By Christina Major | 3 August 2024
Looking at building strength and focus? Ashwagandha is an ancient herb that subtly helps your body be better naturally.
Just What Is This Ancient Herb Ashwagandha?
Ashwagandha is considered an ancient Ayurvedic herb. It's an adaptogen, something that helps the body adjust to life and keeps balance. Science shows that it can help increase brain function, help control sugars, lower cortisol levels, and help balance the hormones in the brain to increase resistance against anxiety and depression.
It's not the most palatable herb, having a slightly musty odor. It's best to get this in capsule form to avoid the smell.
More recent formulations of Dit Da Jow have included ashwagandha to help round out the formula. Wing Chun leaders, such as Leung Jan, Chan Wah Shun, and Chan Yu Min, use formulations that helped balance the blood. One of the ashwagandha's properties is to help clear out toxins in the blood. However, most herbalists generally do not give out their formulas, so it's difficult to tell which formula would have ashwagandha in it.
Fortunately, you could add ashwagandha as a supplement. Its safety rating is relatively high, and additional doses rarely cause problems.
Ashwagandha Can Help You Build Muscle Strength
Some research shows you may be able to increase muscle strength naturally using ashwagandha. A study of men indicated that they improved their muscle strength without any additional exercises in 30 days.
In another study, people seeking to lose weight and gain muscle lost nearly double the amount of fat that the control group did while still improving muscle strength.
Both studies looked at men who were seeking to tone their muscles, not put on extra strength. It's suspected that ashwagandha will not improve total muscle mass when the muscles are already toned.
Memory, Focus, and Cognition Improved with Ashwagandha
A fabulous aspect of ashwagandha is that it helps reduce long-term damage in brain and head injuries in various studies. As martial artists, a head injury is common, and anything you can do to help yourself heal is a great benefit. 'Baby' Jay Dee 'The Prodigy' Penn received a knockout head injury, the very type of injury that ashwagandha could help in his recovery.
Ayurveda medicine uses ashwagandha for focus and concentration. It can help reduce mental fatigue and improve concentration and possibly reaction times in a fight. When milliseconds count, that's important.
Keep Inflammation Under Control with Ashwagandha
As inflammation is one of the delay factors for healing, especially with tendon and joint injuries, ashwagandha’s ability to reduce inflammation and keep it reduced long term can improve healing and recovery.
Ashwagandha Gently Increases Testosterone
Studies show that ashwagandha can improve testosterone levels in men. The effect is most dramatic in men with lower testosterone levels than average. Several studies show a 'significant' increase in testosterone.
However, other studies in men with normal testosterone levels only showed a slight increase in testosterone. This suggests that taking ashwagandha will help bring you to more normal levels but will not push your system beyond what it should be. That can help reduce your chance of heart problems due to high testosterone levels.
Reduce Stress And Anxiety With Ashwagandha
The adaptogenic ability of ashwagandha helps your central nervous system react to stress and danger easier. It can help mitigate cortisol and the effects of long-term stress on your body.
In particular, it can help you sleep better. On top of helping to reduce blood pressure, anxiety and stress, it also directly impacts your ability to sleep. More people who took ashwagandha found they were able to sleep, and their insomnia symptoms decreased.
Other Health Benefits of Ashwagandha
Fortunately, ashwagandha helps your entire body. Other things that might help include:
As you start to explore the different formulations, we suggest you review the NutraHerbals option as one possibility:
If you want to give ashwagandha a try, be sure to talk to your doctor. It is not appropriate for people with autoimmune issues, as it could interfere with immune function. People taking medication for any of the issues above should use caution.
Fortunately, most people only gain health benefits when taking Ashwaganda. It's a wonderful herb that improves function of the body and helps you adapt to life's stresses.