NOW Foods Supplements, Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) 450 mg (Standardized Extract), 180 Veg Capsules

RESULTS: This stuff has noticeably helped with my evening crankiness. I'm a morning person, but get irritable at night, which isn't a good thing when you have small kids. Cortisol tests (saliva) showed that my cortisol levels were nearly unreadable at night, so the doctor recommended I supplement with this stuff. Well, it works wonderfully. I take one in the morning, and one early afternoon. Sometimes I miss the afternoon dosage, and that seems to still be okay. I've been taking it for nearly 2 months now, and have noticed a small decrease in effectiveness (the body getting used to the stuff, I guess). I hope that trend doesn't continue. I used to take tryptophan, which helped the mood and sleep, but only caused cortisol levels to decrease more, making my workouts less effective. Just completed another cortisol test, and will see if levels have increased. I'm sure they have, considering my improved mood at night. If I find a way to update this review, I'll include the latest levels when I get the results back - should be sometime in February 2012. BIO: I am 40 yrs old, weight train, do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and eat like a bodybuilder. Started doing all this at 36 yrs of age, and couldn't be happier to have changed my lifestyle. But the weight training and BJJ are very taxing at my age. Due to these things, I get cranky on my days off (rest days). I'm well aware of the risk of over-training - learned the hard way. Presently, I weight train 2x/wk, and do BJJ 2x/wk, making for only 4 days of workouts, with 3 days of rest. I eat like a champ all week, but do allow myself to cheat 2 meals/wk. Since adding in bodybuilding nutrition, I've been seeing amazing results. Nutrition is the key, people. It's a pain in the arse, at first, but well worth the effort. CORTISOL: Cortisol gets a bad rap with personal trainers. It's actually the "hormone of life" and is vital to cellular metabolism. Without it, you die, so there is actually an ideal level to keep. Cortisol levels are usually highest in the morning and trail off as the day progresses. This is why morning workouts are the best. Long-term stress causes cortisol levels to be elevated for too long of a period, which causes adrenal fatigue/burnout. If you get cranky at any time during the day or night, you should probably get your hormone levels checked. If you're not a morning person, like my wife, a morning dose is more beneficial. I'm not a night person, but taking it too late in the day affects my sleep, which is why I take it early afternoon, and since then the early afternoon sleepies have gone. UPDATE, CORTISOL TEST RESULTS (March 2012): I got the cortisol results back a couple of weeks ago, and they were in the absolute normal range! This stuff did the job perfectly. Great product! UPDATE March 2013: This is still my preferred mood pill. Cortisol levels have been stable for over a year now, and I don't plan on getting off of this stuff. Still highly recommend it. UPDATE March 2014: I only use this product occasionally now. I've made other improvements in my nutrition and habits that have offset the crankiness at night. My main point of this update is to note that, oddly, Ashwagandha started making me sleepy. I would maintain a pleasant mood, but would become sleepy a couple of hours after taking this product. I can only assume that the product is being metabolized quicker by my body, so the cortisol levels are dropping after the product has left my system. However, I know of many users that specifically use this product to fall asleep. Sorry, I wish I had a good answer to explain this, but I can only present this as anecdotal evidence. Also, this review is on the product and details my experience. I do not have the expertise to cover every possible scenario ashwagandha may have on every body type and metabolism. Some disapproving readers of my review believe that Cortisol is to blame for weight loss issues. This is true and not so true. Long-lasting high levels of cortisol, like those evident with prolonged stress, will likely cause weight gain in some individuals. However, normal cortisol levels should not be causing an issue of weight gain, which was my focus in taking this product. If normal levels are causing weight gain, there are other hormonal issues at work, which is why I suggest everyone see a doctor, preferably one that specializes in youth and regenerative therapies. Hormones are a tricky thing, and I do not recommend taking this product on my testimony, alone. I went through multiple screenings with my HRT doctor before starting ashwagnandha, and still see her 3 times a year. If you decide to try this on your own, pay close attention to what it is doing to your body, and adjust, or remove this product from your regimen, as necessary. I believe that the chances of this product doing irreparable damage to your weight loss goals is unlikely, however I still recommend getting a qualified doctor involved.

I have been using this one pill a day and an 1/2 way through the bottle and I am finding this is helping me sleep deeper for longer. It helps anxiety and helps me feel calm. The pills are pretty small and have no taste. The quality seems very good, I use Now brand supplements often for other supplements as well.

Giving an updated review. Decided the next day to give another try to make sure I would continue itching. After second day of taking and now on day three taking the supplement, no itching and it definitely works for anxiety, calmness, pain and mild depression and fatigue. It’s amazing how quickly it works. Giving it 5 stars now! Order came earlier today. Took one pill and I’m itching all over. Can’t return. Waste of money. In the trash it will GO! Spend your money on a different Brand!!

I used this product, just finished one bottle, and while it’s a decent supplement, there’s one thing that I’m not a huge fan of. Here’s my honest take: 🔹 What I Like: ✔️ Ashwagandha is amazing for stress relief ,This adaptogen is well known for its ability to calm the nervous system, and I definitely feel more relaxed when I take it. ✔️ Standardized extract, I like that it contains a standardized amount of Withania somnifera, meaning it should be consistent in potency. ✔️ Easy to swallow capsules, The size of the capsules is manageable, and I didn’t have any trouble taking them. 🔹 What I Don’t Like: ❌ Contains rice flour as a filler, I prefer supplements that are 100% pure, and this one includes rice flour as a filler. It’s not a deal breaker, but I’d rather have a product with just the active ingredient without unnecessary additives. 🔹 My Personal Experience: I’ve been taking it daily, and it does help with stress and relaxation, but knowing that it contains fillers makes me consider switching to a purer option next time. If you’re okay with a small amount of rice flour, this is still a solid choice for Ashwagandha. 🔹 Final Verdict: 6/10 ⭐️ Would I recommend it? It’s a decent product, but if you’re looking for a supplement that’s 100% pure Ashwagandha with no fillers, you might want to check other brands. That being said, it still works well for stress relief and relaxation.

Wow. Let me say, when I bought this in January, I was interested in the supposed ability of this herb to help regulate hormones. I take it in combination with Now's Rhodiola Rosea. I take 1 Ashwagandha in the morning and 1 at night and 1 Rhodiola in the morning. I don't take the Rhodiola at night because it makes me feel kind of wired and interferes with sleep. Any way, I took this because I felt like my hormones were out of whack and wanted to see if I noticed any difference. Any anti-anxiety, calming, etc, effects were only going to be an added benefit--those were not what I bought this for. I *do* have anxiety though, pretty intense anxiety, and always have. I have never seen a professional for it and never in my life taken a medication for anxiety(though I probably should have). So I started taking the Ashwagandha/Rhodiola combo in January like I said. I did actually notice that I felt less stressed at my job, less frustrated when unexpected tasks and issues occurred(normally unexpected work would really stress me, moreso than necessary). I am definitely a "future-worrier", like if there's something I am not looking forward too coming in a few weeks(or months), I will worry about it needlessly every day until it arrives and my anxiety will heighten by the day. I felt good taking this herb. Not in a way that it altered my mood or anything, it was just like the burden of worry was gone and I was free to go about my day. However, I didn't realize *how much* I appreciate this herb until I STOPPED taking it. I don't know, I fell out of my routine of taking my supplements. Got busy, didn't think about it. Started missing one of them a day(I took morning and night). Then eventually stopped taking it completely. Not because I didn't like it, but I just forgot. I got out of the habit. I didn't realize what it was doing for me, I guess I grew complacent. So, about 2 months later after quitting them, I realize that I am *worrying* about things! Stupid things, things that wouldn't even be difficult, I just didn't like the idea of them. I realized that I wasn't enjoying my weekends because almost immediately when they started, I would start worrying about the next week. I realized I had a very "on edge" feeling all the time and it was preventing me from enjoying anything. If I randomly got a day off from work in the middle of the week, I couldn't enjoy it, I was thinking about work the next day. It was then that I realized how much my anxiety was affecting me and robbing me of my free time. I started thinking, wow, when did this happen? Why am I worrying about this stuff all the time??? I realized, I had stopped taking my herbs shortly before this started! I still had them in the cabinet. So I took the Ashwagandha again and I felt the edge come off again! I was again able to relax! It was subtle, but again, it was like all this needless worry left me. My life was obviously exactly the same as before, just without the burden of my anxiety. Now, my husband is skeptical of everything and tried to tell me it was a placebo affect, but I am not one to lie to myself about supplements. If I don't notice a change, I don't notice it. I'm not going to convince myself that I feel something when it isn't there. Plus, please try to tell my brain to stop worrying about things because I am supposedly taking something to stop it. It doesn't work! My brain doesn't listen to me like that, if its going to worry its going to worry, anxiety cannot be turned off by willpower! (lol) It is amazing the difference I feel when I take the Ashwagandha! So I've been back on it for week now and I have been very stress free since! More patient. Less agitated, less moody, and more importantly, finally about to let go of my worrying! Sometimes I just take the Ashwagandha by itself. It seems to be the one that is working for me. I do not feel the same, full effect when I take the Rhodiola by itself, but they do seem to work well together. I will keep this on hand from now on!

With input from my doctor, I started taking these while still in the throes of Hashimoto's (autoimmune low thyroid). It really helped with my anxiety and allowed me to rest better at night and perform better during the day. I will add that I have been taking this for years at this point - however, I am now in my third trimester with my second child and on the occasion that I take these for anxiety, I do tend to suffer from itching, ranging from just my palms and soles to all over body itching if I take it a few days in a row. Thank you hormones! I've never had any kind of rash, just itching. Now, whether it's a reaction to this product or the fact that I've yo-yo'd toward hyperthyroid (again, thank you hormones) as itching is also a symptom of that condition and this product helps support the thyroid, not sure. However, at least for me, the itching is better than the anxiety...so choose your battles I guess.

I have used ashwaghanda before but never this brand, however, I really like now supplements, they seem to be great quality supp, I paired this one along magnesium, l-theanine and glycine, after an hour or so, I'm ready to have pleasant night of sleep, it really helps to lower your stress subjectively speaking and there are studies that showed it does objectively speaking, I really recommend this one

I have been an Ashwaganda user for a few months. I was taking capsules (another brand) of the root, mixed with black pepper. I felt some slight difference in my anxiety, but felt like I could use a little extra kick. A friend highly recommended to get NOW brand Ashwaganda extract capsules, as he suggested that the root may not be absorbing as well in my stomach (absorption issues due to GBP) so I thought, why not?! The day I got this brand in, as well as a few other supplements I was super excited to try!! (CUZ, F BIG PHARMA) I took my Ashwaganda, and a new choline/inositol supplement... The rest of the day, I was just OFF. I can't explain how I felt but it was not normal. I assumed that starting the new choline/inositol supplement was the culprit, as I have been taking Ashwaganda for quite some time. The next day, I still felt a little weird, but I decided to just go for the Ashwaganda. Nausea, vomiting, and still just off. I was spacey, my husband had to snap me out of staring into space for an uncomfortable about of time way more than once. I was unable to focus on conversation, very easily confused, and EXHAUSTED. I kept on! I knew the root had some kind of effect on me, so maybe my body just needs to adjust to the amount? Unfortunately....after a week of giving this a try, countless times of my head in the toilet, and staring into space, I realized this supplement was just not for me. I do not in ANY way blame the company. This is how natural herbs work! They are not for everyone. They all effect each individual SO differently. I know that this works for so many people, so please give it a try. But, if you end up with the symptoms I just explained....don't hold out for a week, and torture yourself. It will take way too long to feel normal again. I hope this helps anyone new to the world of Ashwaganda.