Supplements offer a key component in the effort to gain control for the growing number of Americans who say they are stressed out.

According to the American Psychological Association, World Health Organization and the American Institute for Stress, the major sources of stress for most people revolve around finances—today’s uncertain economy, personal debt, unemployment, etc. This stress is so prevalent today that between 65 and 90 percent of North Americans have “enough” stress to result in a stress-related disease.Shawn M. Talbott, PhD, vice president of research and product development with Utah-based MonaVie, specializes in studying how chronic stress interferes with energy, mood and mental function; he is the author Of The Secret of Vigor – How to Overcome Burnout, Restore Metabolic Balance, and Reclaim Your Natural Energy (Hunter House 2012). “Perhaps the biggest problem with ‘stress,’” Talbott said, “is that so many people think that there is nothing they can do about their high stress levels. However, based on my own extensive research on the subject, I think it is extremely important for people to understand that there are effective lifestyle approaches they can take, including the right supplementation, that can help them better control their ‘stress response,’ so they can feel and perform better.”

It is known that stress alters behavior and the ability to make decisions. But Mitch Skop, senior vice president new product development with New Jerseybased Pharmachem Laboratories, noted a new study demonstrates a link of long-term, cumulative exposure to stress of traumatic events to higher levels of inflammation. The study of approximately 1,000 patients with cardiovascular disease was published in February in the electronic edition of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.Researchers at the VA Medical Center and the University of California, both in San Francisco, assessed exposure to 18 types of traumatic events and then measured several inflammation markers known to be released into the bloodstream, and found a direct correlation between degree of exposure to stress in a lifetime and levels of inflammation markers.The researchers followed up five years later and found that those who had originally reported the highest levels of trauma also sustained the highest levels of inflammation.

“This is exciting news for the industry,” said Skop. “It opens up new formulation and marketing opportunities to combine proven stress/anxiety-support supplements with those ingredients proven to support healthy inflammatory response.”

On the Market

Energy and products for relaxing are two hot categories now, noted Charlie Baniewicz, owner of Back To Natural Health Foods in Cranford, NJ. “First, you take a stimulating product, then something for relaxation. If you do that enough, you have to calm down,” he said, adding that popular stress and anxiety products in his store are Historical Remedies Stress Mints pointof- sales homeopathic lozenges, B-complex vitamins and kava. Natural Balance’s Happy Camper, a combination supplement, is another strong seller.

Johanna Stavrov, owner of Johanna’s Health Store in Shrewsbury, NJ, also recommends homeopathic products to her anxious and stressed customers, offering products from Boiron. “I suggest basic adrenal support—it affects the thyroid.
You don’t always need the fancy stuff.”

“There are lots of energy drinks and coffee bars to keep people going, but people are still looking for ways to unwind and recharge,” agreed Ken Whitman, president of Texas-based Natural Vitality. “Our approach is to get down to the basic biochemistry of the body and restore natural balance as nature intended.”

The company’s Natural Calm has been the best-selling magnesium supplement in the natural channel for six years in a row and, according to SPINS, leads growth in the mood health category.Its magnesium—the most critical mineral for coping with stress—is ionic water-soluble, so it is very bioavailable, noted Whitman. “Magnesium balances calcium intake and restores healthy magnesium levels. This is important because most people don’t get their minimum daily requirement of magnesium and, when you add diet and supplementation, many, especially women, are way overboard in calcium intake,” he said.

Other manufacturers acknowledge that the way to tackle stress is at a deeper level, but the most effective methods can be elusive.

“Many anti-stress products in the market are actually ‘sleep’ products that are being used to tranquilize people in the face of stress (i.e., melatonin, kava, valerian, etc.) rather than products that truly help people deal with an overactive or chronic stress response,” noted MonaVie’s Talbott. “This isn’t necessarily a ‘bad’ approach (helping people to relax), but it does not address the underlying effects of stress—including hormone imbalances, such as elevated cortisol and suppressed testosterone— that lead people to feel tired and depressed in the face of chronic stress.”

Deanne Dolnick, vice president of Next Pharmaceuticals in California, a raw ingredient supplier, reported that she has seen few new products in the category.“Which is a little surprising considering the number of people suffering from stress,” she said. “I think that tells you that it isn’t easy to develop a truly effective anti-stress supplement.”

Trends of the Overly Stressed

When a patient struggling with stress and anxiety visits an allopathic psychiatrist or psychologist, he or she is often prescribed a heavy dose of anti-anxiety medication, usually a tranquilizer or an anti-depressant, noted Shailinder Sodhi, BAMS (ayurveda), ND, president of RU Ved Inc. “However, lately, as an American society, we are coming to a realization that these anti-anxiety drugs or benzodiazepines have critical long-term side effects, and, as a result, there is a shift toward using more natural remedies.”

In a recent ayurvedic newsletter, Sodhi wrote that “pills do not mitigate the stress; you have to eliminate or alleviate stress.” He further suggested his stressed patients “make a list of all the stressful things and try to see what you can do to remove the ongoing stress.But if you can’t get rid of the source of your stress, you can do other things to make your lifestyle as healthy as possible.This trend is evident as more people would rather take dietary supplements, herbs, vitamins and minerals, and give preventative medicine a fair chance before simply putting the addictive benzodiazepine substances into their bodies.”

Talbott agreed that the latest shift to address the effects of chronic stress include the use of premium natural ingredients, along with healthy lifestyle choice, that help normalize hormone balance. “I have spent many years studying how chronic stress interferes with energy, mood and mental function— collectively referred to as ‘vigor,’ a term that is roughly equivalent to mental/ physical energy,” he said. “When we’re exposed to chronic stress, the balance between hormones becomes disrupted (cortisol rises and testosterone falls), which leads to fatigue, mood disturbances and mental fog.When the hormones are balanced, this helps to restore levels of energy, mood and mental clarity.”

Stress Studies

One of the most interesting recent studies of stress, according to several manufacturers, comes from the American Psychological Association’s (APA) annual (2010) survey “Stress in America.”

“This study revealed the picture of America as an ‘overstressed nation,’ with stress levels being as bad as they ever have been,” said Talbott. One of the most striking conclusions from the APA survey was that “stress is not only taking a toll on our personal and physical health, but it is also affecting the emotional and physical well-being of children and our families.” The survey highlighted the fact that children today are more stressed than in years past and also found that kids easily recognize and identify their parents’ stress levels as a key source of their own stress.

“As you might imagine, the most common sources of stress identified in the APA survey were money (76 percent), work (70 percent) and the economy (65 percent),” said Talbott. “But ‘family responsibilities’ also emerged as a significant source of stress (73 percent).” Health experts identify a “healthy stress level” at about a 3 to 4 on a 10- point scale, with 1 representing low stress and 10 indicating extreme stress.

Healthy intermittent exposure to stress can actually be a good thing. “Some stress researchers, including myself, refer to this intermittent or ‘temporary’ stress as ‘eustress’—that is, the type of stress that helps motivate you to meet a deadline or to achieve a goal. But chronic stress (or ‘distress’) leads to problems with biochemical balance, tissue breakdown and a wide range of physical and psychological health problems that result in low vigor,” Talbott added.

The average stress level reported in the APA survey was 5.5, with 24 percent reporting stress levels at 8 to 10 (on the 10-point scale). Those with “more stress” (average of 6.2) tended to have “fair/poor” overall health, while those with “lower stress” (average of 4.9) tended to have “very good/excellent” health statuses. Individuals with even higher stress exposure (in the 8 to 10 range) tended to have significant problems with their weight or even obesity— very likely due to problems with biochemical balance and especially to an overexposure to cortisol and its associated increase in appetite for “comfort foods” and consequent storage of belly fat, according to the report.

“The report confirmed that Americans continue to have high levels of stress, are negatively affected by it physically and psychologically, and rely on unhealthy behaviors to manage it,” said Bruce Abedon, PhD, director of scientific affairs with NutraGenesis, a Vermontbased ingredient supplier. “The report concluded that the United States might be ‘on the verge of a stress-induced public health crisis.’”

Ingredients for Stress Relief

There are a number of natural ingredients that have shown to be extremely effective in helping restore balance across several areas of biochemistry.
Talbott listed açai and jucara fruit, which are well-known for their antioxidant benefits, as well as pine bark and citrus peel to help maintain normal inflammatory balance in the body. He also noted banaba leaf and chromium help to balance blood sugar, and specialized herbs, such as tongkat ali and magnolia bark, can help to maintain stress hormone balance.

Combined with adequate sleep (seven to eight hours nightly), proper hydration and a balanced diet, targeted dietary supplementation can help to restore biochemical balance throughout the body and help to restore levels of energy, mood and mental clarity (‘vigor’), added Talbott.“The end result for consumers is a reduced feeling of stress, a feeling of long-term sustained energy in the day—when you want it—and relaxation and low-tension in the evening—also when you want it.”

Another ingredient option offered by Pharmachem Laboratories is Lactium®, a hydrolysate of milk proteins that contain a bioactive decapeptide with proven relaxing properties. Classified as GRAS (generally recognized as safe), Lactium has been the subject of several published clinical studies that have shown it to be safe, without side effects, and effective at regulating the major symptoms of stress on the digestive and cardiovascular systems (including blood pressure), as well as enhanc Ing social, emotional and intellectual capabilities, according to Skop.

Key studies conducted on Lactium show it reduces stress-related symptoms and promotes relaxation. An in vivo study demonstrated Lactium’s ability to reduce cortisol levels; excessive circulating cortisol, a hormone released when the individual is stressed, is a known biochemical that can cause a host of symptoms.

“Lactium also helps induce sleep onset—a very attractive attribute for those dealing with acute bouts of stress,” added Skop.

Isabelle Champie, deputy manager/global marketing director with probiotic specialist Institut Rosell- Lallemand, said the company has developed Probio’Stick (a combination of Lactobacillus Rosell-52 and Bifidobacterium Rosell-175), which has shown promise in alleviating both physiological and psychological symptoms of stress and anxiety. “This is supported by randomized human studies and several very positive laboratory studies conducted in France and Canada,” said Champie. A first randomized study (Diop, 2008) showed that Probio’Stick was the first probiotic preparation to efficiently reduce stress-induced physiological symptoms in chronic stress sufferers: it reduced gastrointestinal signs of stress, abdominal pain and nausea.

A second clinical study published in 2010 (Messaoudi, 2010) looked at the probiotic effect on psychological symptoms, offered Champie. “French scientists used psychological assessment scales, such as those commonly used to screen anxiolytic agents, and a biomarker for stress (urinary cortisol level),” she said. “The investigators reported that it was the first time that free cortisol level was monitored during a probiotic human study. This randomized study showed that one month daily administration of Probio’Stick preparation significantly alleviates psychological distress in volunteers.”

NutraGenesis markets a proprietary, natural ingredient that is clinically proven to reduce stress and enhance mood, called Sensoril®, a multi-patented, standardized extract of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera).

“Sensoril provides resistance to stress because the high levels of glycowithanolide bioactives it contains reduce the adrenal cortex hormone levels in the body,” said Abedon. “In a 60-day, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, human-clinical trial, consumption of the recommended dose of Sensoril resulted in a 24.2 percent reduction in cortisol levels in subjects. This was accompanied by a 69.9 percent reduction in an overall measure of stress-related symptoms as well as improvements in factors affected by stress including irritability and anxiety, cognitive function, sleeplessness and several physical manifestations of stress.”

Next Pharmaceuticals’ Relora® was recently featured on the Dr. Oz show as the dietary supplement to take if stress is causing you the inability to lose weight and belly fat. “As an added bonus, Relora helps promote a great night’s sleep, which of course then helps relieve stress,” said Dolnick.

Retailer Baniewicz said he has seen Relora’s resurgance since being featured on the famous health program.“It was popular about four years ago and then fell out of favor,” he said, adding that being touted by Dr. Oz “brought it back to life.”

Introductions

MonaVie has a major research initiative underway to “reinvent” how consumers perceive the “energy” category, according to Talbott. “Part of this initiative entails reframing what people are actually looking for when they seek out ‘energy’ products, which can and should encompass different types of energy from mental to emotional to physical factors.” The product will be launched later this year.

A product that has been recently introduced is RU Ved’s Joylift, which is based on saffron, an ancient herb that supports memory, enhances libido and uplifts mood. “Saffron’s energetic effect is hot. When proprietarily blended with various minerals and ayurvedic herbs including ashwagandha and bacopa, the health effects of Joylift become synergistic,” said Sodhi. “Joylift is a special product with pure quality, and the overall advantages include brain and mood balance, which promotes tranquility to the nervous system.”

NutraGenesis’ Abedon noted that researchers have found that in addition to its other deleterious effects, stress can also reduce immune function and increase the chance of a person becoming sick with the cold or flu. To address this, the company formulated a new, stress-reducing immune ingredient that helps support healthy immune function, WellBody•365™. The ingredient combines a clinically tested, multi-patented immunomodulating maitake mushroom extract with the stress-reducing properties of Sensoril. The product is already featured in liquid supplements and capsules, but manufacturers can also add it to foods and beverages.

Stressing Healthy Choices

For retailers, addressing customers’ stress and anxiety is serious business, as they are root causes of many disorders, ranging from depression to heart disease to cancer, noted Sodhi. “It is crucial that we take care of ourselves, because our health is our true wealth,” he said. “Whether breathing deeply, meditating, doing yoga, performing other exercises or eating nutritious meals, remember to make healthy choices that you enjoy.”

“Many Americans are experiencing negative symptoms, such as fatigue, depression and anxiety, and turn to prescription drugs to address them,” Talbott added. “The good news is that there are natural solutions to these symptoms that help people regain the health and vigor that they so desperately seek.”