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Ashwagandha is an increasingly popular naturally adaptogenic herb that is renowned for its amazing ability to help reduce stress symptoms, boost immunity, and reduce anxiety in those who take it regularly.
If you suffer from anxiety, it can be very difficult to work out which are the best treatments to take long term, to help reduce the symptoms and lessen the overall effects of stress and anxiety on the whole body.
Anxiety can have a profound effect on our health and lifestyle long term, so finding a simple, natural treatment in the form of a herb like an ashwagandha can literally have a life-changing effect for many sufferers.
We don’t always realize how much long-term impact stress and anxiety can have on our bodies and in particular on our immune system, reducing our body’s ability to fight illness and infection, and making us feel weak and unwell.
One of the key ways in which ashwagandha can help is by working with our bodies during a stressful time and helping to reduce and improve the way we react to stress. This plant helps at all three stages of our natural response to a stressful situation:
- the fight or flight phase
- the resistance phase
- the fatigue phase
Adaptogens are able to support your body through all three phases of the stress response by increasing your body’s threshold and tolerance. This means you won’t hit the fight or flight phase unless you actually need it.
And if you do, the adaptogens will then support your body to break down the stress hormones released by the fight and flight response and helps to flush them out.
This then helps to get you out of the resistance phase more quickly and keeps your energy levels up so you can continue life as normal during the fatigue phase.
If left unchecked these three phases can harm our bodies and if we are in a permanent state of stress and anxiety, we remain in this kind of cycle on a regular basis, with stress hormones coursing through us, leading to problems sleeping, lack of energy and general irritableness.
The herb helps to reduce the harmful effects of stress on the body and is also renowned for its ability to lower anxiety levels, boost immunity, support weight management, and much more. Here are some of the ways ashwagandha can help to keep you healthy:
(See also: How to Use Yoga and Meditation to Overcome Depression and Anxiety)
1. Helps to keep blood sugar levels in check
Studies have shown that taking ashwagandha can help to maintain blood sugar levels. When you are stressed, if your blood sugar is level is still being maintained, you can retain your focus and resolve the issues more easily rather than having to deal with sugar crashes as well as everything else.
2. Helps to maintain cortisol levels
Cortisol is the stress hormone that is released by our adrenal glands in response to stressful situations and constant release of this can cause longer-term health problems.
However, Ashwagandha helps to support the body’s adrenal glands, keeping the production of cortisol in check.
3. Helps to reduce anxiety
Ashwagandha has been shown in studies to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, helping to bring life back into balance and more enjoyable.
4. Helps to strengthen the immune system
Ashwagandha has been proven in animal studies to help boost the immune system, but if you are taking medications for any kind of medical condition you should consult your doctor before taking it as it can interact with some drugs.
Ashwagandha has been around for centuries and has long been recognized for the health benefits it can bring to people. However, it has grown in popularity immensely in the past couple of years thanks to the recognition of the health benefits of all adaptogenic herbs.
This herb has been used on the fringes of health treatment for a long time but is now starting to receive more mainstream recognition thanks to research and studies which have taken place and confirm some of the many health benefits which have long been claimed.
If you are generally healthy but catch frequent colds, you may just need a boost to your immune system and this herb can provide the perfect natural remedy. For it to work and make a difference, you generally need to take it every day, for around 6 – 8 weeks.
After this time, it will have built up in your system enough to start making a real difference in how you handle and deal with everyday stress and anxiety.
So if you are looking for a natural way to help you deal better with stress and suffer less from anxiety, then take a look at this, and the other adaptogenic herbs, as an easy remedy to help relieve unpleasant symptoms and improve overall health.
About The Author:
This article is contributed by Scott Reid and he is a fitness writer.
