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A.Vogel Vital Energy
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Rhodiola, the Space Hero
Rhodiola rosea (Golden Root, Roseroot, Aaron's Rod) is a medicinal herb that grows in the cold regions of the world. In Russia and Scandinavia, Rhodiola has been used for centuries to cope with cold climate and stressful life. But even more surprising, Rhodiola is used by cosmonauts!
We can only imagine the extreme stress levels cosmonauts need to cope with. Not only does the cosmonaut’s body go though the physical stress of the overgravity push of the launch itself followed by weightlessness, but their mind must also keep on top of equipment repairs, flight missions, research, space walks – to name a few. In addition to this, they are restrained to sharing tiny living quarters with other individuals for months with very little privacy. A stress overload can cause both poor judgement decisions and tempermental behavior, which increase risk factors when in space. Because their cosmonauts must function with that all this stress, Russia developed a herbal formula based on Rhodiola.
The Rhodiola succeeded in helping to improve stamina, reduce fatigue and calm emotions under stressful conditions demanding extreme concentration-like managing space station Mir! In fact, Rhodiola is included amongst a class of plant derivatives called adaptogens which have the ability to increase the body's resistance to stress, trauma, anxiety and fatigue. Apparently, it was Dr. Nikolai Lazarev, one of the Russian scientists looking for a solution to improve the performance of soldiers, cosmonauts and athletes during the cold war, who suggested the term adaptogen for those herbs that increase stamina, help overcome fatigue, improve resistance to diseases, toxins, and other traumas, and enhance longevity (all of which are achieved safely with little or no side effects).
The adaptogen herb should stimulate the underaroused and calm the agitated; not an easy task for any medicine. Preparations usually energize or calm - but not both. Rhodiola has the ability to increase resistance to a variety of stresses - chemical, biological and physical. Its effects are attributed mainly to its capacity to influence the levels and activity of critical neurotransmitters: serotonin (controls mood, emotion, sleep, appetite); dopamine (important role in behavior, movement control, sleep, mood and attention); and norepinephrine (affects parts of the brain where attention and response actions are controlled - it partially determines the “fight-or-flight response”).
If it can help Russian cosmonauts and Olympic athletes benefit from increased energy levels and better stress resistance, it can surely do wonders for most of us dealing with the highest stress levels due
to work and home overload!
Sources:
The Rhodiola Revolution by R.P.Brown and P.L.Gerbarg Rhodiola Rosea Monograph. Alternative Medicine Review. Volume 7, Number 5, 2002. |
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Also called the Golden Root, it is known in Siberia that those who drink rhodiola tea live to be 100. |
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