smooth out the roller coaster highs and lows associated with the stress response. This conserves valuable energy in the alarm phase for use in the resistance phase. These effects appear to be related at least in part, to adaptogens' effects on the glucose metabolism:

    1. they increase the blood glucose level by stimulating the liver to convert glycogen to glucose;

    2. they enhance the entry of glucose into cells;

    3. they enhance the utilization of glucose within the cells.

Adaptogens have also been shown to increase the function of healthy immune systems when fed over long periods of time. In one study of a human population of more than 1,000, the incidence of respiratory infections fell from 41.8% to just 2.7% over a seven year period!

Detail Information about each adaptogen and dosages

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