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Adaptogens: the rise of the mighty stress busters
(RenYou) I am writing this blog post under the baking sun of the Indian Ocean. Waves expanding and receding continuously a few inches away from my feet; the sounds are so soothing that I would not mind frying here all day. But being a man of conscience, I feel guilty for enjoying such a euphoric experience on this secluded tropical beach as you all toil, sweat and feel trapped behind your desk job all day – only to get stuck for hours in traffic on your way back home. While you worry about mounting bills, tight deadlines and other regular stressors of modern life, I sit here worrying about getting the right tone of tan. I truly wish I could invite you all here, but unfortunately I cannot. Plus, you wouldn’t even be able to locate the remote island that I am on right now. Yes, life is a....
Disregard the aforementioned paragraph – it is anything but the truth. Fact is I am still here in the real world, struggling and dealing with daily stress just like everyone else. However, I am constantly doing my best to keep my stress levels in check. Why? The answer is too long to be addressed in a single article (I will be elaborating more in future blog posts.) But for now, let’s just say that stress has a detrimental impact on your overall well-being, life span and physical looks. Highly stressed people have shorter life spans, poorer health and a serious inability to manage their body weight. Plus, wrinkles thrive in stressed out people. Don’t shoot the messenger; I am simply stating facts uncovered by scientific research and observation.
And so one of the tactics I employ to better deal with overall stress is through using a certain class of herbs/roots known by the scientific community as adaptogens. In simple terms, what these therapeutic powerhouses do is empower and bolster your body. You become more adept at handling stressful situations; your body would be more able to withstand the daily assaults. In other words, while you cannot stop the enemy (stress) from besieging your fortress (body), you can at least fortify it and make it stronger. And adaptogens play an integral role in your quest to ward off the attacks of stress.
When your body produces high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and over an extended period, many health issues begin to arise. Poor mental capacities, blood sugar imbalances, decreased bone density and muscle tissue, higher blood pressure, poor immunity and increased abdominal fat are just some of the implications. And most adaptogens do a great job in regulating cortisol.
Some of my favorite herbs/roots belonging to this class include Ashwagandha, Rhodiola Rosea, Panax Ginseng, Holy Basil and others. Each one has its unique way of bringing balance to the body and making it stronger. I have personally used and experimented with adaptogens, and I have recommended them to clients who were utterly stressed. Results were nothing short of promising.
In upcoming blog posts, I will be tackling each one of these amazing herbs/roots. So stay tuned. And drop me a line if you have any remarks or questions.
Richard Labaki
Disclaimer: Just because they were invented by Mother Nature does not mean that herbs and roots could be used by anyone. Always consult with a specialist before use, as there are restrictions and guidelines: interactions with certain medications, allergies, pregnancy, lactation and others.
Slowly but Surely: one woman's path to reclaiming health, energy and vitality
- Name: Tatiana L.
- Age: 33
- Location: Dubai
(RenYou) Tatiana’s main purpose was to burn excess body-fat; a goal she shared with almost every other woman I have come across in my lifetime and in my practice. But for an amateur athlete who has been highly active all her life, an expanding waistline was a sight too much to comprehend – let alone bear. She just couldn’t wrap her head around the notion that despite the active lifestyle, her body started going the opposite direction at one point. It just didn’t make sense! Why, despite my constant exercising does my weight keep increasing, she lamented.
But the weight issue was not the only problem. Tatiana complained about her lack of energy, and she was experiencing poor mood. This in turn was negatively affecting her outlook on life; productivity both in her personal and professional life suffered heavily. In other words, the problem was spilling over into other areas of her life; it was no longer just an issue of physical appearance. Tatiana understood that something needed to be done, and fast.
“I want to lose weight, but I also want to regain my zest for life,” she told me, after we were introduced through mutual friends. “And I don’t want to follow a fad diet to lose weight only to regain the kilos and more after a while – this has happened to me far too many times in the past – not to mention the fact that ‘diets’ drain me both physically and psychologically. I simply want to increase my energy while better managing my weight.”
I knew there and then that the two of us could collaborate and achieve the desired results. Unlike many others, she properly understood the facts and knew the right direction to take. After conducting various tests over multiple sessions, I concluded that several elements were contributing to her physical and psychological issues.
The first problem was false eating habits. For too long now, the media has been wrongfully ingraining in people’s mind that counting calories is the path to losing weight and attaining health. But not only is this doctrine false and impractical, it could also be counterproductive both in terms of weight management and overall health. I explained to Tatiana that not all calories are created equal. A calorie from processed foods like breads, cakes and corn flakes is very different from a calorie of an avocado or an almond – totally different effects on the health and body.
Her test results also revealed that she is suffering from something called insulin resistance – a condition whereby the body becomes unable to handle and process blood sugar properly. Insulin resistance, in addition to wreaking havoc on the body, makes it very difficult for the person to lose weight. And guess what contributes to this condition? A diet rich in processed foods and unhealthy sugars is one of the contributors to this problem. The assessment sessions also revealed a myriad of other conditions like hypothyroidism (clumsy thyroid which affects the metabolism and health in general) and certain nutrient deficiencies.
So to properly address Tatiana’s problems in terms of weight management, mood and energy, the program had to factor in all the imbalances in her body. And this could only be done by recommending proper food choices and eating habits, certain high-grade supplements and specific lifestyle habits – all this to create a foundation over which health and improved physical appearance could flourish.
Tatiana believed in the program right from the start and her firm commitment reflects that. Initially, her physical measurements progressed slowly, but we are now beginning to see significant improvements. So far five centimetres from around the hips and four centimetres from around the waist have been lost. And the centimetres lost never returned – unlike when a person tries to lose weight drastically following a fad or crash diet. Most importantly, Tatiana’s energy reserves have been filling up slowly but surely. Currently, she is back to being highly active again – surfing once a week, in addition to engaging in high intensity interval training sessions and various other activities.
With every cm she drops around the waist, Tatiana looks more radiant and has more energy than she ever had before. And now she understands that the road to vitality is not a straight line from the bottom to the top. It is, in fact, an oscillating journey that continues to go up despite the occasional lows.
Richard Labaki