Introduction
ashwagandha is an ancient herb, but it’s gaining popularity in the modern world. This article explains what ashwagandha is and whether it can help with anxiety or other health issues like stress and insomnia.
Ashwagandha is an herbal plant with a variety of purported health benefits.
Ashwagandha is a type of plant. It has health benefits and has been used for thousands of years in ayurvedic medicine. The name ashwagandha comes from two Sanskrit words: “ashwa,” meaning horse; and “gandha,” meaning smell or fragrance. This herb is said to smell like an actual horse—it’s got a musky scent that’s hard to describe but easy to recognize once you’ve smelled it!
Ancient Indians believed that drinking ashwagandha tea would improve your memory, help you stay focused during meditation sessions, increase your energy levels (which makes sense if you’ve ever tried running while carrying an underweight pony), and generally make you feel better all around by improving your overall well-being.*
It has been used in ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years.
Ashwagandha, an herb native to India, has been used in ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. To understand why ashwagandha is such a popular supplement, you have to know what ayurvedic medicine is.
Ayurvedic Medicine is an ancient form of alternative medicine that originated in India around 3000 BC. It uses herbs and other natural remedies to treat disease and restore balance in the body—like Western medicine does but with fewer side effects (or so it claims).
Ayurveda practitioners believe that each person has a certain balance or equilibrium called their doshas: vata (air), pitta (fire), and kapha (water). An imbalance can cause health problems like anxiety or depression; they believe that restoring this balance is key to wellness.
It may be more effective at treating anxiety than placebo, but more research needs to be done.
It should be noted that the study was small, had a high dropout rate, and did not reach statistical significance.
Also worth noting: the study was funded by a supplement company (though it’s unclear if that contributed to its findings).
Finally, though this research is promising, there are some additional concerns. For one thing, the study wasn’t double-blinded or placebo controlled—so we don’t know whether participants were given ashwagandha or a placebo in order to determine its effects (or whether they would have gotten better results if they hadn’t taken any supplements at all). Also important to consider is that no control group of women who didn’t take ashwagandha were included in these trials—therefore making it impossible for us to draw any conclusions about whether or not ashwagandha actually works for anxiety.
Its use as a treatment for infertility and sexual dysfunction has mixed results.
As a treatment for infertility and sexual dysfunction, ashwagandha has mixed results. In one study, researchers found that taking ashwagandha extract twice daily for eight weeks significantly improved the sexual function of both men and women with low libido. However, other studies have shown no improvement in female sexual desire or orgasmic function.
Another study looked at the effects of ashwagandha on male fertility—but these findings aren’t conclusive either. While taking 500 milligrams per day of
It may help reduce inflammation, but it is not well-researched.
Ashwagandha is believed to have many health benefits, but it may not be the best choice for you.
It’s possible that ashwagandha could help reduce inflammation and protect against stress and anxiety. However, there haven’t been enough studies on humans to confirm that it works as a treatment for those things.
In addition to being a possible treatment for inflammation-related disorders like arthritis, research suggests that ashwagandha may also protect your brain from oxidative stress (which can cause Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease) and aging by reducing levels of an enzyme called MAO-A in the body (MAO-A breaks down neurotransmitters). There are some concerns about this effect, however: high dosages of ashwagandha supplements caused nausea and other side effects in one preliminary study on humans with Parkinson’s disease who took 200 milligrams per day over six weeks; while another study found that taking more than 250 milligrams per day led participants’ blood pressure to rise slightly during exercise tests.
It can interact with some medications.
Ashwagandha can interact with some medications. It’s important to talk to your doctor about it, especially if you are taking:
- Blood thinners like warfarin (Coumadin) or aspirin
- Medicines to lower blood pressure like beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors
Ashwagandha is not recommended for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
There are some promising health effects from ashwagandha, but more research needs to be done about this ancient herb.
Ashwagandha is a promising herb, but it’s not the be-all and end-all of health. At this point, ashwagandha has been studied for its effects on anxiety, depression, sexual dysfunction, inflammation and more. However, there’s not enough research to determine whether it can help with these conditions.
Conclusion
In short, ashwagandha seems like an interesting herbal remedy that may be helpful for some people. It’s worth noting that there are some potential side effects and interactions with medications, so speak with your doctor before you start taking it. If you want to try ashwagandha for its reported health benefits (e.g., reducing inflammation), then talk to your doctor about what dosage would work best for your needs
