Long-Life Herbs

Adaptogens are defined by the medical establishment as a “new class of metabolic regulators (of a natural origin) which increase the ability of an organism to adapt to environmental factors and to avoid damage from such factors.”

I believe they mean to say, “Adaptogens help our bodies to deal with physical and emotional stressors in our environment so we can avoid cell damage from oxidation and disease and live longer. They balance our systems and restore our health in a gentle, safe manner,” because that is what they do. In 1998 the FDA decided to allow certain herbs to be advertised as adaptogens.

Adaptogenic herbs are wonders of nature. They are often billed as having the ability to help the body adapt

Gingko Biloba, the oldest plant on Earth, is over 300 million years old. Pictographs indicate pre-history people used it medicinally.

to stress and avoid cellular damage due to stress. But more than that, they work to help your body’s functions work correctly and in balance. Don’t think of them as cures for specific illnesses, but as life enhancing and extending tonics. In fact, many of them were considered tonics before the term “adaptogen” existed. There is some controversy over which herbs are adaptogens, and there is some controversy over using the term at all. Some herbalists prefer to think of these wonders of nature in the older terms.

However, for our purposes: to avoid disease, extend life, balance our systems, improve our life experiences, and allow us more joy in our later years, the herbs that are commonly called adaptogens are ideal.

Not all adaptogens do exactly the same things for our bodies. They don’t all use the same pathway, either. Some work by balancing our hormones. Others primarily modulate the immune system, or are super-strong antioxidants. Many do all three, but they all have certain functions in common:

  •  Adaptogens are all known to extend life 
  • Adaptogens help our bodies deal with stress 
  • Adaptogens work on the whole body 
  • Adaptogens can be taken for extended periods without danger
  • Adaptogens enhance the libido and sexual function

There is a scientific explanation for how adaptogens help reduce stress and extend life. There is a gene called DAF-16. DAF-16 creates a protein that communicates the up-regulation of about 100 other genes that play a role in longevity. These other genes produce proteins that protect the cell from stresses like oxidation, heat, or heavy metal contamination. If DAF-16 is inhibited, its cousin, DAF-2 runs amuck, allowing stressors to attack cells and initiate cell apoptosis (death), shortening life.
One chemical that inhibits DAF-16 is glucose (sugar). This is one reason why eating too much sugar is said to shorten life.

There is another set of genes, the c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs). JNK’s play a role in dealing with stressors such as cytokines, ultraviolet irradiation, heat shock, and osmotic shock. They also influence pathways to apoptosis (cell suicide).

Many adaptogens have been shown to up regulate the DAF-16 and JNK genes.
The list of adaptogens is long, and, because they are all adaptogens, they have many benefits in common. However, each one has a particular strength or two or three. Things they do better than at least most of the others.

You know what you are most worried about. Perhaps it’s your heart. Maybe you have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic. Perhaps you are concerned about your kidneys and liver. I have described each herb’s most powerful benefits first, so it is easy for you to decide if this is an herb you should be interested in.

Dosages

It is impossible for me to give specific dosages because the quantity of bio-active constituents in an herb varies according to soil conditions, climate, variety, and even the methods used to grow them and concentrate or package them. Also, dosages are often based on the disease or ailment you are suffering from and your body weight.

For general health, always take the lowest or “supplement” dosage, usually the dosage suggested on the bottle. If you have a specific issue you are trying to deal with, and don’t get the results you desire, see a natural practitioner.

To determine dosage from mg/kg: This means milligrams of herb per kilogram of body weight. If the recommended dosage is 50 mg/kg first determine how many kilograms you weigh. If you are used to dealing with pounds, divide your weight by 2.2 to find kilograms. Then multiply the answer by 50 mg.

145 lbs. ÷ 2.2 = 65.9

65.9 x 50 = 3,295 mg

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