Monday, February 15, 2016

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) improves sexual function and satisfaction in women

According to results of a double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial.

Data from 50 women indicated that eight weeks of supplementation with the Ayurvedic herb at a daily dose of 600 was associated with significant improvements in sexual interest, arousal, lubrication and in achieving orgasm, compared to placebo. Ashwagandha supplementation caused a marked reduction in sexually related distress in women during the study, wrote the researchers in the journal - BioMed Research International

Ashwagandha has been gaining traction in the mainstream US market with consumers embracing its wide-ranging body of health benefits, which include supporting stress, cognitive function, sleep, metabolic wellness, adrenal function, sports performance, and more.

Ashwagandha has a history of use in ayurvedic medicine that dates back as much as 4,000 years.Ashwagandha root has traditionally recommended for use as an enhancer of sexual function in both men and women. While there are other published studies demonstrating the effectiveness of ashwagandha in improving sexual function in men, this is the first study using a standardized, branded ashwagandha extract and demonstrating significant positive effects on sexual function in women.

From the scientific literature, we know that the Ashwagandha root is a calming agent, and promotes balance in the body to increase or decrease key hormone levels to bring them to appropriate levels. These effects are perhaps responsible for the significant effects we see in this study. Female sexual dysfunction and satisfaction is a complex phenomenon with both psychological and physiological dimensions. standardized ashwagandha extract is one of the very few ingredients shown to be clinically effective for this application. Supplementation was also associated with significantly greater improvements in FSFI score for “arousal”, “lubrication”, “orgasm”, and “satisfaction”, said the researchers. The explanation for why [ashwagandha root extract] treatment was useful in reducing [female sexual dysfunction] may lie in two pathways: (1) ashwagandha’s role in reducing stress, which in turn is associated with [female sexual dysfunction], and (2) ashwagandha’s role in increasing Testosterone which is a factor in androgen deficiency syndrome which is associated with [female sexual dysfunction].

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