Herbs for Stress & Anxiety

November 30, 2021

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There are so many people suffering from stress and anxiety atm, no surprise in the current Covid situation! Chronic stress can be deeply harmful to the body and is directly linked to at least six of the most common causes of death in the modern world such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and suicide (1,2).

I have covered how stress effects your body and ways to reduce it and a simple practice to reduce stress in previous posts.

Longstanding stress wreaks some of its worst havoc on the glandular and endocrine systems of the thyroid and adrenals so I thought I would also cover a class of herbs known as adaptogens that are uniquely suited to support the body’s efforts to combat prolonged stress and generalised anxiety. One of the ways that adaptogens accomplish this is by helping to protect the central nervous system against stress-induced neural damage and targeting the hormone most associated with the damaging effects of chronic stress, cortisol (3).

Adaptogens intercede in place of cortisol to give the adrenal glands a break, effectively guarding them against becoming fatigued, allowing cortisol to spend more of its time guarding the body as it’s supposed to, acting as a master hormone, producing other vital hormones that regulate your metabolism, immune system, blood pressure, stress response, and more (4).Before I go any further please know I am not offering advice on whether you should take these herbs. These are some of the adaptogens I have been prescribed and have researched throughout the years. I am sure your Naturapath would be the best to talk to.

Adaptogens intercede in place of cortisol to give the adrenal glands a break, effectively guarding them against becoming fatigued, allowing cortisol to spend more of its time guarding the body as it’s supposed to, acting as a master hormone, producing other vital hormones that regulate your metabolism, immune system, blood pressure, stress response, and more (4).Before I go any further please know I am not offering advice on whether you should take these herbs. These are some of the adaptogens I have been prescribed and have researched throughout the years. I am sure your Naturapath would be the best to talk to.

Some Adaptogens for stress and anxiety

Ashwagandha – has been found to have positive influences over endocrine and central nervous systems and support balanced cortisol levels helping to relieve both stress and anxiety. (5,6).

Precautions: People with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and Type 1 diabetes should be cautious with ashwagandha. Caution is needed if you are taking medication for thyroid disease, as ashwagandha may increase thyroid hormone levels in some people, lowering the need for thyroid supplementation and potentially causing an overabundance of thyroid hormones. Consult your healthcare professional. Ashwagandha is a nightshade for those needing to avoid them).

Astragalus – is best known for anti-aging but is also said to help the body in repairing stress-related damage from the past, while at the same time redirecting cortisol away from vulnerable stress receptors (7).

GABA – A few studies showed psychological stress-reducing effects during a stressful event (8,9)

Rhodiola rosea – Both calming and invigorating, combats stress as well as fatigue, helps with the ability to concentrate and decreases cortisol response to awakening stress (10,11).

Chinese ginseng (Panax ginseng) – is said to provide non-specific support against mental, physical, and environmental stressors (12,13).

Maca – the main benefits Maca include increased strength, stamina, energy, libido, and sexual function. Studies for stress seem to be more pertinent to menopausal women (14).
Some Herbs and Nutrients for stress and anxiety
Saffron – studies have shown to help treat symptoms of mild-to-moderate depression and PMS symptoms including anxiety (15,16)

Lemon balm – is associated with improvements in mood and/or cognitive performance, it contains chemicals that seem to have a sedative, calming effect (17,18)

B Vitamins – These vitamins become depleted during stress, and deficiencies have been linked to adrenal dysfunction (19, 20).

Vitamin C – This important antioxidant helps support the adrenals, mitochondria, collagen production, and the eradication of viruses (21,22)

Fish oil (omega-3) – among other benefits such anti-inflamatory and brain health, has been proven to lower cortisol (23,24)

Melatonin is most commonly used for improving sleep but some studies have shown helpful for stress (25,26)

Adrenal Cortex – I was prescribed this but after research decided against them due to thyroid and steroid contamination and affects on adrenals (27)

Herbs for Stress & Anxiety

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