Ashwagandha for Weight Loss: What the Research Shows for Women

If you are looking into ashwagandha for weight loss, here is the honest answer up front: ashwagandha is not a fat burner, and there is no good reason to expect the scale to drop just because you started taking it. What a few small trials do suggest is narrower and more useful. In adults who are under real, ongoing stress, ashwagandha has lowered stress scores, cortisol, and food cravings, and weight came down a little along with them.

If you are new to the herb itself, our main guide covers what the ashwagandha trials show for stress and sleep. This piece answers the weight question that guide leaves open.

Does ashwagandha help with weight loss?

Not directly. Ashwagandha has no known effect that burns fat or blocks calories. The case for it rests on one idea: long-term stress makes eating harder to manage, so easing stress might make eating a little easier.

That idea has some real support. Chronic stress tends to raise cravings for sweet, rich food, disrupt sleep, and push eating later into the evening. We covered what cortisol actually does in women, and what the "cortisol belly" posts get wrong, and the short version is that stress matters for eating, but cortisol is not a switch that stores fat on its own.

Pooled trials do show ashwagandha lowers stress. One meta-analysis of 12 randomized trials in 1,002 adults found clear drops in stress and anxiety scores compared with placebo, with the stress benefit at about 300 to 600 mg a day (Akhgarjand, 2022). A second review of 9 trials found serum cortisol fell as well (Arumugam, 2024). Both reviews rated the evidence as limited, so treat these as real but modest signals.

What the weight loss trials actually measured

Only a handful of trials have looked at body weight as an outcome. Here is what they found, in plain terms.

• Stressed adults, 8 weeks. Fifty-two adults under chronic stress took 300 mg of a root extract twice a day or a placebo. The ashwagandha group improved more on perceived stress, food cravings, eating behavior, serum cortisol, and body weight (Choudhary, 2016). The trial was small and short, and the published summary does not report how much weight people lost.
• Adults, 24 weeks. One hundred adults aged 19 to 65 took 300 mg twice a day or a placebo for six months. The ashwagandha group lost about 8.5 kg on average compared with about 2.4 kg on placebo, and also reported less stress and fewer cravings (Pakhale, 2025). That is a much bigger result than any other trial, from a single research group, and it has not been repeated. Treat it as a reason for a bigger independent study, not as what you should expect.
• Overweight adults aged 40 to 75, 12 weeks. An Australian trial gave 200 mg twice a day to stressed, tired adults carrying extra weight. Fatigue improved compared with placebo, but perceived stress did not improve more than it did on placebo (Smith, 2023). It is a useful reminder that results vary between extracts and study groups.

Notice what is missing. No trial has compared ashwagandha with a calorie deficit, protein, or strength training, and none has followed people long enough to see if weight stays off. Several of the most positive trials also share authors and use branded extracts. That does not make the results wrong. It does mean they need independent repeats.

Ashwagandha for weight loss in women over 40

This is where the research gets more interesting for women, because several newer trials were done in perimenopause and menopause.

In 100 perimenopausal women, 300 mg of root extract twice a day for 8 weeks lowered menopause symptom scores, including hot flash scores, compared with placebo (Gopal, 2021). A 2026 trial in 60 women aged 45 to 55 found similar drops in symptom scores and hot flashes over 8 weeks (Vani, 2026).

For body composition specifically, a 2026 trial in 66 postmenopausal women gave 600 mg a day for 12 weeks and measured body fat with a DEXA scan. Sleep quality and menopause symptoms improved a lot. Body fat went down by about 0.6 percentage points compared with almost no change on placebo (Obhrai, 2026). That is a real measured change, and it is also small. It will not show up on the scale in a way you would notice.

So for women over 40, the more realistic payoff is indirect: better sleep, fewer night sweats, and less stress can make the habits that actually move weight easier to keep. Those habits are laid out in what actually helps with menopause weight gain, and short sleep is one of the biggest levers, as our piece on sleep, cortisol, and midlife weight explains.

How much ashwagandha for weight loss?

The trials that looked at weight or stress used standardized root extracts at 300 mg twice a day, or 600 mg a day total. The postmenopausal body fat trial also used 600 mg a day (Obhrai, 2026). One Australian trial used 400 mg a day (Smith, 2023).

A few practical points:

• Use a root extract with the dose on the label. The trials used standardized extracts, not loose leaf powder or blends with undisclosed amounts.
• More is not better. The stress benefit in the pooled analysis sat at 300 to 600 mg a day (Akhgarjand, 2022).
• Buy tested. Look for a brand that publishes third-party testing for contents and contaminants.

How long does ashwagandha take to work for weight loss?

Longer than most people expect. The stress and craving changes in the weight trials were measured at 4 and 8 weeks (Choudhary, 2016), and the sleep benefits in pooled trials were clearest at 8 weeks or more (Cheah, 2021). The largest weight difference came from a 24-week trial (Pakhale, 2025).

If you try it, give it about two months with your eating, movement, and sleep otherwise steady, then judge it honestly. If your stress, sleep, and cravings have not changed, it is unlikely to do anything for your weight.

Can ashwagandha cause weight gain?

The trials above did not report weight gain. Where ashwagandha did change weight, it went down slightly. Some people online report more appetite, but that has not shown up in controlled trials, and better sleep and less stress can shift appetite either way. If you notice your appetite climbing, stop and see whether it settles.

Ashwagandha side effects and who should skip it

In the trials, side effects were usually mild: nausea, stomach discomfort, loose stools, and drowsiness (Pakhale, 2025). There are also two rare but serious risks worth knowing.

• Liver injury. A case series described five people who developed jaundice after taking ashwagandha supplements, usually 2 to 12 weeks in. All recovered after stopping, but it took up to five months (Björnsson, 2020). Stop and call your doctor if you notice yellow skin or eyes, dark urine, or severe itching.
• Thyroid. A case report described a woman who developed an overactive thyroid while taking ashwagandha, which resolved when she stopped (van der Hooft, 2005). If you have a thyroid condition or take thyroid medication, talk to your doctor first. Thyroid problems also affect weight on their own, so an unexplained change in weight is worth a thyroid check either way.

Skip it or ask your doctor first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have liver disease, have an autoimmune or thyroid condition, or take sedatives, thyroid medication, immunosuppressants, or medication for blood sugar or blood pressure.

What works better for stress eating

If stress is driving your eating, the tools with the most support are not in a capsule. Regular meals with protein, a steady sleep schedule, and a plan for the hardest time of day usually matter more. Our guide to what actually helps with emotional eating walks through them. Ashwagandha, at best, is a small assist on top.

The honest summary

Ashwagandha for weight loss is a stretch if you mean fat loss on its own. The better way to see it: a modestly supported herb for stress, sleep, and menopause symptoms, which in a few small trials came with lower cravings and a small drop in weight or body fat. One six-month trial showed a much larger effect that still needs an independent repeat.

If stress and poor sleep are the things making your eating hard, a two-month trial at 300 to 600 mg a day is a reasonable experiment with your doctor's okay. If they are not, save your money. More evidence-first reviews live in our supplements coverage.

This article contains no affiliate links. Where our articles do link to products, we may earn a commission. See our disclosure page. This is general information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before starting a supplement, especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a liver or thyroid condition, or take regular medication.

References

• Choudhary D, Bhattacharyya S, Joshi K. Body weight management in adults under chronic stress through treatment with ashwagandha root extract: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine. 2016. PMID: 27055824
• Pakhale K, Pakhale R, Srivathsan M, Langade J, Langade D. Efficacy and safety of Ashwagandha root extract on stress and weight management in adults: a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Journal of Medicine and Life. 2025. PMID: 41635453
• Smith SJ, Lopresti AL, Fairchild TJ. Exploring the efficacy and safety of a novel standardized ashwagandha root extract (Witholytin) in adults experiencing high stress and fatigue in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Journal of Psychopharmacology. 2023. PMID: 37740662
• Obhrai S, Shenoy S, Arora M. Effects of Withania somnifera root extract on sleep quality, body composition, and menopausal symptoms in postmenopausal women: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Menopause. 2026. PMID: 42742071
• Gopal S, Ajgaonkar A, Kanchi P, et al. Effect of an ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root extract on climacteric symptoms in women during perimenopause: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research. 2021. PMID: 34553463
• Vani I, Muralidhar G, Rao BS. A prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on efficacy and safety of Ashwagandha root extract for managing menopausal symptoms in women. Frontiers in Reproductive Health. 2026. PMID: 41561822
• Akhgarjand C, et al. Does Ashwagandha supplementation have a beneficial effect on the management of anxiety and stress? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Phytotherapy Research. 2022. PMID: 36017529
• Arumugam V, et al. Effects of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) on stress and anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Explore. 2024. PMID: 39348746
• Cheah KL, et al. Effect of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract on sleep: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE. 2021. PMID: 34559859
• Björnsson HK, et al. Ashwagandha-induced liver injury: a case series from Iceland and the US Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network. Liver International. 2020. PMID: 31991029
• van der Hooft CS, et al. Thyrotoxicosis following the use of ashwagandha. Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde. 2005. PMID: 16355578