Hey, guys, Dr. Axe here, doctor of natural medicine and founder of draxe.com.
In this video, I'm going to be training you on the many benefits of ashwagandha and how
you can use it to improve your adrenal health, thyroid health, brain health, and a whole
lot more.
And I'll tell you what, ashwagandha from a clinical perspective, this is probably one
of the top five herbs I've prescribed my patients on a regular basis, and in Ayurvedic medicine
in India, this is really a famed herb.
Now, it's really more of a shrub/root that is used with ashwagandha and, again, typically
grown in India, but it actually is grown in other places in the world as well.
And really, what makes it so powerful is ashwagandha acts as an adaptogen, okay?
So again, in Ayurvedic medicine, they call it an adaptogenic herb, which basically means
it doesn't cause your body to do one thing or another.
It helps bring your body back into balance.
Here's an incredible thing.
You know, there are studies on patients with thyroid issues or other health conditions,
like high cortisol, and they found that patients with high cortisol, when they took ashwagandha,
it helped lower the cortisol.
When patients had low cortisol, it helped raise the cortisol.
So that's the incredible thing about adaptogens, especially ashwagandha, is it helps bring
your body back into balance, and part of the reason is it contains a unique set of compounds
called alkaloids.
And alkaloids have various effects on the body, especially helping balance hormones
and support neurological health and tissue.
Now, another incredible thing here, it's often referred to as Indian ginseng because of its
ability to support libido in sexual health there as well.
We know ginseng in Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine was really shown to improve overall
energy and chi levels in the body, so again, great for stamina, extraordinary stress-relieving
properties.
Now, the other big thing, if you go to India today, they'll drink something, as well here,
called ashwagandha tea as well as tulsi tea.
And these types of teas are known to extend life.
That's actually why ashwagandha ranks in the top three herbs used in Ayurvedic medicine,
and those herbs, all of them have the same thing in common.
They extend life.
They make your life longer, more full, help with anti-aging.
So let's talk about some of the specific benefits of ashwagandha, especially in terms of clinical
studies.
Number one, it's been shown to increase stamina and endurance.
This is great for athletes, you know, especially if you have a runner or a triathlete, or let's
say a swimmer or a CrossFit athlete.
Anybody who's out there doing any type of exercise, ashwagandha promotes recovery as
well as stamina and endurance.
You know, another adaptogenic herb I love to do in combination with ashwagandha for
athletes would be rhodiola rosea, or also ginseng is another one that's great to do
in addition.
Number two, reduces anxiety.
You know, the number of people today that struggle with chronic anxiety due to emotional
stress is really high.
Here's the great thing.
Ashwagandha works to reduce stress levels, reduce cortisol levels, which relieves anxiety
and can relieve even conditions like depression and just sort of those emotional feelings
of being overwhelmed.
If you're a person that feels anxiety or just feels overwhelmed all the time, ashwagandha
is one of the top herbs you want to be taking on a regular basis.
Now, along with ashwagandha, I'd say another thing to do in addition would be lavender
oil or chamomile can also relieve anxiety.
Number three is it benefits the thyroid.
There was an incredible medical study where they found that ashwagandha, when people had
TSH levels that were too high, it helped bring it down.
And when their TSH levels, TSH stands for thyroid-stimulating hormone, when it was too
low, it helped bring it up.
That's the incredible thing about ashwagandha, these adaptogenic herbs, they bring your body
back into balance.
So whether you have hypothyroidism, Hashimoto's disease, Grave's disease, hyperthyroidism,
or even.
. . Maybe you don't know you have a thyroid problem,
but you've got thinner hair than you want and you tend to hold on to body fat more than
you want or you have cold extremities.
Those are all warning signs you could have thyroid issues.
Ashwagandha helps the thyroid.
And I'll mention this as well before I jump into another one, it also helps the adrenals.
It's my number one herb for adrenal fatigue.
If you have adrenal issues or thyroid issues, ashwagandha is the absolute best.
Number four, it improves your mood.
Again, so many people today struggle with depression, struggle with exhaustion, and
just having too much going on in life.
Ashwagandha is great, working as a natural antidepressant.
And number five, it benefits brain health.
Whether we're talking about Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, ADHD in children, and a whole
lot more, ashwagandha is a great herb because of how it balances out hormones.
Listen, the number of conditions we have today that are caused by hormone balance, especially
cortisol and insulin . . . so that's another great thing.
It's actually good for diabetes, but doing ashwagandha because of its great benefits
on both cortisol and insulin is tremendous.
So again, if somebody has a brain issue or even . . . let's say, you know, you have a
job to where you really need to focus and concentrate or you're a student.
Ashwagandha is great for improving memory, focus, concentration, and supporting brain
health as well.
You know, I'd also say using ashwagandha as part of a ketogenic diet, paleo diet, or GAPS
diet can reap tremendous benefits as well.
Now, here's how to use ashwagandha.
Supplement with 500 mg one to two times daily, doing it along with a diet that's high in
healthy fats, protein, and fiber as well as other herbs and antioxidants as well as removing
processed, conventional grains like white flour and wheat flour products and removing
excess sugar from your diet.
So again, ashwagandha is effective, no matter what your diet's like.
But again, if you want to get the best results for healing your thyroid, healing your adrenal
glands, healing your brain, and improving your mood, doing ashwagandha plus a diet that's
high in wild, grass-fed meat and lots of vegetables and berries and things like that, that's going
to help you reach your absolute best.
So look at these amazing benefits.
Increases stamina and endurance, reduces anxiety, benefits the thyroid, benefits mood, benefits
brain health, benefits your adrenal glands.
I'll also tell you it benefits reproductive health, people with PCOS especially, that's
polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PMS or menopause.
Any type of hormonal issues both in men and women, ashwagandha is a go-to herb in Ayurvedic
medicine.
And hey, if you've enjoyed this live training video, make sure to subscribe here on YouTube
to my channel.
I've got a lot more information coming out on other herbs, on essential oils, on other
conditions, and how to use food as medicine.
And hey, if you want to learn more about ashwagandha, I've got a really in-depth, advanced article
on my website that has all the clinical studies and other ways to use it.
Just do a Google search online for "Dr. Axe ashwagandha," and you'll find that article
there as well.
Hey, guys, this has been Dr. Axe talking about the many benefits of ashwagandha.
Hi, Dr. Axe here.
I want to say thanks so much for checking out this YouTube video, and also don't forget
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Thanks for watching.