How To Take Ashwagandha – Dosage, Reviews & Side Effects

28 Jul How To Take Ashwagandha – Dosage, Reviews & Side Effects

Ashwagandha is an Eastern adaptogen that has become increasingly well known in the West. It is used for a variety of reasons, but some people don’t tolerate it well. In this post, we will go over how folks are using ashwagandha, its dose, safety, possible side effects, and interactions.

What’s Ashwagandha?

Like most nutritional supplements, ashwagandha isn’t accepted by the FDA for almost any purpose. The proof presented here is considered preliminary and insufficient to warrant medical usage.

To avoid unexpected interactions along with other negative events, speak with your doctor before integrating ashwagandha into your everyday regimen.

“Horse Smell”

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is a part of this Solanaceae or nightshade family of plants. It goes under a lot of different names, such as Indian ginseng, poison gooseberry, or Indian winter cherry.

The name Ashwagandha could be traced back to early Sanskrit. It pertains to “smell of a horse” (ashwa “horse” and gandha”smell”) because the scent of its roots is comparable to that of horse pee. Others say its title indicates it will make you”powerful as a horse,” and there can be truth to this claim.

Ashwagandha is a powerful adaptogenic herb. Adaptogens increase the body’s resistance to stress, offsetting harmful effects and helping to balance bodily functions and the immune response.

Ashwagandha or Indian ginseng is a potent adaptogen that makes you more resistant to pressure and also is thought to balance your immune response.

Traditional Uses

In the Indian traditional medicine system of Ayurveda, ashwagandha is seen as a broad-spectrum remedy. It’s categorized as a Rasayana or even a rejuvenator. These are some of the conventional uses:

• The blossoms are used as a tonic, aphrodisiac, diuretic, antiparasitic, astringent, and stimulant
• The leaves are recommended for temperature and painful swelling
• The seeds are antiparasitic while the blossoms are used as an astringent, diuretic, and aphrodisiac and possess detoxifying effects
• The tender and tomatoes leaves are applied to tumors, ulcers, and wounds
• Other Helpful parts are the stem, fruit, and bark

Ashwagandha root is also utilized to restore health in women after giving birth and also to thicken and increase the nourishment of breast milk. Despite its centuries-long usage in India, Ashwagandha has only recently gained scientific recognition from the West.

In Ayurveda, ashwagandha is a rejuvenator and broad-spectrum tonic for various health ailments. It’s believed to have antiparasitic, aphrodisiac, diuretic, and detox effects.

Active Components

Ashwagandha contains a variety of active components, including an exceptional family of compounds known as withanolides, in addition to alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, flavonoids, tannins, phenols, and resins.

Withanolides

Among Ashwagandha’s components, the most biologically active are the withanolides, and the very best studied is withaferin A. This component has recently become a focus of research because of its capacity to hinder the growth of tumors.

Withanolides are steroid lactones. These naturally occurring plant steroids decrease inflammation, promote cancer cell death, and halt tumor progression.

Withaferin A is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory withanolide. Researchers are currently investigating whether it may be used to fight glioblastoma, the most common and deadliest brain cancer.

Among the principal obstacles to utilizing withaferin, A as a therapeutic agent is low bioavailability, meaning only a little amount of ingested withaferin A makes it into the bloodstream. Some researchers have suggested loading withaferin into a biodegradable implant to provide it effectively to the bloodstream.

Withanolides are unique compounds from ashwagandha researched for their anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects.

Sitoindosides

Sitoindosides are a set of anti-inflammatory saponins. They’re of interest to investigators since they might ease the psychological strain and prevent cognitive defects.

Sitoindosides VII and VIII appear to have the most promise as future therapeutic agents.

How to Take Ashwagandha

Basic Tips

The way you ought to take ashwagandha is dependent upon your goal and the type of supplement you bought.

Most clinical studies report dosing ashwagandha twice to three times daily for 1 to 3 weeks.

The available evidence indicates that it can be safer, to begin with, lower doses. Side effects are more likely to happen at greater doses.

Read on the supplement label carefully and ask your doctor if you are still unsure about when and how much you should take.

Nutritional supplement Formulations

Ashwagandha is available in many forms, such as powder, capsules, tablets, or essential oil. It can also be made to a tea or ointment using honey or ghee. Industrial Ashwagandha is frequently blended with black pepper infusion, yet another powerful antioxidant.

In Ayurveda, the new roots are sometimes boiled in milk before drying to leach out undesirable elements.

Taste & Smell

Ashwagandha is a superbly pungent herb. Its name means”smell of horse”, and many users say it could be overpowering. If you are worried about the odor and flavor of Ashwagandha but still want to try it, start looking for capsules of sterile extracts.

Ashwagandha Dosage

There is not any safe and effective dose of ashwagandha since no sufficiently powered study was conducted to locate one.

Root infusion: most clinical studies have used 120-1000 mg per day, with the most common dose being 300 mg twice daily.

Entire root: clinical doses vary between 2-10 g of powdered root each day, with an average of 5 grams per day.

Ashwagandha Reviews

The opinions expressed in this section are only those of the users, who may or may not have medical or scientific training. Their reviews don’t represent the opinions of SelfHacked. SelfHacked does not endorse any specific solution, service, or therapy.

Don’t consider user experiences as medical advice. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your health care provider or another professional healthcare provider because of something you’ve read on SelfHacked. We know that reading person, real-life encounters can be a helpful resource, but it is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment by a qualified healthcare provider.

Overview of User Experiences

Ashwagandha supplement reviews change. Some users report growth in anxiety, irritability, and sensitivity — particularly during the first day or two. Although this side effect tends to wear off, according to the user reviews we stumbled upon, some people continue to experience stress and quit taking ashwagandha.

On the other hand, several men and women say that ashwagandha assisted bring their stress and anxiety levels in check. In reality, the number one motive for taking ashwagandha one of all users we looked at has been anxiety.

Several people mentioned that it also helped with palpitations, OCD-like tendencies, and social anxiety linked with anxiety. Many users state that their anxiety did not go away, but they felt a significant enough subjective advancement.

Nausea is a frequent complaint among consumers, particularly in people taking the powdered extract. Encapsulated products seem to be somewhat better tolerated. One user pointed out that carrying ashwagandha with food may reduce nausea.

Some folks also took ashwagandha for sleep issues, mostly with decent results.

When taken for sleep, users often combined ashwagandha along with other Ayurvedic herbs, relaxing plants. For stress relief and stress, individuals typically purchased multi-ingredient”pressure relief” or”adrenal support” nutritional supplements, most of which contain B vitamins. This makes it difficult to tease apart the reported effects of ashwagandha from several other substances.

Last, a subgroup of users took ashwagandha to boost non-thyroid hormones. Some professional bouts of increased vitality, others said that it made them feel more exhausted and sleepy. One user went from feeling energetic to being extremely drowsy within a brief period of time, eventually stabilizing with good energy levels.

Overall, however, users with an underactive thyroid and reduced power report mixed results with ashwagandha.

Ashwagandha Safety, Side Effects & Interactions

This list doesn’t cover all potential side effects. Contact your doctor or pharmacist if you see any other side effects.

Call your physician for medical advice about side effects. In the US, you may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or at www.fda.gov/medwatch. Back in Canada, you might report side effects to Health Canada in 1-866-234-2345.

Safety

Ashwagandha is generally safe when taken in recommended dosages. Large doses of Ashwagandha can lead to abdominal discomfort and nausea.

Side Effects

Ashwagandha also has the potential to raise thyroid hormone levels, and individuals with hyperthyroidism might want to avoid it.

The following side effects have been reported with bigger doses or in sensitive individuals:

• Stomach upset
• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting due to stomach and gut mucous irritation
• Bloating
• Anxiety / Irritability
• Skin allergies

Interactions

Since Ashwagandha is somewhat sedative, talk to your healthcare provider prior to taking other sedatives (such as benzodiazepines, anti-anxiety drugs, or sedative herbs like St. John’s wort and kava) together with it.

Interactions with all the following are possible:

• Antidiabetes drugs, possibly additive: might excessively lower blood glucose
• Medicines for hypertension, possibly additive: may also lower blood pressure
• Herbs and supplements that might lower blood pressure such as cat’s claw, CoQ-10/ubiquinol, fish oil, L-arginine, stinging nettle, L-theanine, and organic diuretics
• Immunosuppressant Medications, potentially antagonistic: may activate the immune response and reduce the effectiveness of drugs Meant to suppress the immune system
• Thyroid hormones, potentially additive: might also increase thyroid hormones and increase the risk of side effects

Supplement-drug interactions could be dangerous and, in rare cases, even life-threatening. Always ask your physician before supplementing and inform them about all drugs and nutritional supplements you are using or considering.

Takeaway

Ashwagandha is safe and effective at daily doses of up to 1000 milligrams of origin extract or 10 g of powdered root.

The evidence suggests that it can be safer, to begin with, low doses and work your way up. If you decide to take ashwagandha, ask your doctor first, have a high-quality standardized supplement, and do your best to decrease stress.

Ashwagandha shouldn’t be taken with other sedatives, immune suppressants, or by individuals with high thyroid hormones.