James had grown up in California's Central Valley as a farmer's son. In those days, chemical farming was not questioned--it was just how things were done. He recounted to me how he used to watch with great interest as the bi-winged planes flew over the fields, trailing white clouds of pesticide that filled the spaces between the rows of corn and engulfed the plants in thick fog. The smell was strong, and times the wet spray would land on his skin and hair. He always associated fond memories with that smell.

However after 25 years of chemical farming, James Ryan was not well. Over a year before I met him, he began to have dizzy spells, nearly collapsing on two occasions. That's when he began to wonder about that familiar smell he had loved so much as a child. He began to wonder if the constant exposure to many toxic chemicals, plus the stress of running a big commercial farm for so many years, had devastated his immune system.

At the advice of a Chinese herbalist, James began to take a tea of seven herbs, including eleuthero, astragalus and reishi. Now, as we stood talking, he attributed a large measure of his current health to these herbs, which are often called "adaptogens" by herbalists. These herbs and other adaptogens have been proven in clinical and laboratory studies to help us adapt to the rapidly changing conditions in our modern, often synthetic environment.

The following story is the practical side of adaptogens--why they are needed today, what they are and how to use them, based on 22 years of experience as an herbalist, quotes from other practicing herbalists and summaries of scientific research performed on adaptogenic herbs from around the world.

Adapting to our Own Devices
Today, thanks to modern technology, we can change the natural environment virtually at will. Air-conditioning, indoor lighting, central heating, pesticides, food preservatives, cars, airplanes, polyester, and plastics are just a few of the countless amenities we use to adapt the environment to our needs. Yet however convenient or life-supporting these things may seem in the short-term, they are a two-edged sword, bringing undesirable side effects in the long-term. Some of the most obvious of these are already quickly becoming apparent: smog, the thinning ozone layer, the greenhouse effect, and the many heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals that are finding their way into our bloodstreams for the first time in the history of our bodies' delicate biochemistry. These by-products of "the good life" are now creating a major problem for the adaptation and survival of most species and biosystems here on planet Earth.

And to compound the problem, at the very moment when we need more than ever to adapt to a quickly changing environment, as a society we seem set on debilitating our bodies' natural ability to adapt by constantly forcing the environment to meet our needs (and whims) instead of vice versa. In Darwinian terms, this does not bode well for our species.

It is ironic that the more we insulate ourselves from environmental change, the more we isolate ourselve from that which gives us life.

Rene Dubos, the humanistic scientist and a special guiding light for me, said: "This state of adaptedness gives a false sense of security because it does not have a lasting value and does not prepare for the future."

Therefore, it seems that the best course for survival is to increase our adaptability to our environment, not the other way around. In other words, instead of leaning on air conditioning to adapt to hot weather, it may be best to strengthen ourselves and cultivate flexibility--both of mind and body, and this is where the adaptogens can be of great importance.

The Russian scientist, G.M. Barenboim said it well:

"For the first time in the history of human civilization the biological potentialities of the human body have failed to meet the requirements imposed on it by the epoch. One witnesses an unusual 'epidemic' of fatigue aggravated by the powerful action of man-made, external chemical and physical environmental factors. Like the drugs that saved the world from numerous bacterial and viral epidemics that cost millions of lives in the past, the adaptogens are needed to help man withstand the diverse stresses of today."

Herbal Adaptogens--Medicines of the Future
Fortunately for us, though, there is a class of herbs and other natural remedies available that can help the body adapt better to its environment, whether that environment be one of many harmful chemicals or simply one of rapid change. These herbs are called adaptogens.

The word adaptogen was coined by the Russian scientist N.V. Lazarev, in 1947. In Lazarev's view, a medicinal substance must fulfill three criteria in order to be classed as an adaptogen:

1. It must cause only minimal disorders in the body's physiological functions;

2. It must increase the body's resistance to adverse influences not by a specific action but by a wide range of physical, chemical, and biochemical factors;

3. It must have an overall normalizing effect, improving all kinds of conditions and aggravating none.

Lazarev conducted his original studies of adaptogens on a chemical substance, dibazole. However, his now renowned student, I.I. Brekhman, changed the focus of adaptogenic research from synthetic substances to natural substances. Brekhman first studied Panax ginseng, the classic Chinese herb for longevity. But in 1959 Brekhman discovered that Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus), which is more common and less expensive than Chinese ginseng, has even stronger adaptogenic qualities than Panax.