Ashwagandha and Turmeric Together: A Good Idea?

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I like to go to the gym 6 days a week (with a forced rest day) and annihilate the weights.

However, this often comes at the cost of random pain and injuries everywhere. I hate this because it messes up my progress in the gym and my quality of life in general.

I don’t like to take pills from a pharmacy every day, so I’ve looked into natural alternatives.

Ashwagandha and Turmeric have both caught my interest for their positive effects on recovery.

Ashwagandha is known to reduce stress, improve sleep quality, and boost testosterone. Turmeric is known as a very powerful anti-inflammatory.

The combination of these benefits seems like the gift from above I need to keep destroying my gym sessions, without them destroying me.

I decided to try Ashwagandha and Turmeric together.

This article is written based on my own experience and the currently known research around both supplements.

In this article, I’m going to give you everything you need to know about Ashwagandha And Turmeric.

In the practical information, I’ll discuss what the compound is, how it works, if it’s safe (who should avoid it), the (possible) benefits, and (possible) side effects.

Practical information about Ashwagandha

What is Ashwagandha?

Ashwagandha is a herbal supplement that can reduce stress, improve sleep quality, and has positive effects on testosterone production.

It’s made from a green shrub tree and can be found in parts of Asia and Africa.

The active ingredients in Ashwagandha are the withanolides.

There are three high-quality categories of Ashwagandha supplements available.

The Ashwagandha supplements I like best are from Nootropics Depot. I’ll put a link after the information to an in-depth review for each.

• ‍KSM-66 Ashwagandha, has been deemed the king of full-spectrum Ashwagandha supplements (around 5% withanolides). Review.
• Sensoril Ashwagandha is especially great for balancing stress levels and supporting a healthy sleep pattern because it’s higher in Glycowithanolides (around 10% withanolides). Review.
• ‍Shoden Ashwagandha is a fairly new and highly purified full-spectrum Ashwagandha supplement (around 35% withanolides). Review.

How does Ashwagandha work?

Ashwagandha is a classified adaptogen, which can help us handle stress better.

When taken at night it can help calm the body and reduce anxiety, improving sleep quality.

Ashwagandha can also have a positive effect on testosterone, by increasing the production of the luteinizing hormone.

This hormone triggers testosterone production and supports our reproductive system.

Is Ashwagandha safe and who should avoid it?

Ashwagandha supplements are non-toxic and safe to consume for most healthy adults.

Ashwagandha should be avoided by people with certain medical conditions, such as autoimmune disease, diabetes, low or high blood pressure, thyroid disorders, or stomach ulcers.

Ashwagandha is also best avoided by pregnant or breastfeeding women.

What are the benefits of Ashwagandha?

Ashwagandha can help with:

• Handling stress
• Improving the quality of sleep
• Reducing anxiety
• Boosting testosterone (thus improving muscle/ strength/ sexual desires/ mood/ body composition/ etc.)

What are the side effects of Ashwagandha?

In some uncommon cases, Ashwagandha may cause drowsiness, nausea, an upset stomach, diarrhea, or allergies. More research is needed to pin down every possible side effect though.

Practical information about Turmeric

What is Turmeric?

Turmeric is a spice (the yellow one) and medicinal herb that originates from the root of the Curcuma Longa.

In India, it’s been used for thousands of years.

Turmeric contains an active ingredient called curcuminoids, with curcumin being the primary bioactive ingredient.

It has an anti-inflammatory effect and is therefore used as a herbal supplement.

But the benefits reach further than just anti-inflammation.

How does Turmeric work?

Turmeric (mainly curcumin) is an antioxidant that helps to protect the body from free radicals. It does this by neutralizing them.

However turmeric as a spice does not contain enough curcumin to get the benefits, so for this reason people take it as a concentrated supplement.

The best turmeric supplements contain high levels of curcumin and are combined with piperine (black pepper) because this increases the absorption of curcumin by up to 2,000 %.

If you want to further boost the absorption, you can take turmeric/ curcumin with a high-fat meal or fish oil (omega 3) supplement.

Is Turmeric safe and who should avoid it?

Turmeric is generally considered safe for healthy people, even in higher dosages.

However, the people that fit into the category below can best avoid supplementing Turmeric:

• Iron deficiency
• Hormone-sensitive conditions
• Gallbladder problems
• Bleeding disorders
• Infertility
• Liver disease
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Arrhythmia
• Pregnant women
• Undergoing surgery

What are the benefits of Turmeric?

Turmeric/ Curcumin can help with:

• Reducing inflammation
• Lowering/ eliminating (chronic) pain
• Improving memory and focus
• A better mood

What are the side effects of Turmeric?

The possible side effects of Turmeric/ Curcumin if taken in (very) high dosages are:

• An upset stomach
• Diarrhea
• Nausea

Is it safe to take Ashwagandha and Turmeric together?

Yes, if you follow the recommended dosages then taking Ashwagandha and Turmeric together is safe.

Ashwagandha extract has been safely used in research for dosages of 1,000 mg for 3 months, but higher dosages (and longer durations) are POSSIBLY safe as well.

Turmeric is considered safe for healthy people, even if you take higher dosages.

If you want to further boost the absorption, you can take turmeric/ curcumin with a high-fat meal or fish oil (omega 3) supplement.

What dosage of Ashwagandha and Turmeric should you take?

Dosage of Ashwagandha

I recommend taking a standardized, and well-tested Ashwagandha supplement.

Either KSM-66 Ashwagandha (best-known/ full-spectrum), Sensoril Ashwagandha (sleep/ stress focused), or Shoden Ashwagandha (highest potency/ full-spectrum) fall under these categories.

For KSM-66 the recommended dose would be between 300-600 mg daily.

For the others even less is appropriate, because they contain a higher percentage of withanolides (the active ingredient of Ashwagandha).

Dosage of Turmeric

I recommend looking for a Turmeric supplement, that is high in Curcumin, and is combined with Piperine (black pepper).

Piperine can increase absorption by up to 2,000 %.

Recommended dosages of Curcumin range from 150-1000 mg daily, or 500-2,000 mg of Turmeric Powder.

A good example of a high-quality, lab-tested Curcumin (95%) supplement with Piperine is from Nootropics Depot.

The recommended dosage from this supplement is 2 capsules of 500 mg daily.

You can further boost the absorption of Turmeric/ Curcumin by taking it with a high-fat meal or fish oil (omega 3) supplement.

Who should avoid taking Ashwagandha and Turmeric?

The people that fit into the following categories should certainly avoid taking Ashwagandha and Turmeric together:

• People with thyroid problems
• People with low or high blood pressure
• People with diabetes
• People with autoimmune disease/ liver disease
• People with stomach ulcers
• People with hormone-sensitive conditions
• People with Gallbladder problems
• People with bleeding disorders
• People with infertility problems
• People with Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• People with Arrhythmia
• People that are close to undergoing surgery
• Women that are pregnant/ or breastfeeding

Possible benefits of taking Ashwagandha and Turmeric together?

By taking Ashwagandha and Turmeric together, you could get the following benefits:

• Improved quality of sleep
• Better able to handle stress and reduced anxiety
• An increase in (free) testosterone levels.
• Improvements in sexual health (libido, erections, performance, etc.).
• Building muscle, and strength faster in the gym.
• A better body composition.
• More energy and a better mood
• Reduced inflammation
• Less/ eliminated (chronic) pain
• Improved memory and focus

Possible side effects of taking Ashwagandha and Turmeric together?

Based on current knowledge about Ashwagandha and Turmeric, the following side effects might occur:

• Drowsiness
• Nausea
• An upset stomach
• Diarrhea
• Allergic reactions

I’ve not experienced any side effects whatsoever.

When is the best time to take Ashwagandha and Turmeric?

The best time to take Ashwagandha is at night within 1-2 hours of going to sleep, because of its stress/ anxiety lowering effects and ability to improve sleep quality.

The best time to take Turmeric/ Curcumin is either in the morning to start the day or at night (with Ashwagandha) before going to sleep. It’s very effective as an anti-inflammatory taking it this way.

Do I recommend taking Ashwagandha and Turmeric together?

Ashwagandha and Turmeric don’t have much in common in terms of the benefits you’re getting, but in my opinion, they still have great synergy.

Ashwagandha has a very noticeable effect on my quality of sleep and being able to de-stress before sleeping.

The testosterone-related benefits, such as improved gym sessions or better sexual health, are awesome.

Turmeric supports a common goal, but in a completely different way. It reduces inflammation, and it actually works very well.

I’ve had WAY FEWER injuries/ nagging pain from lifting weights way too much.

This also supports better sleep (I would have random pains from the gym a lot) and helps me progress a lot faster in terms of building muscle and strength.

Combining Ashwagandha and Turmeric has been as good as natural supplementation gets for me, and both supplements are/ will stay in my daily supplement stack.

If you’re interested in the benefits and don’t fall into a category that should avoid these supplements, then I can recommend giving these a try.

I take the KSM-66 Ashwagandha and Turmeric from Nootropics Depot because it’s high-quality and lab-tested.

I take 2 pills of 300 mg KSM-66 Ashwagandha and two capsules of 500 mg Curcumin daily at night within 1-2 hours of going to sleep.

You can check the Ashwagandha KSM-66 out by clicking here, and the Curcumin with Piperine by clicking here.

How do I stack Ashwagandha and Turmeric with similar supplements?

I have some other natural compounds in my daily supplement stack, that have similar benefits, and that I take together with Ashwagandha and Turmeric.

Most of these supplements come from Nootropics Depot, but some come from Bulk Supplements.

In my opinion, these are very high-quality, and I like that all of these supplements are lab-tested.

The list below explains why I take each supplement, where you can find them, and for some, I've written an in-depth review as well (I've included the two supplements in this article).

Tongkat Ali

Great for: improving testosterone, increasing strength, a better body composition, better sex life, more energy, and better stress control.

For an in-depth review click here. To check it on the site click here.

Cistanche Tubulosa

Great for: improving testosterone, increasing strength, a better body composition, more energy, better mood, and improved cognitive abilities (like memory).

For an in-depth review click here. To check it on the site click here.

Ashwagandha KSM-66

Great for: improving sleep quality, decreasing anxiety, better stress control, improving testosterone levels/ muscle & strength gains, more energy, and better mood.

For an in-depth review click here. To check it on the site click here.

Magnesium

Great for: over 300 biochemical reactions in our bodies, better sleep quality, bone- and heart health, reducing feelings of anxiety and depression, etc.

To check it on the site click here.

Fenugreek Powder

Great for: boosting (free) testosterone, better sexual health, boosting performance and results in the gym, lowering blood pressure, and increasing milk production in breastfeeding women.

To check it on the site click here.

Epicatechin

Great for: boosting athletic performance, decreasing/ eliminating muscle soreness, a faster rate of muscle/ strength gain, a better body composition, retaining muscle during off times, improved cognitive abilities, better mood, and possibly improving testosterone.

For an in-depth review click here. To check it on the site click here.

Longvida Curcumin

Great for: reducing inflammation, reducing pain, improving cognitive abilities (memory/focus), and potentially a better mood/ faster muscle gains.

For an in-depth review click here. To check it on the site click here.

Maca Root Extract

Great for: improving sexual health, more energy & stamina, better cognitive ability & memory, and alleviating menstruation pain (for women).

To check it on the site click here.

L-Theanine

Great for: better quality sleep, feeling more relaxed, reduced stress/ anxiety/ fear, and improved mental focus.

To check it on the site click here.

Green Tea Extract 45% EGCG

Great for: Improving metabolic function, faster fat loss, better skin, reducing inflammation, and overall health.

For an in-depth review click here. To check it on the site click here.

Melatonin

Great for: overall better quality sleep, increased sleep duration, and falling asleep faster.

To check it on the site click here.

Also possible to stack with Horny Goat Weed

Great for: sexual health (mainly improved blood flow to the penile tissue), reducing anxiety, better mood, and possibly improving testosterone/reducing inflammation and pain/ more energy.

For an in-depth review click here. To check it on the site click here.