Ashwagandha has been one of the top-selling natural medicines for many years now. Stress and anxiety remain common reasons why people try these products. New guideline recommendations are now weighing in on its use for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Here’s what you should know.
Clinical practice guidelines from the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) and the Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) provisionally recommend taking ashwagandha root extract alone or as an adjunctive therapy in people with GAD. The guidelines recommend doses of 300-600 mg by mouth daily – findings from several preliminary clinical studies consistently show that it helps.
If patients want to give it a try, tell them to look for products standardized to 5% withanolides. And make sure they understand that these guidelines are only for persistent anxiety – it’s unclear if taking ashwagandha helps with occasional anxiety. There aren’t any major safety concerns when it’s used appropriately, but emphasize that product quality remains a concern for the adaptogen product market in general. Refer to our Quality Certifications resource for guidance on evaluating product quality.
Check out our recently updated ashwagandha monograph to learn more.
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