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3 Benefits of Ashwagandha
Hello. I'm a pharmacist Jinny.
Have you been feeling stressed lately? It's impossible to be stress-free in your life, but there are people who are particularly vulnerable to stress, and there are people who suffer from chronic stress.
If so, I would like you to pay attention to the 'Ashwagandha' that we are introducing today. Ashwagandha is an herb that has been used for a very long time in Ayurvedic medicine, a traditional Indian medicine. Also known as 'Indian ginseng', it was widely used for nourishment.
This is because ashwagandha works to improve the body's resistance to stress. Today, there are attempts in the scientific community to use ashwagandha to improve symptoms such as insomnia and anxiety.
Now, let's take a look at the research-proven benefits of ashwagandha.
Many of you probably know by now that stress releases a hormone called cortisol.
While it's true that we need cortisol to cope with stressful situations, when we release too much cortisol due to chronic stress, it can lead to health problems. One of the most common symptoms of an excess of cortisol is increased appetite and increased fat accumulation. In other words, when you're stressed, your body is prone to gaining weight.
In a 2021 clinical trial, 130 adults were given 300 mg of ashwagandha extract per day. In addition to stress as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale Index (PSS-10), serum cortisol levels were reduced [1].
"At the fourth visit, the intake group had lower PSS-10 scores, serum cortisol levels, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQ) scores but higher Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) scores in the supplementation group, suggesting significantly lower stress levels and significantly improved psychological well-being and sleep quality. No adverse events were reported."
Everyone has had the experience of not being able to get a deep sleep and not feeling refreshed when they woke up in the morning.
In fact, it is described as nonrestorative sleep; NRS). As the word 'non-restorative' suggests, it refers to sleep where you have slept but don't feel refreshed when you wake up. Worldwide, about 10% of the population suffers from fatigue due to non-restorative sleep.
In a clinical trial published in Sleep medicine, another SCI-level journal, 150 subjects with non-restorative sleep were given 120 mg of ashwagandha extract for six weeks. As a result, the total score of restorative sleep, as well as indicators such as sleep efficiency, total sleep time, and wakefulness time after sleep were significantly improved [2].
As a result, ashwagandha extract has been recognized by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for its sleep health functionality.
"Self-reported sleep quality increased by 72% in the test group compared to 29% in the placebo group. Based on activity monitoring data, significant improvements were shown in sleep efficiency, total sleep time, sleep latency, and wakefulness time after 6 weeks compared to the placebo group in the test group. In the Ashwagandha test group, quality of life scores showed significant improvement in physical, psychological, and environmental domains."
The tyranny of stress doesn't end there. Due to long-term stress, many patients are diagnosed with anxiety disorders.
Specifically, anxiety disorders are believed to be associated with disturbances in the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis leading to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal glands.
According to a 2019 clinical trial published in the SCI-level journal Medicine, ashwagandha extract was found to help improve anxiety through HPA axis modulation [3].
"Compared to placebo, ashwagandha supplementation was associated with a statistically significant reduction in the HAM-A (Hamilton Anxiety Scale) and a nearly significant reduction in the DASS-21 (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale). These results suggest that the stress-relieving effects of ashwagandha may result from a modulating effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis."
So far, we've looked at the benefits of consuming ashwagandha through research. In addition to the benefits introduced today, ashwagandha is a health ingredient that has been attracting attention from the academic community due to its reported benefits ranging from immune regulation to neuroprotection, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer.
So, if you're looking to help with your health in general, including stress management, you might want to give it a try.
So, I hope you have a healthy day in body and mind. It was Jinny.
[1] Gopukumar, K., Thanawala, S., Somepalli, V., Rao, T. S. S., Thamatam, V. B., & Chauhan, S. (2021). Efficacy and Safety of Ashwagandha Root Extract on Cognitive Functions in Healthy, Stressed Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2021, 8254344.
[2] Deshpande, A., Irani, N., Balkrishnan, R., & Benny, I. R. (2020). A randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study to evaluate the effects of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract on sleep quality in healthy adults. Sleep medicine, 72, 28–36.
[3] Lopresti, A. L., Smith, S. J., Malvi, H., & Kodgule, R. (2019). An investigation into the stress-relieving and pharmacological actions of an ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Medicine, 98(37), e17186.
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