Adapt Drinks

WHO ARE ADAPT DRINKS?

Adapt Drinks is a female-founded, female-focused, and female inspired beverage company created by Nicole Avery. Adapt Drinks intimately understands the stressors on modern women and the impact this has on their well being.  

My mission is to make amazing drinks from adaptogenic herbs to help women adapt to stress, feel better, perform better, and live life with calm energy.

My first drink, Adapt Relax is a non-alcoholic, zero sugar, lightly flavoured great-tasting carbonated drink filled with adaptogenic herbs to help you adapt to life stressors.

WHAT IS ADAPT RELAX MADE FROM?

We (that is me and the amazing team at Brink Drinks in Ballarat) have blended the highest-quality adaptogenic herb extracts with a hint of natural flavour to create a delicious functional beverage - a beverage that not only tastes great but helps improve the way your body functions under stress. 

Adaptogenic herbs are a select group of herbs that have powerful properties to help our bodies cope with the stressors of modern life. Clinical trials have demonstrated that adaptogens exert an anti-fatigue effect that increases our mental work capacity when faced with stress and fatigue. (1) This means even when we are experiencing stressful situations we are able to feel better and perform better and go about daily life better than if we didn’t have the support of adaptogens.

The adaptogenic herbal extracts* in Adapt Relax are:

• Schisandra berry extract (Schisandra chinensis) - a performance enhancer that also helps reduce anxiety and cortisol. (2) 

• Panax ginseng extract (Panax quinquefolius) - has been proven effective for improving mood, immunity, and cognition. (3)

The other ingredients in Adapt Relax are:

• L-Theanine - is an amino acid that is not common in the diet which promotes relaxation without drowsiness. Studies have also found L-theanine reduced stress and anxiety in people who were experiencing stressful situations. (4)

• Native strawberry gum extract - is made from the leaves of the trees found mainly around the New South Wales area. Indigenous Australians traditionally chewed the leaves to enjoy the unique sweet berry flavour. 

• Monk fruit - is a natural, plant-based sweetener that does not contain fructose or glucose. It has zero sugar and zero calories.

• Rosemary extract - is a natural preservative rich in antioxidants. (5)

• Red radish extract - helps to give Adapt Relax its gorgeous light pink colour.

• Carbonated water

*If you are a bit of a research nerd like me and want to know more about just how these powerhouse adaptogenic herbs work, you can scroll to the end after “Budget Overview” and nerd out with me on the science!

If pregnant or breastfeeding, please consult with your healthcare practitioner before consuming. This product is not suitable for children.

WHEN TO DRINK ADAPT RELAX

Adapt Relax is the perfect drink to have at the end of your day. For many women, late afternoon/early evening sees the start of the second shift. We are switching over from work to home mode or have reached the end of a long day with little ones at home and need something to give our patience a boost or something to feel a little less stressed.

In Australia, having a glass of alcohol at the end of the day is a common way people try to cope with stress and perceived stress. While this may feel good initially, we know that alcohol can have a negative impact on our physical and mental health.

Adapt Relax is a "better for you" drink. When you drink it, it makes you feel better in both the short and longer term, and it improves your overall health and wellbeing. It can make a perfect switch for alcohol on the night’s when you feel the need to relax but want to wake up feeling better the next day (and for the days to come).

WHY YOU SHOULD ORDER ADAPT RELAX NOW!

Adapt Relax comes in 4 x 330ml bottle packs. Now is the time to place your order because:

1. Adapt Relax tastes amazing - it is an enjoyable lightly flavoured, zero sugar, carbonated drink for you to have early evening to help you relax at the end of your day.
2. Adapt Relax is made from only natural ingredients to nourish your body.
3. Adapt Relax naturally supports your ability to cope with the stress of daily life.

AND.....

• This is the first Adapt drink of what I want to be a range of drinks to help support women to feel better, perform better, and live life with calm energy. I am building a brand and want you to be part of it!

• Adapt is a female-owned and operated business.

• Adapt will be made in Ballarat and I will source the powerhouse adaptogen liquid extracts from a start-up in Ballarat - I am supporting small businesses and would love you to do so too!

These rewards will be the first bottles off the production line ever - so exciting! You have the opportunity to help me make this happen. By purchasing a reward, you will not only be helping yourself but other women who need help adapting to the stressors of modern life - thank you! 

There is nothing quite like Adapt Relax in Australia - you will be an early adopter of a new trend of drinks designed to improve your health and well being.

Pozible is an all or nothing crowdfunding campaign, so if you think you would like to taste Adapt Relax and see how it can help you, now is the time to buy! I can only make this drink a reality if I reach my target - thanks so much in advance for helping me with this.

ADAPT DRINKS ARE:

What we put into our body can cause stress too, so Adapt Relax has been crafted to put nothing but goodness into your body:

• The adaptogens are the powerhouses of this drink - they will support your body’s ability to cope with stress in the moment and ongoing they will help you adapt so you are in a better place to fight stress when it comes again.

• The native strawberry gum extract and monk fruit give the drink a delicious light flavour and sweetness (but not too sweet) without the need for sugar or artificial sweeteners.

WHY I MADE ADAPT DRINKS

I have been working online for over 10 years helping mums organise family life and to pursue their goals. Over this time I have noticed the increasing trend of women feeling stressed and anxious.

And just like the Jean Hailes Women's Health Survey (6), the feedback I have had from readers is that they are stressed. In my reader survey of January 2020, 90% of respondents said they were currently experiencing family life as moderately stressful or higher.

Kid stuff was the biggest cause of stress for readers (22%) and this includes things like getting the kids ready in the morning, after school activities, managing homework, managing tech use, kids fighting, kids behaviour and kids' routines in general.

Work and family issues were the second biggest cause of stress to families (20%) and this covered issues like trying to do everything, the contentious issue of balance between work, home duties and kids, the feeling of constantly juggling too many responsibilities, a heavy mental load, struggling to keep up with everything, feeling overwhelmed and feeling like there is too much to do. 

And it was the deeply honest and reflective responses from mums when I asked them about how being stressed affected the way they parented, that made me think there must be some way for women to adapt to stress, feel better, perform better so they can be the parent they want to be. 

This is just a short snapshot of the comments mums left about how stress affected the way they parenting:

• I am short with the kids over little things and then I regret it.

• Short-tempered, feel like I’m not doing a good job.

• When I am stressed I am not at my best. Shouty followed by apologetic.

• I become yelling mummy (which makes me more stressed because I then feel guilty I’m not parenting how I really want to).

• I get more angry with every little thing. It’s ever diminishing circles of anger and self-criticism!

I don’t think there is a mum out there who cannot relate to the comments above, myself included. Through Adapt Relax, I want to help break the cycle of feeling stressed, not having patience with the kids, snapping then feeling bad about how we parented. 

When you drink Adapt Relax, you are consuming two powerhouse adaptogenic herbs and an amino acid which means that while you may still have pressures from work, a full schedule of after school activities and challenges with kids, you will be able to respond in a calmer manner to these stressors, be more patient and not end up being filled with regret or guilt.

And of course, mums aren’t the only women who are stressed either. The combination of relationship issues, challenges from the workplace or physical stresses have shown that women aged between 18-35 are actually more likely to report feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge, at least weekly in the past four weeks. (4)

And it is important to note that not all stress is bad. Positive stress or eustress comes from when you are being sufficiently challenged without expending all your resources. Think working towards a promotion, chasing a big audacious goal or training for a marathon. Our body, however, treats stress all the same.

Adapt Relax can help all women adapt to stress, feel better, perform better and to live life with calm energy.

ABOUT ME

I am Nicole Avery, a Melbourne based mum to five kids aged 11 - 21 and founder of Planning With Kids. Over the last ten years, I have grown Planning With Kids from being one of Australia’s leading parenting blogs, to a successful online business with a book, podcast and online courses.

It took me many years into my parent journey to realise that if I was to be taking the best care of my family, I needed to take the best care of myself. I am now passionate about eating well, getting enough sleep, and making time for things I love. But I also love a challenge! I have run seven marathons, many Spartan Races and have spent most of this year training for a marathon, but thanks to COVID, it looks like I may not run my next one until next year but I am still keeping up my training! 

Bringing Adapt Relax to life has been an exciting project to work on and because it is such a new concept in the beverage market it has thrown plenty of challenges my way. Thankfully I have had adaptogens in my corner to support me and allow me to power on. 

I love making things from scratch and generally tinkering in the kitchen. It was tinkering in the kitchen over a series of weekends that led me to the first formulation for Adapt. With the help of an amazing beverage maker, we were able to create something truly special and I cannot wait for you to try it!

ABOUT MY PARTNERS

I have partnered with two amazing businesses in Ballarat. (If you are not familiar with Ballarat, it is a regional city in the Central Highlands of Victoria.) Brink Drinks are a beverage maker with a difference and they will be making and bottling Adapt Relax. They are agile and innovative and have provided tremendous support to me as a complete newbie to the beverage game. All of the amazing liquid adaptogenic herbs are being sourced from Custom Extracts, a startup that is using new technology to make extremely high quality extracts from traditional and non-traditional sources.

DELIVERY

Your amazing delivery of Adapt Relax will arrive by the end of November 2020. At this stage due to the prohibitive cost of international shipping, I can only take orders from within Australia. I will work on being able to ship internationally as soon as I can.

THANK YOU

Thank you so much for your support and for reading this far! There is a lot of info here, but I am passionate about this drink and how it can help you, so I wanted to explain how it all works. If you have any questions, please let me know and I am happy to answer them.

Footnotes:

(1). Effects of Adaptogens on the Central Nervous System and the Molecular Mechanisms Associated with Their Stress—Protective Activity - Alexander Panossian and Georg Wikman - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3991026/

(2). https://examine.com/supplements/panax-ginseng/

(3). https://examine.com/supplements/schisandra-chinensis/research/#sources-and-composition

(4). https://examine.com/supplements/theanine/

(5). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6213757/

(6). https://jeanhailes.org.au/survey2019

I want to get a bottle of Adapt Relax into the hands of as many women as possible. To produce the first larger-scale brew of Adapt Relax, there are many large upfront costs involved. This Pozible campaign is acting as a pre-order process for me. It will allow me to source the funds so I can pay for the below and actually make the drink and get it into your hands:

• labeling requirements and labeling
• design packaging
• bottles and lids
• minimum order quantities of ingredients
• advance payment for the production run

I would love you to be part of the journey to create Adapt Drinks!

WHAT ARE ADAPTOGENIC HERBS?

Adaptogenic herbs are a select group of herbs that have powerful properties to help our bodies cope with the stressors of modern life. The most thoroughly researched adaptogenic herbs to date are - Panax Ginseng, American Ginseng, Ashwagandha, Eleuthro, Schisandra, Rhodiola, Shilajit, Rhaponticum and Cordyceps. 

Adaptogenic herbs or adaptogens as they are also referred to must be:

1. Nontoxic at normal doses and when taken for extended periods of time

2. Supportive to the body’s ability to cope with stress.

3. Help the body return to a state of homeostasis, that is it helps raise what is low and lower what is high (eg energy, stress)

THE SCIENCE BEHIND ADAPT RELAX

The modern world is stressful. There is a mismatch between our current environment filled with air, noise and visual pollution, torrents of information and an overwhelming number of opportunities, and the environment of our evolutionary adaption - think the simpler world of hunter-gatherer and nomadic societies.

The way we currently live is not set up in a way that is conducive to how environmental conditions were when our brains evolved.

As women we:

• have multiple responsibilities and are pulled in multiple directions

• try to fit more and more into our days and sleep is sacrificed

• compare ourselves to impossible or unrealistic standards

• are constantly connected

We weren’t built for this level of stress 24/7. But with the help of adaptogens, our bodies can adapt to this stress.

HOW DO WE RESPOND TO STRESS?

The body’s short-term and long-term reaction to stress is described as general adaptation syndrome. General adaptation syndrome (GAS) is a three-phase reaction to stress as seen in the below diagram:

Diagram: based on the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) model created by David McQuillan.

Alarm Reaction Phase

This is our initial experience of the stress; it could be work pressures, family pressures, physical stress from the demands of training, or emotional stress from challenging relationships. The body accounts for all this stress in the same way regardless of its source.

During the alarm reaction phase, the stressor disturbs homeostasis - this is the dip in the diagram above. Homeostasis is a point of balance or internal biological equilibrium, you are feeling good and everything is okay. The disruption causes the infamous fight or flight response to kick in - this is the significant uptick in our resistance to stress in the first third of the diagram. Physically this means our heart rate increases, our adrenal gland releases cortisol (a stress hormone), and we receive a boost of adrenaline, which increases energy. 

Resistance (adaptation) Phase

In the Resistance (adaptation) Phase the body tries to counteract the physiological changes that happened during the alarm reaction phase where we were either fighting or fleeing. This phase releases a lower amount of cortisol, and our heart rate and blood pressure begin to normalise. This is represented by the gradual increase in resistance to stress in the middle third of the diagram.

Although our body enters the recovery phase, it is still on high alert for a little while. If the stressful situation comes to an end during this phase, then our body will then return to normal and our hormone levels, heart rate, and blood pressure reach a pre-stress state. We go back to the first third of the diagram. But, if the stressor remains or we haven’t been able to deal effectively with the stress, our body stays in a state of alert, and stress hormones continue to be produced. If the resistance phase continues for too long without any relief to offset the effects of stress, it can lead to the exhaustion phase.

Exhaustion Phase

After an extended period of stress, our body goes into the final phase of the general adaptation syndrome - the last third in the diagram. We can only fight or flee for so long before it begins to wear down our capacity to resist and deal with stress. Our body has depleted its energy resources by continually trying but failing to recover from the initial alarm reaction phase.

Struggling with stress for long periods can drain our physical, emotional, and mental resources to the point where our body no longer has the strength to fight stress. This could see us experience:

• fatigue

• burnout

• depression

• anxiety

• feeling unable to cope

• decreased stress tolerance

If we don’t find ways to manage our stress levels at this phase, then we are at risk of developing stress-related health conditions in addition to the mental health problems listed above like:

• heart disease

• high blood pressure

• abnormal heart rhythms

• heart attacks

• stroke

HOW DO ADAPTOGENS HELP US RESPOND TO STRESS?

Diagram: based on the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) model created by David McQuillan and altered to highlight the impact adaptogenic herbs have on the GAS as studied by Panossian and Wikman (2010). (1)

Clinical trials have demonstrated that adaptogens exert an anti-fatigue effect that increases our mental work capacity when faced with stress and fatigue. (1) This means even when we are experiencing stressful situations we are able to feel better and perform better and go about daily life better than if we didn’t have the support of adaptogens.

Adaptogens help our bodies by increasing our ability to resist stress and decreasing our sensitivity to stressors as seen by the dotted line in the diagram above. Adaptogens give us:

• protection against stress in the initial alarm phase - the dip doesn’t go as low

• protection against stress in the resistance phase - it doesn’t peak as high

• prolongs the phase of resistance - we don’t drop below homeostasis and reach exhaustion

So in times of extended or chronic stress instead of reaching exhaustion, adaptogens help us reach a higher level of equilibrium (the homeostasis). The higher it is, the better the adaptation to stress. 

Footnotes:

(1).  Effects of Adaptogens on the Central Nervous System and the Molecular Mechanisms Associated with Their Stress—Protective Activity - Alexander Panossian and Georg Wikman - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3991026/

These statements have not been evaluated by the TGA. If pregnant, breastfeeding, taking other supplements or medications, please consult with your healthcare practitioner before adding this product to your diet. This product is not suitable for children.