The term “adaptogens” is floating around everywhere these days—from skincare products to health supplements and, most notably, in the many nonalcoholic beverages currently on shelves nationwide. 

Adaptogens are a group of botanicals, including herbs, bark, roots, and fungi, that relieve both mental and physical stress and support the balance and homeostasis of our body’s functions and systems.

Adaptogens first emerged as a class of scientifically-studied chemical substances in the former Soviet Union in the 1940s, led by the research of Soviet scientist Dr. Nikolai Vasiliyevich Lazarev. Other pharmacologists and scientists built on Lazarev’s research over the decades. 

To be classified as an adaptogen, a plant or compound must meet the following criteria:

• It must be non-toxic at normal doses

• It must have a general beneficial impact on the body as a whole

• It must help counteract the body’s response to emotional and environmental stress

A close cousin to adaptogens, nootropics more specifically influence brain functions including focus, mood, and anxiety. (See our article on these compounds coming in our Summer 2023 issue.) 

Theories as to how adaptogens actually work tend to focus on these substances’ impact on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in the brain, which is where our stress responses come from, as well as the compounds’ ability to act as antioxidants in individual cells or cellular functions. 

The following is a high-level look at some of the most common adaptogens and some of our favorite NA Beverages that include adaptogens.