Ashwagandha is a powerful yet gentle adaptagen. Adaptagens help us to adapt to stress by balancing the communication between the hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenals. When stress is high and our body is pushing out stress hormones and making us even more anxious and nervous, adaptagens tell the body “It’s okay, we can handle this together without an overloading your body”. Some adaptagens are a bit stronger and can only be taken for a couple of weeks at a time because they tend to push the body a bit more than we would want long term. However, ashwagandha is so gentle it can be taken long term. Ashwagandha is also very beneficial for the thyroid and helps the body to convert the inactive form of thyroid hormone (T4) into the usable form (T3). It has what I call a musky taste which some people have a hard time with. However, I think this recipe makes it a bit more tasty. I especially like to use this for clients who have sleep issues such as getting to sleep, staying asleep or tossing and turning a lot during the night. Ashwagandha is also a nice vegetarian source of iron. If you are sensitive to nightshades, this may not be the right adaptagen for you.

Ingredients

1 tsp ashwagandha powder ½ C water ½ C coconut milk 1/8 tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp vanilla Pinch of nutmeg A squeeze of orange juice

Directions

Simmer the water and coconut milk in a saucepan and add the ashwagandha powder, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg. A squeeze of orange juice is nice as well. Take this shortly before bedtime to help balance your HPA axis during the night. I also recommend a cup in the morning to help your body deal with stress during the day.