August 19–25, 2016

B3@EpochFit

TheEpochTimes.com/EpochFit

By Conan Milner | Epoch Times Staff

ver the past 50 years, ashwagandha has gone from relative obscurity to become a popular supplement in the West. But in its native habitat (India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka), it

has been used extensively for at least 3,000 years.Ashwagandha means “smell of a horse” in

Sanskrit. The name refers not only to the scent of the plant, but to the horse-like strength and stamina it gives those who take it. In traditional Aryurvedic medicine, it is what’s known as a rasayana herb, or what today we call an adap-tagen—an herb used to promote general strength and wellness.

Adaptagens are so-named because they help the body better adapt to stress. These herbs are often prescribed to people who are weak and rundown, but they also benefit other-wise healthy people who are looking for a little extra energy.

Because it has characteristics similar to the gold standard adaptagen, Panax ginseng, ash-wagandha is sometimes called “Indian gin-seng.” It may not be as potent as ginseng, but ashwagandha is a much more affordable adap-tagen, usually selling for between $12 and $15 a pound. Compare to ginseng, which sells for over $100 a pound.

Herb of the MindGinseng is an adaptagen with a stimulating char-acter. In the case of ashwaganda, the effect is more calming, so it is often recommended to people suffering from anxiety and insomnia.

Taken regularly, ashwagandha helps promote calm, clear thinking. It has been found to regu-late neurotransmitters in the brain such as ser-otonin, dopamine, and GABA, and reduce the stress hormone, cortisol. There is evidence that it may be helpful in opioid withdrawal and for reducing or eliminating use of benzodiazapene drugs such as Xanax and Valium.

Ashwagandha is traditionally used to improve learning and memory, and is prescribed to every-one from school children to the elderly. In modern research, ashwagandha has been found to boost an important antioxidant in the brain called glu-tathione. Glutathione is an essential component for cell development, enzymatic activity, and for clearing toxins from the body.

Other studies suggest that ashwagandha may also be an effective treatment for neurodegen-erative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Hunting-ton’s, and Alzheimer’s, as it has demonstrated an ability to inhibit amyloid plaques from form-ing in the brain.

Due to its calming nature, ashwagandha is also recommended for another neurological disorder, restless leg syndrome.

Low Thyroid or Adrenal  BurnoutAshwagandha is a member of the night-shade (Solanaceae) family of plants, a group that includes tomatoes, potatoes, chili peppers, and tobacco. Like other nightshades, ashwagan-dha is a chemically complex plant full of vita-mins, minerals, and alkaloids. Some of the other

phytochemicals it contains act as hormo-nal precursors in the body.

These hormonal precursors make ashwagan-dha a good remedy for those suffering from an underactive thyroid. In hypothyroid disease, the thyroid gland does not produce enough hormones to meet the body’s needs. Animal studies have shown that taking ashwagandha extract signif-icantly raises levels of a hormone often lacking in hypothyroid disease: T4.

Likewise, people with depleted adrenal glands may also benefit from ashwagandha. Adrenal exhaustion is typically characterized by long peri-ods of high stress. Because ashwagandha helps ease the effects of stress and lowers cortisol, over time it may contribute to bringing the adrenal glands back into balance. For this reason, most modern herbal adrenal formulas will usually include ashwagandha in the mix.

FertilityWhen you strengthen the body, you naturally improve its reproductive ability. One of the best and oldest known uses for ashwagandha is for fertility. For men, it is used to address impotence, premature ejaculation, and to improve sperm quality and quantity.

For women, ashwagandha is used to ease pain-ful menstruation, and combined with another

Ayurvedic herb, shatavari, used to stimulate a low libido. Ash-

wagandha is tra-ditionally

prescribed to strengthen the uterus in women who have recur-rent miscarriages. However, this herb is discouraged during pregnancy.

CancerAdaptagen herbs are often prescribed to those recovering from long bouts of chronic illness. Like other adaptagens, ashwagandha has been shown to help with cancer treatment and prevention.

Promising pre-clinical research suggests that it may also be a welcome addition to conven-tional cancer treatment, as it has been shown to increase white blood cell counts, which are often depleted during chemotherapy and radia-tion. Several studies suggest that ashwagandha actually makes chemo and radiation therapies more effective.

How to UseIn India, ashwagandha root powder is often steeped in milk and butter, but you might find a capsule or tincture more convenient. In either case, look for a product that contains at least 4 percent withanolides. These are phytochemi-cals specific to ashwagandha, and are what make it an effective treatment.

If you go for the powder, the dosage is typi-cally about 3 to 6 grams (a half to a full teaspoon), which you can add to a smoothie or hot water. For pills, a general dose is between 500 and 1,000 milligrams, taken two to three times a day. A qualified practitioner will adjust these numbers to determine a dose that is right for you.

Ashwagandha is generally well-tolerated, but those who have allergies to other nightshade plants may want to exercise caution. As with most adaptagens, avoid ashwagandha during an acute infection.

Incredible Benefits From AshwagandhaHelps with anxiety, cancer, fertility, opioid withdrawal, and more

Fidgeting Feet May Keep Legs Healthy When SittingBy Jesslyn Chew

Fidgeting while sitting can protect the arter-ies in legs and potentially help prevent arte-rial disease, new research shows.

Previous research has shown that sitting for an extended period of time at a computer or during a long airline flight reduces blood flow to the legs, which may contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease.

“Many of us sit for hours at a time, whether it’s binge-watching our favorite TV show or working at a computer,” says Jaume Padilla, an assistant professor of nutrition and exer-cise physiology at the University of Missouri and lead author of the study.

“We wanted to know whether a small amount of leg fidgeting could prevent a decline in leg vascular function caused by prolonged sitting. While we expected fidgeting to increase blood flow to the lower limbs, we were quite sur-prised to find this would be sufficient to pre-vent a decline in arterial function.”

During the study, the researchers compared the leg vascular function of 11 healthy young men and women before and after three hours of sitting. While sitting, the participants were asked to fidget one leg intermittently, tapping one foot for one minute and then resting it for four minutes, while the other leg remained still throughout. On average, the participants moved their feet 250 times per minute.

The researchers then measured the blood flow

of the popliteal—an artery in the lower leg—and found that the fidgeting leg had a significant increase in blood flow, as expected, while the sta-tionary leg experienced a reduction in blood flow.

Research has shown that increased blood flow and its associated shear stress—the fric-tion of the flowing blood on the artery wall—is an important stimulus for vascular health. However, fidgeting’s protective role had not been established.

The researchers caution that fidgeting is not a substitute for walking and exercise, which produce more overall cardiovascular benefits.

“You should attempt to break up sitting time as much as possible by standing or walking,” Padilla says. “But if you’re stuck in a situation in which walking just isn’t an option, fidget-ing can be a good alternative. Any movement is better than no movement.”

The study appears in the American Journal of Physiology Heart and Circulatory Physiol-ogy. The National Institutes of Health and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science supported the work. The researchers, who are from the University of Missouri and the Uni-versity of Texas at Arlington College of Nurs-ing and Health Innovation, have no conflicts of interest to declare related to this study.

This article was originally published by the University of Missouri. Republished via Futurity.org under Creative Commons License 4.0.

STOCKLITE/SHUTTERSTOCK

If you’re stuck in a situation in which walking just isn’t an option, fidgeting can be a good alternative.Jaume Padilla, assistant professor of nutrition and exercise physiology, University of Missouri

The herb is often recommended to people suffering from anxiety and insomnia.

OMARILYN BARBONE/SHUTTERSTOCK

AFRICA STUDIO/SHUTTERSTOCK

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