Plus, the time-frame for relief may be too long with some of them. But there is another clinically tested, but unexpected herbal ingredient for anxiety: echinacea.
Now you may be saying to yourself,“ Come on, echinacea? I thought it was for my immune system. How can echinacea calm my fears and reduce my anxiety?” I was skeptical myself, at first. Not anymore.
A SECRET IN ECHINACEA
The echinacea extract I recommend to relieve anxiety, stress, and feelings of being overwhelmed is not the same one you’ d use when you have a cold or the flu. It’ s a different, specialized root extract of Echinacea angustifolia, especially studied for anxiety relief.
This specialized root extract of Echinacea angustifolia contains echinacoside and features a unique alkamides profile, compounds that have been shown in studies to have calming, relaxing effects in the brain, similar to Valium or Librium, but without the sedation and side effects. You can’ t use just any form of echinacea and expect the same results.
So, how is it that Echinacea angustifolia can be used for both colds and flus and generalized anxiety disorder? While they are the same species, the phytochemical composition of the plant is entirely different.
Let me give you an example. You and I are the same species, Homo sapien, yet we are entirely different. We don’ t look alike, we don’ t function alike, and we have different fingerprints, different DNA, and different genes. Much of these differences are driven by the environment. Humans adapt to any given environment.
Plant species are exactly the same. Any given plant grown in an entirely different environment takes on a different set of phytochemicals. The species is the same; the chemical composition is different. These changes are brought about by the composition of the soil, what’ s in the air, the amount of moisture, too much or too little, or whether the plant is grown in the sun or if it is grown in the shade. The chemical composition can also be influenced by the day and even the hour of harvesting, and the extraction process used.
Researchers at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest studied different species of echinacea. One type of Echinacea angustifolia had a different set of fingerprints, DNA, and chemical composition than other Echinacea angustifolia plants that are studied for the immune system.
While analyzing the plant, researchers found that it contained compounds( echinacoside and alkamides) that could influence brain chemistry, including the cannabinoid receptors. Endocannabinoid receptors influence the way the brain experiences anxiety and have become a focus of behavioral research in their own right.
After comparing all the echinacea species, only one— Echinacea angustifolia— provided the levels of anxiety-reducing compounds needed to produce dramatic results.
In a further study, seven types of
18 HimPower August 2018