Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Did you know that 35% of Americans do not get adequate sleep? This has been shown to have a direct link to conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Here’s what you need to know.
Millions of men and women are bothered by multiple trips to the bathroom at night to urinate, called Nocturia. Here is what you need to know about frequent nighttime urination.
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
Subscribe Today!
On today’s episode, I am going to be giving you an introduction to Rhodiola. Rhodiola is a fabulous adaptogenic herb and there is so much science behind how it helps to optimize your health.
What is Rhodiola?
An adrenal adaptogenic herb works to modulate the body’s response to stress. For many, this is something that as you get older, you may find using an adrenal adaptogen extremely beneficial. There are many, like Ashwaghanda, Cordyceps, Lemon balm but I love Rhodiola.
The reason why is that the science behind it is so incredibly validating for how it is working in your body. It plays an integral role in enhancing cellular energy production. This is an herb that grows in an inclement environment like the Siberian mountains where it is extremely cold. Yet, the herb thrives. The roots themselves are what yields all of the powerful constituents.
The Science Behind Rhodiola Extract
The research is impressive across the board. One study published in the Complimentary Medicine Research Journal where researchers were looking at the impact of Rhodiola and chronic fatigue syndrome – how it works to successfully treat patients with fatigue lasting six months or longer.
In a separate study, subjects that had chronic fatigue were given the extract every day for eight weeks. After just ten days, patients started to see a significant shift in their level of stress, sleep quality and overall mood. At the end of the eight weeks, over 80% of the participants reported benefit.
Other than for sleep and stress, use of this beneficial herb has been reported in athletes, as well. Athletes are extremely subjected to cellular fatigue, which needs to be restored. Rhodiola was shown to improve cellular energy when used pre- and post-workout.
How Adaptogens Work In The Body
Rhodiola works on a few different mechanisms in the body. It’s adaptogenic properties help with stress. We also know it is beneficial for oxidative stress, which can be damaging to your cells.
The Perelman School of Medicine in Pennsylvania studied the use of Rhodiola in patients with major depressive disorder. This disorder impacts more than 19 million Americans each year – over 70% do not respond to therapies, like prescriptions. In this study, the extract was given to participants over conventional anti-depressant. The Rhodiola group did extremely well when it came to overall sense of well being, using different markers and scales.
Researcher done by the University of California shows how Rhodiola extract was found to increase the lifespan of animal studies. When exposed to Rhodiola, fruit flies had increased longevity. This is because it works to increase ATP – cellular energy. They are now more effectively making energy.
Thank you for tuning in to the Invite Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Invite Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the Invite Health Podcast.
Questions about this important herb? Leave Amanda a comment below to discuss.
Today we are going to discuss the strong connections between eye health and memory. There is one important nutrient that stands out more than the other – Lutein. Let’s get started on episode 4.
A new study says yoga and physical therapy are effective approaches to treating back pain and helping you sleep better, while reducing the need for medication.
It’s no secret that getting an adequate amount of sleep is important. But did you know that sleep disruption has harmful effects on your metabolism? Published in the Journal of Lipid Research, researchers at Pennsylvania State University report that just a few days of sleep deprivation can make participants feel less full after eating and metabolize the fat in food differently.
Participants spent a week getting plenty of sleep, the 15 healthy men in their 20s checked into the sleep lab for the ten-night study. For five of those nights the participants spend no more than five hours in bed each night. To help keep the participants awake, Kelly Ness, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington, by interacting with the subjects, playing games with them, and talking to them.
To find out how this uncomfortable schedule affected metabolism, the researchers gave participants a standardized high-fat dinner, a bowl of chili mac, after four nights of sleep restriction. Most of the participants felt less satisfied after eating the same rich meal while sleep deprived than when they had eaten it well-rested.
Researchers than compared blood samples from the study participants and found that sleep restriction affected the postprandial lipid response, leading to faster clearance of lipids from the blood after a meal. That could predispose people to put on weight. “The lipids weren’t evaporating – they were being stored,” explained Orfeu Buxton, a professor at Penn State and one of the senior authors of the new study.
The simulated workweek ended with a simulated Friday and Saturday night when participants could spend ten hours in bed catching up on missed shut-eye. After the first night, they ate one last bowl of chili mac. Although participant’ metabolic handling of fat from food was slightly better after a night of recovery sleep, they did not recover to the baseline healthy level.