Consumer Labs Information
Ashwagandha
Side Effects can include:
Mild to moderate side effects include headache, sleepiness, nausea, gastrointestinal upset, vomiting, or diaarhea have been reported in some clinical studies.
It is a Night Shade so allergic reactions such as a rash, itching, nausea, wheezing, or difficulty breathing.
Top Pick was Nature's Way Ashwagandha
Applications:
Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic effect:
May have ant inflammatory and analgesic properties that was demonstrated in a small but well controlled study in India. Pain stiffness and disability were reduced at both 250 mg and 150 mg of extract.
Another one showed 450mg of ashwagandha root, 50 mg of zinc, and 100 mg of guggul and 50 mg of tumeric taken 3 times daily for 3 months showed significantly reduced pain among patients with OA.
physical performance
Small study in healthy men and women ages 18-25 found that a daily dose of 500 mg of ashwaganda root extract taken 1 hour after a meal for 2 months significantly improved measures of physical performance and cardiovascular endurance including velocity while sprinting, leg muscle strength, and Vo2max compared to placebo.
Cognitive performance improved with small study. 2 250 mg capsules with water each morning for 12 days significantly improved cognitive performance and reaction times compared to placebo.
improved with immediate and general memory, executive function, sustained attention, and information processing speed compared to placebo.
Infertility and hormones and vitality.
Placebo controlled clinical study in men with low sperm count found that a capsule increased sperm concentraion volume and motility dramatically. Also had a big increase in Serum Testosterone. A 14.7% increase in tesosterone levels was also achieved in a study among overweight men aged 40-70 years in australia five for 8 weeks however there was not a difference compared to placebo.
Thyroid function improved with those that had subclinical hypothyroidism defined as mildly to moderately elevated TSH levels and normal levels of T3 and T4.
2 month study in women ages 21-50 with 300 mg of ashwagandha extract after eating twice per day had significant improvements in overall sexual function including arousal, lubrication, and satisfaction compared to placebo. It is containing 5% withanolides.
Anxiety and insomnia benefits:
Can reduce anxiety and stress, fatigue, improve motivation and concentration in those who received 300 mg of ashwagandga root extract twice per day plus a daily multivitamin daily.
For sleep and insmonia it improved likely because of reduced stress.
Reduced depression symptoms with those that took ashwagandha extract with 2 to 6 250 mg of tablets per day for total dose of 500-3000 mg for 6 weeks.
Ashwagandha is an herb grown in india. Roots contain withanolides which are compounds thought to be responsible for some of the bers effects.It is considered indian ginseng because it is thought to have similar adaptogen qualities such as modulating the immune system and supporting the body response to stress.
Summary: Studies show that ashwagandha may help reduce anxiety, improve physical and cognitive performance, and have other benefits. Look for a root powder or a root extract containing respectively at elast 0.3% and 1.5% of withanolides -Key maker compounds which may also play a role in the herb's activity. Daily dose for a root powder is typically 1-6 grams for extracts it is 500 mg to 1,500 mg. A daily dose should provide at least 6 mg of withanolides --typically between 10 mg and 30 mg has been used in most studies.
Garlic
Swanson Best Garlic
may prevent gastric and colorectal cancers
aged garlic may reduce blood pressure in hypertensive individuals. 2 600 mg of aged garlic and 1.2 mg of SAC (S-allylcysteine) reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure by an average of 10 mm HG and 5.4 MM Hg
Garlic extract may prevent insect
may prevent colds
Slow atherosclerosis
Can reduce Serum Cholesterol by about 4-5%. It lowers the triglyceride component of choldersterol by 6-22%. Kwai Brand of Garlic Powder may reduce it to a greater degree
Rhodiola Rosea
Top Picks from Consumer Labs
Solaray Super Rhodiola of 500 mg with water or meal.
Nature's Way Rhodiola Rosea is a 250 mg of extract in a single vegetarian capsule
better taken in 2 servings
Physical and Mental Fatigue
Another study using 50mg of same extract given twice daily to students during a period of exams showed that the student improved a measure of hand eye coordination by 50% and decreased self reported scores of mental fatigue compared to placebo. They also had less of an increase in heart rate during a physical fitness test compared to placebo.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944711300800781
Subtopic
Showed that it can improve mental fatigue measured by short term memory, concentration, and ability to calculate.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944711300800550
Limited evidence.
How it works
Not exactly Sure, may inhibit MAO activity but unclear with research
Depression
May help with anxiety
Study showed that doses of 340 mg and 680 mg taken daily for 6 weeks improved most symptoms of depression including insomnia and emotional stability while those treated with placebo experienced no benefit. No side effects
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17990195
Another study compared it to Zoloft and showed that it had less of an effect but also had less side effects reported.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944711315000331
also known as golden root or rose root
adaptogen similar to ginseng
When choosing supplements look for a root extract contatining at leasat 3% rosavins and or 1% salidorsides which will help insure activity of the herb
The Salidoriside component is what contains the anti depressive effects
may help prevent physical or mental fatigue and improve athletic performance
MAy reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety
MitoQ and CoQ10
MitoQ may be more beneficial than CoQ10 but those with kidney issues may want to proceed with caution.
Vitamin B12
Foods that have B12
oral supplementation is better than B12 injections.
try not to get ones with sugar substitute such as mannitol, sorbitol, sucralose, or surgar itself.
cyanocobalamin is better absorbed for supplementation.
dose of 500 mcg given sublingually or orally has been show to be effective. 1000-5000 mcg orally is better for true deficiency.
400mcg per day may prevent heart disease, and tx asthma, fatigue, and male infertility but no reliable evidence.
if you have low stomach acid or taking proton pump inhibitors you are more likely to be deficient.
higher levels have been shown to minimize cognitive decline.
Deficiency is defined as below 200pg/ml but below 500 pg/ml you may experience symptoms.
B12 makes the genetic material in the cells, deficiency may lead to nerve damage, low sperm count. Symptoms may lead to fatigue, depression, and tingling in the arms and legs, weakness, loss of balance or trouble walking. B12 deficiency makes you more likely to get an infection because of low white blood cell count.
Probably do not need as much as B12 as you think you may need. If you are fatigue, tingling sensations, MTHFR gene, pernecious anemia/
Clams cooked have 84.06
Beef liver has 67.34 mcg
Salmon Sockeye coocked 19.55 mcg
Tuna coocked 3 oz has 9.25 mcg
Beef top loin has 4.82 mcg
2.4 mcg (2.8 prego/lac) is RDA
Huperzine A
Placebo controlled double blind study using Huperzine A for 8 weeks showed that 60% of treated participants showed improvements in memory, thinking, and behavioral functions compared to the 36% of the placebo treated group.
Xu SS, Goa ZX, Weng Z, et al. Efficacy of tablet huperzine-A on memory, cognition, and behavior in Alzheimer's disease. Zhongguo Yao Li Xue Bao. 1995;16:391–395.
Also in different study enhanced the memory and learning performance in individuals -->
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10678121/
works by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase
may also protect nerve cells from damage
causes ACH in the brain to rise!
according to research it could enhance memory skills and is a brain booster
It is an alkaloid similar to that have caffeine
It is a club moss called Huperzia Serrata
