A few of you asked me to run through some of the supplements I was taking and there are quite a few but I thought I would do an Ingredient spotlight on one of my all-time favorite Ayurvedic herb supplements, #Ashwagandha (I know I don’t talk about this a lot but I am huge fan of traditional medicine which is also part of both my heritage and upbringing). #BWInnerBeauty #BWIngredients
.
Ashwagandha, also known as “Indian ginseng” because of its rejuvenating properties is seen as one of the most powerful herbs in Ayurveda. In Sanskrit, Ashwagandha means “the smell of a horse” as it’s seen as imparting the vigour/ strength of a stallion. It has been used as a medicinal herb over thousands of years in India.⠀
.⠀
The long, brown, and tuberous roots are usually used for medicinal purpose to relieve stress, strengthen the immune system, help treat fatigue, pain, and gastrointestinal ailments. However, in some newer studies, ashwagandha has been found to have skincare benefits such as cleansing, moisturising and reducing the appearance of ageing skin. The herb is native to the dry regions of India, northern Africa, and the Middle East.⠀
.⠀
Benefits/Studies:⠀
One of the key reasons I like to use it is to manage any bouts of anxiety and stress. “Anxiety disorders are widespread and disabling conditions with a lifetime prevalence of nearly 30% in the United States” (Kessler RC, 2005) Anxiety is often accompanied by stress, which is the body’s physiological response to mental or physical threats. Ashwagandha shows promising results for the treatment of stress and anxiety (Pratte, 2014) ⠀
Adaptogen herb is “A unique group of herbal ingredients used to improve the health of your adrenal system, the system that’s in charge of managing your body’s hormonal response to stress” (www.bewell.com) – relieves stress and in turn prevent stress-induced acne (K. Chandrasekhar et al, 2012)⠀
Regarded as treating acne in some studies by deterring oil plugs from being formed on the skin (Singh N et al, 2011)⠀
beneficial for normalizing thyroid indices in subclinical hypothyroid patients. (Sharma AK, 2017)
Anti-inflammatory (Budhiraja and Sudhir, 1987).
.
Caution:
Pregnant or breastfeeding women should avoid ashwagandha
.
My experience:
I love to take Ashwagandha mostly as a way of managing stress and anxiety which in turns brings hormonal and cortisol levels to balance. I find that it greatly affects my mood in giving me a sense of calm to tackle a busy or hectic day ahead. I feel that it works really well when I am traveling (which I am just now). I have tried other supplements like Rhodiola Rosea as another adaptogen supplement to beat stress, however, this always puts me to sleep and I can barely keep my eyes open after a few hours of taking it where the “calming” effects become more of a “sleepy” effect. So if you are looking for a supplement to manage stress and anxiety, this is one supplement I would suggest looking into especially if you are someone like me who has several things on the go always.
