Ashwagandha

An ancient Indian traditional medicine, Ashwa Gandha is commonly known as "Indian Winter cherry" or "Indian Ginseng". Ashwagandha churna, a finely sieved powder that can be mixed with water, ghee or honey and to be taken with warm milk. This ancient medicinal herb with multiple health benefits. It can reduce anxiety and stress, help fight depression, boost fertility and testosterone in men, and even boost brain function.Supplementing with ashwagandha may be an easy and effective way to improve your health and quality of life. Ashwa Gandha is a medicinal herb that may offer several health benefits, such as improved blood sugar, inflammation, mood, memory, stress and anxiety, as well as a boost in muscle strength and fertility.

This is commonly known as rasayana or rejuvenate herb. With time memorial, the Ashwa Gandha has been widely used in Ayurveda since ages with much positive effects and reasons for various medicinal purposes a most sought after for its uniqueness as an immunity enhancer. It enhances the proliferation of lymphocytes and increase natural killer cell activity in body. A clear and positive benefit of Ashwagandha, is not only it helps with building immunity, but enhancing protection against a wide range of common seasonal infections.

It still remains popular as an important ingredient of the most popular Ayurvedic treatments for many neural disorders that involve weakened immune function.

Uses & Effectiveness?Possibly Effective forStress. Some research shows that taking a specific ashwagandha root extract (KSM66, Ixoreal Biomed) 300 mg twice daily after food or another specific extract (Shoden, Arjuna Natural Ltd.) 240 mg daily for 60 days appears to improve symptoms of stress.Insufficient Evidence forAging. Early research shows that taking ashwagandha root extract helps to improve well-being, sleep quality, and mental alertness by small to moderate amounts in people aged 65-80 years.Metabolic side effects caused by antipsychotic drugs. Antipsychotics are used to treat schizophrenia but they can cause levels of fat and sugar in the blood to increase. Taking a specific ashwagandha extract (Cap Strelaxin, M/s Pharmanza Herbal Pvt. Ltd.) 400 mg three times daily for one month might reduce levels of fat and sugar in the blood in people using these medications.Anxiety. Some early research shows that taking ashwagandha can reduce some symptoms of anxious mood.Athletic performance. Some research shows that taking ashwagandha helps with how much oxygen the body can use during exercise. But it isn't known if this helps to improve performance.Bipolar disorder. Taking a specific ashwagandha extract (Sensoril, Natreon, Inc.) for 8 weeks might improve brain function in people being treated for bipolar disorder.Tiredness in people treated with cancer drugs. Early research suggests taking a specific ashwagandha extract 2000 mg (Himalaya Drug Co, New Delhi, India) during chemotherapy treatment might reduce feelings of tiredness.Diabetes. There is some evidence that ashwagandha might reduce blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.A type of persistent anxiety marked by exaggerated worry and tension (generalized anxiety disorder or GAD). Some early clinicalInsomnia. Some research shows that taking ashwagandha might help people sleep better.

The author is based in India and runs an Genuine Ayurvedic Trading in Ghaziabad, India.