Licorice Effects on Stress
What Is Stress?
Stress has become an integral part of today’s life. There are different reasons for stress. Having stress for a long time leads to serious health problems.
In different ways we can manage our stress. In this article we look into licorice effects on stress.
What Is Stress?
A physical or emotional tension is called stress. It can make you angry, frustrated or nervous. There are 2 kinds of stress:
- acute stress: it is a short-term stress and it does not take a long time. It is our subconscious reaction to a dangerous or exciting situation.
- chronic stress: it is long-term stress which leads to health problems in most cases.
Our body may react to chronic stress like:
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Depression and anxiety
- High blood pressure
- Skin problems
- Heart diseases
- Insomnia
- Forgetfulness
How to Manage Our Stress
- Make time for relaxation and fun
- Socialize with others
- Exercise
- Have a healthy diet
- Drink herbal teas
- Manage your time
Licorice Effects on Stress
Some herbs and herbal teas can help us manage our stress and relax. Licorice is among these herbs. This plant can increase our body resistance and recovery from stress related reactions.
It is known that licorice reduces stress. It relieves adrenal glands by stimulating them which promotes the healthy level of cortisol in our body. Cortisol is the hormone stimulated by adrenal glands to fight against stress. Furthermore, cortisol keeps our energy which leads to better reactions to stress. Using licorice help us control anxiety. On the other hand, this herb relieves gastrointestinal disorders which are common in people with anxiety.
Licorice inhibits the enzyme 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and influences cortisol production.
Chronic stress makes our glands to produce adrenaline and cortisol constantly and, in this way, make the glands fatigued. Licorice can balance the activity of glands.
One research on mice proved that glycyrrhizin, the active component in licorice, is anti-stress. This experiment showed that glycyrrhizin reverses the behavioral and biochemical changes in Chronic Immobilization Stressed mice.
In Chinese traditional medicine is recommended to add licorice to your tea to avoid stress.
Other compounds in licorice likes flavonoids, isoflavonoids, phenolic acid regulate the cortisol and stress response.
Some specialist say that licorice is helpful for people with hormonal stress and people with inadequate stress response.
Written and Edited by: Meysam Shokripour
References : iranlicorice.com
