Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha Health Benefits*
Ashwagandha is very effective in relieving stress and hypertension, body fitness, longevity, rejuvenation. It is also a very good remedies for relief from pain, hypertension and also releases the stress. The herbal extracts from Ashwagandha are one among the famous rejuvenating ayurvedic herbs. Ashwagandha acts towards increasing the body’s stamina maintenance, relives body stress, insomnia and fatigue. No other aphrodisiac is as potent as Ashwagandha among all the herbs in botanical kingdom. Ashwagandha has the richness of phytochemicals like cholin, trapino, withananine and alkaloids. The unique property of Ashwagandha to act as anti-stress agent accelerates better physique, and supports to cope up the daily stress in life. The anti-oxidant, anti-depressant properties are well known along with the longevity and anti-aging benefits.
Roots and leaves of Ashwagandha are used for making various herbal preparations. India is a prime cultivator for Ashwagandha and mainly it is grown in drier regions of the country. It belongs to the tomato plant family. It grows like stout shrub, reaching heights around 5 to 5.5 feet average. Flowers of Ashwagandha are yellow coloured and it possesses red fruits which look like berries in shape and size. It is abortifacient, nervine, tonic, deobstruent, sedative and aphrodisiac. Officially, it is Indian Pharmacoepeia and popularly, it is known as Indian Ginseng.
The Sanskrit meaning of the word Ashwagandha is the one which ‘smells like horse’.
The word probably could have originated from its odour of the fresh roots, that’s similar to the odour of sweaty horse. This herb is well known for its anti-stress property. The name somnifera which the species have is a Latin word meaning ‘sleep-bearing’, which indicates that it can be considered as a sedative. The name Indian ginseng has been arrived from by the active ingredients, withanolides, which resemble ginsenosides of Asian ginseng.
- It has anti-inflammatory benefits*
- Can be used for relieving arthritic pain*
- Helps in reduction of high cholesterol levels *
- Reduction of insomnia and provides sound sleep*
- Helps in relieving hypertension and stress*
- Physical fitness in improved *
- Acts as a strong rejuvenate*
- It’s a powerful aphrodisiac, helps to treat erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, infertility and other erection disorders.*
- Enhancing brain functioning. *
- Helps arteriosclerosis, malignancy, premature aging and fluctuating blood sugar levels.*
- Helps in increasing physiological endurance.*
- Helps to reconstruct the nervous system network, hence effective for treating . Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.*
- Restores and increases libido.*
*The statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products and information provided on this site are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you have a medical condition, consult your physician. All information is provided for educational purposes only. Please consult your doctor if your pregnat. Keep these and all supplements out of the reach of children.
Other Names For Ashwagandha
Latin Name - Withania somnifera
Family Name - Solanaceae
Common Names - Ashwagandha, Winter cherry, Indian ginseng, Asgandh
Ashwagandha in Ayurveda
Clinical Studies and Researches on Ashwagandha
Around 4000 years backs, sage Punarvasu Atreya had mentioned about the ayurvedic properties of Ashwagandha in his teachings. Ancient ayurvedic literature like Charaka, Sushruta and Samhitas has praised Ashwagandha as tonic for emaciation among all aged people including babies. It enhances the reproductivity of men as well as women. It has been used for arthritic inflammations, rheumatic condition, counteracts the aging ravages, promoting youthful body and longevity. It has been used as a mild purgative in case of chronic constipation, treating swollen glands, etc.
In potency, it is ushan virya, it has light (laghu), and penetration (tickt) properties. Ashwagandha contains katu, madhur rasa and tickt. The combination of these superior properties has lead Ashwagandha to act on various diseases and has given great results. It suppresses vata, because of its ushan virya properties and thus helps to eradicate the diseases which are caused by the dominating vata. The hot potency of Ashwagandha helps to oppose the rising kapha and hence suppresses the increasing and unbalanced situation of kapha dosha. The root contains biochemicals like tropine, cuseohygrine, anahygrine and anaferine. It also has glycosides, withenolide with starch and amino acid. Traditionally, it has been used as sedative, diuretic, anti-inflammatory agent, rejuvenating tonic, stress relieving and adaptogen (endurance enhancer). *
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A lot of scientific studies have been carried out on Ashwagandha and they not only prove about its stress relieving abilities but also enlighten the properties to protect brain cells against deleterious effects from modern lifestyles.
To prove this some examples like, in case of depression and anxiety, it have been proven as some effective tranquilizer and anti-depressant drug. Experiments have shown that the effects of oral consumption of Ashwagandha for 5 days was equivalent of using an anti-anxiety drug known as lorazepam (Ativan®) and imipramine (Tofranil®).
Some of the recent cell studies conducted by Indian scientists show that Ashwagandha extracts can disrupt the cancer cell’s ability of reproducing and thus is a key factor to fight cancer. Additionally the analysis also indicate of the anti-angiogenic properties of Ashwagandha (This ability prevents cancer to form new blood vessels for supporting the unbridled growth). Thus various analysis have strengthened the truth about the anti-cancer properties of Ashwagandha and further researches in these areas are still continued.
One of the clinical researches, carried out on the elevated stress levels caused by the stress hormone cortisol, by the standards extracts of Ashwagandha on negative stress effects, since many adverse stress effects have been associated with rising cortisol levels. Impressive results were obtained here. The participants showed great improvements and had about 26% reduction in cortisol levels, declined fasting blood sugar levels and improvement in lipid profiles. They observed less fatigue, improved and increased energy, better sleep and a feeling of over all well-being. This proves that Ashwagandha addresses many health issues and psychological problems that are hindering the well-being in today’s world.
The Institute of Natural Medicine at the Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University in Japan have conducted an extensive research on the brain benefits that Ashwagandha has. The scientists there tried to find ways for encouraging regeneration of various components of nerve cells known as dendrites and axons in validated human brain models. The benefits of this valuable research can be incorporated on people incurring brain injuries caused by physical trauma including those suffering from cognitive decline by destruction of nerve cell networks by diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Researches were also carried out on validated models of damaged nerve cells as well as impaired nerve-signal paths. They have supported the regenerative of axons and dendrites of nerve cells. It helps in reconstructing synapses, junction where the never cells are communication with the other cells. Thus all the investigations conducted prove Ashwagandha extracts benefits of reconstruction of nervous system networks and makes it one of the potential treatments in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
A study was conducted on a group of males. They were given 3 Gms of Ashwagandha powder daily for 3 month duration. They showed significant increase in red blood cells count, and most of them reported improvement in sexual performance.
Researches conducted also support the growth of dendrites and allow a better reception of communication with other cells. This suggests Ashwagandha can be used to heal brain tissue damages and changes which accompany dementia.*
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