Adaptation and overcoming of STRESS

Withania somnifera

We all live in a world full of stress and must respond at our best to keep up with situations.

Long-term stress is felt and wears us down, causing various physical and mental disorders.

If our body cannot adapt, problems arise such as anxiety, depression, recurrent infections, and increased free radicals.

Stress is felt in cells that cannot perform all their internal functions properly and eventually get damaged, leading to degenerative diseases such as cardiovascular disorders, osteoarthritis, and tumors.

There is a need for something that makes us better able to endure all this.

An answer is given by adaptogenic plants because they make the body more suited to withstand environmental and internal changes caused by stress.

One of these plants is Withania somnifera.

Withania is a plant of the Solanaceae family, the same to which tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants belong.

Used for millennia in Indian medicine, it is also called Indian Ginseng because it helps improve states of fatigue, stress, and psychophysical tiredness.

The active part is the root, which contains "witanolides," molecules from the lactone group.

Modern studies have found that Withania somnifera can support the body's adaptability in response to environmental and internal changes.

In particular, it has anxiolytic and antidepressant effects similar to substances commonly used in modern medicine, from which the name "somnifera" derives, but it does not cause sleepiness and lacks all the side effects of chemical drugs.

It does not damage cells; on the contrary, it is antioxidant and protective of cells.

Being antioxidant, it reduces cellular damage caused by free radicals, also protecting brain neurons.

It also has anti-inflammatory properties and can help with arthritis, osteoarthritis; depending on the case, it can be the main remedy or a complement acting on neurogenic aspects and stress related to these chronic-debilitating diseases.

It helps the immune system, which is continuously exposed to chemicals that could impair its proper functioning; in fact, some research has shown it improves white blood cell activity and increases phagocytosis, i.e., the process of waste removal.

Its main characteristic is called "adaptogenic," the ability to adapt the body to stress by regulating nerve signals of brain cells and balancing them without depressing or overstimulating them.

It performs a great function, resulting in increased energy and resistance to nervous and physical stress.

It helps metabolism, increases muscle mass, improves strength and tolerance to effort, and also reduces fat and body weight gain.

It can reduce anxiety, depression, improve mood, and the effects of stress on the cardiovascular system, such as high blood pressure.

Another plant that helps and promotes physiological relaxation is

Broom (Lotus corniculatus)

 used traditionally for its antispasmodic and sedative activity, first reported by Dr. Leclerc, who noticed that anxiety decreased, sleep returned to normal

It contains flavonoid and phenolic glycosides, cyanogenic compounds, and hydrocyanic acid.

Studies confirm its traditional use for its general sedative, antispasmodic, antidepressant action, normalizing the sleep-wake rhythm, thanks to its muscle-relaxing effect.

Recent in vitro studies highlight the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of the Lotus corniculatus plant, which act on antioxidant mechanisms located in the liver.