Chinese medicine: Schizandra berry a potent adaptogenic herb

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Chines. MedicalConspiracies@googlegroe medicine: Schizandra berry a potent

adaptogenic herb

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Posted Jul 3, 2005 PT by Dani Veracity

 

http://www.newstarget.com/009229.html

 

Instead of starting off your day with a cup of coffee, try some schizandra berry

supplements to wake up your mind. And if you're too stressed at night to sleep,

don't stay up watching late night television; take some schizandra berry

supplements to calm you down. How can a single item have such apparently

contradictory effects? According to thousands of years of traditional Chinese

medicine, schizandra is an " adaptogenic " herb.

 

In 1958, Russian holistic doctor I.I. Brekhman and his colleague I.V. Dardymov

coined the term " adaptogenic " to refer to any herb that " usually has a

normalizing action irrespective of the direction of the pathological state. " In

other words, it doesn't matter whether you're too sleepy or too nervous; either

way, schizandra will redirect you from an extreme to an ideal, balanced state.

Schizandra may also provide additional medicinal benefits.

 

Around 2,000 years ago, Shen Nong first referred to schizandra as a valuable

adaptogenic tonic. Since then, it has remained one of the most popular

adaptogenic herbs in China, where it is taken to promote mental function,

strengthen the sex organs and beautify the skin, according to Off the Shelf

Natural Health by Mark Mayell.

 

In Herbal Medicine, Healing and Cancer, Donald R. Yance Jr. lists many of

schizandra's uses, which include increasing mental and physical exercise

capacities, as well as improving adaptability to darkness and other

environmental stresses. Yance points out that, unlike caffeine, schizandra

stimulates the central nervous system without creating an excitatory effect.

Schizandra provides a mental boost without the jitteriness caused by caffeine.

 

Recent studies suggest that schizandra may offer some additional health

benefits. According to Dr. Sheldon Saul Hendler's Vitamin and Mineral

Encyclopedia, some research studies demonstrate that substances extracted from

schizandra may help treat liver disorders. Other studies show that schizandra

extracts may have cortisone-like effects on the immune system. These benefits

definitely deserve more research interest, as schizandra may someday provide

safer alternatives for traditional pharmaceutical medications.

 

The Chinese refer to schizandra tonic as the " five-flavored seed " because it

tastes sour, bitter, sweet, acrid and salty. However, you don't have to taste

its five flavors in order to obtain the benefits of schizandra. Schizandra berry

supplements are becoming increasingly available at local stores worldwide and

they are already easily purchased on the internet. Viable-herbal.com offers

schizandra capsules for $6.62 a bottle, and be sure to browse through your local

health food stores and the internet yourself for possibly better deals.

 

The experts speak on schizandra:

 

In the Far East, everyone from Chinese emperors to family herbalists has long

recognized the remarkable powers of the herb schisandra to promote longevity and

increase stamina. Its strengthening effect (see Chapter 4) is combined with

system-balancing properties, making it ideal for such conditions as fatigue,

nervous exhaustion, and lack of energy. Schisandra is one of the most popular

adaptogenic herbs in China, where it is taken to beautify the skin, strengthen

the sex organs, and promote mental function. Its use has more recently spread to

Russia, Scandinavia, Western Europe, and the United States.

Off The Shelf Natural Health How To Use Herbs And Nutrients To Stay Well By Mark

Mayell, page 292(An adaptogenic herb) must be innocuous and cause minimal

disorders in the physiological functions of an organism, it must have a

nonspecific action, and it usually has a normalizing action irrespective of the

direction of the pathological state. Brekhman, I.I. & Dardymov, I.V. " New

substances of plant origin which increase nonspecific resistance, " Annual Review

of Pharmacology and Toxicology, as quoted in Edward C. Wallace's Adaptogenic

Herbs: Nature's Solution to Stress (The Chiropractic Research Organization)

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