“Mama said there’d be days like this”

“Mama said there’d be days like this, there’d be days like this, my mama said.”

Well, let’s face it, our moms are usually right (and so were the Shirelles).

But what happens when “days like this” turn into weeks, months and even years?

Is the stress in your life causing you to feel not like yourself, putting you in a constant funk and making it hard to be as productive as you’d like?

Not only does stress feel terrible, more and more studies show that stress wreaks havoc on our major organs and can cause us to age quicker.

Here’s a list of some illnesses that can be directly related to sustained stress:

• Heart Disease
• Headaches/Migraines
• Obesity
• Hair Loss
• Diabetes
• Acne
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Insomnia
• Asthma
• Sexual Dysfunction
• Compromised Immune System
• Cancer
• Eating Disorders
• Psoriasis

Because this topic is so big, and treatments are not a one size fits all, I’m going to dedicate a few articles to this topic.

So today I want to tell you about one treatment. If you are like me you want the natural approach. And this little gem of an herb called Kanna or Sceletium tortuosum is as natural as it gets.

You don’t have to encounter “days like this”, weeks, months or years with this secret herb known to the tribes of Southern Africa.

Kanna has the ability to reduce anxiety and improve your mood1.
African bushmen have been using the herb for thousands of years for meditation, mental clarity and anxiety.

Modern scientists have discovered that Kanna increases serotonin levels2 (figure 1). But the bushmen didn’t need science to prove what they already knew.

Fig. 1. Mesembrine activity on monoamine uptake. The graph illustrates that mesembrine selectively inhibits the uptake of serotonin (5-HT), with limited inhibition of noradrenalin-uptake and dopamine-uptake at much higher concentrations. (By kind permission of Professor Alan Harvey, Strathclyde Institute for Drug Research. The synthetic (−)-mesembrine used in this study was prepared by Dr Douglass F. Taber of the Chemistry Department, University of Delaware.).2

But what does all this mean?

You see, Kanna inhibits the uptake of serotonin and allows more serotonin to become available to the nerve endings. Serotonin is found in the digestive tract and in the brain and influences how you feel. It’s been nicknamed the feel-good hormone.

Maybe people who are stressed or depressed have low levels of serotonin.

Stress can cause your serotonin to drop because it taxes the adrenal glands. Women of all ages can naturally have low serotonin due to fluctuating hormones.

If you want to try some Kanna, and you can’t find it at your local vitamin shop, I noticed many sources available online.

The recommended dosage is between 50mg and 200mg per day. I would start out with the smallest dosage and give it a week or so to step up.

So, to really live life to the fullest, healthiest, be the most productive and happiest – reduce your stress, eat healthy, exercise, get a good night’s sleep every night and some Kanna might just keep “days like this” away.

For a younger more healthy you!

~Sandy

References
[1]Journal of Ethnopharmacology 137 (3): 1124–1129
Harvey, A. L.; Young, L. C.; Viljoen, A. M.; Gericke, N. P. (2011). “Pharmacological Actions of the South African Medicinal and Functional Food PlantSceletium tortuosum and its Principal Alkaloids”.
2 Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Volume 119, Issue 3, 28 October 2008, Pages 653-663 N. Gericke, A.M. Sceletium—A review update