The mechanism of their work is still unknown and their nutritional profile continues to be uncovered by research. For an herb to be considered an adaptogen, it must be nontoxic, nonspecific, and have a normalizing effect on physiology. Adaptogens have been reported to:*

They support the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) aka the body’s stress system responsible for regulating stress hormones like cortisol, other hormones, and ultimately, the nervous system. This encourages healthy weight maintenance and lifts depression.

Most doctors visits nowadays are linked to stress. Chronically high cortisol levels are being associated with everything from depression and fatigue to impaired cognitive function. Doctors do not have cures for these afflictions. Doctors have medications and all medications have side effects. In order to avoid them, we better shift the focus away from the destructive pharmaceutical model to a preventative health building model and that is impossible without adaptogens.

Adaptogens provide natural means of treating the cause of these symptoms because unlike stimulants, they don’t squeeze your body for more energy that you don’t have. Instead, they gently nourish your physical, mental and emotional strength without the harsh side effects of stimulants.

According to Russian folklore, people live longer in those regions where birch trees and bark are traditionally used in households. Siberian shamans believed chaga inhabits only those trees that stand on the energetic power spots of the forest, helping the tree to be more resilient to infections. Even in the absence of microscopes and chemical analysis, shamans empirically used chaga as nature’s greatest storehouse of medicine with which they nourished the two most important substances of the body – Spirit and Essence. Ever since then,

Russian folk medicine has beed relying on chaga for:

Chaga loves the cold (-40 F), hence its extraordinary survival capacities. Many of chaga’s therapeutic qualities develop only as a result of the on-going struggle with the harsh environment chaga chooses to live in. It takes three to five years of surviving the extreme conditions for chaga to develop enough strength in order to affect the human immune system, the strength that is then transferred energetically through drinking the tea. For this reason, chaga can not be harvested before it is at least five years old, but the older is the better. Chaga grown in a lab is usually harvested when it’s several weeks old. It does not have a chance to cultivate sufficient immunity and accumulate the full spectrum of nutrients since it has not been involved in a struggle for survival.

Often, it is the cultivated or lab grown chaga that is used to make an extract powder. However, even when the extract powder is made from wild chaga, heat, alcohol, and chemical processing (sodium hydroxide) are used in the process of extraction. These processing methods do not necessarily make an improvement upon raw chaga since they separate one group of constituents away from the medicinal matrix and these isolated constituents have different health benefit than the whole matrix. To stay as close to the raw unadulterated form of the mushroom, our chaga is coarse ground manually, without the use of heat producing machinery.

Cooking 100% raw, wild chaga guarantees a full spectrum of its medicinal components (enzymes and most heavy polysaccharides, including immune-balancing beta glucans) along with the life force of the plant, to be easily absorbed into the blood stream to start their healing action.

When cooking chaga, use fresh spring water as it is the best for making medicinal tea. If spring water is not available, use the best purified water you can find. Tap water is too polluted and should be avoided. We personally use a pressure cooker as it allows to get more nutrients out of the mushroom without boiling it for prolonged periods of time. Aside from higher nutritional value, a pressure cooker also results in a darker, deeper, more earthier and aromatic brew. (we’ve done our research and settled on a T-fal P45009 Clipso for personal use)

Please remember that in order to experience the health benefits of chaga, a few months of regular tea intake is recommended. Because chaga stimulates body’s own healing mechanism, it is an ideal food for everybody and should become part of our daily lives in order for us to develop a better relationship with our bodies.

Yet, to handle sustained psychological stress of our modern lives, we activate the same stress response mechanism that is only meant to handle acute physical emergencies. Cortisol and adrenaline have side effects, just like all medications. When we do not turn off the stress response system for months on end, the beginning stages of adrenal depletion set in; we feel exhausted but instead of taking time to rest, we labor under the pressure to deliver more, depleting our adrenals even further with caffeine, energy drinks and energy boosting pills. Prolonged stress response kills with cortisol/adrenaline poisoning causing high blood pressure, stomach ulcers, arteriosclerosis, strokes, adult-onset diabetes, suppression of the immune system, sterility, significant personality changes and eventually adrenal exhaustion when adrenals can no longer produce any cortisol or adrenaline. If we often refuse a cortisol shot at the doctor’s office because of its known side effects, why do we poison ourselves with cortisol on the daily basis through continuous stress?

The alternative to burning out adrenals is to include adaptogens into the daily diet. For example, rhodiola. It is called the “Golden Root” for a very good reason; it adapts to the particular needs of your body and instead of squeezing adrenals for stress hormones that they can no longer produce, it nourishes them. Rhodiola literally balances the adrenaline and cortisol levels in the body, raising or lowering them as needed using it’s own wisdom. That’s why this herb is particularly useful at the time of stress and for the prevention of stress-related conditions.

Hence, the plant’s popularity among athletes. It increases endurance, boosts athletic performance and allows to do vigorous exercises with less effort. It also aids in muscle recovery by increasing the level of enzymes and proteins in the body, effectively shortening the recovery time between workouts.

But wait! There is more! If you experience fatigue, mental fog, and have trouble concentrating, rhodiola will address it. It enhances cognitive abilities, including memory, associative thinking, calculation, concentration and capacity for mental work.

What else is rhodiola good for?


Most people who take rhodiola start noticing the difference within a few weeks to a month. Severity of side effects is usually mild to moderate, the most common being dizziness and dry mouth. Other side effects can include

Because Rhodiola has a general energizing effect, individuals with bipolar disorder should not be taking Rhodiola as its antidepressant effect may cause them to become manic. People with insomnia or overwhelming anxiety should not be taking Rhodiola as well. People that are generally very hyper, highly irritable, or anxious, as well as people with spleen, liver or digestive disorders, should not be taking rhodiola and look to wild Siberian red root or Chaga Mushroom instead.

Rhodiola is not compatible with stimulants so if you are addicted to coffee and caffeinated drinks, lower their consumption to a minimum before starting rhodiola.

The plant prefers cool, subalpine climate with moist rich soil or tundra. Locals called it bear root because they observed bears eating the root after hibernation for restoring vitality. Siberian hunters now have a tradition of drinking bear root before hunting since it allows them to stay strong and alert without food for many hours.

For clarity of distinction from regional red root (ceanothus americanus), I will refer to the plant as siberian red root or blood root (old Russian name for radices hedysarae theinae).

While blood root has amazing benefits for both sexes, it’s worth emphasizing it’s effects on gender specific issues. Unlike ginseng that mainly targets men’s health, blood root works equally well for both. Let’s start with women.

The Biggie for Women – blood root is effectively used for treating infertility and gynocological issues. Whether you are at a stage dealing with breast tenderness, PMS and menstrual cramps or a stage where uterine bleeding, rectal prolapse, uterine prolapse, or bladder infections has taken place – blood root will address these issues. It rejuvenates the reproductive system and restores the reproductive function. In Russia, Siberian red root is given to women going into labor since it supports the muscle tone. Furthermore, it is excellent at dealing with extreme emotions, nervous breakdowns, headaches, and neurasthenia. It really knows how to treat a girl, but doesn’t leave men behind either.

The Biggie for Men – blood root is natural, non hormonal stimulator of sexual drive. Unlike quick and short lived action of Viagara, blood root produces subtle but sustained results without side effects. Discrete and effective, stimulating effect of the plant constituents restore sexual function. Psst! In Russia, guys take it to prevent impotence. In Russian folk medicine blood root is used for treatment of prostatitis – the curse of men in general, but especially of men with sedentary life style (computers, video games, watching TV, etc). Lack of physical activity tends to cut off blood circulation to the pelvic area, causing stagnation in the bladder, kidneys and prostate. The results are ache and discomfort in the groin, urethritis, erectile disfunction, low sperm count and impotence. Blood root to the rescue! Active constituents of Siberian red root, such as vitamin P, strengthen the walls of the blood vessels and normalize blood circulation in the organs of pelvic cavity. Unique flavonoids relax the musculature of prostate, which restores its blood circulation and sperm count. Timely use of bear root prevents complications of prostatitis and stops it’s progression.

The benefits of blood root go far beyond the reproductive systems of men and women. Blood root rejuvenates the entire organism and it’s systems. According to Altai legend it is energetically warm and belongs to the spirit of water, meaning it regulates the balance of water in the body. A diuretic, it expels only stagnant water and in the process treats fluid retention, edema, puffiness, resolves swellings, improves electrolyte balance and muscle tone.

Bladder:
Siberian red root helps with all kinds of bladder problems. It normalizes urination by fully emptying the bladder thus decreasing frequency of urination, especially useful to middle-aged people with bladder issues. Treats bladder prolapse and is used for cystitis. Also used for the diseases of kidneys

Heart:
Siberian red root reinforces the walls of small blood vessels and increases permeability of capillaries thanks to vitamin P that acts as chelating agent, detoxifying body from heavy metals and neutralizing the free radicals. This, in turn, improves blood circulation, facilitating the work of heart muscle, making the heart muscle stronger and sturdier so it could circulate more blood and oxygen. Blood root is incredibly effective for treatment of anemia, improving hemoglobin and red blood cells count.

Brain:
Siberian red root affects brain activity by improving blood circulation to the brain. It improves psycho-emotional states and can be used as an antidepressant or to treat anxiety. Both men and women of certain age want to pay attention to this plant. 

Lungs:
Used for respiratory tract infections: bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma. Blood root is an expectorant; it clears lungs and bronchioles from phlegm and reduces the intensity of the cough. It treats lungs and bronchial passages, unproductive cough and nasal congestion.

Immune Sustem:
Blood root revitalizes the immune system, increases endurance, and assists in restoring the health of the body after illness. Immunostimulant, it decreases the risk of epidemics and restores the immune function.

Gastrointestinal system:
Tannins in the root deal with acute gastro-intestinal issues. It stops gastro-intestinal spasms, alleviates pain and stops diarrhea.

Other:

Siberian red root contains amino-acids, unique bioflavonoids that give the tea its red color, antioxidants, alkaloids, and polysaccharides. Do not worry if your urine takes on reddish color as blood root is a powerful dye.

Please remember that no herb is a magic wand. One plant can not undo damage that took many years to form. It is a supplement that contains many nutrients used best before the pathology had a chance to settle.

Contraindications: Do not take blood root

Directions:
1 heaping tablespoon of Siberian red root.
1 quart of water.

Bring blood root to boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. It’s ready to drink at this point, but if you want a stronger effect and to get more nutrients out of it, pour the hot liquid into a thermos including the root and let it rest for two hours right after cooking. Be aware that it will make the taste of the tea stronger.

Similarly, if you want to make a slightly lighter tea for a pleasant restorative brew word to fight off cold and flue infections, follow the same proportions but do not simmer the root. Simply put the root into a thermos, pour hot water on it, cover and let stand for 1-2 hours.

Drink 2 cups a day adding honey or milk to taste. Don’t exceed 2 cups a day. Drink the last cup at least 2 hours before going to sleep.