Adaptogens in America Website provides educational information on herbal adaptogens and provides selected herbal adaptogen products.

Recommended book:

ADAPTOGENS: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief

By Steven Maimes and David Winston, RH (AHG)

Healing Arts Press (Inner Traditions): $18.95 quality paperback, 324 pages, illustrated. ISBN: 1-59477-158-8, Published April 2007.

The definitive guide to adaptogenic herbs, formerly known as “rejuvenating herbs,” that counter the effects of age and stress on the body

• Reveals how adaptogens increase the body’s resistance to adverse influences

• Provides a history of the use of these herbal remedies and the actions, properties, preparation, and dosage for each herb

We all deal with stress every day, and every day our bodies strive to adapt and stay balanced and healthy. In Adaptogens, authors David Winston and Steven Maimes provide a comprehensive look into adaptogens, non-toxic herbs such as ginseng, eleuthero, and licorice, that produce a defensive response to stress in our bodies. Formerly known as rejuvenating herbs or tonics, adaptogens help the body to “adapt” to the many influences it encounters. They increase stamina and counter the normal effects of aging and thus are becoming important tools in sports medicine and in the prevention and treatment of chronic fatigue and other stress-related disorders.

Winston and Maimes present the historical uses of these herbal remedies in India, Russia, China, and the Americas and explain how they work and why they are so effective at combating stress-induced illness. Monographs for each adaptogen also present the latest scientific research and include the origin, traditional use, actions, properties, preparation, and dosage for each herb.

About the Authors of Adaptogens

David Winston, RH (AHG), is an herbalist and ethnobotanist who has practiced Cherokee, Chinese, and Western herbal medicine since 1969. He is the president of Herbalist and Alchemist, Inc., author of Saw Palmetto for Men & Women, and coauthor of Herbal Therapy and Supplements. He lives in Washington, New Jersey.

Steven Maimes is a researcher, freelance writer, philosopher, and principal of SALAM Research in Rochester, New Hampshire. Steven is also the former owner of an herbal products business in the San Francisco Bay Area. Website

Praise for Adaptogens

"Adaptogenic herbs can be most useful in the quest for health in our stressful society. David Winston and Steven Maimes explain and champion the use and benefits of these important herbs."
James A. Duke, author of The Green Pharmacy

“Essential reading for all involved with adaptogens, whether practitioners or consumers. This is the first comprehensive guide to adaptogens based on good herbalism, good science, and NO hype! A truly excellent book.”
David Hoffmann, author of Medical Herbalism and The Holistic Herbal

“With Adaptogens, David Winston and Steven Maimes have finally made this important healing concept accessible to a wider audience. We need adaptogens—gentle remedies that, over time, have the powerful effect of restoring and protecting our health on many levels. David Winston’s vast clinical and practical knowledge of herbs adds tremendously to the value of the book.”
Christopher Hobbs, author of Handmade Herbal Medicines and Medicinal Mushrooms

“Brilliant! Fully researched, full of information not readily available, as well as being practical and easy to digest. The authors have managed to blend the traditional and recent scientific information into a fully comprehensive and informative text. This will become a classic, a definitive work on this most important group of medicinal plants.”
Rosemary Gladstar, founder of United Plant Savers and author of Herbal Healing for Women

“Adaptogens are destined to play an increasingly important role in the future of health care. This book provides an excellent introduction to and comprehensive overview of their traditional uses and of the science supporting their safety and therapeutic benefits.”
Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council

“The great American herbalist David Winston and researcher Steven Maimes have written an excellent analysis on what is arguably the most important class of herbs for those of us living in a stressed world. The book is clearly written and free of jargon, but will meet the needs both of professional herbalists and those who want to understand this group of herbs more deeply. Adaptogens are herbs that help us work better, which balance our neuroendocrine system as well as our immune system, which make our organs function normally and which increase stamina. Herbs like ginseng, schisandra, eleuthero, ashwaganda, holy basil and lycium (goji) berries are described in useful monographs. Interestingly, the book differentiates adaptogens from similar or overlapping classes of herbs like Chinese qi tonics, Ayurvedic rasayanas, amphoterics which normalize the functions of specific organs, and alteratives which enhance generalized elimination. I highly recommend this book to people at all levels of interest in herbal medicine.”       - Review by Karen Vaughan, Herbalist

The authors have composed a thorough, well-researched, and well presented treatise discussing the class of herbs known as "adaptogens" -- herbs that help the body adapt and respond to the many stresses and influences encountered daily. These herbs increase stamina and have angi-aging properties, and are thus important tools in addressing not only sports medicine and geriatric conditions, but chronic fatigue and other illnesses of our times. Historical usage in Russia, India, China, and Europe are presented, along with monographs for each that offer a full picture of the herb, including origin, traditional use, actions, properties, preparation, dosage (of tincture as well as tea preparation ), and current scientific research. In addition, complementary herbs for adaptogens, including nervines and nootropics, are covered, and further chapters cover adaptogens in clinical practice (e.g., case studies), in herbal combination, as food, and for animals. - Redwing Book Co.

Book excerpt

Table of contents

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Most herbal adaptogens that have been identified are used in either Ayurveda or Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Adaptogens from these traditions and the Western tradition include:

Ayurveda:  Amla, Ashwagandha, Guduchi, Holy Basil [Tulsi], Licorice, Shatavari, Shilajit

Traditional Chinese Medicine:  Asian Ginseng, Astragalus, Codonopsis, Cordyceps, Eleuthero, He Shou Wu, Jiaogulan, Licorice, Lycium, Prince Seng, Reishi, Schisandra

Western:  American Ginseng, Rhaponticum, Rhodiola

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To order the book, see Purchase Adaptogens.

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Selected adaptogen products are available, see Purchase Adaptogens.

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