The ashwagandha plant, one of the most powerful herbs in Ayurvedic healing, has been used since ancient times for a wide variety of conditions. It is most well-known for its restorative and rejuvenating benefits. In Sanskrit ashwagandha means “the smell of a horse,” indicating that the herb has the potential to impart the vigor and strength of a stallion. The ashwagandha root is also reported to have a smell reminiscent of horse sweat.

Traditionally, ashwagandha has been prescribed as a nerve tonic and adaptogen—an agent which helps the body adapt to various emotional and physical stressors. It has classically been used in India for nearly 5,000 years for conditions such as failure to thrive in children, weakness and debility in old age, rheumatism, constipation, insomnia, nervous conditions, stress, goiter, joint inflammation, parasites, hormone balance, and more. A paste made from the ashwagandha root powder applied topically to treat boils, ulcers, and other skin irritations and infections.

Function of Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha is known to help people strengthen their immune system after illness, chemotherapy, or surgery. It is a highly effective, evidence-based remedy to help reduce stress levels and anxiety—by lowering cortisol levels and mimicking the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA.

Ashwagandha is frequently referred to as “Indian ginseng” because of its rejuvenating properties, even though botanically, ginseng and ashwagandha are unrelated.

Belonging to the same nightshade family as the tomato, organic ashwagandha is a plump shrub with oval leaves and yellow flowers. It bears red fruit about the size of a raisin. This adaptogenic herb is native to the dry regions of India, northern Africa, and the Middle East, and today is also grown in more mild climates, including the United States.

Why Use Ashwagandha?

Do any of these common symptoms sound familiar?

• Stress
• Fatigue
• Difficulty concentrating
• Poor memory
• Trouble sleeping
• Low libido
• Frequent illness
• Anxiety
• Low endurance (mentally or physically)
• Joint pain
• Neurological condition

The use of ashwagandha can work as an herbal medicine to help alleviate these symptoms and support an energetic and rejuvenating sense of well-being.

Ashwagandha Benefits and Healing Effects

Ashwagandha contains many useful medicinal chemicals, including withanolides (steroidal lactones), alkaloids, choline, fatty acids, amino acids, and a variety of sugars. While the leaves and fruit have valuable therapeutic properties, the organic ashwagandha root of the ashwagandha plant is the part most commonly used for treatment in Western herbal medicine remedies because of the effects of ashwagandha are manifold.

Medical researchers have been studying ashwagandha for years with great interest and have completed more than 200 studies on the healing benefits of this botanical. Some key examples of Ashwagandha health benefits are:

• Protects the immune system
• Helps combat the effects of stress
• Improves learning, memory, and reaction time
• Reduces anxiety and depression without causing drowsiness
• Helps reduce brain-cell degeneration and improve cognitive function
• Stabilizes blood sugar
• Helps lower cholesterol
• Offers anti-inflammatory and analgesic benefits
• Contains anti-malarial properties
• Enhances sexual potency for both men and women
• May be an effective anti-tumor agent
• Promotes new nerve growth

Ashwagandha as an Adaptogenic Herb

In Ayurveda, there are specific herbs with adaptogenic benefits—ashwagandha is one of them. Adaptogens are substances (a combination of amino acids, vitamins, and herbs) that modulate your stress response or reaction to a changing environment. Adaptogens help the body cope with external stresses such as toxins in the environment and internal stresses such as anxiety and insomnia, or any stress-related disorders.

Others examples of adaptogenic herbs include cordyceps, Tongkat Ali and Maca

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