Historically, adaptogenic herbs like schisandra have been used for stress management, primarily because this class of herbs demonstrates positive health effects on the adrenal system. The adrenal glands are responsible for the production of stress hormones and stress-response mediators like cortisol. By squelching excessive production and secretion of molecular chaperones, cortisol and nitric oxide, schisandra aids in stabilizing the levels of these stress-associated compounds in the blood. In turn, this keeps the negative effects of stress (i.e., fatigue, mental fogginess, low energy levels etc.) at bay.

Incorporating schisandra into your daily supplement routine thereby helps both the body and the mind deal with a variety of external environmental stressors, pressures, and toxins in the following ways:

Imagine a situation in which a state of calmness and relaxation actually leads to enhanced energy. Here you have it! Due to the way in which schisandra berries benefits the body’s stress response, it simultaneously frees up the body’s resources to optimize energy metabolism. This is one of the reasons why schisandra and other adaptogenic herbs have been successfully used in endurance athletes.

Molecularly speaking, the body’s “energy currency” is a molecule called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). In situations of stress, the increase in levels of nitric oxide correspond to decreased levels of ATP synthesis. Throw an adaptogen like schisandra into the mix, and the stress response plummets, allowing the body instead to focus on things like ATP production. This has specifically been studied in brain cells, suggesting that schisandra’s health benefits may aid in fending off neurodegenerative diseases, supporting longevity, and promoting overall brain health.

Quite possibly one of the most touted health benefits of schisandra is its ability to fight fatigue— both mental and physical. Its ability to diminish the detrimental effects of the stress response (i.e., weakness and lethargy) in turn helps to promote mental clarity. This is yet another reason why endurance athletes have historically used schisandra supplementation for performance enhancement.

Additionally, studies in rats have suggested that schisandra may even be effective at treating memory impairment. Schisandra improves focus, attention span, and even coordination, making it a compelling supplement for athletes, students, surgeons, artists… and the rest of us too!

By significantly downplaying the stress response, another important health benefit of schisandra is that it helps to curb feelings of anxiousness and even improve mood. One study in mice demonstrated the effect of schisandra extract on mediating levels of powerful neurotransmitters including noradrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine, all of which play a role in the brain (particularly in conditions of stress).

Schisandra’s positive effects on the brain have also implicated this powerful herb in the therapeutic prevention of a variety of psychological and neurological disorders, including depression and anxiety. As an added bonus, the calming effects of schisandra (on both the mind and body) can enhance sleep quality– in fact, in some cases it has been used as a sleep aid for those who suffer from sleep disorders. So perhaps it’s time to sit back and relax with schisandra.

You’ve probably heard about the negative effects of stress on the immune system. So it should come as no surprise that schisandra, a stress-resolving superstar, has supremely beneficial effects on the immune system. Adaptogens like schisandra ward off the stress response so that the body’s immune resources are instead able to contend with pathogens, fight infections and keep us happy and healthy.

The schisandra berry itself is loaded with antioxidants, which are those powerful plant-based phytochemicals that sequester dangerous oxidative compounds in the body, known as free radicals. Left to their own devices, these highly reactive free radicals adversely affect cellular DNA and integral proteins, and thereby injure the body’s cells and tissues. When it comes to  accelerated aging, canc-r, and a variety of other common Western diseases, the buildup of free radicals is often the biggest culprit. When schisandra comes to the rescue, however, free radicals have fewer opportunities to accumulate in tissues and harm the body.

As an antioxidant, one of the health benefits of schisandra is that the bioactive component of this berry helps to protect against cell damage. Consequently, schisandra is responsible for a plethora of health-protective effects in the body, which include enhancing liver function, protecting against canc-r, and impeding the aging process.

Convinced yet? To further elaborate on the vital role that antioxidants play, here are some examples of the specific antioxidant health benefits of schisandra:

Since schisandra hunts (and destroys) free radicals, it has the power to preferentially shield healthy cells from the DNA damage that accompanies carcinogenesis (aka, the growth of canc-r cells). One of the ways it does this is by upregulating the production of glutathione (one of the body’s most powerful intracellular antioxidants) and the activity of glutathione reductase (the enzyme responsible for activating glutathione).

Additionally, schisandra has been shown to improve the growth and proliferation of new, healthy cells. But when it comes to schisandra’s defensive properties against canc-r, we can delve even deeper. Coupled with its defense of the body’s healthy, normal cells, schisandra also has the ability to eradicate deleterious canc-r cells by stimulating apoptosis (aka, programmed cell death). Talk about a multi-pronged approach to battling canc-r!

 Anti-Aging and Longevity

By curtailing the buildup of detrimental free radicals, schisandra provides a health benefit by specifically protecting skin cells from DNA injury. In other words, schisandra can act as a potent anti-aging agent by tackling wrinkles, sun-associated damage and age-related pigmentation. But the antioxidant power of schisandra doesn’t stop there when it comes to kicking cell damage to the curb. Free radical accumulation in the body accelerates aging across all systems in the body.

Therefore, the protective effect of schisandra on cell integrity extends beyond the skin, into the body’s tissues. In this way, the antioxidant power of schisandra helps keep cells healthy, youthful, and positively radiant, both inside and out!

How could we have an antioxidant conversation without talking about detox? And how could we mention the word detox without bringing up the liver?! The answer is: we can’t.  Given that a healthy liver is necessary to help rid the body of dangerous toxins, maintaining the integrity of the liver is absolutely essential. With its antioxidant capabilities, schisandra plays a showstopping role when it comes to improving liver health and function.

Schisandra upregulates important enzymes involved in the detoxification of the liver itself, helps the body eliminate harmful waste, and has also been shown to protect against liver disease. So, if you’re looking to keep your liver in tip top shape, supplementing with schisandra might be just the ticket!

As if antioxidant power wasn’t enough, schisandra’s health benefits are further enhanced by another one of its other essential health-protective properties: its ability to fight inflammation. Free radical sequestration plays a role in curbing the body’s inflammatory response to certain environmental stressors. By helping to keep inflammation at bay, schisandra can work its natural magic on many of the body’s intricate– and fundamentally interrelated– systems.

While a healthy amount of inflammation is essential for keeping pathogenic bacteria at bay, long-term, excessive inflammatory responses mediated by an over-reactive immune system can wreak havoc on the body and can lead to a variety of disastrous health issues. Long-term inflammation has been associated with canc-r, asthma, poor skin health and a multitude of other undesirable diseases and conditions.

When we bring schisandra into the picture, we see it has the special ability to downregulate the production of inflammatory mediators (i.e., cytokines), thereby combating the detrimental impact these inflammatory processes would otherwise have on the body.