Ashwagandha has been around for thousands of years, and now, it's gaining popularity on social media.
“I was following some TikTok pages and I saw that ashwagandha could help with certain things, so then I bought it,” said Jaiden Dean, who has been taking ashwagandha for six months.
Dean said he’s noticed a difference in motivation and calmness.
“I think it definitely helped with anxiety. You would have to take like two doses during the day. So, I would take a gummy in the morning and then take it coming at nighttime and I was definitely more chill,” said Dean.
Dietician Valerie Butram, with Lee Health, said it all has to do with ashwagandha being an adaptogen.
“It can be a stress reliever, and it can also help with anxiety. Those are really the two proven facts through research. So when somebody is using it for stress reduction, the phytochemicals in this adaptogen can actually lower people's cortisol, and in a very natural way,” said Butram.
While ashwagandha can help, health officials warn that it isn't a magic pill.
“You have to already be physically active, eat a healthy intake, get a balanced intake and get plenty of sleep and a strong immune system,” said Butram.
You also have to be careful not to take too much.
“You really don't need more than about 600mg, twice daily, for probably about a three-month period,” said Butram.”
Butram said while our cortisol can get too high and stress us out, we still need some of it in our system.
“We need that panic button. Sometimes, we need a raise in heartbeat for a fight-or-flight type of situation. So, if you do use it to excess, it could interfere with that cortisol production,” said Butram.
There are also some people who shouldn’t take ashwagandha.
“Anybody that's pregnant should not be taking it. Anybody that has taken any kind of immunosuppressants, which would be possibly used for any kind of cancer treatment. The other would be anybody that has a thyroid condition. I've also read that people that are diabetic and are taking medications, oral hypoglycemic agents, should not be using it,” said Butram.