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Some words can be given contextual personality by simply adding, for instance, an exclamation point. Ashwagandha is just such a word. Already exotic at first glance, add an exclamation point and you have what looks like a battle cry, or the title of a foreign film about freedom fighters in an unnamed revolution.
ASHWAGANDHA!
See? The word is a natural for your local art-house movie marquee. Ashwagandha, (scientific name Withania somnifera—which no exclamation point can rescue) is in fact the name of a demure little plant, and one of the most powerful herbs in the ancient Ayurvedic medicinal traditions of India.
Ashwagandha has been in use as a healing agent for a large part of recorded human history, earliest evidence of its use as a regenerative tonic going back some 6,000 years1.
Used in ancient times for a broad array of conditions, ashwagandha is best known to traditional medicine practitioners as a restorative, with potent rejuvenating benefits, and as a stress reducer.
In Sanskrit, Ashwagandha means “the scent of a horse”, and in the wild, the root of the plant does indeed give off a distinctly equine bouquet, which the ancients found appropriate, given ashwagandha's ability to convey strength and power. A popular Ayurvedic herb today, ashwagandha is prescribed in traditional medicine circles, for stress, fatigue, rheumatoid arthritis, gastrointestinal troubles, diabetes, and even epilepsy.
Ashwagandha is even used topically (on the skin, that is) as an analgesic; a mild pain killer, like aspirin.
Ashwagandha Offers an Adaptogenic Life Boost. So to Speak.
Ashwagandha. Where to start? This syllable-laden shrub is an adaptogen; a naturally found substance that helps the body establish and maintain that physiological equilibrium known to biologists as homeostasis.
Studies have shown that ashwagandha has neuroprotective and anti- inflammatory properties2, making it both anti-arthritic and a helpmate to cognition, though the root's mechanisms aren't fully understood. Clinical trials have established, though, that ashwagandha is indeed having a measurable anti-stress physiological effect3, due to its adaptogens actively maintaining homeostasis at the cellular level4.
The term "adaptogen" was coined by researchers in the 1940s to describe a category of herbs that, when ingested, seem to help maintain homeostasis — the internal stability of a living system — no matter the changing external conditions. Plants use their adaptogenic properties to withstand extreme weather conditions and other natural stressors in the ecosystem.
Ashwagandha and Anti-Oxidation
Ashwagandha’s anti-oxidant properties may explain to the modern researcher why this herb has garnered such a reputation through the millennia for providing both a sense of “energy”, and a reputation for providing longevity.
As for aches and pains, the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine has reported that ashwagandha does admirable work mitigating the pain of arthritis5
How? Withanolide is a naturally occurring steroid, and ashwagandha is naturally chock full of the stuff, wielding withanolide’s anti-inflammation program to relieve the joint pain associated with arthritis.
And clinical studies suggest the mechanism by which ashwagandha’s cancer-battling qualities are enacted. Research by The Sloan Kettering Cancer Center6 indicate ashwagandha’s tumor-slowing effects may have to do with a sapping of the cancer cell's internal energy store, actually disabling or slowing the cancer cell’s reproductive capacity. And cancer cells only exist to reproduce in finally unsustainable numbers.
Ashwagandha: Your Adaptogenic Guide to Steps One and Two
So…while traditionally, ashwagandha has been used as a nerve tonic and adaptogen—an agent which helps the body adapt to various emotional and physical stressors—ashwagandha's fan base sends it to do battle against all systemic enemies of “natural good health”.
Ashwagandha is something of a mercenary—it will go where directed and address the issue, from parasites to goiter to constipation. Such is the mechanistic Wonder of it All in our ecosystem which is — technically, and happily — the place where biology lives; and laughs and loves (depending on the biology in question, of course). As living creatures, we must make full use of nature’s fairly insane bounty. It’s not for nothing ashwagandha has long been a staple in traditional cultures.
We all aspire to the radiant simplicities of natural health. On reaching that physiological plateau—Step One—we may move on to the grander, more heart-driven themes—Step Two—that make our time on Earth worthy and energizing. Ashwagandha helps us take care of Step One, and that's the big one. With ashwagandha's help, we can all stay around and enjoy Step Two together. And isn't that the whole idea of All This?
Hey, we emerged from nature. Not to freak you out, but We ARE nature. Making use of her leafy meds to truly live is taking a page from our own book—and what a story we’ve yet to tell.
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