Shatavari Benefits & Uses: An Ayurvedic Perspective

CLINICAL AYURVEDIC REVIEW

Shatavari's many benefits include an unusual combination: it is both antimicrobial and nourishing.

Most antimicrobials are depleting, so this rare combination is a special gift, offering genuine relief for those who have been depleted and exhausted by chronic bacterial overgrowth (like candida) and dysbiosis in the gut.

As a nourishing, sweet herb, it moisturizes your body. As an anti-inflammatory, it soothes burning sensations.

Many love to pamper themselves with this pleasant, nurturing herb!

If you feel irritated and like you need some nurturing, Shatavari also builds ojas, and is renowned for its affectionate side (oxytocic).

Whether you have a digestive tract that's gone haywire, a dry cough, or need nurturing, shatavari mothers you back to health.

Here's how.

Cool & Anti-inflammatory

Shatavari is ideal whenever you experience dryness and burning. And it is often Ayurveda's first choice for inflammation in underweight, Vata individuals (including Vata pushing Pitta conditions).

One client testifies to its cooling nature: "I wake up a little bit colder [when taking shatavari]. My temperature is 97.6 degrees, for example, rather than 98.3 or 98.6. I feel a bit colder during the day."

Relaxes & Eases Tension

Clients report feeling calm and comforted by this easy-going, nurturing herb.

One writes, "My whole body felt relaxed."

In anxiety relieving formulas, shatavari is commonly paired with dashamoola, brahmi, ashwagandha and shankhpushpi.

Shatavari Uses for the Female Reproductive System

Shatavari is a moisturizing female reproductive tonic that helps to replenish and balance depleted estrogen. It is commonly used in menopause or perimenopause, or whenever estrogen levels are low.

These common formulas for the female reproductive tract combine shatavari with the following, which are used for:

• A general tonic: combine with milk and honey
• Hot flashes during menopause: mix with coconut water
• Heavy menstruation: mix with aloe vera
• Dry, light periods: combine with ghee or milk
• Dysmenorrhea: blend with ashoka, black cohosh, or musta
• Miscarriages: combine with ghee, manjistha and/or ashoka.

Shatavari is a galactagogue, meaning it also increases the flow of breast milk. For this purpose, add it to warm milk with ghee, fenugreek, fennel, and/or ajwain.

It also benefits the male reproductive system as it increases the sperm count and purifies sperm.

Shatavari moisturizes membranes, including the lungs, digestive tract and female reproductive organs. The asparagus genus is renowned for its ability to encourage secretions through an indirect demulcent action.

It is especially moisturizing as a female aphrodisiac that helps to dispel low libido due to vaginal dryness. Its name, "she who possesses 100 husbands," testifies to its aphrodisiac qualities. Despite the name this herb is gentle and will not create intemperate passion.

You might also use shatavari ghee topically for vaginal dryness.

Relieves Burning Sensations in Digestion

It is one of the few gentle antimicrobial herbs, making it useful for dysbiosis in weakened, underweight individuals (Vata).

In addition to suppressing fermentation in the gut, Shatavari cools inflammation and burning in the lower abdomen.

One client notes, "It is like pouring water on a burning area. It went right to my pelvic area and became like a mother to that area."

Another notes that shatavari, "felt soothing," and that it "coated my entire digestive tract." One client states, "I had been suffering with some hyperacidity for a couple of days with a burning feeling inside. Shatavari really seemed to help to ease it."

For a sweet herb, shatavari is surprisingly bitter.

It has been traditionally used with herbs such as amalaki, licorice root and aloe vera in a base of pomegranate juice for soothing intestinal inflammation in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

Alleviates Constipation

Shatavari's moisturizing and anti-microbial properties help alleviate dry, hard and rough constipation with stools that resemble rabbit pellets.

This type of constipation is often secondary to dehydration and fermentation in the digestive tract, which cause a build-up of metabolic waste (ama). Shatavari reduces this fermentation.

One client notes, "My elimination was easier, smoother. Stools were not liquified, but well formed and soft."

Effect on Sweat & Urine

As a cold, antimicrobial diuretic, shatavari is useful to clear urinary tract infections.

One client reports the effect of shatavari on her kidneys. "My kidneys felt good and didn't have any pressure," she explains. Several clients also noticed less sweat with shatavari.

Soothes the Throat and Lungs

Shatavari's moisturizing, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties address the root cause of a sore throat due to deficiency. It is especially useful for soothing a dry cough and heat conditions of the lungs.

For these cases, use with licorice root and honey.

One client noted, "My throat was moist and relaxed, my chest felt a little heavier." Another notes of the cooling effect of shatavari on their upper body: "My shoulders and skin felt a little chilly."

Improves Eyesight

Shatavari's cooling effect on the blood (rakta dhatu) refreshes and cools the eyes, as it does all highly vascularized organs including the female reproductive tract.

One client notes, "While taking Shatavari the most remarkable thing happened.

During the beginning of the week I was really struggling in the first half of the day to have clear vision. I would wake up and everything was blurry (not my normal) and it was like I had oil in my eyes or something. It was very strange.

I was straining to see the computer screen etc.,

All of a sudden I noticed that later in the week I wasn't struggling with that any more and my eyes felt relaxed and my vision was MUCH improved."

Other Combinations

For fever, shatavari is traditionally used with neem and other bitter herbs.

For building and strengthening muscles, shatavari is commonly paired with bala (external use only), ashwagandha, ginger, and turmeric. For building ojas, it is commonly combined with vidari.

Milk in general is a good carrier (anupan) for shatavari.

Contraindications

Shatavari is contraindicated for cold digestion and all cold conditions. One client notes, after eating it, that, "I did not eat until 2pm but did not have a sense of hunger either."

Another notes, "I would recommend taking it at midday because it is heavy for me when i take it at night."

Shatavari is estrogenic. Do not use shatavari in estrogen dominant women. If you notice tenderness or lumpiness of the breasts during menses, discontinue use.