9 Proven Health Benefits of Ashwagandha
Your Guide To This Ancient Secret
If you have a high-powered lifestyle, you may think that stress is just part of the job. But daily stress and anxiety can take a toll on your body. Do you struggle with daily fatigue and pain? Does stress interfere with your enjoyment of sex? Your long-term health may be at risk.
Research shows that an ayurvedic herbal medicine might be the support you need. Read on to see how using Ashwagandha can preserve your vitality and reduce stress-related health risks.
What is Ashwagandha?
Ashwagandha withania somnifera is sourced from the roots of an evergreen shrub that grows in India and the Middle East. It is also known as Indian ginseng or winter cherry. Ayurvedic medicine has used Indian ginseng root for better health. It can preserve your vitality, improve long-term health and super-charge your sex life. Scientific research has shown evidence for the powerful health benefits of this potent herb.
What are the benefits of Ashwagandha Root?
Some evidence suggests that Ashwagandha is an adaptogen.
Plants that are classified as adaptogens help the body stabilize in response to stress.
Ashwagandha boosts your body’s response to the stressors, enabling it to resist their harmful effects. These health issues include infertility, fatigue, high blood sugar, and weight gain.
Sounds too good to be true, right? Research has shown that these health benefits are definitely real.
Fights stress
Your daily stress about work, finances, deadlines and family responsibilities takes a toll on your body. Prolonged stress and anxiety cause chronically high cortisol levels. High cortisol is the cause of many evils. It causes abdominal weight gain, high blood sugar levels, weakness and mood swings. Remember how Ashwagandha is classified as an adaptogen? It can reduce stress and nip all of the above problems in the bud.
A double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 2012 confirms that Ashwagandha lowers cortisol levels in the body. Subjects of the study who took Ashwagandha extract also reported a higher quality of life.
Another study suggested that Ashwagandha has significant effects on lowering anxiety.
In all your daily struggles, you probably cannot get rid of everything that makes you anxious. But Ashwagandha withania somnifera can give you the support you need. It can improve your resistance to stress, making sure you have a healthier outlook on your life. Research shows that it may help you with feelings of contentment and overall happiness.
Improves Sleep
The stress-busting effects of Ashwagandha might seem enough to improve your quality of sleep. It works harder than that. Clinical insomniacs have shown that it improves sleep.
One study in 2012 shows that people who took a 300 mg capsule of Ashwagandha extract daily for 60 days reported a 69% decrease in insomnia.
Using Ashwagandha might be your key to support a restful night's sleep.
Increases libido
In traditional medicine, Ashwagandha is especially renowned for its support of male virility and sex drive.
Scientific research in both men and women shows that this ayurvedic medicine works.
In healthy women, Ashwagandha can improve sexual function (women reported more orgasms and higher satisfaction in this study).
The evidence from one study involving 57 men shows that using Ashwagandha increased muscle mass and made them stronger. This is because it increases testosterone.
Testosterone plays a large role in the sex drive for men and women, so this study is exciting.
Ashwagandha can super-charge your sex life by increasing your libido, sexual satisfaction and strength.
Increases male fertility
For couples struggling with infertility, Ashwagandha shows promise. This herbal remedy has been used to treat male fertility for centuries.
Treatment with 5 grams of the supplement daily for 3 months was given to infertile men for a 2009 study. After treatment with Ashwagandha extract, the partners of 14% of the men got pregnant. The study suggests that as the Ashwagandha worked its adaptogenic magic, the men experienced less stress, and their sperm quality improved.
Another study concluded that Ashwagandha increased the quality of sperm and sperm count. For men who struggle with fertility and sexual function, the use of Ashwagandha may be a miracle worker.
Alleviates Adrenal Fatigue
You may be suffering from adrenal fatigue if you regularly experience feelings of exhaustion, body aches, nervousness and digestive issues. Your adrenal glands, when not functioning optimally, can fail to produce a balanced amount of adrenal hormones.
Ashwagandha has the power to lower cortisol levels, so it can improve hormone balance and support people suffering from adrenal fatigue.
Supports thyroid
Hypothyroidism is another issue that causes fatigue. It can also cause weight gain, hair loss, joint aches, dry skin and constipation. Taking Ashwagandha powder can support thyroid function.
In a double-blind placebo-controlled trial, fifty subjects who took 600 mg daily of Ashwagandha root extract showed improvement in thyroid hormone levels. After 8 weeks of treatment, the subjects experienced significant increases in T3 and T4 hormones.
The cortisol-lowering power of Ashwagandha contributes to the effects of balancing out thyroid levels. When stress causes cortisol levels to rise, the levels of thyroid hormones T3 and T4 hormones decrease.
Lowers blood sugar
Studies suggest that Ashwagandha has hypo-glycemic effects. You may be able to use it for regulating energy levels throughout the day.
In people with mild Type 2 diabetes, Ashwagandha was shown to lower blood sugar levels as well as diabetes medication
A randomized, double-blind trial in schizophrenia patients also demonstrated that subjects who took Ashwagandha had lower blood sugar.
In one study in test tubes, Ashwagandha showed anti-diabetic properties on a molecular level. It caused higher insulin secretion and increased insulin sensitivity in muscle cells.
If you are already on medication for diabetes, you need to check with your healthcare provider if you want to take a supplement.
Reduces inflammation
If you’re experiencing persistent tiredness and joint pain, inflammation may be the cause. Chronic inflammation occurs when your immune system malfunctions. Your prolonged daily stress and anxiety can throw your immune response off balance. It is important to nip it in the bud because inflammation has been correlated with a higher risk of stroke and heart disease.
In a placebo-controlled study, people who took Ashwagandha showed a 36% decrease in levels of C-reactive protein(CRP) in the body. This protein increases in response to inflammation and is primarily responsible for a higher heart disease risk.
Ashwagandha was effective in decreasing inflammation in animal studies as well, according to several studies like this one.
If you are concerned about your risk of stroke, heart problems and rheumatoid arthritis, Ashwagandha may help because it has can support the immune system with powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
Reduces cholesterol
High levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) increase the risk of heart disease. Research suggests ashwagandha may help.
This study shows that subjects who took Ashwagandha root extract experienced a whopping 17% decrease in LDL levels.
In subjects with mildly high cholesterol levels, treatment with Ashwagandha for a month resulted in significant decreases in LDL and triglyceride levels, according to the same study that found hypoglycaemic benefits.
Your efforts to improve your health can be supplemented with the power of Ashwagandha. This medicinal herb has shown impressive results in lowering LDL levels, making it a must-have if you want to improve your long-term health.
Is Ashwagandha safe?
Do you still feel unsure about taking Ashwagandha supplements?
Yes, Ashwagandha is prized in Indian medicine for boosting male virility and increasing testosterone. That does not mean it’s bad for women. Ashwagandha does not have adverse effects on women's health.
For Women
In a study that showed the testosterone-boosting effects of Ashwagandha in men, the results in women were different. For women, no significant changes in testosterone levels were found.
Safety
In all the studies cited in this article, no statistically significant side effects were found.
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, Ashwagandha is not recommended.
If you have autoimmune disorders or are taking medication for conditions like diabetes, seek medical advice from your healthcare provider.
It is important to use a high-quality supplement, preferably KSM-66. Read on below to find out more.
What kind of supplement is the best and safest?
If you have searched for Ashwagandha online, you may already have seen the overwhelming number of options available. You need a high-quality supplement to make sure your body reaps the full benefits of this herb. Here is what you need to keep in mind:
Lower quality supplements often use the leaves of winter cherry. It is cheaper to use leaves, but their efficacy and safety are not widely studied.
The majority of clinical studies on Ashwagandha use Ashwagandha withania somnifera
root extract.
In some European countries, regulations do not allow the use of the leaves of the herb. The Food and Drug Administration in the US does not regulate this, but these European regulatory bodies allow only the use of the root to reduce the risk of side effects.
What is KSM-66?
When you shop for an Ashwagandha supplement, make sure it’s KSM-66.
KSM-66 uses the roots of this herb, which have been used for centuries by traditional healers and in scientific trials.
KSM-66 has been developed after 14 years of research.
KSM-66 is a full-spectrum supplement with the highest concentration available in the market. It has a balanced representation of components of Ashwagandha and absorbs well in the body.
In Conclusion...
Ashwagandha might be the secret to health and vitality that you’re looking for. Consult your healthcare provider about Ashwagandha.
Get a high-quality supplement so that your body reaps all the rejuvenating effects of this ayurvedic medicine.
