What's Best for STRESS?

NATURE HAS PROVIDED PLENTY OF HELP TO COMBAT EVERYDAY TENSION AND ANXIETY.

- DAWN COMBS & RACHAEL DUPREE

Until I began to study the adrenal glands, I thought they were only involved in the fight-or-flight response reaction. I imagined that we really only make demands on them when we're in crisis or undergoing extreme emotional stress, but we ask more of these glands than I knew.

This part of our endocrine system is tasked with maintaining balance in the body. This means that anything that requires an adjustment to keep our internal systems running smoothly puts stress on the adrenals. For example, when we stand up quickly, our adrenals are tasked with ensuring that hormones are released to increase blood pressure to our extremities. When the temperature changes, when we become angry or depressed or when our blood sugar drops because we forgot lunch all of these situations demand our body to step up and attempt to regain equilibrium. That responsibility lands squarely on the shoulders of the two glands that sit on top of our kidneys: the adrenals.

Currently, our culture is not geared toward optimal adrenal health. There aren't a lot of opportunities for us to experience peace in our bodies. We eat on the run or not at all. We get unreasonably angry because a traffic jam is unavoidable. We glory in how much we can sacrifice our health and comfort for our careers. Given the demands of our go-go-go society, it's no wonder we're all a bit stressed out.

WHAT TO DO?

There's a class of herbs called adaptogens that are specific to helping the body handle stress, and they tend to have minimal or no side fects when used in proper dosage. Adaptogens include herbs like eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus) and ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), but the unfortunate thing is that many of these herbs can be difficult for the home gardener to grow on their own. However, the home herbalist still has an arsenal of adaptogenic and soothing nervine plants they can count on growing in their own gardens for stress relief.