Ashwaghanhda...can anyone recommend a good brand

[DizzyD]

Hi all

Can anyone recommend a good brand of ashwaghandha as I have never used this this product before. I have made so many mistakes buying vitamins etc of poor quality and wasted a lot of money, don't want to make same mistake again, so would appreciate some feedback as to a good brand of ashwaghandha.

Kind regards

[Lalatoot]

I would not take ashwaghandha. It can lower cortisol and low cortisol causes problems for hypos.

[Girlslovescifi in reply to Lalatoot]

It should balance the cortisol, so lower if too high and vice versa.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Girlslovescifi]

Girllovescifi

It should balance the cortisol, so lower if too high and vice versa.

All adaptogens (of which Ashwagandha is one) are said to be balancing, but in reality they do lower cortisol - I am a victim of that and I'm having a devil of a job raising it again because they were too successful!

healthline.com/nutrition/as...

The medicinal herb appears to help lower levels of cortisol, a hormone produced by your adrenal glands in response to stress. More specifically, daily doses of 125 mg to 5 grams for 1–3 months have shown to lower cortisol levels by 11–32%

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Serum Cortisol

Serum cortisol is the most widely used biomarker to assess physiological stress. Hence, it was used to assess the effect of the Ashwagandha root extract on the cortisol level. The serum cortisol level of each participant was measured from the blood sample collected in the morning through venipuncture. The serum cortisol level was measured at the baseline, at week 4, and at week 8. The serum cortisol levels were measured in ug/dL for the present study.

Result

Serum cortisol (mcg/dL)

At the end of the study, there was a significant decrease in serum cortisol levels in the Ashwagandha treatment groups compared to the placebo group. Table ​Table22 summarizes the results obtained for serum cortisol assessment. The three groups (two Ashwagandha and one placebo) were having similar baseline scores.

yoursuper.com/pages/ashwaga...

Ashwagandha may also reduce cortisol aka the stress hormone, which is made in the adrenal glands. When cortisol levels are chronically elevated (or elevated for long periods of time), it can lead to storing fat in the abdomen.

But studies have shown ashwagandha can reduce cortisol levels, with one study reducing cortisol levels by nearly one third!

[Girlslovescifi in reply to SeasideSusie]

That’s interesting. Sorry it affected you adversely. I’ve never had it lower mine to a detrimental level, but then mine tends to run on the high side anyway.

[DizzyD in reply to SeasideSusie]

How naive I am thinking I had found something to help reduce my stress levels, only to find out it could make my adrenals much worse than they already are. Good job I sent this post. So grateful for your reply. Thank you most kindly.

Have not read the links you sent me just yet but I will shortly.

Been hypo for quite some time (thyroidectomy) recently started low split dose daily of NDT (efra prescribed by private endocrinologist) and I am concerned about increasing NDT because cortisol levels are by no means normal. Hence my great plan was to use ashwaghandha to support adrenals. Whoops how wrong I was!!!

Thanks again SS...It's back to the drawing board

[Suzi_ in reply to DizzyD]

Meditation, 15 minutes or more a day would lower your stress levels. Don’t forget to exercise!

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to SeasideSusie]

However, I had low cortisol and became better with ashwaghanda, but I also have DHEA on prescription. The trouble with those studies is that they don't seem to try it on anyone with low cortisol so we don't actually know what happens if cortisol is already low.

[DizzyD in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Angel I have also been prescribed DHEA by private endocrinologist who also started me on NDT despite my cortisol levels being low in range morning and noon but with a rise evening and night.

I need to work on my cortisol levels to gain full benefit from NDT. Bearing my cortisol status in mind, if I were to try ashwaghandha when would be the best time to take it?

Thank you

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to DizzyD]

My cortisol levels were originally flatlined under range when I felt really ill, then recovered to the right "shape/curve" but just under range, so not really the same as yours. I take it with a late breakfast.

[Wired123]

Pure Encapsulations are a great brand for this.

[Angel_of_the_North]

I buy it from buywholefoodsonline.co.uk

[minus]

As a woman I found ashwaghandha to be excellent for me, I had cortisol test 2 years ago as mine was always high. Ive had no libido for years which I now attribute to high cortisol and low testosterone. After taking ashwaghandha for 3 months 400 mg a day, I started to feel sexy again and wanting to have sex. I really convinced myself I had early menopause and would never feel like sex again!! So I've just ordered some more tablets. I've also started taking Turmeric, ginger and black pepper pills, to lower my thyroid inflammation, and my brain fog has cleared my terrible anxiety has gone, and obsessive thoughts.

[radd in reply to minus]

minus,

Wonderful to have the energy & the inclination too 😉

[minus in reply to radd]

Turmeric is beneficial for haemachromatosis, it takes excess iron and heavy metals out of your body.

[radd in reply to minus]

minus,

Yes, I am a huge advocate of curcumin and managed to convert most of my family & friends too. Should have shares in it 🤣.

Ashwaganda also although have to be careful as contains iron.