Ashwagandha comes from the root of the plant Withania somnifera. Ashwagandha has been used traditionally in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. Ashwagandha is often referred to as Indian ginseng. My first contact with this herb was approximately 8 years ago when I read about its possible effects in increasing testosterone. Since then I have studied this herb more and have included it in my stack of must have herbs.
We at biohacking collective have decided to make our own version and this is something really unique. As with our other tinctures this is a spagyrical extraction done in sub atmospheric conditions. The low pressure reduces the demand of heat and keeps all the valuable plant compounds from being destroyed in the process. The next step in this process includes the reintroduction of the purified minerals from the ash of the plant. This makes this tincture extra bio available and potent. The tincture is also nano emulsified with ultrasonic technology to make it even more easily accessible to the body.
So which are the main benefits of ashwagandha?
Ashwagandha has adaptogenic properties this means that it can modulate and help regulate certain processes in the body. The main thing for me when I look at the literature seems to be the reduction in stress by lowering cortisol levels in the blood (1). Cortisol acts as an antagonist to testosterone so decreased cortisol will help keeping the testosterone levels high.
Ashwagandha also seems to help with other stress markers and I found this interesting study showing that it could help against stress related male infertility (2).
There is also studies that shows that Ashwagandha could help with increasing muscle strength (2). In this study 57 males were included in the age between 18-50. Subjects in the treatment group consumed 300 mg of ashwagandha root extract twice daily, while the control group consumed starch placebos. The groups were using resistance exercise for 8 weeks and then the results were measured. And strength had increased more in the group taking 300mg of Ashwagandha daily, however muscle size hadn’t increased compared to the control group.
The final study I looked at is about Ashwagandha effects on the immune system. In this study the saw an increase in both T-cells and natural killer cells after ingestion of Ashwagandha (4).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23439798 (1)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19789214 ( 2)