Thank you very much for this valuable feedback, Mary! We are always striving to improve our articles, research, and information, to make it more clear, correct, and accessible. I have passed your comment on to our blog team and they are currently taking a look.

Thanks so much for being part of our community and for caring enough to point out this information to us! –Ina, Food Revolution Network Team

ABSOLUTELY SEEK ORGANIC SOURCES SUCH AS FROM WHOLE FOODS, LIKE THE LONG STANDING CO. HIMALAYAN ______? TABLETS (I FORGET THE FULL NAME 🙄).

SEEK ORGANIC, REPUTABLE COMPANIES AND LIKELY YOU’LL FIND THESE AT WHOLE FOODS. ONE COMPANY THAT’S BEEN AROUND QUITE AWHILE IS HIMALAYAN ______? AS AYURVEDIC TABLETS. TRY AGAIN, BUT SOMETIMES WE INDIVIDUALS CAN’T TOLERATE SOME THINGS AS WE’RE ALL UNIQUE. PATRICE, HERBALIST

Hi Lisa! Thank you so much for reaching out, and for being part of the Food Revolution Network community. We are wishing you all the best in continued health and healing!!

The concern you’re seeing about ashwagandha and anastrozole isn’t just scare tactics, but it’s also not fully settled science. Anastrozole is broken down in the body partly by liver enzymes, and ashwagandha has been shown in lab studies to affect some of those same enzyme pathways. In theory, that could change how much anastrozole stays active in your system. The key word is “theory.” This interaction has mainly been observed in test tube and lab research, not in real people taking both together, so we don’t have solid clinical proof of how significant the effect actually is in practice. That uncertainty is exactly why it’s not something to guess about on your own.

We’d also gently note that the idea that ashwagandha being good specifically for breast cancer isn’t something we can confirm either way. Some early lab studies suggest certain compounds in ashwagandha may affect cancer cells in a dish, but that’s a long way from proven benefit in actual patients, and it doesn’t tell us anything about how it interacts with your specific treatment.

Because this involves an active cancer treatment and a stage 4 diagnosis, this is really a conversation for your oncologist or oncology pharmacist, not something we can advise on here. They can check your specific medications, dosages, and health history, and they may even be able to look at your bloodwork or drug levels if there’s any concern. If they give you the green light, you may wish to give it a try! –Ina, Food Revolution Network Team

Wow, Randy–thank you so much for sharing your story! Those are incredible results. I’m so happy that you found a beautiful herb that can help you so much. –Ina, Food Revolution Network Team

Hi Scott! Here’s a link for purchasing Tribe Organics Ashwagandha, which is a brand we trust and recommend: https://amzn.to/4fdV6uN. Feel free to look for other places to purchase it, too, if you don’t use Amazon. –Ina, Food Revolution Network Team

That’s wonderful that it helps, Marsha! –Ina, Food Revolution Network Team

Many herbalists and integrative practitioners recommend a cycling approach, often something like taking it for 8 to 12 weeks and then pausing for one to two weeks before resuming, rather than staying on it continuously indefinitely. This isn’t because there’s strong evidence of harm from daily long term use, it’s more that the long term safety data on daily use over many months or years is still limited, so cycling is a cautious approach that gives your body periodic breaks while research continues to catch up. Some people also find that adaptogens feel most effective when used this way, since the body doesn’t seem to build the same level of tolerance to their effects. –Ina, Food Revolution Network Team