Nov 28, 2013

ASWAGANDHA - Indian Herb. (By Elizabeth Renter | Natural Society )


December 27th
Native to North Africa, India, and the Middle East, ashwagandha is a staple of the Hindu traditional medicine called Ayurveda. This herb, also known as Withania Somnifera or Indian Ginseng (though it is not related to ginseng), is known to pack a healing punch and to have significant restorative properties. Although the benefits of ashwagandha are lesser known, that doesn’t make the plant any less powerful.
Benefits of Ashwagandha.
While this short and stout plant has a variety of benefits, the most widely recognized benefit of ashwagandha is its ability to boost the immune system. In fact, several studies have reportedly shown it to greatly boost the immune system, increasing white blood cell production, helping to ward off illness and disease. It’s these benefits that make it a go-to choice in Indian herbal medicine for people in recovery who are looking to rebuild their internal system after illness.
But, immune-system benefits are far from the only perks of this plant. In addition, it is said to impact sexual health—increasing fertility and even sperm count. It has also been traditionally used as an aphrodisiac. However, the roots may actually decreasefertility for women, so be forewarned.
For wound care, the leaves of the plant are said to provide a healing poultice. In addition, the roots have antifungal and antibacterial properties—good for warding off infection.
The benefits of ashwagandha are many; in addition to promoting fertility, aiding in wound care, and boosting the immune system, some other benefits are:
  • Diuretic.
  • Sleep aid
  • Galactogogue
  • Anti-epileptic
  • Anti-tumor
  • Pain relief
  • Eye health
  • Heart tonic
  • Lowers cholesterol
  • Regulates blood sugar
  • Reduces depression and anxiety
  • Combats stress
  • Fights cognitive decline due to brain cell degeneration.

How does one plant do all this? Observing the health benefits of thyme and health benefits of ginger – two other gifts from nature – it is easy to see how natural foods offer so much. On the note of the health benefits of ashwagandha, scientists aren’t quite sure what gives the plant it’s powerful punch, but they know the benefits are there. The plant is even labeled a “adaptogen”; this means aswagandha adapts to fit certain health needs within the body—it finds what’s wrong and attempts to fix it. Other studies indicate it derives many of its benefits from antioxidant properties. But even without knowing the “how” of ashwagandha’s benefits, we know it works, and has been working for centuries.
As with any herbal treatment, do your research before beginning supplementation. Plants are powerful substances and could still have some negative effects, despite being safer than many man-made solutions.
Additional Sources:

Aswagandha the Wonder Herb - As told by http://ashwagandhabenefits.net

Ashwagandha is known as an exotic Indian herb that has an exceptional stress-relieving component than those other powerful drugs that are used to treat anxiety and depression. Ashwagandha brings excellent protective effects on human’s nervous system, making it a promising treatment alternative for various degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. One of the many Ashwagandha benefits for women is that it has powerful antioxidant components that helps seek and destroy free radicals that can be found in numerous disease states like aging. There are many Ashwagandha benefits any studies have already proven it. However, one remarkable benefit stands out and that is the fact that Ashwagandha is an effective anti-cancer supplement. As a matter of fact, evidences about Ashwagandha benefits are continuing to emerge and many countries are being aware of the health advantages that it can bring.
Ashwagandha has actually been used for many centuries. Although this herb originated from India, Africans as well as Native Americans have also used it for forwarding off sickness and infections. The herbal medicine is already earning its popularity in Ayurvedic medicine.  That is the reason why Ashwagandha herbal medicine is now known as a powerful herbal alternative used by different health organizations. In fact, even science nowadays is starting to grasp all the Ashwagandha benefits. Different studies by professional researchers also have investigated its antioxidant, anti-stress, as well as anti-inflammatory properties. Many companies were amazed of the Ashwagandha benefits and they have taken action to include Ashwagandha in their products. Actually, 7 companies in America and 4 companies in Japan already applied for a patent and the number is still increasing.

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There are lots of Ashwagandha benefits that trigger the herb to become very popular worldwide. The herb is known for its exceptional ability to calm as well as promote sleep according to reliable research studies done by different universities worldwide. In Texas, professional researchers happen to find out the similarities of the sleep-inducing component of Ashwagandha as well as the calming effects brought by the famous amino acid GABA. Similarly, the herb has also been proven by different researchers to ease restlessness or anxiety, and even to reduce drug withdrawal symptoms. Many herbalists also value the herbal medicine’s ability to encourage adrenal recovery and stabilize moods.
If you think that Ashwagandha benefits is only limited to mood-related concerns, then this time you’re wrong. In India, Ashwagandha is used in order to help patients (usually the older ones) with cognitive ability, memory, and mental agility. The herbal medicine is also famous for its component that can fight off cough and cold symptoms. As a matter of fact, preliminary studies have given the researchers enough reason to know that the herbal medicine also has great ability to decrease cancer-triggering cells without affecting the body’s healthy cells. Ashwagandha benefits make the herbal supplement famous enough to be known by many people who love to use herbal alternatives. The herbal medicine is also considered by lots of herbalists as an effective anti-aging supplements. Also, it was traditionally known for its own ability to bring nourishment to muscles and bones.
Recent studies have also proved that orange berries from Ashwagandha can be applied as a topical treatment in order to aid skin ulcers, carbuncles, tumors, and many more. Further researches are on-going in order to collect more truthful Ashwagandha benefits and in order to determine the effectiveness of the herb even more. One of the most recent studies shown that Ashwagandha can treat diabetes, bone cancer, constipation, bipolar disorder, rheumatism, impotency, memory loss, nerve problems, arthritis as well as any other physical ailments. Also, they happen to found out that its effectiveness is very similar to the famous ginseng herb that has been widely used by Chinese.

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Environmental toxins, stress, as well as poor nutrition all can give detrimental impact to the nervous system. Regarding with that, scientific studies support the herb’s ability not only as a stress reliever, but also as a brain cell protector against the harmful and deleterious effects of the modern lifestyles. In validated models of depression and anxiety, Ashwagandha benefits have been identified to have the same effects with antidepressant drugs and tranquilizers. Specifically, oral taking of Ashwagandha for 5 days can have similar anxiety-relieving effects provided by other anxiety drugs, as well as similar antidepressant effects provided by other antidepressant drugs.

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Stress can dramatically cause increased peroxidation of lipids especially while decreasing levels of glutathione peroxidase and antioxidant enzymes catalase. Good thing is that Ashwagandha benefits include an effective anti-stress and anti-anxiety property better than other commercial drugs.

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Another study shown that Ashwagandha benefits for children help the growth of nerve cell “dendrites”, which generally allows these cells to communicate with other cells. Overall, this finding tend to suggest that one of the many Ashwagandha benefits is that it can heal the changes occurring in the brain tissue and often accompany dementia. Researchers also found out that Ashwagandha benefits help promote the growth of damaged as well as normal nerve cells. To know more about Ashwagandha benefits,visit the website url given in the heading.

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