Why the fuss about Ashwagandha?

Ashwagandha is currently one of the hottest herbs in the supplement industry. Today, let’s take a brief look at why.

First, like any other industry, understand that the supplement industry is susceptible to fads. Over the past 25 years, I have watched numerous herbs become insanely popular for a few years and then become largely forgotten. In a lot of cases, as it turns out, the marketing and science behind them turned out to be sketchy.

To be honest, I am not proud of that. I have said this many times: just because the supplement industry is not the drug industry does not mean everyone in it is a saint. The supplement industry is full of snakes and snake oil. This is why I tell you over and over to stick with brands you trust.

Now, let me climb down off that soapbox and talk about ashwagandha.

As I have discussed many times, Caring Sunshine believes that science is the best way to know if a product works or not. In particular, I am referring to clinical studies.

When I want to know about clinical studies for a particular herb, I go to Examine.com (subscription required) which keeps track of all the studies going on and grades herbs/supplements based on the results of those studies for specific health conditions.

The good news is that lots of clinical studies are being done on supplements, and we have never had more legitimate substantiation for taking supplements.

That is especially true for ashwagandha. Ashwagandha has been the subject of scores of clinical studies, and the results have been astounding. In fact, Examine rates ashwagandha at an A or B level for many health conditions, meaning there are multiple, credible health studies that support its use for those health conditions.

Here is a list of the health conditions for which ashwagandha has shown great promise:

• Power output
• Executive function
• Heart rate
• Triglycerides
• Blood glucose
• Oxygen uptake
• Aerobic exercise metrics
• Follicle-stimulating hormone
• Depression symptoms
• Sleep quality
• Cortisol
• Various sexual conditions

Ashwagandha is being studied for many additional health conditions and while it shows promise for many of them, more research is still needed.

In a nutshell, ashwagandha is far more than just a passing fad. It is a very valuable herb that helps a lot of people. Keep your eyes on it.

Photo by Shruti Mishra on Unsplash