Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is commonly known as “Indian Winter cherry” or “Indian Ginseng.” It’s one of the most important herbs of Ayurveda, the traditional system of medicine in India, and has been used for millennia for its wide-ranging health benefits. Ashwagandha belongs to the nightshade family of plants, and its suspected active ingredients include alkaloids, steroidal lactones, saponins, and withanolides. Ashwagandha is considered to be an adaptogenic herb that is believed to increase the body’s resistance to stress by acting as a stabilizer or normalizer. Cortisol is known as the stress hormone because of the role it plays in the body’s stress response. If your cortisol level is high, then an adaptogen can help return cortisol to a normal level and also help to maintain normal cortisol levels.