You have quite possibly seen Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) popping up all over in all sorts of forms: teas, smoothies, soft drinks, supplement formulae … Indeed, there is a craze every few years such as turmeric (Curcuma longa), elderberry (Sambucus nigra), chaga (Inonotus obliquus). All of these have had a star turn as the plant that will supposedly fix everything from immunity to anxiety.
Sajah Popham of the School of Evolutionary Herbalism has produced a very thoughtful piece on this topic, highlighting where fads move from harmless to serious1. Popham’s argument is that fads distort the plants themselves.
For example, echinacea (Echinacea spp.) becomes shorthand for “immune support” and loses its traditional identity as a blood-purifying alterative used for infected wounds and bites. Elderberry becomes “the antiviral herb”, even though the research behind it is really quite narrow, limited to influenza and the common cold rather than viruses in general. Wild yam (Dioscorea villosa) gets sold as a natural progesterone source, but while it has various positive actions, there is there is no evidence that it specifically affects female hormones2. Natural progesterone from any source, when taken orally, is digested into 99% inactive compounds3. Also, focusing on supplementing hormones may ignore the reason why hormones are imbalanced in the first place. For me, I am one of the minority who experiences the opposite of common effects of Ashwaghanda, further highlighting the flaw in the assumption that a herb may have specific benefits for all and that adding a substance to a food source is universally beneficial.
The piece also highlights the common practise of isolating compounds or a standardising extracts versus the whole plant as herbalists actually work with. This can work either way: isolating compounds can reduce the effectiveness (synergy) of myriad phytochemicals available in a herb working together to produce a greater effect in the body than an isolated compound; on the other hand, sometimes strong, demonstrable effects from extracted compounds are not being available in basic formulas, as appears to be the case with gingko (Gingko biloba).
Popham also raises the ecological and cultural cost of fads: goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) and Great Plains echinacea both suffered from overharvesting once they became popular, and plants such as guayusa (Ilex guayusa) risk being stripped of their cultural meaning when repackaged as an energy drink ingredient for export markets.
None of this is an argument against popular herbs. The piece is careful to say that turmeric, black cohosh (Actaea racemosa), and saw palmetto (Serenoa repens), all have real, well-evidenced uses; the issue is treating them as one-size-fits-all cures rather than remedies chosen for a particular person’s constitution and pattern. That is the same principle behind good herbal practice generally, and it’s worth considering whenever the next “miracle herb” starts trending.
If this is a subject you’re interested in, the full article is well worth reading or Sajah has recorded it for YouTube (link below)1.
References
- Popham S. The hidden danger of herbal fads: what herbalists should know. The School of Evolutionary Herbalism [Internet]. 2026 Jul 22 [cited 2026 Jul 25]. Available from: https://www.evolutionaryherbalism.com/2026/07/22/the-danger-of-herbal-fads/
- Bergner P. Dioscorea: wild yam and hormonal synthesis. Medical Herbalism. 2001;4(4):9. Available from: http://medherb.com/Materia_Medica/Dioscorea_-_Wild_Yam_and_hormonal_synthesis.htm
- Moore M. Wild yam and progesterone [Internet]. Henriette’s Herbal Homepage; 1995 Jun 30 [cited 2026 Jul 25]. Available from: https://www.henriettes-herb.com/archives/best/1995/wild-yam.html