The human body undergoes extreme stress when undertaking regular and extreme exercise regimes. The stress response on the body involves deterioration in our immune defenses and overall recovery time between training sessions. Each type of sport or activity has varying degrees of strain placed on the body with varying recovery rates. However, there are ways in which the body can be stimulated to improve overall performance and decrease the occurrence of infection utilising an herb called Siberian Ginseng.

Many studies have been performed on athletes to decifer the way Siberian Ginseng enhances peak performance and enables the body to adapt to higher levels of stress through endurance training. A Russian scientist named Brekhman was one of the first to study the effects of Siberian Ginseng on sports performance and immune improvement. Documented use as early as 1972 among the Olympic athletes and Winter Olympians earning themselves an unexpected 11 gold medals (Dowling, 1996). The United States followed in pursuit of optimal performance levels with studies performed on college athletes and the relationship between VO2 max and Siberian Ginseng improving recovery time post vigorous training (Pieralisi, 1991).

Athletes are easy prey for developing infections especially upper respiratory tract infections. Exercise can cause an increase in the hormone levels within the body and decrease the function of the immune system specifically the action of natural killer cells. Siberian Ginseng when taken preventively long term indicated a reduction of 35% in infections amongst athletes. Siberian Ginseng increases the production of interferon a powerful chemical that boosts immune system activity (Mills & Bone, 2000). A well-known Australian Cyclist utilises the natural herb Siberian Ginseng to prevent recurrent upper respiratory tract infections. In my practice I have been using Siberian Ginseng on A and B grade cyclists during their peak season to aid in recovery and energy performance with positive results.

References: Dowling,E.A. 1996. Effect of Eleutherococcus Senticosus on Maximal and Sub maximal Exercise Performance. Medical and Science in sports and Medicine 28(4) April:482-489. Pieralisi,G. 1991. Effects of Standardized Siberian Ginseng Extract combined with Vitamins, Minerals, and Trace Elements on physical performance during exercise. Clinical Therapeutics 13: 373-382.