One of the pillars behind many great Isagenix nutritional products are adaptogens. Originating from the Greek word “adapto,” the term adaptogen is applied to plants that produce special substances, allowing them to evolve under significant conditions of environmental stress. Some adaptogens are found to have properties that also benefit humans when used daily.
Former Soviet Union research scientists Nicolai Lazarev and Israel Brekhman were the first to study adaptogens. Their research found that adaptogens work by normalizing the body’s functions under stress, and daily consumption improves mental and physical performance while reducing fatigue.
Isagenix Owner and Chairman of the Board Jim Coover is personally responsible for bringing adaptogens to Isagenix.
Here he tells his personal story and education of these plant compounds through his meetings with Brekhman:
“Back in 1990, I was working with some of the pioneers of the health and fitness industry. We were very interested in learning about the training techniques used to boost the performance of elite Soviet athletes. Our quest led us to discussions with former Soviets. We learned that the Soviets were quite advanced in restoration and were using substances called adaptogens to help the body recover from intense exercise. As we continued to learn about adaptogens, we learned there was one man known as the ‘Father of Adaptogens,’ Dr. Israel Brekhman.
“Brekhman was a pharmacologist during World War II, and his role was to help keep soldiers awake while they were in the trenches. They were using drugs to keep the soldiers awake, but Brekhman noticed the substances were taking a significant toll on the health of the soldiers. He vowed that when the war was over, he would dedicate his life to finding natural substances that could enhance performance without harming the human body.
“We were able to contact Brekhman, but he had to be very careful when revealing his body of work. He was still employed by the Soviet government and they had a clamp on this technology. Interestingly, Brekhman said it was his dream to bring adaptogens to the mass public instead of just elite athletes and the space program. But, of course, the government was trying to keep these as their own state secret.
“It was during these initial conversations in December 1990 when the former Soviet Union collapsed. I don’t know if it was fate or destiny, but discussions that previously felt impossible suddenly felt attainable. We were going to bring adaptogens to the Western world. I was one of the first people to travel to Vladivostok, a closed-off city where military and submarine bases forbad Westerners to visit. But, with this opportunity, I went with the intent of learning from Brekhman, meeting some of his scientists, and bringing this technology to the rest of the world. Thankfully, I was able to accomplish that.”
In 2002, when Jim and Kathy Coover founded Isagenix with John W. Anderson, Jim Coover knew he wanted adaptogens to play a part in the products.
“John was very familiar with adaptogens. In fact, he was already very involved with adaptogenic substances,” Jim Coover recalled. “Soon thereafter, we talked about developing an adaptogenic tonic that could be used daily. We felt what was missing in most peoples’ regimens and strategies was the presence of adaptogenic substances and their unique ability to change the way the body responds to stress.”
The rest is history. By traveling to Russia, meeting with Brekhman, and learning about the potential of adaptogens, Jim went on to help turn Brekhman’s dream of adaptogens for the masses into reality.
Almost 30 years after learning about adaptogens, Jim continues to use them daily.
Eleuthero, sometimes also called Siberian ginseng, is a distant relative of Asian ginseng. Though it belongs to a different plant species, Eleuthero displays many properties common with true ginseng.
Records of Chinese medicine describe the usage of Eleuthero for at least two thousand years for the purposes of increasing energy, longevity and vitality, improving general health, restoring weak memory, relieving stiffness and tension in the soft tissues and joints, as well as increasing resistance to respiratory infections.
Today Eleuthero is one of the most well researched adaptogens. Numerous experimental and clinical studies confirm its adaptogenic properties including ability to increase non-specific body resistance to stress, fatigue, disease, and harmful chemicals.
Clinical data supports the use of Eleuthero as a restorative tonic for enhancing mental and physical performance in cases of exhaustion and tiredness, weakness, and during recovery following an attack of disease, a surgical intervention or an injury.
A review of clinical trials involving over 2,100 healthy individuals found that Eleuthero root extract improved resistance to adverse physical conditions such as heat, noise, increased work load, and exercise. Eleuthero root also increased mental alertness and work output as well as improved both the quality of work performed under stressful conditions and athletic performance.
Eleuthero has been shown to normalize adrenal and thyroid function – the two critical self regulation mechanisms in our body. It also balanced blood pressure and blood sugar levels in both animal and experimental studies.
While analyzing Eleuthero composition researchers have identified six compounds with antioxidant properties, four compounds exhibiting anticancer actions and two compounds producing immune-enhancing effects.
Adding an Eleuthero preparation to blood samples from healthy donors resulted in 30-45% increase in phagocytosis – our body’s protective reaction involving capturing of waste material, harmful microorganisms and other foreign inclusions by white blood cells.
Another study demonstrated that a liquid Eleuthero root extract exhibits strong antiviral activity. It inhibited the reproduction of human rhinovirus (one of the major causes of the common cold), human respiratory syncytial virus (cause of respiratory illness), and influenza A (flu) virus in infected cell cultures.
Eleuthero has even been shown to improve short-term memory and overall mental performance in healthy individuals. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study done on middle-aged people found that Eleuthero significantly improved their selective memory, feelings of well-being, and activity levels.
Eleuthero’s anti-fatigue effect as well as its beneficial influence on endurance and the capacity to work (both mentally and physically) might be explained by its ability to increase the capability of the body’s cells to utilize phosphorus-containing energy molecules and to dispose of various byproducts of metabolism.
Furthermore, Eleuthero root extract has been shown to increase the resistance of rats to the toxic effects of harmful chemicals.
Have your ever heard from a medical professional “People don’t need supplements. Your food contains everything you need.”?
The persistence of this (I would call it uneducated) point of view is surprising.
In this post, I will talk about all the things that come to my mind when I hear “Your food contains everything you need”.
I will not be focusing on the problem of chemical pollution which is in full display when we think about the foods we eat these days.
Fruits and vegetables bring to our table residues of herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides. Meat and poultry add to our meals antibiotics and hormones. By now, many people understand this very well.
But that’s not all that is sad about our food.
There is another, much less known, group of factors that contributes to deterioration of the food supply quality.
The last century has witnessed a gradual transition from traditional farming to high-yield commercial methods. This transition has achieved its well-intended goals – food is now produced in much bigger quantities for decreased cost. Unfortunately it has also brought a side effect nobody really expected – the nutritious value of all categories of food has dropped dramatically.
Fertilizing with natural organic materials has been replaced by using industrially produced mixes limited only to nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. This has resulted in depleting the soil and hence the plants growing in it of precious trace minerals, which are crucial for our health.
The practice of leaving fields fallow for one season in every three or four to allow natural fertility regeneration has been abandoned by farmers seeking to maximize the use of their land. This has further aggravated mineral imbalances in the soil.
The use of herbicide, pesticide, and fungicide chemicals on the fields gradually sterilizes the soil, killing its internal ecosystem of friendly bacteria and fungi which help plants assimilate soil components. This destroys the ability of plants to be able to utilize even those elements which are still available.
For the purposes of easier transportation fruits and vegetables are often harvested before reaching their ripe stage which interferes with the synthesis of beneficial phytonutrients. The same is true for growing crops under glass or plastic sheeting which has increased significantly in recent years.
Improvements in storage techniques have allowed perishable crops to be preserved for increasingly long periods without noticeable deterioration in their appearance. However, prolonged storage results in bigger loss of vitamins and antioxidants.
To make matters worse, a lot of foods are refined and processed before arriving to the shelves of a grocery store. This further diminishes their already depleted nutritional content.
These and other changes in food manufacturing practices have altered the intrinsic nature of the food we eat – it no longer contains the rich assortment of nutrients it once did. What is even more distressing – we still think it does (and some medical professionals help to upkeep this illusion). This gives us a misleading, and therefore dangerous, feeling of safety.
The recommendation to eat at least five portions of fruits and vegetables per day are based on studies of countries where such eating habits are common – mainly around the Mediterranean – and their link to a long life expectancy. But that region’s traditional diets were based on fruits and vegetables grown, stored and processed in ways very different from those of fruits and vegetables that get to our table now. That means that five portions may not be enough to give your body what it needs.
Several years ago researchers at UCLA began to investigate why some women were showing high rates of anemia despite the regular consumption of spinach – a food high in iron. A sample of spinach from a particular area grown in 1953 has been compared to a current sample from the same area. The results were shocking – you would need to eat about 43 bowls of the modern spinach to obtainthe amount of iron contained in only one bowl of the spinach from 1953.
More studies show similar results for multiple nutrients in various fruits and vegetables. Would you be able to eat 40 portions of fruit and vegetables daily? Do you even eat the recommended five portions each and every day? Not only have fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains been affected by extensive food manufacturing practices. Other food groups have changed too.
Commercially produced meat has become fattier and contains less healthy polyunsaturated fat and more saturated fat in comparison with meat of traditionally raised farm animals.
Farmed fish are likely to have a poorer ratio of omega 3 fatty acids to omega 6 fatty acids compared with wild fish.
You would be scared to hear all the details of how cow’s milk is produced today and surprised to see how several processes it goes through before appearing in stores deplete its nutritional value.
Every function of our body ultimately depends on the micro and macronutrients we receive from our food. If the food is failing to provide us with adequate amounts of even one of many essential nutrients, then sooner or later we start to fall apart.
Can you protect yourself from this invisible health threat?
Yes, to a significant degree.
First, by making more informed food choices to maximize the chances of getting more quality nutrition from the foods you eat.
Second, by adding specially formulated potent whole food product (superfoods) as well as supplements to your daily menu to ensure that your essential nutritional needs are met, even if your meals sometimes are not perfect.
This opens a huge topic of superfoods and supplements, which is outside of the scope of this post, so I will leave it for another time.
When you are on the Isagenix 30-Day Program you can follow several different cleansing schedules from a deep cleanse to very gentle versions suitable for people with medical issues. This post will guide you through all possible Isagenix cleanse options.
If you are my Isagenix customer, the easiest way to choose the optimal cleansing schedule would be for us to talk over phone or Zoom (you can book a call here).
I will ask you about your goals, the timeline for achieving them, your eating habits, your regular daily routine, your overall health and, based on your answers, will recommend a cleansing protocol for your particular situation.
If you are deciding on your cleansing schedule yourself – below are the options you should be considering. Isagenix cleanse schedule can be very flexible. Choose the option which fits your lifestyle and comfort level.
Option #1: Deep Cleanse (2 Day Cleanse)
The deep Isagenix cleanse involves refraining from regular food for two days in a row. Your body uses this time to rest and restore. Your main food during this time is your multi-component cleansing drink Isagenix Cleanse for Life (also offered under the name Nourish for Life in some countries). The drink helps your body to release impurities while supporting your vital organs with adaptogens, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
Deep 2 day cleanse produces great results – after a couple of such cleanses you will feel like a new person!
The famous Isagenix 9 Day Cleanse – the original Isagenix cleansing program that came on on the market in 2002 – included two deep cleanses separated by five days of nutritional replenishment. Many people choose to do a 9 Day cleansing protocol, i.e. a sequence of two deep cleanses with 5 shake days in between, once or twice a year.
Note that even during the deep cleanse when you do not take regular food for two days your body receives nutrients from your Cleanse for Life drink and Isagenix-recommended snacks. This keeps your energy at a stable level, which allows you to carry on with your regular activities.
Option #2: 36-hour Cleanse (1 Day Cleanse)
This type of cleanse calls for only one day with no regular food. You eat your last regular meal (preferably your Isagenix shake) in the evening, spend the next day cleansing, and eat your next regular meal (or again, your Isagenix shake) in the morning of the following day.
A schedule with a 36-hour cleanse once a week is the most popular choice. Many people say that this routine allows them to be in their top shape mentally and physically every day and is an easy way to support lasting weight normalization.
Option #3: 24-hour Cleanse
24-hour cleanse is very similar to a 36-hour cleanse. The only difference is that after you eat your last regular meal in the evening, you spend most of the next day cleansing. Your next meal consisting of one Isagenix shake will be in the evening of your cleanse day. This one shake will be your only meal for this day. Some people feel that 24 hour cleanse option is the most comfortable long-term choice for them.
Option #4: Everyday Cleanse
Daily cleanse is the gentlest of all cleanses yet it is still effective. You are not required to stay away from food for prolonged periods of time – you just take one portion of Cleanse for Life once every day.
Daily cleanse is the best initial choice for people with serious health challenges.
Many people achieve excellent results by combining everyday cleanse with one of the three more intense cleanses described above. As Isagenix consultants like to explain, a bit of cleansing each day aids the removal of surface-level impurities. Doing a deeper cleanse periodically helps remove embedded impurities and shed unwanted pounds.
Option #5: Nightly Cleanse
Nighttime cleansing is not that much different from the daily cleanse described above. Followers of the nightly cleanse schedule consume a two-ounce (or one level scoop) serving of Cleanse for Life each night before bed.
While you can receive benefits from Cleanse for Life at any time of day, having the product in the evening hours has its logic. Since the body is naturally fasting when you are asleep, adding nightly cleansing to your bedtime routine may maximize cleansing benefits by allowing Cleanse for Life to nourish your body and its detoxification system with antioxidant-rich botanical ingredients during this “mini-fast” when your body is likely to be in a more receptive state.
Which Isagenix Cleanse option will work best for you?
Here are some things to consider when choosing the length of your cleanse:
• If you never experienced Isagenix deep cleanse, it is worth trying! Consider doing a a 9 day cleanse protocol (2 cleanse days – 5 shakes days – 2 cleanse days) at least once. This is, of course, if you don’t have any serious health problems that would make this an unreasonable choice (talk to you doctor).
• Opt for more intense cleanses (deep or at least 36 hours) if your goal is to lose weight.
• Don’t overdo it! It is not recommended to do more than two 9 day cleanse sequences back to back (that would be four deep cleanses in a row, each followed by five days of nutritional replenishment with Isagenix shakes and healthy meals).
• If you are not comfortable with the idea of not eating regular food for a day or two you can start from a gentler cleanse, and later, when your body and mind adjust to the cleansing process, switch to a more intense version which will bring you to your goals faster.
• Remember that you can always switch to a gentler cleanse version by drinking a shake earlier than you originally planned. It is ok to work your way towards more intense cleanses slowly.
• It helps to be in touch with your Isagenix cleanse coach during your first several cleanses. Your coach might make small adjustments to your cleansing routine along the way to make sure that it is as comfortable and effective as possible.
• As with any nutritional or fitness program you should consult you certified medical professional before starting your cleanse program or making any other changes to your daily routine.
How to plan your cleanses within a 30 day program
Once you decided on the intensity of your cleanse you need to map your 30 day program to your calendar.
Remember a couple of simple rules when you plan your month:
• Follow each deep 2 day cleanse with 5 shake days for optimal nutritional replenishment.
• Always include a minimum of 2 shake days before your first 2 day or 1 day cleanse. These days serve as a “pre-cleanse”. They will help your to get better results and will enhance your cleansing experience. If you start with poor nutritional habits increase the number of “pre-cleanse” days.
Your cleanse days will usually fall on the same days of the week. Try to choose days when you are busy but not overloaded and when you have more control over your exposure to food temptations. For some people it will be easier to cleanse at work, for others their home environment would work better.
Plan your cleanse days in advance and mark them on your calendar. Below are two examples showing different versions of a standard 30 day program. Option A has four 1 day cleanses and Option B has two 2 day cleanses. Both versions work with a default set of products included in your 30 day package.
S – shake day, C – cleanse day, S** – pre-cleanse day (same as shake day)
Give your Isagenix 30 Day Cleanse an extra edge
If you are looking for a more intense cleansing experience you may want to try the calendar shown below. You will need to add an extra bottle (or container) of Cleanse for Life to your 30 Day package for the two extra cleanse days.
S – shake day, C – cleanse day, S** – pre-cleanse day (same as shake day)
12 tips for a great Isagenix cleanse
The following small tips can make a big difference during your cleanse days.
• Spend some time before bed in the evening prior to your cleanse day tuning your mind to your upcoming cleanse experience. It is hard to overestimate the importance of this tip. With the right mindset you may find it easy to even if you have to cook for the whole family.
• Drink plenty of water. Spread your water intake evenly throughout the day.
• Make sure that your schedule allows for a good night sleep on your cleanse days.
• Try to stay busy on your cleanse days. Find things to do outside of your home.
• Carry your Isagenix Snacks or other small healthy snacks acceptable for cleanse days with you. This will eliminate the risk of you going into an overly hungry state when you would be prone to lose control and eat food that is not appropriate.
• Avoid grocery shopping on your cleanse days. Buy all your food on non-cleanse days. Keep your mind free of food related thoughts as much as possible.
• Remove all junk food from your kitchen. There is no need to test your willpower. Make it easier for yourself to stay on track by taking advantage of “Our of sight – out of mind” principle.
• Let other people around you know that you will be cleansing on certain days and ask them not to offer you food and not to worry about you not eating. If necessary, send them some information about Isagenix so they would not worry about you.
• Cleanse with a partner. Invite your spouse, other family member, or a friend to go on a 30 day program with you. It will be more fun to cleanse together. You can keep each other accountable and provide mutual encouragement and support.
• It is always a good idea to drink your Isagenix shake as your first meal after the cleanse and the last meal before the cleanse to ease the transition. It is much harder to cleanse after a heavy meal.
• It is beneficial to exercise on cleanse days, just lower the intensity. Listen to your body. Gentle stretching, walking in nature, and light yoga are perfect choices.
• Add some additional wellness-promoting “extras” to your day if your schedule has some room for this. Spend a day in a spa, visit a sauna or a steam room, get a massage, or take a relaxing bath with essential oils.
Good luck with your Isagenix Cleanse!
Once you start your first Isagenix Cleanse you are likely to discover that it is easier than you imagined. Many people find cleansing days truly enjoyable due to the feeling of pleasant lightness and sometimes even a surge of new energy.
If this is your first cleanse consider taking you “before” and “after” pictures in addition to the body measurements that are recommended in your program guide. It is easy to forget where you started from. Your “before” and “after” pictures will help you appreciate your progress.
An Isagenix Cleanse Day is a nutritionally supported intermittent fasting day and one of the fundamental components of any Isagenix System. Cleanse days produce many important benefits for our bodies.
Along with facilitating the release of unhealthy fat, cleanse days trigger your body’s natural cleansing mechanisms including autophagy (recycling old damaged cells) which supports rejuvenation and optimal wellness.
There’s no one single approach to cleanse days that is perfect for everyone. Tailoring your cleanse day to fit your schedule and personal preferences will help you have a better experience.
After some initial adjustment, many people start loving Isagenix cleanse days for the feeling of lightness in the body and the sense of serenity and focus that emerges in the mind undistracted with preparing food and eating.
Listen to your body, learn from each of your first cleanse days and adjust for the following ones.
Consider the following elements that you can tweak:
✿ The day of the week you choose to cleanse
Try cleansing on workdays vs. weekends, busy days vs. relaxed days, etc. and see what works best for you.
The days when you are moderately busy and have things to do, but at the same time, can take small breaks as needed, tend to work very well.
✿ Environment where you spend most of your cleanse day
You can cleanse at home, at work, or spend most of your cleanse day outdoors. Again, it’s a personal preference. The environment where you do not frequently see or smell tasty food will help you relax into your cleanse.
If you are the one who feeds the family, make some alternative arrangement for your cleanse day. Delegate this responsibility to other family members or have them go out for food.
✿ Activities you plan for the day
Having a written plan (a “to do” list) for the day will support a more relaxed state of mind. Cleanse days can give us the luxury of undivided focus so you can plan to complete a project that you have been postponing for a long time.
During your after work time, avoid draining activities (such as mindless scrolling of the news or social media). Instead choose activities that are nourishing for your body and soul such as a walk in the park, taking a light yoga class, scheduling a massage, or reading a book.
✿ Timing and amount of additional nutritional support
Do not neglect your 10 cleanse credits. Use Isagenix-recommended snacks throughout the day along with your required Cleanse for Life drink and Ionix Supreme. This will keep your energy steady and help with the cleansing process.
Some of the snacks mentioned in the Isagenix cleanse credit list are included in your program, others you can buy separately. You can also use almonds as a snack – count two almonds as 1 cleanse credit. A quarter of a green apple will work too – it is equal to 2 cleanse credits.
✿ Your mindset
It helps to focus your mind on all the wellness benefits of cleansing before and during your cleanse day.
Visualize all the environmental impurities leaving your system and all the old non-functional cells being recycled to build new healthy tissues. Feel new vital energy filling your body.
Repeat this visualisation if you start feeling weak on your cleanse day (accompanied by taking your next portion of the cleanse drink, Ionix, or one of the recommended snacks).
Depending on your previous lifestyle, your first cleanse days might be more challenging since you body will be adjusting to different nutritional patterns. Be gentle with yourself – give your body additional rest time if it asks for it.
Keep fine-tuning your cleansing routine, be patient and persistent. After some initial learning curve, you will be looking forward to your next cleanse day!
I’ve met people who feel that protein shakes and meal replacement shakes are not a healthy food choice because they are not “natural”.
The truth is – high quality protein and meal replacement shakes can provide nutritional value and health benefits unattainable through traditional healthy food.
Talk to anyone who looks healthy, vibrant and fit after 45 – chances are they will tell you that they use some form of protein shake or meal replacement on a daily basis.
We can envy the unpolluted food supply of our ancestors. Our ancestors, on the other hand, would have had good reason to envy nutritionally dense “scientifically designed” meals made available to us through advances in nutritional science and modern food processing techniques.
Imagine a hundred or more micro and macro nutrients – protein, healthy carbohydrates, essential oils, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, fiber, and more – all in an easily absorbable form – put together in a tasty low calorie shake that takes a minute to prepare and a minute to consume. Something like food for astronauts on a long space flight – the perfect combination of potent nutrients going right into your cells. This gives you an idea of what you get from the best meal replacement shakes.
Meal replacement shakes are often confused with protein shakes. Though good protein shakes may contain many beneficial nutrients in addition to protein their main purpose is to provide additional protein but not to replace a complete meal.
Integrating high quality meal replacement shakes into your daily eating routine has several important advantages.
Your daily meal replacement shake:
Serves as “nutritional insurance”: even if you did not manage to eat perfectly at your other meals, you can still have peace of mind knowing that your body received a significant portion of good nutrition.
Provides additional health benefits through various extra ingredients such as probiotics, digestive enzymes, antioxidants, plant superfoods, etc. (these ingredients vary for different products).
Helps with healthy weight management by both decreasing your calorie intake and providing additional protein to support lean muscle mass and fat loss.
Saves a lot of time and effort! It feels good to know that you are able to provide your body with a nutritionally complete tasty meal with extra health benefits and without caloric overload in just a couple of minutes.
A good daily healthy eating strategy is combining one or two meal replacement shakes with respectively two or one wholesome meals and a couple of healthy snacks.
Do not just buy any protein shake or meal replacement shake you find on the store shelf even if it is a health store. Do your research first.
Look at ingredients and make sure they are all natural without any artificial additives. Choose products that provide multiple benefits. Make sure that the manufacturing company has a good reputation.
You also want to know what kind of protein is used (I like whey for its anti-aging benefits), where it comes from (better from organic sources) and how it has been processed (cold processing for whey protein is very important).
My personal favourite meal replacement is whey based Isagenix IsaLean Shake in Dutch Chocolate. I have been having it for breakfast for over a decade. I also like whey based Isagenix Whole Blend Shake in French Vanilla with added fresh berries.
Each of those two shakes is a complete meal replacement with an exceptional nutritional profile that contains multiple nutrients essential for the healthy functioning of almost all body processes. Each portion contains 24 grams of the highest grade cold processed whey protein from the milk of caws raised on the pristine pastures of New Zealand, never injected with hormones and steroids and fed on grass never treated with pesticides and herbicides.
For those who like to mix their own shakes using a protein powder, Isagenix offers a pure form of the same unique New Zealand whey protein as another product – IsaPro Whey Protein.
If your are putting together a weight loss or muscle building program for yourself don’t forget to include meal replacement shakes in your nutritional plan – they will help you to achieve your desired results faster and with less effort.
Imagine that we happened to gather practitioners of all traditional medicines and health systems from all sides of the world in one room. What if we would ask each of them to name one natural remedy that has the most profound positive effect on the overall functioning of the human body?
It is guaranteed that they all will have different answers. Another thing which is nearly guaranteed though is that the remedies they name would most probably all belong to the same group – adaptogens.
What are adaptogens?
Adaptogens are natural substances found in a few rare plants and herbs that shield the body against the impact of all kinds of stress. This protective effect is achieved by balancing and harmonizing the body’s systems. Adaptogens display a unique ability to regulate both over-activity and under-activity of organs and systems of the body returning them to normal function.
Adaptogens are not in the food we normally eat, and must be added to the diet through supplementation. They are by definition natural and safe, and can be used regularly without any side effects.
What can you expect from adaptogens?
It can be difficult to explain the specific effects of the adaptogens, since they will influence every person differently. The best answer to the question “What will I get from adaptogens” is “You will get what your body needs”.
If you are mentally tired and continuously physically fatigued adaptogens will help you feel more energetic, strong, and mentally revitalized – but yet, they are not stimulants.
If however you are stressed-out, emotionally exhausted, and are not able to cope with life’s demands the adaptogens will help you relax and feel that you are in control again – yet they are not tranquillizers or antidepressants and will not have a drug-like effect on your body.
If you are a professional or recreational athlete interested in improving any kind of sports results adaptogens will help you to achieve the peak of your performance – yet they are not doping substances and can be used at any sports competitions including the Olympics.
Adaptogens are able to produce such “miracle-like” effects by working at the cellular level and optimizing the body’s regulation mechanisms and usage of energy. Their unique health benefits and safety have been proven not only by thousands of years of usage in traditional medicines but also by extensive scientific research in different countries.
Massive scientific studies of adaptogens were performed in the former Soviet Union in the second half of the last century. These studies involved hundreds of scientists and many thousands of research participants. The research results were so persuasive that for many decades adaptogens became Russians’ secret weapon in international sports competitions.
The Soviet Olympic program has primarily focused on achieving results without using drugs. Using adaptogens provided top Soviet athletes with a competitive advantage by ensuring better performance, endurance, stamina, strength, recovery, muscle development, immune resistance, and adaptation to changes in climate, time zones and altitude.
Using adaptogens has long been an important part of the health program designed for Russian astronauts. Adaptogen based formulas help astronauts’ bodies and minds to adapt to stressors that are inevitable in a space flight, such as extreme accelerations, vertigo, weightlessness, limited living space, and prolonged inactivity.
To get a better idea about what adaptogens are capable of and what specific benefits they can provide have a look at our posts about Shilajit and Eleuthero. Both have been used for centuries. Shilajit has a reputation of the most powerful anti-aging and rejuvenating substance in existence and Eleuthero has been shown to do wonders for physical and mental performance.
You might not be an Olympic athlete or an astronaut but your body is also experiencing all kinds of physical, intellectual, and emotional stress on a regular basis – this is just an inherent part of modern civilization. Historically our bodies are not well equipped to handle ongoing intense stress – that is why the number of stress-related diseases keeps climbing. Sometimes we are not able to reduce the amount of stress in our life but we can make our body much more resistant to its effects with the help of adaptogens.
There is a multitude of wellness products containing adaptogens on the market now, but, years ago, Isagenix was one the first companies that brought adaptogens to the western world.
In 2002, when Jim and Kathy Coover founded Isagenix with John W. Anderson, they wanted adaptogens to play a part in the product line. Since that time, adaptogens are one of the pillars behind many great Isagenix nutritional products.
If you are interested to see how your body will respond to adaptogens, try Isagenix Ionix Supreme. Ionix includes several well known adaptogens (including mentioned earlier Shilajit and Eleuthero) as well as other botanicals and mineral substances which are not formally classified as adaptogens but display similar properties, such as being safe if used regularly and addressing multiple issues at once. Like adaptogens, they also belong to the “golden fund” of one or many traditional medicines from all over the globe.
Shilajit is probably the most mysterious member of the adaptogens family. It is known as a the legendary panacea attributed with many magical properties.
In regional folk medicines Shilajit has a reputation of being the most powerful anti-aging and rejuvenating substance ever known to humankind.
It is believed to increase the core energy responsible for sexual and spiritual power as well as to slow down the process of aging and prolong life.
For the longest time the origin of Shilajit was a subject of much debate. It is collected as a black or brown bitumen-like semi-liquid tar that seeps out of certain rocks high in the mountains during the hot summer season.
It is found predominantly in the Himalayan region running through India, Nepal, China, Tibet and parts of central Asia.
The most accepted theory today is that it is a nutrient-rich organic matter from prehistoric vegetation captured by tectonic movement and transformed by pressure and heat within mountain formations.
Shilajit is one of the main remedies of Ayurveda where it is used to treat a wide range of conditions such as ulcers, asthma, diabetes, rheumatism, allergies, arthritis, hypertension, obesity, various digestive and urinary problems and more. Regular consumption of small amounts of shilajit is believed to result in general physical strengthening, optimized functioning of all body systems, faster injury healing, and enhanced brain functioning.
Indian medical texts dated thousands of years back claim that there is hardly any curable disease which cannot be controlled or cured with the aid of Shilajit. In Sanskrit shilajit means “the conqueror of mountains and destroyer of weakness”.
Shilajit is known for its aphrodisiacal properties. It is said that the emperors and kings of great empires of the past used Shilajit on a regular basis so they could maintain their youthful vigor and sexual power even in old age. Shilajit is mentioned in the Kama Sutra. Today Ayurvedic doctors widely prescribe it in the case of low sperm count, infertility, impotence, premature ejaculation, and many other types of sexual disability.
Modern clinical research has shown multiple positive effects of Shilajit on humans and animals.
The studies suggest that it increases longevity, strengthens the immune system, increases strength and endurance, improves memory and cognitive abilities, reduces allergies and respiratory problems, increases resistance to stress, and relieves various digestive troubles.
Extensive human clinical studies have shown significant success in treatment of diabetes patients. It has also been verified that Shilajit has anti-inflammatory qualities and eliminates free radicals.
So far, research data seem to confirm many of the Shilajit properties which constitute its legendary reputation as a universal elixir of youth and health.
