Have you heard of Ashwagandha?

What Is Ashwagandha?

Ashwagandha, one of the most powerful herbs in Ayurvedic healing, has been used since ancient times for a wide variety of conditions, and is most well-known for its restorative benefits. 

In Sanskrit Ashwagandha means “the smell of a horse,” indicating that the herb imparts the vigor and strength of a stallion, and has traditionally been prescribed to help people strengthen their immune system after an illness.

Ashwagandha is frequently referred to as “Indian ginseng” because of its rejuvenating properties, even though botanically, ginseng and Ashwagandha are unrelated.

Belonging to the same family as the tomato, Ashwagandha is a plump shrub with oval leaves and yellow flowers. It bears red fruit about the size of a raisin. The herb is native to the dry regions of India, northern Africa, and the Middle East, and today is also grown in more mild climates, including the United States.

Why Use Ashwagandha?

Ashwagandha has a lot of uses.

Ashwagandha is used for arthritis, anxiety, trouble sleeping (insomnia), tumors, tuberculosis, asthma, a skin condition marked by white patchiness (leukoderma), bronchitis, backache, fibromyalgia, menstrual problems, hiccups, and chronic liver disease.

Ashwagandha is also used as an “adaptogen” to help the body cope with daily stress, and as a general tonic.


Some people also use ashwagandha for improving thinking ability, decreasing pain and swelling (inflammation), and preventing the effects of aging. It is also used for fertility problems in men and women and also to increase sexual desire.


Ashwagandha is applied to the skin for treating wounds, backache, and one-sided paralysis (hemiplegia).

Benefits and Healing Effects

Ashwagandha contains many useful medicinal chemicals, including withanolides (steroidal lactones), alkaloids, choline, fatty acids, amino acids, and a variety of sugars. 

While the leaves and fruit have valuable therapeutic properties, the root of the Ashwagandha plant is the part most commonly used in Western herbal remedies.

Medical researchers have been studying Ashwagandha for years with great interest and have completed more than 200 studies on the healing benefits of this botanical :

• Improve thyroid function

• Treat adrenal fatigue

• Reduce anxiety and depression

• Combat effects of stress

• Increase stamina and endurance

• Prevent and treat cancer

• Reduce brain cell degeneration

• Stabilize blood sugar

• Lower cholesterol

• Boost immunity

In Conclusion, Ashwagandha has remarkable stress-relieving properties comparable to those of powerful drugs used to treat depression and anxiety. 

In addition to its excellent protective effects on the nervous system, Ashwagandha may be a promising alternative treatment for a variety of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. 

Ashwagandha has powerful antioxidant properties that seek and destroy the free radicals that have been implicated in aging and numerous disease states. 

Even more remarkable, are the emerging evidences suggesting that ashwagandha has anti-cancer benefits as well.

I don't know for you but I certainly want to get my hands on this little secret potion!