How are you feeling today? A little tired, a little irritable, a little depressed? Are you having trouble sleeping? Do you suffer from neck or back pain, or headaches? Poor appetite, or eat too much? How about unexplained anxiety, anger, or resentment? Do you find that you have trouble focusing on tasks? A lot of this is caused by the stress you are subjected to every day.

Did you know that the American Medical Association has estimated that 80 - 90% of all illness is directly or indirectly caused by stress?

And did you know that there are many forms of stress:

Chemical stress - pesticides on produce, preservatives in food, etc.Environmental stress - second-hand smoke, smog, too much sun, etc.Emotional stress - bad relationships, unsatisfactory jobs, lack of money, etc.Physical stress - sitting at a desk for long hours, lack of exercise, too much exercise, etc.All of these together are causing the American marketplace to lose over $300 million in productivity every year through absences, sick leave, etc.

Stress is our bodies reacting to something that upsets the normal balance. Our stress reaction goes way back in our history. A good example of the stress reaction is what happens when you are frightened or threatened. Your heart pounds and your blood pressure rises, giving your muscles added strength and energy, your pupils dilate, taking in as much of the situation as possible, all so you'll be able to resist or retreat. Back when life was a struggle for survival, we needed that fight-or-flight reaction to stay alive. After the threat was gone, our bodies would return to a normal state; heart rate dropped, muscles relaxed, etc.

But these days that reaction isn't as necessary to our survival. Instead, we have traffic jams, demanding bosses, demanding families, ads telling us how inadequate we are, and inconsiderate drivers, to name a few, that cause those same reactions. And since our modern lives are filled with constant stressful situations, our bodies don't have the same chance to return to a normal state. We are constantly "on", so our resources get depleted and our bodies end up being less and less able to recover. Our immune systems get disrupted, increasing our vulnerability to illness.

But there are ways to combat this silent killer. You can use pharmaceuticals, exercise, or meditation, for example. One of the best ways is with something called adaptogens. The word adaptogen was coined by Dr. Nicholai Lazarev, a Russian scientist, in 1947. Lazarev said that for a substance to be classed as an adaptogen it had to fulfill 3 criteria:

It had to be non-toxic to the human bodyIt had to help the body recover from the effects of stressIt had to cause abnormal cells to become normal

Lazarev, after two years of research, created dibazol, a synthetic corticosteroid, which was the first adaptogen recognized by the medical community. Lazarev and one of his students, Dr. Israel Brekhman, then switched their focus to more natural substances, and found that some of the best sources of adaptogens are certain herbs.

In the course of their research they looked at studies done by Leonid Kulik, a geologist, in the late 1920's. Kulik was the first scientist to explore the site of the Tunguska Blast, an 850 square mile area in Siberia that was devastated by some kind of cataclysmic event in 1908. Kulik noted that lush, green vegetation had emerged from beneath the charred earth and felled trees of the area.

In the 1950's it was determined that the vegetation in this area was growing 3-4 times as fast and 30% bigger than the same plants in other regions. Like the legendary Phoenix, the Tunguska region had risen from the ashes stronger than before.

Now, these botanicals aren't new. They've been used for thousands of years as folk remedies. But scientific research and testing was finally done over more than 45 years. 3,000 tests on over 500,000 subjects showed the effectiveness of adaptogens to the medical community. But they aren't just for improving your health. Part 2 will reveal more of the wonders of adaptogens.