5 Herbs to Fight Stress and Anxiety:<\/p>\n
1. Ashwagandha<\/b> (Withania somnifera), <\/b><\/i>or winter cherry<\/b>, <\/sup><\/sup><\/sup>is an evergreen shrub that grows in India, the Middle East, and parts of Africa.\u00a0<\/sup><\/p>\n Although it is thought to be helpful as a medicinal herb and sold in many countries as a dietary supplement, there is insufficient scientific evidence that it is safe or effective for treating any disease<\/a>.<\/sup><\/sup><\/p>\n Ayurveda<\/a> ashwagandha is a Rasayana<\/a> herb that works nonspecifically to increase health and longevity. This herb is also considered an adaptogen<\/a>, a nontoxic herb that works on a nonspecific basis to normalize physiological function, working on the\u00a0HPA axis<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0neuroendocrine<\/a> system. The roots and berries of the plant are used in herbal medicine. In Ayurveda, fresh roots are sometimes boiled in milk before drying\u00a0to leach out undesirable constituents. {ref} The berries are used as a substitute for\u00a0rennet<\/a>\u00a0to coagulate milk in\u00a0cheese<\/a>\u00a0making.<\/p>\n Ashwagandha<\/i>\u00a0in\u00a0Sanskrit means “horse’s smell,” probably originating from the odor of its root, which resembles that of a sweaty horse<\/a>. The species name somnifera<\/i> means “sleep-bearing” in Latin<\/a>, indicating it was considered a\u00a0sedative<\/a>, but it has also been used for sexual vitality and as an adaptogen<\/a>. Some\u00a0herbalists refer to ashwagandha as Indian ginseng since it is used in\u00a0ayurvedic medicine<\/a>, similar to traditional Chinese medicine.<\/p>\n The ashwagandha plant is a small shrub with yellow flowers native to India and Southeast Asia. Extracts or powder from the plant’s root or leaves treat various conditions, including anxiety and fertility issues<\/p>\n 2. Eleutherococcus senticosus<\/b><\/i> is a species of a minor, woody shrub<\/a> native to Northeastern Asia. <\/sup><\/sup>It may be called Devil’s bush<\/b>,<\/sup>\u00a0SiberianDevil’sg<\/b>,\u00a0eleuthero<\/b>,\u00a0ciwujia<\/i>,\u00a0Devil’s shrub<\/i>,\u00a0Shizuok<\/i>Devil’s<\/em><\/span>h-me-not<\/i>,\u00a0wild pepper<\/i>, or\u00a0kan Jang<\/i>.<\/sup>\u00a0E.\u00a0senticosus<\/i>\u00a0has a history of use in folklore and\u00a0traditional Chinese medicine. <\/sup>Root\u00a0extracts<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0E. senticosus<\/i>\u00a0are sold as a\u00a0dietary supplement\u00a0or\u00a0cosmetic, usually under\u00a0 Siberian ginseng<\/i><\/a>.<\/sup><\/p>\n Roots of\u00a0E. senticosus<\/i> are cylindrical, up to 0.5 centimeters (0.20\u00a0in) in diameter, straight or branched, dark brown, and have a smooth surface with bark fixed closely to the\u00a0xylem<\/a>. <\/sup>The derived\u00a0extract<\/a> from the roots has been characterized by its major constituents, including\u00a0lignans<\/a>,\u00a0sesamin\u00a0(eleutheroside\u00a0B4),\u00a0syringaresinol,\u00a0phenylpropanoids,\u00a0coumarins,\u00a0beta-sitosterol, and\u00a0daucosterol<\/a>.<\/sup><\/p>\n Berries from\u00a0E. senticosus<\/i>\u00a0contain diverse\u00a0polyphenols<\/a>, including\u00a0caffeic acid,\u00a0vanillic acid,\u00a0ferulic acid,\u00a0p-coumaric acid, and\u00a0benzoic acid<\/a>, with significant calcium content,\u00a0magnesium, and\u00a0potassium.<\/sup><\/p>\n Extracts from the root of\u00a0Eleutherococcus senticosus<\/i>\u00a0are promoted in\u00a0alternative<\/a>\u00a0and traditional medicine for providing a range of health effects, but some claims are not supported by\u00a0medical evidence. According to the\u00a0WHO<\/a>, only “as a prophylactic and restorative tonic for enhancement of mental and physical capacities in cases of weakness, exhaustion, and tiredness, and during convalescence” is backed up by clinical evidence<\/a>. <\/sup><\/sup><\/sup>The plant has been assessed in preliminary research for its potential use as an\u00a0antimicrobial or antistress agent. Still, these studies were of poor quality, and no scientific confirmation exists that such effects exist.<\/sup><\/p>\n People with high blood pressure,\u00a0sleep apnea,\u00a0narcolepsy<\/a>,\u00a0heart disease, mental illness, a compromised\u00a0immune system, women during pregnancy and lactation, and people taking\u00a0digoxin\u00a0or\u00a0hexobarbital\u00a0may have adverse reactions to\u00a0E. senticosus<\/i>.<\/sup>\u00a0High doses may cause irritability, confusion,\u00a0insomnia, or anxiety<\/a>.<\/sup><\/p>\n In\u00a0Russia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Scandinavia,\u00a0R. Rosea<\/i>\u00a0has been used for centuries to cope with the cold\u00a0Siberian<\/a>\u00a0climate and stressful life.<\/sup><\/sup> It also increases physical endurance and resistance to\u00a0high-altitude sickness, but the evidence for such benefits is weak. The plant has been used in traditional Chinese medicine, called\u00a0h\u00f3ng j\u01d0ng ti\u0101n<\/i>.<\/p>\n A 2012 report by the\u00a0European Medicines Agency\u00a0on literature concerning the dried extract of\u00a0R. Rosea<\/i> stated that “The published clinical trials exhibit considerable deficiencies in their quality. Therefore ‘well-established use’ cannot be accepted” and added:<\/p>\n “The traditional use as an\u00a0adaptogen<\/a>\u00a0‘for temporary relief of symptoms of stress such as fatigue and sensation of weakness’ is appropriate for traditional herbal medicinal products. … The long-standing use, as well as the outcome of the clinical trials, support the plausibility of the use of the mentioned herbal preparation in the proposed indication.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n 4. Hawthorn<\/strong> <\/a>(Crataegus species<\/em>) has been used to treat heart disease since the 1st century. By the early 1800s, American doctors used it to treat circulatory disorders and respiratory illnesses.<\/p>\n Hawthorn is a common thorny shrub in the rose family that grows up to 5 feet tall on hillsides and in sunny wooded areas worldwide. Its flowers bloom in May. They grow in small white, red, or pink clusters. Small berries, called haws, sprout after the flowers. They are usually red when ripe, but they may also be black. Hawthorn leaves are shiny and grow in a variety of shapes and sizes. Traditionally, the berries were used to treat heart problems ranging from irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, chest pain, hardening of the arteries, and heart failure. Today, the leaves and flowers are used medicinally. Even research suggests that hawthorn might be practical when used to treat mild-to-moderate heart failure.<\/p>\n Animal and laboratory studies report hawthorn contains antioxidants, including oligomeric procyanidins (OPCs, also found in grapes) and quercetin. Antioxidants<\/a> destroy free radicals, compounds in the body that damage cell membranes, tamper with DNA, and even cause cell death. Free radicals occur naturally in the body and grow in number as we age. Environmental toxins (including ultraviolet light, radiation, smoking, some medicines, and air pollution) can also increase the number of these damaging particles. Scientists believe free radicals contribute to the aging process (such as wrinkling) and the development of several health problems, including cancer and heart disease. Antioxidants in hawthorn may help stop some of the damage from free radicals, especially when it comes to heart disease.<\/p>\n The study compared conventional methods of treating heart failure (with different medications) with hawthorn alone and the drugs. After two years, the clinical symptoms of heart failure (palpitations, breathing problems, and fatigue) decreased significantly in people taking the hawthorn supplement. People taking hawthorn also took less medication for their condition.<\/p>\n 5. One all-natural way to\u00a0<\/a>relieve anxiety<\/a> is<\/span> to use herbs such as lavender, passionflower, and lemon balm. You can consume herbs by adding them to bitters, a fun and easy drink you can prepare from the comfort of your home.<\/p>\n Although there’s research surrounding the effectiveness of herbs and bitters for anxiety and stress, keep in mind that they don’t supplement prescription medication (like anti-anxiety or antidepressant medications) or seek help from a mental health professional.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 5 Herbs to Fight Stress and Anxiety All of us have been anxious at some…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,27],"tags":[3445],"class_list":["post-6275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle-medicine","category-nutrioin-in-disease","tag-stress"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.diabetesasia.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/herbs_620x351_51490702552.webp?fit=620%2C351&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diabetesasia.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diabetesasia.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diabetesasia.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diabetesasia.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diabetesasia.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6275"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.diabetesasia.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7667,"href":"https:\/\/www.diabetesasia.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6275\/revisions\/7667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diabetesasia.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diabetesasia.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diabetesasia.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diabetesasia.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/d\/d0\/Eleutherococcus_senticosus_leaves.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTraditional medicine<\/span><\/h2>\n
\u00a0Traditional medicine Rhodiola<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"Rhodiola](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/e\/ef\/Rhodiola_rosea_a2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Crataegus](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/71\/Crataegus-ambigua-2.jpg\/1200px-Crataegus-ambigua-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n