Rhodiola and Adrenal Fatigue

By Skylar Pond | March 10, 2011
 Adrenal Fatigue is the sort of thing that would stop a marauding viking or a Communist regime dead in it’s tracks if it weren’t for adaptogens such as rhodiola.
Being a Viking can be stressful.
Your adrenal glands are what allow you to respond to stress.  They are small glands that rest on top of your kidneys and they are an important part of your sympathetic nervous system as they release the catecholamines which we associate with the “fight-or-flight” response.  It appears that these glands have a finite capacity to produce these important hormones.  



Freedom hating is demanding on the adrenals.




 A life well lived can be pretty stressful.  Most of the people that I know like to drink lots of coffee, lift heavy things, and procreate.  All of these activities are demanding on your adrenal system.  When your lifestyle demands more stress hormone then your adrenal glands are able to provide, you run at a deficit which manifests in the symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue.

Symptoms include:
Mid line weight gain, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, difficulty concentrating, reduced sex drive and other upleasantries.

We all know that being a marauding Norseman or a Communist Empire bent on defeating freedom can be somewhat demanding on the adrenal system.  How then did Joseph Stalin and Sven Svensvenson not fall to the aforementioned ailments of chubbiness and morose fatigue?

 They used adaptogens such as Rhodiola that’s how:

“Rhodiola has long been used in traditional medicine, primarily in Russia and Scandinavia. The Vikings used rhodiola to enhance physical strength and endurance, and it was commonly used by many Northern peoples to treat fatigue, poor physical endurance, nervous system disorders, and infections, and to enhance fertility.”(1)

USES:
Rhodiola has been shown in studies to improve cardiovascular performance by reducing perceived exhaustion and by improving the cardioprotective capacity of lung tissues in hypoxic environments.(2,3)  Decrease lactate levels and skeletal muscle damage due to prolonged exercise(4,5.)  Rhodiola has long been used for treating the perceived effects of stress and anxiety as well.  This is not the sort of supplement that I have used on a maintenance basis as I do fish oil or vitamin D.  An early study showed decreasing cardiovascular returns with prolonged use but more recent long-term trials have showed continued benefits with chronic use. (4,5)

WHEN TO USE IT
You don’t have to wait until you suffer overt symptoms before you supplement.  I start to consider this supplement when I’m training hard and I start to wake up at 2am. 

 HOW TO USE IT
Rhodiola has a more stimulating effect at lower amounts, and a more sedating effect at higher amounts. In medical treatment, the usual amounts taken are 200 to 600 mg per day of a standardized extract to at least 3% rosavins and 0.8 to 1% salidroside. The nonstandardized amount would be 1 gram three times daily of the root, the amount for the alcoholic extract (40% alcohol) is 5 to 40 drops two to three times per day (with a weight to volume ratio of 1:1 to 1:5 ). Rhodiola is usually taken before meals.

Golden Root, Rhodiola rosea, Roseroot
Posted in Blog, Nutrition