Stress Relief & Ashwagandha
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Stress impacts us in many different ways.
If I could pick one thing I'd do if I am very stressed out besides running, it would be sleep. Another thing I hear a lot about AND want to help someone with is stress management with nutrition and exercise. Why? I believe it is a significant driving force for inflammation (in turn, disease), relationship struggles, fatigue, weight loss or gain, and more.
I also hear a lot about this one plant in the nutrition and internet world, Ashwagandha! I heard it for the first time years ago when looking at things and supplements to help my son's and daughter's anxiety. As a mom, I was looking for anything without nasty side effects. After a bit of reading and researching, there was some evidence that it can be helpful for stress levels and mood. At this point, I was willing to try anything for my kids before jumping on medicine (not shaming anyone for using it, if you need it and the doctor agrees, then please do). So we tried it, and it seemed to help one of my kids, and then some friends tried it as well, and they loved it! But that is it. I didn't think it could be for anything else and went on my way.
Then in 2019, at FNCE conference (a vast nutrition conference with lots of food, 😋), I was at an immune system nutrition session with top researchers and doctors, and my mind was stunned. A doctor who has her own practice, grew herbs, and worked with the National Institute of Health, she asked us all this question:
Out of these supplements/plants, which one would you recommend to a patient that was a woman, constantly getting sick, was overweight, and had depression? Which one would be best?:
Echinacea
Elderberry
Probiotics
Ashwagandha
Now you know the answer since we are talking about it, but at the time, I was focused on immune support and thought, well, one of the first two because I never thought about Ashwagandha for weight and sickness. However, it made so much sense! Stress plays a big part in our hormones and our immune system! Now in my practice, this is one I do suggest if there is someone in high-stress situations, struggling with a healthy weight for their body and/or getting sick a lot. Why? One besides this doctor, who is pretty up to date with research and has over twenty years of experience using it, there is quite a bit of research on it.
What is it?
First, where does it come from? It is an Indian form of ginseng and grows in India, the Middle East, and some parts of Africa. It is a cherry winter evergreen shrub and is called Withania Sonifera. This plant has been medicinal in Ayurveda (Indian medicine) for over 3,000 years. I love India and its history of natural ways to use God's plants for our benefit.
What does the research say?
I've seen it be helpful for myself and clients for overall feelings of well-being. However, in this context could be placebo or antidotal. I, of course, want to go to the science behind it and what research says. So below are different areas that online will claim is beneficial for this plant, and what does actual research say? Was that doctor correct at FNCE? To keep it a "shorter" post, I am only going to focus on mood/stress, not all of the other mountains of research on weight, immune health, oncology, and memory. Feel free to google those topics in the picture below with this plant. But check back on my blog in a few weeks on how to research online for accurate and reliable information.
Owned by: Deepa S. Mandlik (Ingawale) & Ajay G. Namdeo (2021) Pharmacological evaluation of Ashwagandha highlighting its healthcare claims, safety, and toxicity aspects, Journal of Dietary Supplements, 18:2, 183-226, DOI: 10.1080/19390211.2020.1741484
Stress?
We all have it. Stressors in life. They can be good or bad (look at the link below for a beautiful book describing this). If you are alive, you have stress. Stress can be good in ways like doing something we know will bring us a goal (work), exercise (stressing the muscles creates more muscles and improves our health), and kids (yes, they are good stress, lol). We also have lousy stress like death, disease, and loss of a job. Our bodies cope with this by turning on and off the ANS and PNS systems and hormones like cortisol. When our bodies are constantly stressed (high cortisol levels and the ANS system on at all times), that can bring inflammation, disease, and fatigue. Ways to control this and get our ANS system to turn off are healthy coping skills (prayer, journaling, and counseling) and lifestyle habits (sleep, exercise, and nutrition). However, if someone is getting these and still stressed or needs more support to help them get into those habits, then using herbal solutions may be beneficial.
Here is a link to the book mentioned above!
Now, does it impact cortisol levels or stress levels? Impact mood like anxiety?
Another study in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry looked at participants with ICD-10 anxiety disorder. Although a small study, it showed it was helpful in the anxiety scale they used in the research. Its theory is that it has GABA- mimetic properties, a common pathway in anti-anxiety meds. Another study published in PLOS ONE showed 56% decreased anxiety among employees, which included 75 participants.
A study on weight management in the Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine and chronic stress that was randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled in 2016 shown that significant improvements in both primary and secondary measures. Including serum cortisol levels. The outcomes show that there may be some benefits to using it in weight management and chronic stress. I love when there is a lab to look at and there is actual changes in hormones for the better with a plant!
A study in the Journal of Medical Science that looked at sleep and anxiety: A Double-blind, Randomized, Placebo-controlled Study that used ashwagandha root extract showed improvements in anxiety and sleep. We all know we are in a better mood when we sleep!
What do systemic reviews show?
Well, a more recent one overall, shown in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, the most substantial evidence for the therapeutic efficacy of Ashwagandha is the alleviation of stress and anxiety symptoms. Most studies were small in human trials; however, up-and-coming research points to this plant and its ability to help our stress levels with fundamental pathways in the body it impacts. Many studies have shown that it is a very safe and tolerable plant.
I could keep going with studies, but those are the higher quality ones, and I would take forever to write them. You all don't want to read that long. I will say it has more research for pro ashwagandha than not seeing results than in other plant research I've seen. However, although safety looks terrific, please talk to your practitioner, doctor or pharmacist, especially if on any medication, since it can also impact the same pathways as some anti-anxiety medications. I also want to say before going to the store and buying this, please look at the safety and potency of the supplement you are purchasing, they aren’t all equal and plants can be easily take up chemicals used. Another blog post for another day.
Brands I recommend
Supplements are a passion of mine and I believe the right ones need to work, be safe and are tested. If you are looking for a complex (with amino acids and plants that make ashwaganda work better) then a third party tested company would be Stress Relief by Shaklee. If just looking for a supplement with ashwaganda by Life Extensions is my second pick and can click the title to check it out.
Until next time check out my FB/IG post on stress and what you can do nutritionally to help stress.
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-❤️ Bea Well, RDN
References:
Andrade, C., Aswath, A., Chaturvedi, S. K., Srinivasa, M., & Raguram, R. (2000). A double-blind, placebo-controlled evaluation of the anxiolytic efficacy ff an ethanolic extract of withania somnifera. Indian journal of psychiatry, 42(3), 295–301.
Choudhary, D., Bhattacharyya, S., & Joshi, K. (2017). Body Weight Management in Adults Under Chronic Stress Through Treatment With Ashwagandha Root Extract: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Journal of evidence-based complementary & alternative medicine, 22(1), 96–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156587216641830
Cooley, K., Szczurko, O., Perri, D., Mills, E. J., Bernhardt, B., Zhou, Q., & Seely, D. (2009). Naturopathic care for anxiety: A randomized controlled trial ISRCTN78958974. PLoS ONE, 4(8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0006628
Deepa S. Mandlik (Ingawale) & Ajay G. Namdeo (2021) Pharmacological evaluation of Ashwagandha highlighting its healthcare claims, safety, and toxicity aspects, Journal of Dietary Supplements, 18:2, 183-226, DOI: 10.1080/19390211.2020.1741484
Kaur, P., Mathur, S., Sharma, M., Tiwari, M., Srivastava, K. K., & Chandra, R. (2001). A biologically active constituent of Withania somnifera (ashwagandha) with antistress activity. Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry, 16(2), 195–198. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02864860
Langade, D., Kanchi, S., Salve, J., Debnath, K., & Ambegaokar, D. (2019). Efficacy and safety of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root extract in insomnia and anxiety: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.5797
Lopresti, A. L., & Smith, S. J. (2021). Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera) for the treatment and enhancement of mental and physical conditions: A systematic review of human trials. Journal of Herbal Medicine, 28, 100434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hermed.2021.100434
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. Medicine, 98(37). https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000017186
Mehra, P., Khurana, A., Mittal, R., Arya, B. S., Rajpal, Manchanda, R. K., Singh, K., Vichitra, A. K., Rakshit, G., Singh, J. P., & Padmanabhan, M. (2017). Homoeopathic pathogenetic trial of Withania Somnifera: A multicentric, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Indian Journal of Research in Homoeopathy, 11(2), 97. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijrh.ijrh_87_16
Pratte, M. A., Nanavati, K. B., Young, V., & Morley, C. P. (2014). An alternative treatment for anxiety: A systematic review of human trial results reported for the Ayurvedic Herb Ashwagandha (withania somnifera). The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 20(12), 901–908. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2014.0177
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