Rhodiola rosea is a herb found in Scandinavia and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Promoted to enhance both physical and cognitive vitality, it is not surprising that it has survived as a popular health tonic for so long. Not only that, but the claims made by companies who sell it are supported by scientific research.
This herb has been proven capable of reducing mental and physical fatigue during periods of stress. It also protects the brain and appears to promote longevity (longer life span).
So, why is it found in fat loss supplements and fat burners?
Adaptogens
Rhodiola Rosea is an adaptogen; a class of compounds which help you adapt to coming periods of stress.
Some are fairly useless at the dosages you can find in a supplement but Rhodiola is one that works!
Considering stress can bring on mood swings, irritability, insomnia, depression and even negative physiological symptoms, an adaptogen like this one can reduce or prevent these problems from occurring.
This is amazing, and for it to work at doses as little as 50mg is even better. However, it still doesn’t answer the question of why the product MegaThermoShred (made that up) contains it in the formula.
How can Rhodiola reduce your waistline?
Fat Reduction
You’ve heard of appetite suppression and calorie control and binge eating and…lots more weight loss terms.
Well, a good adaptogen (and there is only Rhodiola and Ashwaganda to be honest) can help.
A large part of binge-eating, snacking on junk and basically consuming more calories than you need in any given day is stress.
Rhodiola appears to prevent – to a degree – the need to eat too much, or consider eating some junk to cheer yourself up.
Cognition, Fatigue and Vitality
Your own feelings of well-being and level of fatigue – both physical and mental are huge factors which team up against you to slam you with a big stress punch.
Cognitive function is one of the first to go when you are tired or stressed or both, so the fact that Rhodiola reduces all of them is it’s most useful application.
Physical Activity
Improved mood and feelings of vitality, coupled with heightened cognition and energy will leave you with little option but to get some exercise in.
This will have the knock-on effect of making you feel even better about yourself and less likely to undo the hard work by eating rubbish. And, of course, you have burned more calories off.
There is even a study which shows the herb can improve exercise endurance! (check out reference #2 below)
Conclusion and Recommendation
Having some Rhodiola Rosea in your life can only be a good thing.
There are many scientific studies which support these benefits and dosages are effective from upwards of 50mg.
An example of a quality all-round fat loss supplement for someone looking to retain muscle is Muscletronic. It contains a very strong 150mg of Rhodiola (called Golden Root) in 2 capsules, with 300mg in 4 capsules which is the daily maximum.
Follow the link below to read the whole review of Muscletronic.
References
- Spasov AA(1), Wikman GK, Mandrikov VB, Mironova IA, Neumoin VV – A double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study of the stimulating and adaptogenic effect of Rhodiola rosea SHR-5 extract on the fatigue of students caused by stress during an examination period with a repeated low-dose regimen – Phytomedicine. 2000 Apr;7(2):85-9
- De Bock K(1), Eijnde BO, Ramaekers M, Hespel P – Acute Rhodiola rosea intake can improve endurance exercise performance – Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2004 Jun;14(3):298-307
- Edwards D(1), Heufelder A, Zimmermann A – Therapeutic effects and safety of Rhodiola rosea extract WS® 1375 in subjects with life-stress symptoms–results of an open-label study – Phytother Res. 2012 Aug;26(8):1220-5. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3712. Epub 2012 Jan 6
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