Exploring Essential Supplement Ingredient: A Deep Dive into Ashwagandha
It’s no secret that 2020 and 2021 have been hard on most of us both mentally and physically. With so many Americans struggling with stress, anxiety, depression and fatigue, interest in supplements that can help support good mental health and improve mood is on the rise.
If you don’t already have your eye on ashwagandha this is your heads up to start paying attention!
So let’s take a deep dive into Ashwagandha and learn more about what it is and why you should consider including it in your next supplement formula.
The History of Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha, also sometimes referred to as Indian ginseng or winter cherry, has long been used in Ayurvedic medicine. Ayurvedic medicine is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in India and has been around for at least 5,000 years.
In Ayurvedic medicine, ashwagandha is used for stress relief and improved general health. Modern science is also backing up these benefits as well.
According to the NCBI, “Withania somnifera (Ashawagandha) is a very revered herb of the Indian Ayurvedic system of medicine as a Rasayana (tonic). It is used for various kinds of disease processes and specially as a nervine tonic. Considering these facts many scientific studies were carried out and its adaptogenic / anti-stress activities were studied in detail.”
Interest in Ashwagandha is on the Rise
In spring of 2020 there was a small but notable uptick in interest in Ashwagandha. However at the end of 2020/beginning of 2021 interest started to significantly increase. Around the end of May/beginning of June there was a massive spike in interest and has continued to increase in interest since then.
With many of the most popular and well known uses being improved mental health and mood we can expect to see this trend continue as we head into stressful and hectic holidays and the dreary winter months that follow.
According to Mental Health America, “Even before COVID-19, the prevalence of mental illness among adults was increasing. In 2017-2018, 19% of adults experienced a mental illness, an increase of 1.5 million people over last year’s dataset.”
“The number of people looking for help with anxiety and depression has skyrocketed. From January to September 2020, 315,220 people took the anxiety screen, a 93 percent increase over the 2019 total number of anxiety screens. 534,784 people took the depression screen, a 62 percent increase over the 2019 total number of depression screens.”
Obviously no supplement can replace prescription medicine and no supplement can be recommended to help with a disease like depression. It’s important to see the increase in how many people might be interested in a supplement that can help support mental health and mood.
Benefits of Ashwagandha Supplements
While much of the focus for ashwagandha’s benefits is on mental health there are also physical health benefits as well. We’ll review some of the most prominent and promising health benefits below.
Mental Health Benefits of Ashwagandha
Below is a visual breakdown of the level of evidence and magnitude of effect of each mental health benefit of Ashwagandha. These excerpts were taken from Examine.com. Examine is a great resource to determine the top benefits of just about any supplement ingredient you can think of! You can learn more about Ashwagandha on Examine here.
- Supports healthy brain & memory function
- Helps reduce stress
- Promotes mood
- Supports healthy cortisol levels
- Promotes health energy levels
Physical Health Benefits of Ashwagandha
- Helps lower total cholesterol
- Supports healthy blood sugar & triglyceride levels
- Promotes athletic performance
- Supports healthy weight loss
