Ashwagandha Tea: A Simple Way to Fight the Negative Effects of Stress

Ashwagandha is an important herb in Ayurvedic medicine and has been valued for centuries because of its therapeutic effects. Ashwagandha tea can help to relieve a number of health conditions and allow the body to remain in balance. After all, that is the No. 1 goal of Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old system that focuses on helping people to stay healthy without the need for suffering or using synthetic drugs.

Ashwagandha benefits are well known among practitioners of ancient and traditional medicine. What does ashwagandha tea do for your body? The herb is revered as a broad-spectrum remedy that possesses powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It’s categorized as an adaptogenic herb, which means that it helps to balance, restore and protect the body, especially when it is dealing with stress.

If you are looking for a natural way to protect your body against the negative effects of stress and support your body’s ability to heal itself, it may be time to consider adding ashwagandha tea to your daily health regime.

Ashwagandha Tea Benefits

1. Helps to Overcome Adrenal Fatigue

Do you struggle throughout the day with fatigue, brain fog, moodiness and food cravings? You may be suffering from adrenal fatigue.

Adrenal fatigue is the result of chronic emotional, physical and mental stress. This taxes your adrenals, which are part of the endocrine system, and alters your ability to release hormones (specifically cortisol and adrenaline) properly. Your adrenals become exhausted from stress, thereby disrupting hormone production and balance.

Animal studies show that consuming ashwagandha helps to counteract many of the biological changes that accompany extreme stress, including increased cortisol levels and adrenal weight.

2. Fights Stress and Anxiety

Because ashwagandha tea works as an adaptogen that reduces the negative effects of increased cortisol levels, it helps to reduce the symptoms of chronic stress and anxiety. Ashwagandha works to improve your resistance towards stress and has shown to improve quality of life in a human study published in the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine.

3. Improves Mood

Research shows that ashwagandha root has antidepressant effects and may work as a natural mood stabilizer. This, again, is due to ashwagandha tea’s adaptogenic properties — helping the body to cope with the physical, mental and emotional responses to chronic stress.

4. Boosts Immune Function

Drinking ashwagandha tea may help to reduce inflammation and enhance immune function by increasing immunoglobulin production. It works to promote an anti-inflammatory environment by suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokines. Plus, the herbal tea improves your body’s ability to deal with stress, which can weaken the immune system when we deal with it on a daily basis.

5. Improves Concentration and Focus

Ashwagandha tea may help to increase concentration by sharpening your brain function, lowering stress hormones and improving your ability to focus. It also helps to alleviate pain that’s brought on by inflammation or chronic stress.

6. Improves Sexual Function

Did you know that ashwagandha works as a natural aphrodisiac? It helps to improve sexual dysfunction by boosting testosterone levels in males. Studies have also found that using ashwagandha extract increases sperm count, semen volume and sperm motility, thereby boosting fertility.

Where to Buy, How to Use

You can easily find packaged ashwagandha tea in your local grocery or health food stores. To be sure that you are purchasing a high-quality product, go with a company that you know and trust. Some products are sold as ashwagandha tea alone, and others offer the herb with other adaptogens to promote relaxation and reduced stress.

To release the therapeutic compounds found in ashwagandha root, put one tea bag into a small pot with one cup of water. Let the water boil and then reduce the heat so that it simmers for 10–15 minutes.

If you are looking for a quick cup of tea with relaxing and stress-reducing effects, simply add one ashwagandha teabag to hot water and let it steep for five minutes before drinking.

For ashwagandha tea benefits, drink one cup of tea per day for six months. After a six-month period, take a break for about three months before adding ashwagandha tea back into your health regime.

How to Make Ashwagandha Tea

It’s very easy to make ashwagandha tea from dried ashwagandha roots, which can be found online or in your local health food store. Here’s a simple ashwagandha tea recipe that you can follow at home:

• Start by boiling 1 cup of water.
• Then add about one teaspoon of dried ashwagandha roots.
• Put a lid on the boiling water with the root inside and turn the heat down, letting the water simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Using a strainer, pour the water into a mug or glass jar.

You can make extra tea and keep it in a glass jar with a lid for the next day. Use one teaspoon of ashwagandha root for every cup of water.

Risks and Side Effects

Drinking about one cup of ashwagandha tea every day for a six-month period is considered safe for humans. It is recommended that after six months of using the tea for medicinal benefits, you take a three month break before beginning again. However, if you are only drinking a cup of ashwagandha tea or a tea made up of adaptogens here and there to help ease stress and induce relaxation, you don’t have to worry about taking a long-term break.

For some people, ingesting ashwagandha may cause side effects like upset stomach, diarrhea and vomiting. If this happens to you, stop drinking ashwagandha tea right away.

Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should avoid using ashwagandha in all forms. Also, people who are on medications for diabetes, blood pressure or suppressed immune system should consult with their doctors before drinking ashwagandha tea regularly, as it may cause adverse interactions.

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