Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)
and Arjuna (Terminalia Arjuna)
in their independent capacities have a very important place in Ayurveda.
Ashwagandha is an adaptogenic herb and allows humans to adapt to physical and
mental stresses. Arjuna on the other hand in commonly seen in use by heart
patients.
This (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2996571/)
year 2010 Indian study administered 500mg/per day of Ashwagandha root extract
powder and 500mg/per day Arjuna tree bark extract powder, separately and
together, to a control group of 40 healthy college going young adults with
moderately active life style for a period of 8 weeks.
The participants were then made to perform the following physical
activities, and their performances were assessed:
1. Sprinting
to find their respective maximum velocities.
2. Vertical
jumps to measure their average absolute and average relative power of the lower
limbs.
3. Balancing
on a wobble board to measure changes in balancing.
4. Indoor
cycling on a turbo trainer to measure their peak maximum oxygen consumption (ml/kg/min)
After 8 weeks, the researchers found that Ashwagandha increased
velocity, power and VO2 max, whereas Arjuna increased VO2 max and lowered
resting systolic blood pressure.
When given in combination, the improvement was seen in all
parameters except balance and diastolic blood pressure.
The increases in the measured parameters (in percentage) are
as follows:
S.No.
|
Parameter measured
|
Change (in %)
|
1
|
Maximum
Velocity
|
1.3%
|
2
|
Average
Absolute Power
|
10.17%
|
3
|
Average
Relative Power
|
9.16%
|
4
|
Balance
|
NIL
|
5
|
VO2
max
|
6.3%
|
6
|
Systolic
blood pressure
|
4.3%
|
7
|
Diastolic
blood pressure
|
Almost
NIL
|
(You may want to cross-check
my maths. The figures above may not be exact, but more or less bearable)
So what do these numbers mean for a runner? The numbers
suggest that even though the increase in power (absolute and relative) is
astonishing at approximately 10%, for a runner it translates into only a 1.3%
increase in velocity while sprinting. However, if you consider the increase in
VO2 max at 6.3% and Power at about 10% and reduction in systolic blood pressure
at 4.3%, an endurance athlete would see a significant increase in performance.
The icing on the cake is that both Ashwagandha and Arjuna are
quite cheap to purchase (online/offline) and extremely beneficial for residents
of areas with a high level of pollution, which for an Indian will be almost
everywhere in India.
I’m using the Ashwagandha and Arjuna combination (500 mg powder each) for the last
two months and on some fast workouts, I do feel better, but that may be
attributable to a placebo effect. Maybe if I could give up my occasional but voluntary
smoke inhalation, periodic junk food binges, and frequent but useless calorie
laden alcohol intake, I could be faster and stronger. Till then, I’ll just use
the (extremely flawed and pathetic) self-love excuse and march forward with
blinders. As Socrates said, "Excuses are like assholes. Everybody has one, and they all stink".
Carpe (Excuses-Excuses) Diem.
- Aman Yadav
