To make De Soi, our botany buff / co-founder Morgan McLachlan spent months playing with plants, even working with an ethnobotanist to consider each ingredient’s adaptogenic effects and impacts on biodiversity. The result? A line of sparkling non-alcoholic apéritifs, packed with feel-good herbs.
But what’s an adaptogen anyway?
If you frequent wellness blogs, maybe you know the answer. An adaptogen is "a plant extract that is held to increase the body's ability to resist the damaging effects of stress and promote or restore normal physiological functioning," according to our wordy yet still good friend Merriam-Webster.
But because that's kind of a mouthful, we figured it'd be easier if we just told you exactly why we love them.
Adaptogens are roots or herbs that have been used for centuries in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine to help the body deal with stress. That makes them a pretty fitting antidote to modern times, where we're all overstimulated and zapped from too much screen time.
The simplest way to explain how, exactly, these adaptogens soothe your stress is with an analogy. In the same way that your morning spin class pushes your muscles and makes them stronger, adaptogens train your body to bounce back from stressful situations. One example of this is L-theanine, an amino acid found in green tea and all of our apéritifs. Known to have a calming effect, this adaptogen is the reason why your morning matcha doesn't give you jitters despite the caffeine content. Instead, L-theanine boosts serotonin and dopamine levels, which work to mellow your mind.
In addition to L-theanine, you can find adaptogens like lemon balm, maca, reishi mushroom, passionflower, ashwagandha, and tart cherry in De Soi. These power plants are good at kicking stress, but they’ve got plenty of other benefits too. For example, Peruvian maca root is loaded with vitamins, nutrients, and phytochemicals that turn you on. Lemon balm, which teams up with maca in Golden Hour, boosts your mood and makes you feel like the best, most creative version of yourself. And passion flower, with its groovy blooms and showy stamens, is a pro at helping you slow down and center your mind. So all that to say, don’t hold back – find your largest glass available and cheers to adaptogens.
