What do matcha lattes, reishi chocolate milk and ashwagandha powder have in common (besides being all over your IG feed)? They’re all adaptogens – and they are insanely trendy right now.
What are adaptogens?
Instagram influencers love to tout adaptogenic supplements and drinks, but they’re not actually that new. A toxicologist first popularized the idea of adaptogens—plants that can help your body adapt to and deal with stress—in Western medicine back in the 1950s and ’60s, according to one 2010 Pharmaceuticals journal review.
Meanwhile, Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine practitioners have used what we now call adaptogenic herbs for centuries to do, well, whatever they needed them to do.
How do adaptogens work?
Let’s back up for a second. When you face a stressor (like anxiety or pain), your body produces an immediate hormonal response to help you cope—such as releasing cortisol, which speeds up your heartbeat and gives you more energy, says Marjorie Nolan Cohn, R.D.N., C.S.S.D., and owner of MNC Nutrition in Philadelphia.
When we face normal amounts of stress (and subsequent stress hormones), the body is able to regulate your response system to keep everything in check. However, ongoing stress—and the constant hormonal spikes that go with it—messes with your body’s ability to effectively manage how it reacts to that stress.
Long-term, chronic stress has some pretty serious effects on your health. It’s linked to everything from headaches and stomach issues to an increase in your body’s tendency to store belly fat and an uptick in your risk of inflammatory-related diseases including heart disease and even cancer. So…finding a way to help your body cope with that stress is pretty key.
Here’s where adaptogens come in. “Adaptogenic herbs may have the ability to help regulate this system, which can have whole body, immune-boosting, and overall wellness benefits,” Cohn says.
Basically, the theory is that certain herbal medicinal plants (a.k.a. adaptogens) could increase “the state of nonspecific resistance” in stress. Translation: eating these herbs would boost your bod’s resilience against physical, chemical, biological, and psychological stressors.
Cohn says that research indicates adaptogens may have a “two-directional effect,” meaning they adjust to your individual needs to get your hormones back to a healthy level.
So, let’s say you take an adaptogen that’s known to regulate levels of estrogen. If your estrogen levels are too high, the adaptogen will lower your levels. However, if they’re too low, the adaptogen will boost them, according to the research.
Common adaptogenic herbs
There are over a dozen different adaptogenic herbs, and each has its own unique effects on your body’s hormones and how they react to life’s stressors. Here, Mascha Davis, R.D.N., and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, shares some of the most popular ones—and their purported benefits:
- Ashwagandha: Promote energy, immune strength, thyroid function, and healthy blood sugar levels.
- Astragalus: Improve immune health.
- Ginseng: Increase energy levels, endurance, and mental awareness. Has also been used to increase fertility and regulate the menstrual cycle.
- Licorice Root: Impact the adrenal gland and decrease inflammation.
- Matcha: Enhance energy, mood, and memory.
- Reishi: Fight fatigue, ease sleep disorders, and improve digestion.
But are they really effective?
Right now, the answer is a big… maybe.
“Ginseng is one of the most well-known and well-studied adaptogenic herbs,” says Alexandra Sowa, M.D., a New York City-based internal medicine physician and diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. “Ashwagandha has been shown to reduce anxiety and has been shown to reduce cortisol, a stress hormone that is associated with overall inflammation and weight gain. Licorice root has also been shown to decrease body fat, but it was in a small cohort of patients.”
However, Sowa adds that most of these studies are based on animals or just on individual cells, not on humans. So, while the research is compelling, it’s not definitive enough to have you stocking up on every adaptogen you can.
“I think they can be quite beneficial in some cases,” adds Davis. “However, herbs can’t replace professional treatment if you have anxiety issues or suffer from chronic stress.” They also cannot make up for a lifestyle high in inflammatory factors such as processed foods, too little sleep, and not enough exercise, says Sowa.
Are adaptogens safe?
Adaptogenic herbs are all over the market right now, and you can find them on their own in pill, powder, or tincture form. They’re also being incorporated into food, from coffee drinks to hot chocolate mixes and baked goods.
But it’s important to realize that adaptogen supplements, like other herbal supplements, aren’t as strictly regulated as drugs (despite having potential drug-like impacts on your bod). It’s on you to make sure that what you buy contains what it actually says it does. Look for products with third-party testing labels, such as NSF, which indicate that an independent lab has verified that the product actually has the ingredients it claims to on the label, without any shady or illegal ingredients.
Sowa also recommends showing your doctor (or R.D., if you have one) any adaptogenic supplements you want to try to get the go-ahead before taking your first dose.
“Just because something is ‘all natural’ doesn’t mean it can’t have significant biological effects or interactions with other drugs,” she says. For example, studies have shown ginseng may cancel out the effects of warfarin, a common blood thinner, according to one University of Chicago review. Licorice root may also alter how the body processes drugs such as digoxin that treat arrhythmias and other heart disorders, per Frontiers in Pharmacology.
Cohn adds that if you’re not taking the proper dosage of the right herb, adaptogens can cause unpleasant side effects (like stomach pain or sleep problems) or make the condition you’re taking it for even worse. Experts also don’t know how safe adaptogens are for pregnant women, Davis says.
Bottom line: Consult with your M.D. before hopping on the adaptogen bandwagon.
Originally written for Women’s Health Magazine.