HERBS TO ENHANCE YOUR PERFORMANCE

Discover the benefits of adaptogens and how they could help enhance your sporting and fitness performance

- Schia Mitchell Sinclair

Adaptogens are a group of remarkable plants that have been used for thousands of years to help the body adapt to stress and to help restore balance. They provide a defence response to acute or chronic stress and increase the body’s resistance to stress. Adaptogens have gained popularity in modern healthcare, and their ancient wisdom has been translated into contemporary products that can help you with those modern-day stressors.

Athletes and fitness enthusiasts are always looking for ways to enhance their performance, and adaptogens have been found to be a natural way to help. Here are five that could help you perform and recover better…

RHODIOLA

Rhodiola was taken by Vikings to enhance mental and physical endurance. This fascinating plant grows in low-oxygen conditions at high altitudes. Research has demonstrated that rhodiola can reduce fatigue, increase the time to exhaustion, reduce perceived effort, improve recovery after exercise and reduce the impact of exercise on the immune system.

Studies into the use of rhodiola with exercise have given some clues as to how it works in the body. One study found that rhodiola supplementation reduced both lactic acid and creatine kinase levels after an exhaustive exercise session.

Creatine kinase is an indicator of muscle damage; those micro tears you get in muscles during exercise. Lactic acid is produced by your body when it has run out of oxygen and switches to anaerobic respiration. Micro tears and higher levels of lactic acid cause the aching muscles you get after prolonged or intense exercise.