Leave it to Koffee With Karan for some interesting conversations. Recently, actor Varun Dhawan, ascended the Koffee couch with his JugJugg Jeeyo co-star Anil Kapoor. During a segment, Dhawan shared that the Ayurvedic herb, ashwagandha helps in response to a caller’s query on how to improve sex life.
“Try ashwagandha. I genuinely mean this. Start having some ashwagandha. It’s a great herb,” he said, on the chat show. Johar was quick to ask a follow-up question, “So, ashwagandha helps?” “100 per cent,” opined Dhawan, to which Johar responded, “I shall also buy it”.
Indian Express reached out to ayurvedic experts to understand the effects of herb on libido. According to Ayurveda, sex plays an integral role in one’s holistic well being. It is one among the triyopasthambam or the three pillars that support life. “Just like food and sleep, proper sexual activity is encouraged in Ayurveda,” said Dr Archana Sukumaran, Ayurveda doctor (BAMS), Kerala Ayurveda. She believes that sexual intercourse helps one remain young for a long time with high memory power, intellectual abilities, long life, health, nourishment, high perceptive power of senses, and strength.
Ashwagandha has myriad benefits including increasing libido. Deriving its name from the Sanskrit words ‘ashwa’ which means ‘horse’ and ‘gandha’ which means ‘smell’, it collectively symbolises the energy and vitality of a horse. The herb is rich in biologically active substances as it is composed of both macro and micro-elements, amino acids, peptides, lipids, and the bases of nucleic acids.
According to Dr Archana, Ayurveda recommends specific herbal rejuvenators like ashwagandha that help boost sexual function. “It is a powerful herb that can increase strength and libido. Ajax capsules, aswagandharishta and Aswagandhadi Lehyam are excellent options to regain vitality in men,” she said.
She adds, “This rasayana rejuvenates our body and relaxes our brain. From joint pain, inflammation, weight gain, fatigue, poor immunity, anxiety, and depression to improving physical strength, sperm count and sexual potency, ashwagandha works for all of these and more,” ayurvedic practitioner Dr Dixa Bhavsar told indianexpress.com.
The her is known to improve sperm count, sperm quality, and physical strength in males as Shatavari is used in females. “Both these herbs can be had by males and females but here we shall be talking about how it can help improve sexual potency specifically in males”.
Along with improving sexual potency, it also helps in reducing elevated sugar levels and HbA1C. “For men with infertility due to azoospermia and oligospermia, ashwagandha when combined with other herbs like kaunch beej, muesli, shatavari, yastimadhu, etc gives wonderful results,” said Dr Dixa.
For men with loss of libido due to depression, work stress, and anxiety, Dr Dixa mentioned that “just having ashwagandha with milk at bedtime can improve mood, energy and even libido”.
