Hands up. HIGH! If you aren’t the closest of friends with stress? Scientists and health practitioners are continuously on the quest to better understand, manage, and prevent the damaging effects of stress on our health.

Most importantly, by targeting causes of stress whether they are personal, work, or financially related, all of us are subject to the psychological, mental, and physical effects of stress. Unfortunately, we are not immune to stress. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here.

What’s alarming and what some of us may not even realise is that excessive or long-term stress can lead to changes in our bodies that are extremely unhealthy. It’s a scary thought that the majority of our visits to the local GP are stress related.

Although stress is indeed damaging to our overall health and wellbeing in so many ways, rest assured that there are many ways that we can reduce these stress levels. Such as yoga, relaxation, fuelling our bodies with the right nutrition, engaging in activities that we enjoy and lastly and most importantly human connection (preferably with positive people, we don’t want the negative Nancy’s to aid in stressing us out even more!)

We also need to realise and take into consideration that not all stress that we encounter is going to be damaging to our health. Stress is a very normal feature of life. Mild or acute stress can even be positive; for example, exercise, starting a new job, or even the arrival of a new baby can all promote stress and yet be good for our overall wellbeing.

SO NOW WE ASK THE QUESTION : WHAT IS STRESS EXACTLY?

Stress is a situation that triggers a particular biological response. When you perceive a threat or a major challenge, chemicals and hormones surge throughout your body.

Stress triggers your fight-or-flight response in order to fight the stressor or run away from it. Typically, after the response occurs, your body should relax. However, too much constant stress can have negative effects on your long-term health.

So remember that stress isn’t necessarily always a bad thing. It’s what helped our hunter-gatherer ancestors survive, and it’s just as important in today’s world. It can be healthy when it helps you avoid an accident, meet a tight deadline, or keep your wits about you during chaos. Life being what it is today, it’s not possible to eliminate stress completely. But we can learn to avoid it when possible and manage it when it’s unavoidable.

Stress can make us feel overloaded & overwhelmed and when it comes to stress it certainly isn’t all in your head! Stress has real physical consequences and as we mentioned earlier, can eventually lead to poor health. So what we want to do is ADAPT.

Luckily .. mother nature has provided an answer for stress. Yep! In the form of ADAPTOGENS.

Research has found that adaptogens work by normalising the bodies functions under stress and taking them daily can help to improve mental and physical performance while reducing fatigue.

So here is where we introduce you to ADAPTOGENS! And it’s time to get super excited about this! Are you ready?

An adaptogen is a natural substance considered to help the body adapt to stress. They are the new go-to supplement but what exactly are they, where do they come from, what do they do and how can you get your hands on them?

Adaptogens are plants that produce special substances originally intended to help them adapt to the stressors in their own environments. Natural herbs like Ashwagandha, Holy Basil and Rhodiola are true superheroes that have an impressive track record of supporting the body in times of emotional and physical stress, tiredness and nervousness.

The exact properties and effects each adaptogenic herb varies by its maker and its particular blend, but the general consensus is that adaptogens are supposed to restore balance. The way adaptogens are thought to restore balance is by battling what’s called “adrenal fatigue”.

The thought is that when the adrenal gland isn’t able to make enough of that stress hormone AKA cortisol, studies show that adaptogens can help balance out your body, so the amount of stress hormone that’s produced is what your body actually needs.

OK, OK we are hearing you loud and clear now. Amazing right!? We all want to reduce stress and be able to cope with life’s little issues that little bit better.

So where are you able to get these adaptogens from? The best way to get these adaptogens in your body is in supplement form. Quick, easy and simple!

Let us share 2 of our favourite products with you. These are safe to take daily and are formulated by some of the best scientists in the world.

Ionix® Supreme: A potent adaptogen rich beverage that that helps the body better manage it’s response to stress.

e+: Ideal as a pre-workout or anytime you need to fight off fatigue. Combines a scientifically supported blend of botanicals and plant-based caffeine from green tea and yerba maté to help you feel energised and mentally alert.

So goodbye stress, goodbye fatigue and hello to a happier, healthier YOU! You can purchase both of these products here: