Re: Long-term use of ashwagandha - OK?

Thanks for the response, I will have to look into the GABA connection with ashwagandha as this is not something I have researched.

As far as why to put something in your body that is not already there, that line of thinking doesn't really make sense as we as humans unfortunately have to eat food to survive, so we are constantly putting things in our body, the question is are these things hurting us or benefiting us? Food can be a medicine or a poison depending on how it is used. Edible herbs are also food, although their effects can be quite a bit more concentrated and therefore can have a greater positive or negative impact. Even everyday foods that we eat all the time, have all kinds of unexpected impacts.

The fact is, ashwagandha is a very powerful herb, it is not something to be played around with. Another key point is that the quality of ashwagandha varies greatly; I believe some producers try to increase the active ingredient in ways that can make this natural herb very harmful. When taking ashwagandha you should always take the whole root, not a concentrate or extract. The Banyan Botanicals brand is a very safe bet. Ashwagandha is an Ayurvedic herb and should be used only by properly trained Ayurvedic professionals of which there are probably very few in the United States. The dosage is also very important, a properly trained ayurvedic practitioner will be aware that ashwagandha should always be given in very small doses, this would be about 250 mg. twice a day (this can be increased moderately if appropriate). Most people take way more than this and this would probably account for a lot of the problems. In Ayurveda, we use herbs in small dosages over long periods of time to gently correct imbalances. I still believe that if it is used properly it will have overwhelmingly positive effects. But people just taking random herbs without understanding what they are really doing to their body, not understanding proper dosages, if the herb is something that is harmful or helpful to them, I agree this can be quite dangerous. Tweet