Tegan (host)

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573 appearances 4 recordings 1 series first heard Jul 2026 last heard 4 Aug

Tegan (host)’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 4 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 3.

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What's That Rash? · Ashwagandha: what's the evidence? · 21 Jul 2026 podcast

So today's question comes from Wayne.

And Wayne is asking a question, as we skillfully foreshadowed, about a particular ingredient in Ayurvedic medicine.

So ashwagandha.

Wayne says, I have a question regarding the effectiveness of ashwagandha in reducing cortisol levels and therefore perhaps some of the adverse consequences of stress.

I see from a search or two on the internet that there is some indication that clinical trials show a reduction.

Are those trials meaningful?

Is the amount of reduction enough to offset high stress and warrant taking the supplement?

Wayne, you are asking excellent questions.

Because we're talking about a traditional medicine, as we said before.

We're talking about evidence.

And I think today, Norman, we're also going to end up talking about things like imperialism and colonialism, conflicts of interest.

It is a very rich theme that Wayne has opened up with his question today.

Right, which is a mouthful, which is the Latin name for the plant that ashwagandha comes from.

A fact that you just had on the top of your brain and definitely didn't read off a Wikipedia entry.

So that's the Sanskrit name for this plant.

But the plant's roots are said to smell like a wet horse.

Ashwa means horse and gandha for smell.

So that's what we're saying when we're saying ashwagandha.

We're saying effectively wet horse.

I think you need to have a wet horse nearby to compare the scent.

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