who sometimes dreams what it would be like

to live in a different time period

until I remember the healthcare.

(classical music)

(coughing)

Definitely the common cold.

Don't worry, three leeches for 30 minutes

will fix you right up.

(snarling)

Well some things have definitely changed since then.

I think sometimes people over blow

how backwards traditional medicine was.

Joke about how medieval doctors used leeches

to cure injuries all you want,

but explain why modern-day doctors

are now beginning to use them too as studies demonstrate

leeches are able to stimulation circulation

and draw out contaminated blood.

I think part of the problem lays in the fact

that leeches don't come in that little orange drug bottle,

which in today's world means one thing, results.

While leeches actually have medical backing,

that orange bottle is so powerful

that when given blank sugar pills

and told it was a pharmaceutical drug,

patients still reported feeling

like there were reductions in their symptoms.

A drug is simply a chemical substance of known structure

which has been proven to treat a disease.

All that's special about it is that it has been standardized

and researched conclusively.

But here's the thing, many of these chemical structures

are actually inspire by chemicals found in nature.

Don't believe me?

For thousands of years willow bark was gathered

and used as a pain reliever.

We now know

that it contains the chemical substance salicylic acid.

We know this because centuries later

salicylic acid from willow bark was being extracted and sold

as acetylsalicylic acid,

better known by its brand name aspirin,

now one of the most popular drugs in the world.

While the idea of drinking some willow bark tea

for your achy joints might seem like nonsense,

I doubt you'd think twice

about the efficacy of aspirin, why?

Because thousands of research studies and testimonials

speak to the fact that it works.

This is what is key to remember when we discuss ashwagandha.

For thousands of years ashwagandha root

was one of the staples of traditional Indian medicine

and what I want you to remember

is just because it doesn't come in that orange bottle

doesn't mean that the chemical compounds within it

are any less effective.

In this video we are going to take a scientific approach

looking at the substances within the root,

the research-backed benefits of consuming them,

and how this simple root has helped so many people.

The name itself comes from the translation smell of horse,

which is attributed to the root itself

smelling a bit like a horse and the idea that the root

is supposed to give you the strength and virility

of a wild horse.

More on that later.

In traditional Indian medicine

it is classified as rasayana,

meaning it is believed to lead to a long life.

Similarly, in more modern times,

medicine tends to classify it as an adaptogen.

Adaptogens are compounds which all the body to deal

with the physical and chemical effects of stress.

It's no surprise then

that one of its most celebrated benefits

is an apparent reduction in feelings of anxiety

and a boost in mood.

As people began to understand the importance of hormones,

claims began to surface

that ashwagandha possesses the direct ability

to reduce the stress hormone cortisol.

Ayurvedic medicine also classifies it as bhalaya,

signifying a belief it increases strength and as vajikara,

which means something works as an aphrodisiac.

In a similar vein, the strength and bodybuilding communities

often float claims that it directly increases testosterone,

which could potentially lead

to greater strength and fitness.

There are also claims surrounding a benefit

to male fertility.

Today, we're gonna look at all of these common claims

and check what the published research says.

Beyond that though, let's go a little bit deeper

and understand what the key chemical structures are

within the root, which endow ashwagandha

with its medicinal properties.

So your first question may be,

how could a root even have medicinal properties?

Isn't is just made up of root molecules?

Well, as it turns out

plants are just a little more complicated than that.

See inside plants are an array of special compounds

known as phytochemicals.

Because plants can't move around to meet their needs,

these secondary metabolites exist to perform specific tasks.

Some act as an immune system,

responding to and attacking disease molecules

if their soil becomes contaminated.

Some are designed to deter insects from eating them

as the plant can't exactly run away.

And certain phytochemicals

simply help the plant grow fast and strong.

In any given plant species, there are between 200,000

and a million unique chemical compounds.

When you have an organism

with so many potential phytochemicals,

every so often these molecules can overlap with ones

which activate pathways in our own bodies.

In this way,

they can have a very meaningful effect on our bodies

when consumed, just as the chemicals in willow bark

can trigger receptors and pathways

which dull the sensation of pain.

What makes ashwagandha special is that it contains

an unusually high number of phytochemicals

which positively influence systems in our own bodies.

Worth special attention

is a family of approximately 40 phytochemicals

which ashwagandha contains.

They're a class of steroidal lactones known as withanolides.

Don't let the word steroid confuse you though.

In our bodies

there are a bunch of naturally-occurring steroid hormones,

which do everything from suppressing inflammation

to helping us heal from injury and build muscle.

One of the most common claims regarding ashwagandha

is that it helps to reduce

levels of the stress steroid hormone cortisol

as well as the resultant feelings of anxiety and depression

resulting in an overall improved feeling of well-being

and a new positivity towards life.

I saw a YouTube comment the other day

which backed this up saying,

"I always feel anxious and stress for no reason at all

"and ashwagandha takes me off the fight-or-flight mode.

"I don't behave like a squirrel.

"I'm more chill and much happier."

But this of course is just anecdotal.

I'm sure many of you are wondering like I was

whether these results are real

or just that placebo effect, which we talked about earlier.

In 2008 a clinical trial was conducted

to address exactly this question.

They found 98 chronically stressed out

but otherwise healthy participants

and had participants complete a survey

to measure the degree of their stress.

The survey was based on a Bengali version

of a modified Hamilton Anxiety Scale for stress

and had participants rate symptoms of anxiety

on a five-point scale.

Zero meaning they never experienced that symptom

and four meaning they feel that symptom to a severe degree.

They divided the participants into four groups.

The placebo group, which would consume a pill

without ashwagandha in it, one group which would consume

one daily dose of 125 milligrams of ashwagandha root powder,

one group would consume 250 milligrams each day,

and the last group would take 500 milligrams

of the root powder each day.

The researchers were smart

to use a standardized ashwagandha extract.

This ensured that the root powder was tested

and verified to contain enough of the key withanolides,

removing some of the guesswork.

That's actually why I also personally choose

to take a standardized extract.

I put a link in the description to the one I take myself

but any standardized extract should work similarly well.

This way they could see if ashwagandha

would truly have the desired effect on the participants.

After 30 and 60 days,

they re-administered the questionnaire

to see if any of the symptoms had reduced.

What they found was pretty amazing.

In the lowest dose group by day 30 their average total score

dropped by 39.5% and by day 60 it had dropped 62.2%

compared to the placebo group,

which saw no significant change at all.

The groups taking larger doses of ashwagandha

saw even greater decreases in their scores

in a dose-dependent manner, leading to the conclusion

that not only is ashwagandha effective

but 500+ milligrams seems to be the optimal amount

for maximum benefits.

Reductions like this make it sound like ashwagandha

is almost too good to be true, begging the question

how are the chemicals in the root

able to have such profound effects?

While the research is far from complete,

there are some very promising theories

backed by some additional findings in the previous studies

which I haven't mentioned yet.

You see, while the questionnaires

provided evidence of an effect,

the researchers also measured biological changes.

At the start of the study

they took baseline levels of several hormones

including cortisol, DHEAS, and C-reactive protein

to name a few.

What happened after the 60 days to these levels

provides a strong clue

as to how ashwagandha is exerting its powerful effects.

To fully understand though,

we need a quick bio lesson on free radicals

and their impact on your health, brain, and mood.

Bear with me here, as understanding this is key

to helping everything else make sense.

If you don't really care about the mechanisms

behind ashwagandha reducing anxiety and depression

you can skip ahead to learn about the rest of the benefits.

In past videos, we've talked about how our bodies

turn the nutrients in the food we eat

into energy our cells can use.

This usable energy is a specific chemical called ATP.

ATP molecules are comprised of adenosine and a chain

of three phosphate molecules.

Think of ATP molecules as our body's energy units.

Our cells create ATP within themselves

by combining oxygen with other precursor chemicals.

ATP is great because once it is time to use this energy

the third phosphate on the chain of the ATP molecule

can be released,

resulting in a burst of energy being given off.

(pop)

This energy powers our cells

and by extension our entire body.

One of the main processes of creating these energy units

is called the electron transport chain,

which involves a complex series of chemical reactions

which create ATP as well as various byproducts.

One of the byproducts of the system are excess electrons,

hence the name.

Now, usually this isn't a problem.

Through a series of oxidation reduction reactions,

the electrons can be brought to an oxygen molecule

which is then combined with hydrogen

to produce simple, harmless water.

However, in anywhere from .1% to 2% of electrons

passing through the chain there is a glitch

where oxygen is instead prematurely

and incompletely reduced,

creating the superoxide radical

which is definitely not harmless.

superoxide is a type of free radical.

Think of these free radicals like the chemical emissions