Ashwagandha is one of the most quoted supplements for men’s health. Why is it so popular? This post will explain the reason behind this popularity by discussing Ashwagandha benefits for men.
Ashwagandha is often quoted as one of the most profound medicinal plants in Ayurveda. The herb is beneficial for men as well as women to boost happiness, stamina, sleep quality, and sexual and reproductive health.
You find it a critical ingredient in most youth-enhancing products from Ayurvedic practitioners. And they seem to work.
Now, you are interested in knowing if the herb enhances all areas of your life or it only treats the single symptom for which you sought the treatment. Also, the information about its hidden side effects is important.
This post will discuss the most significant and proven Ashwagandha benefits for men. Moreover, we shall highlight the side effects and possible routes of consumption for this herb.
What is Ashwagandha
Often known as Indian Ginseng, Ashwagandha is a medicinal herb that is found abundantly in the Middle East, India, and Africa. Its scientific name is Withania somnifera. And we also know it as winter cherry.
Although the plant is often included in herbs because of its size, Ashwagandha is actually a small shrub. It is identified because of its yellow flowers.
Ashwagandha is a Sanskrit word that means the smell of a horse. This phrase indicates two prominent features of this herb.
First, it tells that the herb smells like a horse. Secondly, the consumer would feel the strength of a horse after using it.
Does Ashwagandha Work
In Ayurveda, this herb has a proven presence that has lasted for centuries. These practitioners are using this herb without fail to treat such ailments as lack of physical strength, sleep issues, anxiety and stress, and sexual health problems.
In America, it is recognized as a natural ingredient from Ayurvedic medicine and because of this connection is widely demanded and used by the public to boost mental and physical health.
But just like any other alternative medicine solution, it hasn’t received the attention of many researchers from the healthcare research fields.
Ashwagandha Benefits for Men
Let’s now answer the most important question, ‘What is Ashwagandha good for?’ let’s start with its benefits to mental health.
Ashwagandha Benefits for Mental Health
If you have used this magical herb before, you must have witnessed two of its most profound benefits on your health.
First, you must have appreciated the boost in your mood and happiness level because of it. Secondly, you must have experienced a boost in sexual energy soaring through your body.
That’s because Ashwagandha is notorious for these effects on a male body.
1. Relieves Tension
Ashwagandha is included among adaptogens. This category of medicinal plants is known for its impact on the users’ stress levels.
Ashwagandha achieves its aim of relieving stress by working on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. There, it reduces the activity of this activity leading to lower stress affect within the body.
2. Reduces Stress Levels
Cortisol is our primary stress hormone. When we feel stress, our body releases cortisol to help us deal with the stress. Prolonged exposure to stress, however, makes the release of this hormone chronic.
Ironically, this continued release of the stress hormone doesn’t reduce stress but makes the individual chronically stressed.
Regular use of Ashwagandha helps with keeping cortisol levels down leading to a decrease in stress levels, in turn.
3. Deals with Mental Health Issues
Other than chronic stress, the supplement is also known to deal with other chronic psychological issues.
It helps with decreasing symptoms of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. The boost in mood and mental health comes from Ashwagandha’s prolonged use.
Researchers point towards its properties to calm nerves and support the nervous system as the primary reason behind its impact on depression and other stress-related disorders.
4. Improves Memory
Cognitive function improvement is a primary benefit quoted among Ashwagandha benefits for men. If you are witnessing impairment in your memory, attention, or reaction time, you should try this supplement.
Although the medicinal plant doesn’t claim to reverse memory loss that appears with age, it does help with maintaining cognitive strength in aging adults.
It allows the brain cells to maintain their vitality leading to efficient information processing and improved cognitive performance.
Ashwagandha Benefits for Physical Health
Mental health is both a prerequisite and a by-product of physical health. A decrease in stress levels is almost always translated into a boost in physical health.
But Ashwagandha also affects the biological health of the user directly. Here are a few ways it boosts physical health.
5. Boosts Sleep
It not only calms your mind enough to get a good night’s sleep but also relieves sleep issues that come with older age or chronic stress or other illnesses.
Ashwagandha tea benefits the duration of sleep among adults. Seniors with an age range of 65 to 80 years benefit most from the supplement by improving their sleep quality significantly.
It is also said to treat insomnia.
6. Benefits Athletic Performance
If you are a regular user of the Indian Ginseng supplement, you would find that the plant-based medicine boosts your energy and stamina during workouts and sports.
Ashwagandha helps you perform better at sports by boosting oxygen consumption within your body helping you to endure more pressure and exertion.
7. Ensures Heart Health
When we talk about the optimization of oxygen use provided by Ashwagandha, it’s a must to talk about the impact of this optimization on heart health. A healthy adult can absorb VO2 max level of oxygen during intense workouts or sports.
If you take this supplement regularly, you would attain this level ensuring your cardiorespiratory health and endurance.
In turn, your cardiac health will ensure healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels in your body improving your quality of life.
8. Treats Diabetes
Ashwagandha is known for its impacts on blood sugar levels also. If you are suffering from diabetes or high blood sugar levels, your Ayurvedic practitioner may prescribe an Ashwagandha supplement to control these levels.
It’s because of the withaferin A (WA) compound found within the shrub that acts as an antidiabetic activity and triggers the cells in your body to absorb sugar.
It is also tested for its positive impact on the levels of insulin blood lipids, hemoglobin A1c, and oxidative stress markers within our body.
9. Maintains Bone Strength and Growth
If you are in your teenage and are worried about your height, you have plenty of time to attain your optimal height with the right diet, supplement, and exercise options.
You may feel a bit old to gain further height if you have already reached your twenties. Even then, Ashwagandha supplements prevent you from losing hope.
This supplement maintains testosterone level within the body which helps with bone mineralization by allowing better expression of genes.
This balanced mineralization leads to bone growth that boosts your height. At the same time, you should stop worrying about bone health because of the shrub’s impact on maintaining bone density.
10. Builds Muscles
If you are into body-building, you may also be using some supplements to boost your muscle growth – including Ashgawandha. This supplement includes alkaloids that are great at boosting strength and building muscles.
11. Fights Arthritis Pain
Are you suffering from arthritis and are recommended Ashgawandha as a medicine to treat this ailment? Make no mistake, this shrub is not meant to treat this joint disease. Instead, you can rely on it to help alleviate the symptoms of this ailment.
Ashwagandha is proven to relieve the pain of arthritis by blocking the pain signals sent by the joint to the central nervous system.
Ashwagandha Benefits for Sexual Health
Sexual health is another area of focus of the Ashwagandha extract. It not only maintains the right hormonal balance but also helps with increasing reproductive health and fertility in both men and women.
12. Affects Testosterone Level
Most of its impacts on fertility and reproductive health come from its impact on testosterone level.
The shrub does so by increasing DHEA-S hormone by 18%. This hormone, in turn, manufactures testosterone.
Studies have proved that when consumed for a prolonged period, this supplement increases up to 14% increase in testosterone levels.
13. Impacts Fertility
Stress-related infertility is a common type of infertility experienced by men. Ashwagandha promises remarkable improvement in the symptoms of this infertility type because of its aphrodisiac nature. It fights the free radicals reducing the damage to sperm cells.
14. Increases Sperm Motility
Again, the supplement’s impact on the balance of testosterone level is the reason for this improvement. When infertility is appearing as low sperm motility, Ashwagandha helps the sperm by reducing the free radicals allowing the sperm cells to move freely.
After its use for a prescribed period, you can restore the sperm speed to 25 micrometers per second.
15. Develops Sperm Count
You will be amazed by the significance of the result achieved by this herb in increasing sperm count.
It is beneficial for both healthy and weak men allowing them to increase the fertility level by enhancing sperm count.
A few studies that have been conducted till now show that for use that lasted for 90 days, the increase in sperm count was 167%.
16. Boosts Sexual Desire
An unsurprising result of increased testosterone level, increased sperm count, and sperm motility is increased urge for sex.
More improvement in this desire comes from lower stress levels which is another by-product of testosterone balance.
As the herb is known for regulating health pressure levels within males, it maintains healthy blood flow in all parts of the body improving sexual performance.
The same causes lead to heightened sexual pleasure.
17. Helps Deal with Erectile Dysfunction
Stress and anxiety are the primary causes of erectile dysfunction. By managing cortisol levels in men, Ashwagandha regulates stress levels within them. In the end, it gives rise to better performance in bed leading to delayed ejaculation.
Is Ashwagandha Safe
Most users who are contemplating using this supplement inquire about its safety. They want to know if it’s safe to take the supplement for months and how will it affect health if we take it daily.
Note that the supplement is safe to take and doesn’t cause disturbing side effects. But its effect on your health will vary from dose to dose.
So, you should consult your naturopath or Ayurvedic practitioner to get the right prescription and dosage.
How to Take Ashwagandha
One way to take this supplement is to make tea with its leaves. But you can also take it in tablet form from your nearest pharmacy and follow the dosage stated on it.
Other than these two most commonly used forms, the plant is also available as capsules, powder, and tincture.
If this shrub is recommended by an Ayurvedic practitioner to help you treat any of your mental, physical, or sexual issues, you should follow the style prescribed by that practitioner.
You can also take raw Ashwagandha and sprinkle it on your food to include it naturally into your diet.
Ashwagandha Benefits for Women
Ashwagandha is a magical supplement for men because of its cortisol managing and testosterone boosting capacities. Besides, it’s a great herb for women in different areas of health including physical, mental, and sexual health.
It helps manage stress among women leading to better cognitive performance and improved immunity. Its anti-inflammatory properties contribute to better heart health and chronic pain relief.
Take Away
This post details Ashwagandha benefits for men in mental, physical, and sexual health areas.
The small shrub is known for balancing stress levels, increasing testosterone production, and enhancing cognitive function.
Although the plant – and its extract – is safe to consume, you should consult your naturopath to understand its impact on your individual health condition.
According to the issue and its intensity, the practitioner may prescribe a smaller dose once or twice a day or recommend an increased intake.
Also, the length of the prescription period will also depend on the symptoms you are trying to treat.
