Why the wellness world - including Gwyneth Paltrow - is obsessed with adaptogens

Ever get bored of feeling knackered, stressed or manic?

Ever reach for another coffee/biscuit and wish there was instead some magic pill that would give you a healthy buzz, and raise your energy levels — without any kind of comedown? Maybe something that would afford calm and clarity. What about, let’s reach for the stars here, something that could also give you better quality sleep and even a bit of anti-ageing?

Let me introduce you to adaptogens. Mainly derived from herbs and roots, adaptogens are plant-based compounds that modulate the body’s stress responses, promote healthy immune function and stimulate energy. Long celebrated in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, suddenly their benefits are being recognised in the West. In LA, the likes of Gwyneth pick them up at cult health store Moon Juice; now in London you can stop by Selfridges to pick up one of the new Naomi’s Kitchen adaptogenic powders — great in a smoothie — or sip a delicious ‘adaptogenic latte’ at Notting Hill’s Farmacy restaurant.

So first of all, what is an adaptogen?

‘The term was coined in the 1940s, to refer to a group of plants that essentially help us to “adapt” to stress in our environment,’ says nutritionist Eve Kalinik. ‘They work instinctively to “turn up” or “turn down” your body’s response, depending on where our internal stress thermostat is hovering, to bring you back to homeostasis.’ In layman’s terms, they return you to an even keel.

To understand how they do this, Omniya health clinic’s Dr Sohère Roked explains we must look to our adrenal system. ‘The adrenals are small glands that sit on top of the kidneys and produce hormones such as oestrogen and cortisol.’ If we experience prolonged stress and are stuck in ‘flight or fight’, we may end up with far too much — or far too little — cortisol in our blood, which puts pressure on our sympathetic nervous system, creating symptoms such as unstable moods and low energy.

Pointing to research done at the Swiss Herbal Institute, Dr Roked continues: ‘Adaptogens work to redress the balance between the adrenals, the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus. Remarkably, they will work whether you are experiencing either adrenal fatigue or overstimulation — they normalise the hormones and bring you back to biochemical balance.’

It was an extreme case of adrenal fatigue that led Naomi Buff, the bright-eyed and glossy-haired nutritionist behind Naomi’s Kitchen, to adaptogens. ‘I’d been running round like a superwoman: moving house three times in one year, with two small children and starting a business,’ she explains. ‘I was exhausted, burnt out.’

Searching for a way back to health, Buff started to explore the potency of adaptogens such as rhodiola, the root of which has long been used in the East to combat fatigue and as an antidepressant. ‘After my burn-out I started to use adaptogens seriously and regularly.’ She was sufficiently impressed that, with the help of Sara Palmer PhD, the Cambridge-based scientist behind Lumity supplements, she set out to design the I AM range. ‘My I AM Energised blend features some of the adaptogens that helped me in my recovery and are a staple in my diet when I feel fatigued.’

Rhodiola is also a favourite of top trainer Jon Denoris, who trains athletes and celebrities from his Marylebone space, Club 51. ‘Rhodiola is excellent during periods of increased stress, or when an increase in drive, focus or sporting performance is required. Using adaptogens with training is a technique long used by Soviet coaches: if an athlete is going through an intense regime, it will help their body adapt to this physical stress.’

Round the corner from Denoris on Chiltern Street, the acclaimed Devon wellbeing retreat Yeotown has opened its first Yeotown Kitchen. The new café’s menu features adaptogen-based drinks, ‘Yeotonics’, designed by Heather Umlah. Patience is a calming brew based on schisandra, an Ayurvedic herb associated with reducing anxiety. Perspective is an immunity tonic that contains ashwagandha — a herb celebrated for its ability to strengthen the immune system and combat stress. At new café High on Duke Street, you can order maca hot chocolate (maca root benefits are said to include a positive effect on hormone balance and energy levels).

Then, just as you were wondering if there was anything they couldn’t fix, Dr Frances Prenna Jones (below) has incorporated them into her skin cream, Day Work, to ‘protect against the stress response of cells in the skin, which is provoked by the environment’. And Purearth cold press juice company has launched a ‘Shot to Trot’ dose of ginseng, to boost energy and also libido (other well-known adaptogens include reishi, shiitake and liquorice).

Are there any downsides?