A D A P A P A W H A T ? : A D A P T O G E N S , S U P E R F O O D S A N D M I T I G A T I N G S T R E S S

B A L A N C E D W O R K S H O P F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 9

K A J A L K H A N N A , M D , J D , S T A N F O R D U N I V E R S I T Y

F U N C T I O N A L F O O D

Gut-brain Access

Nutritional Psychiatry

A D A P T O G E N S

• Metabolic regulators which increase the ability of an organism to adapt to environmental factors

• Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda

• Common: Ashwagandha, Cordyceps, Reishi, Maca

• Turmeric, Licorice, Goji Berries

M E C H A N I S M O F A C T I O N

Figure adapted from: Panossian, 2017

A S H W A G A N D H A

• A N T I - O X I D A N T , A D A P T O G E N I C , A N X I O L Y T I C , A N T I - B A C T E R I A L

A S H W A G A N D H A

• Main active component: Withanolides

• Mean perceived stress scale, mean food cravings, mean serum cortisol level (Choudhary, 2017)

• Reduction in Stress Assessment Scales, Serum Cortisol levels (Chandrasekhar, 2012)

• Increased muscle strength, Decreased Body Fat Percentage (Wankhede, 2015)

• Restorative Sleep Trial (Deshpande, 2018)

C O R D Y C E P S

A C T I V I T Y B O O S T , E N E R G I Z I N G

C O R D Y C E P S

• First gained attention in 1993 when female Chinese athletes broke world records

• Main active ingredient: Cordycepin

• Grows as parasitic fungus on caterpillars

• Improved tolerance to high intensity exercise (Hirsch, 2016)

R E I S H I

A N T I - C A N C E R

R E I S H I

• Main active ingredient: Triterpenoids

• Could be administered as adjunct to conventional treatment given its potential of enhancing tumor reins and stimulating host immunity (Cochrane, 2016)

• Does not improve cardiovascular risk factors (though single study of improved blood glucose) (Cochrane, 2015)

M A C A

E N E R G I Z I N G

M A C A

• Maca, traditional food from Andes, grows above 3500m

• Metabolites: Macamides, macaenes, glucosinolates, sterols

• Macamides resulted in increased exercise capacity for prolonged swimming mice (Yang, 2016)

T U R M E R I C

A N T I - O X I D A N T , A N T I - I N F L A M M A T O R Y

T U R M E R I C

• Active ingredient: Curcumin

• Lowers triglycerides, salivary amylase (DiSilvestro, 2012)

• Improved cognition and mood (Cox, 2015)

• Host of other studies: osteoarthritis, ulcerative colitis, skin health, master athletes, sedentary participants

S U P E R F O O D S

• Indole containing foods: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage and Kale found to increase healthspan (Sonowal, 2017)

• Bifidobacterium Bifidum and Lactobacillus helveticus found to promote mental health in humans (Messaoudi, 2011)

• Critical role in functioning gut microbiome in mood (Hoban, 2016)

R E F E R E N C E S

Zoldan, R. J.(2018, June 6). What Are Adaptogens? New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/style/what-are-adaptogens.html

McClintock, A. (2019, January 1). Adaptogens look to be the new hot health food in 2019. Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/article-adaptogens-look-to-be-the-hot-health-food-in-2019/.

Panossian, A. (2017). Understanding adaptogenic activity: specificity of the pharmacological action of adaptogens and other phytochemicals. Ann N Y Acad Science, 1401, 49-64. doi: 10.1111/nyas.13399

Choudhary, D. et al. (2017). Body Weight Management in Adults Under Chronic Stress Through Treatment With Ashwagandha Root Extract: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial. J Evid Based Complementary Altern Med, 22, 96-106.

Chandrasekhar, K. et al. (2012) A prospective, randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study of safety and efficacy of a high-concentration full-spectrum extract of ashwagandha root in reducing stress and anxiety in adults. Indian J. Psychol Med.34(3):255-62. doi: 10.4103/0253-7176.106022.

Wankhede, S. et al. (2015) Examining the effect of Withania somnifera supplementation on muscle strength and recovery: a randomized controlled trial. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 12: 43. doi: 10.1186/s12970-015-0104-9.

Deshpande, A. et al. (2018) Study protocol and rationale for a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the effects of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract on nonrestorative sleep. Medicine (Baltimore) 97:e11299. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000011299.

Hirsch, K et al. (2016) Cordyceps militaris improves tolerance to high intensity exercise after acute and chronic supplementation. J Diet Suppl: 14. 1 13. doi: 10.1080/19390211.2016.1203386

Jin X, Ruiz Beguerie J, Sze DMY, Chan GCF. Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi mushroom) for cancer treatment. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2016, Issue 4. Art. No.: CD007731. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007731.pub3.

Klupp NL, Chang D, Hawke F, Kiat H, Cao H, Grant SJ, Bensoussan A. Ganoderma lucidum mushroom for the treatment of cardiovascular risk factors. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD007259. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007259.pub2.

Yang, Q. et al. (2016). Effects of macamides on endurance capacity and anti-fatigue property in prolonged swimming mice. Pharm Biol. 54:827-34. doi: 10.3109/13880209.2015.1087036. Epub 2015 Oct 9.

DiSilvesreo, RA (2012). Diverse effects of a low dose supplement of lipidated curcumin in healthy middle aged people. Nutr J. 11:79. doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-11-79.

Cox, KH et al. (2015) Investigation of the effects of solid lipid curcumin on cognition and mood in a healthy older population. J Psychopharmacol 29:642-51. doi: 10.1177/0269881114552744.

Sonowal, R et al. (2017) Indoles from commensal bacteria extend healthspan. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 114:E7506-E7515. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1706464114

Hoban, AE et al. (2016) Behavioural and neurochemical consequences of chronic gut microbiota depletion during adulthood in the rat. Neuroscience 17:463-477. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.10.003.

REFERENCES

I M A G E A T T R I B U T I O N S

• Images listed in order of use. All images is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License unless otherwise specified. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

• "Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal" (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Dinesh Valke

• "Scarlet Caterpillarclub - Fungi" (CC BY 2.0) by dave-pemcoastphotos.com

• "wet reishi" (CC BY 2.0) by Wendell Smith

• “Maca poeder spoon” (Creative Commons CCO)

• “Turmeric image” (Creative Commons CCO)