Adaptogens help the body adapt to changing conditions. This helps the body regulate healthy body functions leading to improved health and disease-resistance.

Adaptogens are a class of herbs with the ability to help normalize the body and restore its natural abilities while enhancing many other healthy functions. The name 'adaptogen' was first used by Russian scientists in the late 1940's as they were researching various herbs reported to provide adaptogenic stress response and give people an advantage in stressful situations.

Schizandra Berry was one of the first identified adaptogens researched by Russian scientists, and is regarded as one of four "Well-established Adaptogens". The term Adaptogen was created by Russian Phytopharmacist Dr. Nicolai Lazarev in 1947 to describe a natural herbal compound that helps increase the body's resistance to stresses such as trauma, anxiety and bodily fatigue. Dr Lazarev’s guidelines for a herb to qualify as an Adaptogen are based on three qualifications:

1. Must be innocuous and cause minimal side effects in the physiological functions of an organism.
2. Must have a non-specific action of immune enhancement.
3. Must have a normalising action on various bodily functions, irrespective of the direction of the pathological state.

In addition to their outstanding stress-protective and immune boasting qualities, the Russian scientists found adaptogens increased energy and significantly improved mental alertness. Adaptogens were reported to also be helpful in promoting relaxation and sleep.

In countries like Russia, the Czech Republic and Poland adaptogens have been recognized for decades for helping humans 'adapt' to various health problems. In China, Schizandra Berry has been in continual use for thousands of years. Over the centuries, this ancient culture has observed the effectiveness of this adaptogenic herb and used it as one of their most important traditional medicines.

Schizandra Berry may not yet be as well known in the west as the most famous adaptogen, ginseng, but it is more respected in the East by many over ginseng because of Schizandra Berry's ability to balance the energy providing life to the body in a holistic way.

Today, there is an increasing interest in balancng tonics to help the body alleviate stress. Stress can be detrimental to overall health and wellbeing. Anti-stress herbs like schizandra work to tonify the body's hormonal system so the body can better respond to stress. Schizandra Berry, as a premier adaptogenic herb, works across many layers of our being, providing the body with balance, energy, and organ support to help the body respond to stressors optimally.

> Read this important scientific article: "Adaptogens: A Historical Overview and Perspective", Natural Pharmacy - July/August 2003

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.