The Relyt Wellness Podcast Episode 3: 

Adaptogens For Stress Management 

Plants discussed in the show:Holy BasilAshwadandhaAstragalus Amla Eleuthero RhodiolaSchisandra Berry

Also mentioned: Deity Animal Rescue www.deitydogsandgoods.com or @deityanimalrescueWell Well Wellness (a health and wellness account): @wellwellwell_nessMy email: hello@relytwellness.coIG: @relyt.co 

SHOW NOTES:

Hello and welcome to episode 3 of The Relyt Wellness Podcast! I’m Tyler and I am an herbalist, wellness enthusiast and (special announcement) a new dog mom! That’s right. My partner and I attempted fostering a dog and that was a fail.. it was love at first sight, and we had to adopt him. His name is Kamp and he was living in a shelter in the desert and now he is living with us in Long Beach, CA. He’s the best! Check out my instagram if you want to see his perfect face. If you have the ability to foster a dog right now I highly recommend it! We got Kamp from Deity Rescue and you can apply to foster with them or adopt a dog from them by going to www.deitydogsandgoods.com! 

Ok so enough about sweet sweet Kamp. If this is your first time joining the show, welcome and if you are returning again, welcome back and thank you all so much for coming tp hang out with me today! Today we are going to talk about stress management with lifestyle choices of course, but we are also going to focus on a category of herbs called Adaptogens! I mentioned this group of herbs briefly in the last episode on the Immune System, but I want to go in depth today. Like always I have a lot to cover, so let’s get to it! 

First I just have to preface with this: 

I am not a doctor, this show is intended to educate and empower not treat or diagnose. Anything that I discuss on this show should not be taken as medical advice and you should always consult with your medical doctor before trying any protocol whether it’s herbal or not. Alright now onto the good stuff. 

Let’s start by talking about stress. Our ancestors (like waaay back cavemen ancestors) depended on the stress response to either fight, flee or freeze in the presence of a saber-toothed tiger or Woolly Mammoth. Luckily, this event didn’t happen all the time, but when it did it was necessary for survival. 

When we feel stressed, our adrenal glands, which sit on top of the kidneys,  produce hormones that help us deal with the stressor. The inner part of the adrenal gland is called the medulla which produces hormones that raise blood sugar, raise blood pressure and promotes energy production (thanks adrenaline!) The outer part of the adrenal gland, known as the cortex, produces hormones which retains sodium and and also increases blood pressure as well. These are hormones that you really don’t want an excess amount of just hanging out in your body, but unfortunately the stress response is triggered all day everyday for many people, unlike what it was intended for.  Modern life is just one big Woolly Mammoth leading to increased inflammation, poor digestion (because if you are in theory supposed to fight or run from a big beast you need all the energy you can get, and digestion takes the most energy out of all the systems so digestion shuts down, the immune system shuts down, because surviving the threat is more important that fighting a virus right now. Having this stress response alarm go off as much as it is for so many of us creates a whole mess of issues, one being adrenal fatigue. One of the biggest signs of adrenal fatigue is not feeling refreshed in the morning. Which I am sure a lot of you can relate to. Other symptoms of chronic stress and adrenal fatigue can include  feeling lethargic, premature aging, pain, emotional instability, depression, elevated inflammation, constipation, IBS, poor sleep, poor nutrient absorption, infertility or menstrual irregularities, immune conditions, hypothyroidism, and poor memory. None of us want to experience chronic stress, or continue to experience chronic stress so let’s