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July 20, 2020
WeAreFeel Team
WeAreFeel Team
Rhodiola rosea, commonly known as rhodiola, is a flowering plant native to the Northern Hemisphere that is commonly used as ground cover. Rhodiola has been used as a healing tool for hundreds of years, and recently, Western science has begun recognising the health benefits of this unique plant. The primary beneficial component of rhodiola is called salidroside, and we use a rhodiola extract with 1% salidroside.
Unlike many natural compounds, salidroside is water-soluble, which means that it has high bioavailability and absorbs into your body quickly.
The only known source of salidroside is the rhodiola flower, and the active compounds in rhodiola are usually prepared in oral supplement form.
Since rhodiola is not recognised as an essential nutrient, there is no official nutrient reference value (NRV) for this flower extract. Clinical studies, however, commonly use rhodiola doses between 200mg and 600mg per day.
The only way to consume the beneficial components of rhodiola is by ingesting rhodiola extract. Regardless of the type of diet you choose, it is not possible to ingest rhodiola extract in the food you eat.
For centuries, rhodiola has been used in both Western and Eastern medicine as a treatment for fatigue, depression, stress, and other conditions. Recent research indicates that rhodiola may have antioxidant properties, which would help explain why traditional medicine practitioners have found this substance so useful. In addition to appearing to offer general antioxidant benefits, rhodiola also appears to provide a few specific benefits that could be especially useful for active people who deal with continuous stress.
Members of the professional class who experience significant job-related stress may stand to gain the most from the beneficial components of rhodiola extract. If you feel fatigued, stressed-out, or depressed, you may find rhodiola to be incredibly beneficial. This natural plant extract appears to be especially useful for people with eating disorders, but antioxidants are beneficial regardless of your health status or demographic group.
Since rhodiola extract is water-soluble and has high bioavailability, you may start experiencing the benefits of this substance immediately. In most cases, however, it takes around 1-2 weeks for the beneficial effects of rhodiola extract to set in.
As a water-soluble substance, the salidroside in rhodiola extract should fully absorb through your digestive tract within 24 hours.
Water-soluble substances like the active compounds in rhodiola extract generally only stay in your body for 2-3 days.
Research into salidroside indicates that this active component of rhodiola extract may exert potent antioxidant activity. These antioxidant benefits appear to be most concentrated in the cardiovascular and nervous systems.
There are no known cases of rhodiola overdose requiring medical intervention. If you take too much of this substance, you may experience nausea, vomiting, or dizziness.
Over time, taking large doses of salidroside could cause this substance to accumulate in your liver. Taken in normal doses, however, rhodiola extract dissolves and then flushes out of your body within 2-3 days.
Since rhodiola is a plant-based substance, it does not conflict with gluten-free, vegan, or any other dietary restrictions.
Over the last two decades, researchers have succeeded in synthesising salidroside. Most of the research into synthetic salidroside has centered around the potential applications of this substance for treating asthma.
The limited number of studies conducted into synthetic salidroside do not provide any data on the bioavailability of this substance in comparison to natural salidroside. Since both substances are water-soluble, however, it’s likely that natural and synthetic salidroside have similar bioavailability.
Not enough research has been conducted into synthetic salidroside to determine its safety and effectiveness compared to natural salidroside. It’s often the case, however, that synthetic forms of natural substances cause unexpected side effects.
Rhodiola is consumed orally in the form of an extract.
In 2020, a review of the available evidence concluded that rhodiola may exert powerful anti-inflammatory benefits. The authors report that these anti-inflammatory benefits may help with cardiovascular disease, neurological conditions, arthritis, metabolic disease, and other conditions. Also in 2020, a Chinese study determined that rhodiola may have neuroprotective benefits that defend the brain against common types of neurotoxicity.
