The following Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Lehman.

Adaptogen Effects, American and Asian ginseng. I've been using adaptogens for quite some time,

but in the last year I've been experimenting a little more with them. You may have caught my

mention of a few adaptogenic varieties in one version of my daily big-ass salad, not for a

flavor hit. I've also briefly highlighted Ashwaganda and Holy Basil,

and I've always been a big believer and user of rodeola rosia for normalizing stress response.

All well and good, but what's the backstory on adaptogens? What's there to gain? And what about the other

options? What are adaptogens. What's there to gain? And what about the other options? What are adaptogens?

The essence of adaptogens, natural substances that help the body adapt to various stress inputs,

is this. They don't make a name for themselves for the specific ailments that they might resolve,

but for their ability to restore

balance and banish stress from the body and mind. They're the golden boys of holistic medicine,

purely because they are themselves holistic. Let's dive into some real-world scenarios.

Your average medicinal herb, let's say ginger, has a finite number

of beneficial functions when ingested. Those functions might include boosting digestion,

relieving nausea, aiding immunity, and fighting infection. All very commendable outcomes. But then,

let's look at an adaptogenic herb. When ingested, the pathways on which

it acts within the body are virtually infinite. By its very nature, it works to alleviate stress of all

kinds, the chronic version of which we know is often the root cause of most diseases and common

ailments. It's an exclusive club. In their comprehensive volume on

adaptogens, David Winston and Stephen Mames set out three key requirements for an herb to attain

that all-important adaptogen badge. One, an adaptogen is non-toxic to its recipient. Two, an adaptogen produces a non-specific response in the body,

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