Ashwagandha Benefits, Side Effects, Uses and Dosage

Researchers hint that, while it is not a strong sedative itself, but it helps in reducing stress, anxiety, calming down and induces good sleep.

Read more: How to overcome insomnia and sleep better

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Ashwagandha is one of the top herbs that are used for boosting fertility in men. Studies have shown that regular consumption of ashwagandha not only increases the sex drive in men but it is also effective in increasing the total sperm count and testosterone levels. The revitalizing benefits of ashwagandha also come into play when it comes to boosting the sexual health of men, as it provides more strength and virility, thereby improving their sexual performance.

Read more: Men's sexual problems and solutions
 

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Studies suggest that ashwagandha is very effective in balancing the hormones and decreasing the menopausal symptoms like anxiety, irritation, and stress in women. As a tonic, consumption of ashwagandha can help you in reducing several diet-related deficiencies while it flushes out the toxins from the body in the form of a diuretic. The lesser the toxins in the body, the better your bodily functions would be. Researches have also shown that ashwagandha has a potent effect in increasing the sex drive in women. It does so by increasing blood circulation and decreasing stress in the body.

Read more: Female hormones imbalance symptoms

The antioxidant and nutritive effects of ashwagandha make it an excellent tonic for hair. Ashwagandha nourishes hair follicles and strengthens the hair. Regular consumption of ashwagandha is known to alleviate stress in the body that leads to lesser hair fall. Additionally, the antioxidants present in ashwagandha fight the free radical damage and keep the hair from losing their natural colour.

Read more: Hair growth treatment and tips

Is there anybody who does not desire to have clean and supple skin? Do you know that ashwagandha helps in arresting the untimely ageing of the skin? The most common cause of ageing are free radicals that form in our body as a result of the various metabolic functions carried out daily by our body. Ashwagandha, with its antioxidant properties, can fight off these free radicals and keep your skin glowing and youthful. Not only this, it also helps remove skin wrinkles, dark spots and other signs of premature ageing which are a result of the free radical formation in the body. Additionally, it can be also used against keratosis (a skin condition) that makes the skin dry and rough. A cup of ashwagandha tea daily is suggested to alleviate the symptoms of keratosis.

Read more: Skin disorders and diseases symptoms

Ashwagandha, in many studies, has been found to be a natural inhibitor of the snake venom (poison) in the body. It is said to have a glycoprotein (a type of protein) that can stop the spread of hyaluronidase, which is an active component of snake venom that helps spread it to the nearby tissues. A topical preparation of ashwagandha has been traditionally used in India as a common method to fight against snake bites.

Do you feel stressed and tired all the time? Adrenal fatigue might be one of the reasons. Never heard of it? Most people haven't. But it's becoming fairly common these days due to the busy and fast-paced lifestyle which is anything but stressful. Whether it is work stress or some other kind of stress, constant pressure on the body can cause the adrenal glands (glands located above the kidneys) to release a hormone called Cortisol, which is a “stress hormone” of the body. This leads to symptoms like fatigue, digestive problems, disturbance in sleep and nervousness. Ashwagandha, as you may already know, is an anti-stress herb helps you calm down, thereby reducing the cortisol level in the body and combating adrenal fatigue.

Ashwagandha is found to be helpful in slowing down the effects of diseases like Parkinson's and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Though the exact way of its action is unclear.

Ashwagandha decreases the amount of triglycerides and cholesterol in the body. These are the fats which are majorly responsible for causing heart problems such as heart attack, stroke and arterial blockages.

Hence ashwagandha's adaptogenic property comes very useful in reducing stress, and this herb also acts as a muscle relaxant. Thus, ashwagandha is a potent agent for lowering the strain in your heart muscles. Some researchers claim that the tonic effects of this herb also strengthens heart muscles. A scientific research done on a group of elite cyclists in India exhibited the ability of ashwagandha in improving the cardiorespiratory endurance, which is the ability of our heart and lungs to provide more oxygen in blood during physical exercise. Higher levels of blood oxygen levels help us be more active for an extended period of time. To many, it may come as a surprise that Ashwagandha also possesses anticoagulant properties that help in preventing the formation of blood clots in the arteries. Hence, this herb covers most of the common problems of the heart, making it an excellent cardioprotective (protects the cardiovascular system).

(Read more: Heart disease causes and prevention)

Evident research suggests that ashwagandha increases the levels of the T4 hormone in the body. Further studies are still on to discover the potency of this herb in the possible treatment of hypothyroidism (a condition where the person has low thyroid hormone in the body).

Read more: Free T4 test

Ashwagandha is said to have a considerable effect on improving libido for both men and women and in the treatment of psychogenic erectile dysfunction in men (the inability to maintain an erection in men mainly due to psychological factors). A recent study suggests that regular consumption of ashwagandha can increase the sperm count of males.

Read more: Ayurvedic treatment for low sperm count
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Traditionally, a paste of ashwagandha is used on the affected skin to heal open wounds. Extensive research was conducted in India to study the effects of ashwagandha on animal models with diabetes. The research suggested that wounds healed faster and ashwagandha given orally was much more effective than when applied topically. However, in the absence of human studies, it is preferable to talk to your doctor before using ashwagandha for healing any kind of wounds.

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Ashwagandha along with “Maitake mushroom extract” (an edible mushroom, commonly consumed in Asia) has shown to be effective in increasing the phagocytic activity (the ability of our body to destroy the foreign pathogen). Thus it improves the ability of the body to fight infections. So next time you get under the weather brew yourself some ashwagandha tea and fight cold like a pro.

(Read more: Immunity boosting foods)

Do you suffer from swollen and painful joints? Studies have shown ashwagandha contains anti-inflammatory properties. These are especially helpful in bringing relief to the symptoms of arthritis. In Ayurveda, arthritis is said to be related to the gut and the imbalance in the digestive system or pitta of the body, ashwagandha increases the pitta and reduces the vata and kapha. Thus helping reduce the joint pains. Apart from this, the anti-inflammatory effects help avoid skin problems like eczema, psoriasis and hair problems like dandruff.

Read more: Inflammatory disease causes

Studies have shown that ashwagandha reduces the blood sugar level by increasing insulin secretion in patients with diabetes. It reduces the blood sugar levels not only for diabetic individuals but is found equally effective in reducing the blood sugar levels in healthy people too. However, you are recommended to check with your doctor before including ashwagandha in your daily routine.

Read more: Exercises for diabetes

There are many benefits and uses of ashwagandha, but its primarily used in anti-stress therapies.

Its anxiety relieving properties are quite often compared to that with chinese and siberian ginseng. A scientific research showed that ashwagandha significantly reduces anxiety and stress-related depression. This is particularly because of its adaptogenic and nutritional properties. Furthermore, adaptogenic properties can be extremely helpful in preventing many stress-related diseases such as premature ageing, high blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes.