Rhodiola Rosea To Control Cortisol

In most situations, your cortisol levels rise in line with the stress burden facing you. While the steroid hormone has many important effects across the body and remains essential for life, excess cortisol can have a number of unwanted consequences. Rhodiola rosea stands out as a useful herb for countering such rises.

Cortisol

Produced in the adrenal cortex, Robert Kapolsky Ph.D. explains how the body requires cortisol to manage the effects of stress. The stress hormone helps to reduce inflammation, boost blood sugar levels and coordinate the immune system response. It also influences mental function and your sleep-wake cycle.

Negative Impacts

Although an important hormone, the excessive release of cortisol that accompanies stressful situations can negatively impact on the metabolism. Kapolsky notes how high levels of serum cortisol can induced insulin resistance, increase the activity of fat storage enzymes and ruin your changes of getting a good nights sleep.

Rhodiola

Found growing in the mountainous regions of Europe and Asia, rhodiola stands out as a herb with a wealth of evidence to support its use as an anti-stress tonic. Dr Andrew Weil, a physician who integrates both mainstream and herbal medicines into his practice, notes how research on rhodiola has appeared in the scientific literature of Sweden, Norway, France, Germany and Russia.

Active Constituents

Rhodiola contains a number of active components. Nutritional Reviews points to rhodioloside, p-tyrosol and glycoside compounds as those responsible for the improved resistance to physical and mental stressors and also an anti-oxidant effect in the body. Rhodiola appears to exert its effects through adaptogenic effects.

Adaptogenic Effects

All adaptogenic herbs demonstrate the ability to normalise body systems, stimulating when they become low and attenuating their action when they are in excess. Nutritional Reviews explains how rhodiola can help normalize the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis during times of stress, countering the unwanted and excessive rise in stress hormones like cortisol that would normally accompany such a demanding period.