What Is Ashwagandha And Why Do People Take It?
What Is Ashwagandha?
Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera) is a plant that naturally grows in India, China, Nepal, and Yemen. It has been used for hundreds of years in Ayurveda (traditional Indian medicine), and has recently gained popularity in Western culture due to new research supporting its benefits. Its proven health benefits include stress reduction, nervous system and endocrine system aid, immune system and cardiovascular health aid, and sleep aid.
The root's active ingredients include several compounds that are considered bioactive, the steroidal lactones withanolide glycosides and withaferins, alkaloids, acylsteryl glycosides and saponins. Withanolides are the best-known active ingredients in Ashwagandha. Our ashwagandha capsules contain the best researched levels of these compounds.
How Is It Taken?
The roots of the ashwagandha plant are ground up into a powder. You can either eat this powder on its own, put it in a drink or yogurt or smoothie mixture, or take it as a pill. We prefer the pill method because it makes it easiest to control the exact amount you are taking, and you don't need to add it to anything that could interfere with its benefits. Our pill capsules are made out of vegan pullulan, the industry standard vegan, all natural pill casing.
Ashwagandha Benefits
Stress And Anxiety
Cortisol is a hormone that is released from the human adrenal gland in response to stress. While it has its place as a short-term defense mechanism for the fight or flight response, modern humans often have chronically high levels of cortisol due to high levels of stress. Chronic high cortisol has been shown to have negative effects on glucose and lipid balance as well as vascular integrity, gastrointestinal membrane integrity and nervous system function.
Ashwagandha has been shown to decrease cortisol levels, bringing the body back to a natural balance and a healthier response to stress. This stops the body from perpetually staying in a fight or flight state and frees up resources for your body to work on more important tasks such as a healthy reproductive system and recovery.
Brain Function, Muscle Tone, and Sleep
Ashwagandha aids in healthy nervous system function, it provides antioxidant support, and it naturally stimulates the pathways in the brain for GABA (a neurotransmitter that is responsible for promoting calmness and regulating muscle tone). Ashwagandha supports a calm and stable mood, and it helps to regulate natural cortisol rhythm. Several studies also have shown that ashwagandha supports healthy sleep, which allows your body to recover.
In untrained healthy men performing resistance training for eight weeks, consumption of ashwagandha root supported muscle strength and recovery. Ashwagandha promotes healthy levels of creatinine kinase, which reduces the natural muscle damage that happens from exercise and promotes quick recovery. Ashwagandha also has been shown to support healthy sperm levels and normal levels of testosterone in men.
Joint Health
Ashwagandha is known for aiding in inflammatory response in humans. It naturally decreases levels of C-reactive protein, which is a marker for the body's inflammatory response. Ashwagandha has been shown to support occasional joint pain, stiffness, swelling and discomfort in healthy men and women.
Where Can I Get It?
Our organic ashwagandha is formulated for its purest properties to give our customers as much benefit as possible. We take pride in supplying the highest quality ashwagandha for everyone, whether they are an athlete looking to recover faster, a yogi looking for balance, or a busy professional looking to relieve some stress. You can order yours here!