Energy Herbs/Remedies

The Chinese have a special category of herbs called ch'i or energy tonics, which they have found to restore and rebuild the body's life energy. The most famous of these is ginseng. Scientific research on ginseng has provided some clues as to how it works. As Stephen Fulder reports in his book, About Ginseng, researchers have found ginseng to have unique and remarkable effects leading them to coin a new term for this class of herbs - 'adaptogens'. Adaptogens increase the body's ability to adapt to stress positively, indeed to survive extremely stressful situations. It is unclear exactly how this occurs, but the plant's action is believed to affect the hormones and nerves, and their response to the environment. In effect, ginseng energizes the whole body.

It is possible that as well as single herbs, certain combinations of herbs may be created whose combined effect also affects energy directly. Several cultures seem to have a famous tonic that is believed to be an elixir of life. One such combination may be Chyavanprash, a highly respected Ayurvedic formula, taken regularly to maintain overall health. As stress is recognized as being an important contributor to many chronic diseases, this new understanding of the abilities of herbs to revitalize is very welcome.