An article about the worlds leading expert in the field of adaptogens and his
discovery of how they help the body cope with stress.
As an Elagen customer, you are one of a select few who have actually heard the term 'Adaptogen.' The phrase was coined by the "Father of Adaptogens," Dr. Israel I Brekhman, a physiological pharmacologist who worked at the Far East Science Centre of the former Soviet Union back in the 1950's. He devoted himself to unlocking the secrets of nature for the improvement of human health and well-being.
But international politics led USSR officialdom to keep the Brekhman breakthrough a secret from the rest of the World. Only a chosen few including the Russian military space program, athletes and politicians were allowed to use these adaptogens. A few particularly astute medical scientists knew of Brekhman's work but otherwise hardly anyone knew of their existence.While several plants are classified as Adaptogens, the four most potent are: Eleutherococcus senticosus, Rhodiola, Rhaponticum and Schizandra.
When Brekhman first embarked on his research he concentrated on what is now called a "first generation" adaptogen, Panax Ginseng. This worked but there were drawbacks - over stimulation being the one that concerned him most.
This led him to look for other adaptogenic plants and Brekhman was quickly established
as the world's leading expert in his field. While Rhodiola, Rhaponticum and
Schizandra all offer excellent health -giving properties, it was Eleutherococcus,
Elagen, that Brekhman labelled the "King of Adaptogens." This is why Eleutherococcus is the one we recommend to you above all the others.
The use of Eleutherococcus, ES, Elagen in helping the body adapt to stress was put under the microscope by Brekhman and his colleagues in the late 1960's. Stress comes in many forms and seems ever present in day to day life. A little stress is a positive influence and can enhance our lives as our hormones react to daily challenges. Too much stress can, however, be damaging and result in any one of a number of symptoms including: sleep disorders, depression, irritability, lack of energy and anxiety. To understand how Eleutherococcus can work to help you cope with stress, we must first understand the stress response.
Stress is the non specific reaction of the body to any external demand. When the body is under stress, the brain sets off a complex chain of hormonal reactions which result in the initial alarm phase. Your body releases its energy reserves, blood vessels in the muscles and heart are dilated to improve blood flow and blood pressure rises, as does the heart rate. Research shows that ES seems to facilitate the rapid mobilisation of energy resources in the initial "fight or flight" response. At the height of the initial alarm phase, ES has an opposite effect, lowering blood sugar levels.
This implies that ES can buffer the body against the metabolically most expensive stage of the alarm phase. As well as helping to counteract the effects of the actual stress reaction, ES appears capable of counteracting the symptoms of stress These can include low energy levels, reduced memory and con centration and, perhaps most importantly, a compromised immune system.
T-lymphocyte cells are your body's immune cells. They fight off invading pathogens and work to prevent illness.
Research on ES has demonstrated its ability to build the number of T - lymphocytes and regulate their activity, helping you to fend off illness more effectively. This building and regulating action also helps to prevent the immune system becoming compromised under stressful situations.
Effect of Eleutherococcus on Alarm-Phase of Stress. I.I. Brekhman & O.I.Kirrilov. Institute of Biologically Active substances, Siberian Department of Academy of Sciences of the USSR.
Avoiding the winter 'flu has become something of a competitive sport for us staff at Eladon Ltd. It just does not do to answer the phone full of coughs and colds and thus we all take our own medicine and dose ourselves regularly with Elagen.
It would perhaps have been prudent for us to carry out our own "staff sickness survey" to gauge improvements in office health at our base in North Wales. I know that in the four years that I have been working here at Eladon I have rarely succumbed to illness - my colleagues are in equally robust health.
Perhaps more reliable though than our take our word for it anecdotes is data from the abundant research papers available. For instance in the 1970Õs researchers in Russia embarked on a seven year study of resident truck drivers to see whether regular use of ES had any effect on their sickness levels. This lengthy study eventually revealed a 90% - Yes 90% - reduction in influenza type illnesses.
Stressed drivers were the focus of several such Soviet studies - was this perhaps the country where road rage was actually born? 1,250 drivers at a Russian automobile plant were given twice yearly courses of Eleuthero. Their jobs were described as repetitive and stressful carried out within a difficult industrial environment; a perfect breeding ground for viruses. After one year the percentage of sick workers was reduced by 30%. Total disease incidence in the control group remained unchanged.
Evidence reaped from these studies shows that Eleutheroccus increases the number
of active immune fighter cells and in particular the number and activity
of T-helper cells. These are vital in the defence against viral infections,
such as colds and flu; an increase in their numbers would help to explain
how Eleutherococcus can help ward off viral infections and reduce the severity
of such illnesses.
These are vital in the defence against viral infections, such as colds and flu; an increase in their numbers would help to explain how Eleutherococcus can help ward off viral infections and reduce the severity of such illnesses.
As Elagen helps to bring your immune system and its T cells under control, you can also give your immune system an extra boost with the addition of our high potency Standardised Olive Leaf and Echinacea Purpurea Pressed Juice Extracts Here at Eladon we regularly review herbal research. Among them, one plant in particular stood out.
Our 20% Oleuropein extract is, we believe, one of the finest available on the market. Plants such as the Olive Tree have an amazing ability to fight and destroy invading pathogens. They use this mechanism to help stimulate and support the human immune system. This, of course, has implications for many health conditions from colds and flu to sinus infections and long standing viral problems. Oleuropein was found to be one ingredient in a compound produced by the Olive Tree which makes it particularly resistant to insect and bacterial attack.
The
active ingredient in Olive Leaf is elenolic acid and studies have shown this
acid to possess great benefits in counteracting the effects of a number of
viruses including the common cold and the herpes simplex virus. Many people
supplement
daily with Olive Leaf but an example of a more therapeutic dose, i.e. for the
common cold, flu, or sinus infections would be two 400mg tablets every day
. For more acute infections such as sore throat, swollen glands, fever etc,
the
dose may be increased to three 400mg tablets per day at mealtimes.
Thousands of people all over the world use Echinacea regularly to boost their immune systems at times of illness or increased exposure to infections and viruses. There are many Echinacea products available and so we investigated to find out which would offer our customers the optimum protection. Eladon's Echinacea Purpurea Pressed Juice Extract is a 45:1 extract, i.e. it takes 45kg of whole plant to obtain 1kg of this highly effective extract. Each capsule delivers 280mg of this extract consistent with recommended research based dosage levels.giving a potent, highly effective, and well researched Echinacea supplement.
There are several recognised species of Echinacea:- Purpurea, Angustifolia, and
Pallida are the most popular. The active components of Echinacea are understood
to be the caffeic acid derivatives, Echinacoside, Cichoric Acid and Polyssaccharides.
Manufacturers recognise that the above components are vital for an Echinacea
extract to be biologically active. It still remains unclear in what ratios
these components should be available.
However, Echinacea Purpurea effects in-vitro cytokine production. Cytokines are important chemical substances that have many different roles in immunity.One important one being of turning on the specific immune system, by activating T-cells. This is very complex to explain but it is known that cytokines are decisive in the effectiveness of the immune defence during the acute phase (the initial stage of infection). It is in this area that research on Eladon's Echinacea Purpurea Pressed Juice Extract has concentrated. It has been developed using a specialised extraction process resulting in a powerful extract for optimim benefits.
Eladon Ltd.
PO Box 111
Bangor
LL57 1ZB
T: 0845 345 1636
F: 01248 431056
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