Why Take Rhodiola Rosea?

We’re about to dive deep into why Rhodiola Rosea is such an amazing option as a nootropic and adaptogen. Its history is deep, and the benefits many. Let’s dive in. 

Rhodiola Rosea, also known as Golden root or Arctic root is a plant that grows in the frigid parts of Europe and Asia. When the plant flowers it emits big yellow flowers, and when its broken open or nicked has a familiar scent like roses. Rhodiola has been used for hundreds of years, traditionally for anti-fatigue. Before steroids and other harsh drugs, Russia was doing secretive tests with Rhodiola for its Olympic athletes and cosmonauts. Russia’s testing didn’t quite meet today’s rigorous standards, but over the years the Journal of the American Botanical Council has reported on 180 studies on Rhodiola Rosea completed since 1960, and the results are promising.

Benefits of Rhodiola Rosea

• Increases Energy
• Improves Cognition
• Promotes Well-Being
• Mood support
• Improve Stress Tolerance
• Improve Attention

Rhodiola as an Adaptogen

Rhodiola works as an adaptogen in the human body, like oil lubricates an engines metal on metal surfaces it helps things function smoothly. As an adaptogen Rhodiola helps the body achieve homeostasis, so if something in our body is worn out because of excess stress, the adaptogen is said to help balance everything out, helping the body achieve a state of power by balancing stress and hormones.

Have you ever drove a car with a tire out of balance? It does ‘okay’ at a low speed, but if you start going faster the tire begins to shake the whole car. Rhodiola is like the weight added to the wheel to help balance things out and get rid of the shake at high speeds.

If you have a habit of pushing the outer limits of your capacity, or are doing something stressful that could cause you to feel exhaustion, Rhodiola could be right for you.

Rhodiola Rosea as a Nootropic

If you’re not familiar with the term Nootropic, it’s a word to describe a compound meant to improve memory or cognitive function, like a smart pill. When we talk about Nootropics, it’s important to recognize that our cognitive function is in direct relation to how our physical bodies health is. If we are sleep deprived and suffering from low blood sugar, we are going to forget people’s names and struggle with anything that demands concentration. So, before anyone starts spending a significant amount of money searching for the magic ingredient that will make them as sharp as a knife blade, we should always seek to create health in our bodies first. That’s a topic for another article.

Rhodiola Rosea acts as a Nootropic by helping to reduce fatigue, thereby increasing energy available for the mind. As an example, in a 2008 double blind study [1] researches concluded that Rhodiola increases mental performance, particularly the ability to concentrate, they also found it produced an anti-fatigue effect by decreasing the cortisol response to patients with fatigue syndrome.

It only makes sense that if something helps reduce the effects of fatigue it will help improve concentration and mood.

Rhodiola Rosea as Energy Support

It’s easy to fall into the trap of caffeine and other stimulants to increase performance in mental or physical tasks, and it’s exciting to know that while caffeine is effective, there are other powerful alternatives. In a 4 week double blind placebo controlled study [2], researchers took a group of healthy young folks and put them to the test physically. They were looking specifically at muscle strength, speed, reaction time and attention. What they found is astounding, by taking Rhodiola Rosea, users can in fact improve endurance exercise capacity.

Rhodiola improves mental fatigue and physical fitness, as shown in another study done with college students. [3] Although this is probably not necessary to address at this point, a double blind placebo controlled study [4] was done with 56 collage age physicians working night shifts. The test was focused on the level of fatigue they experienced based on things like short term memory, calculation, concentration and cognitive cerebral functions. The researchers found that Rhodiola Rosea can reduce fatigue under stressful conditions, and it caused zero side effects.

Rhodiola and Mood Support

Like we covered earlier, our mood is tied to our physical energy and health, so researchers have a hard time telling which comes first, kind of a chicken or the egg dilemma.

Depression is a reality of modern-day life in the 21^st century. Although this isn’t medical advice, it’s pretty obvious by now that depression can come as a result of poor diet, toxins, unhealthy gut microbiome, lack of health, and other disease, and depression improves when overall health is addressed.

With that being said we can allow ourselves to get excited when we see research like this coming out. In a double blind placebo controlled study [5] researches tested Rhodiola Rosea for its effectiveness to treat mild to moderate depression. What they found was those treated with Rhodiola over the 6-week period experienced an average of a 50% reduction in symptoms and a 30-35% improvement on the HAM-D rating scale (indicates the severity of depression).

How to Take Rhodiola Rosea

In the previous study to treat depression, researchers found success with dosages between 340mg – 680mg per day.

Rhodiola Rosea is usually sold as a powder typically in capsule or pill form. Rhodiola can also be used as a tea.

The main chemicals thought to be responsible for the effects are Rosavin and Salidroside. So, finding Rhodiola with at least 3% Rosavin 1% Salidroside is advisable.

Cautions for taking Rhodiola

Negative side effects are rare and mild. It’s important to note, that in all the studies above there were zero serious side effects. Side effects typically include headache, stomach upset, dizziness and trouble sleeping.

Interactions with Rhodiola Rosea

When reading about interactions its funny to notice that due to the admissions of side effects for interactions with drugs, we see how powerful Rhodiola is.

The list of possible side effects listed on WebRX include:

Medications for Diabetes.

Rhodiola can lower blood sugar levels (reducing insulin response) and can lower blood sugar to dangerous levels if you rely on diabetes medication.

Medications for High Blood pressure

Rhodiola might lower blood pressure. Monitor if taking blood sugar medication.

Medications for decrease of the Immune System

Rhodiola can increase the immune system. Some medications are given post-transplant to lower the immune system, Rhodiola can render those drugs ineffective.

Read the entire list of drug interactions here.

Rhodiola Rosea and FlowBlend

Rhodiola Rosea is available through FlowBlend in the form of a pouch that fits between your lip and gum. The purpose of this is that you absorb the ingredients sublingually and buccally which is one of the fastest delivery methods.

FlowBlend uses 3% Rosavin 1% Salidroside Rhodiola in natural Root powder form combined with other powerful ingredients meant to support Mood, Cognitive function, Attention, Energy and Strength. If you are interested in taking Rhodiola, be sure to check out the Blends that Formula One offers.