Research review
Ashwagandha and ginger: what the evidence says about taking them together
Ashwagandha and ginger are studied for different things — ashwagandha mainly for stress and cortisol, ginger mainly for nausea and digestion — and no trial has tested them together. Both can cause stomach upset on their own.
Ashwagandha and ginger turn up together in teas and supplement blends, but they're studied for different things and no trial has tested them combined. Ashwagandha's clearest human evidence is for stress-scale scores and cortisol, using concentrated root extracts; ginger's is for nausea and digestion, using doses from 500 mg to 2 grams a day depending on what was studied.
What the evidence doesn't support
It doesn't support a claim that ashwagandha and ginger work better together than either alone — no trial has run that comparison. It doesn't support ginger's nausea research as evidence for ashwagandha, or ashwagandha's stress research as evidence for ginger; they're separate compounds with separate trial bases. And it doesn't support treating a tea or blend that lists both as a tested formula rather than a recipe choice.
What the trials found
Ashwagandha's better-known trial is a 2012 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 64 adults with a history of chronic stress, taking 600 mg/day of a high-concentration root extract for 60 days; the treatment group had lower stress-scale scores and lower cortisol than placebo by day 60. A 2024 meta-analysis pooling nine trials, 558 people, found similar results on stress and anxiety rating scales. None of that research tested ginger, and none of it tested plain root powder at the dose a typical capsule provides.
Ginger's clearest evidence sits in a different category: nausea and digestion, not stress. A 2003 crossover trial found 1,000-2,000 mg of ginger reduced nausea and delayed its onset in people made dizzy in a rotating chair. A larger trial gave adult patients undergoing chemotherapy either placebo or 0.5-1.5 grams of ginger a day alongside their standard anti-nausea medication; all three ginger doses reduced next-day nausea severity more than placebo. None of ginger's nausea or digestion trials tested ashwagandha or measured a stress outcome.
No study we found has tested ashwagandha and ginger given together, at any dose, for any outcome. Their appearance in the same tea bag or capsule blend is a formulation or flavor choice, not a tested combination.
Questions people ask
Can you take ashwagandha and ginger together?
There's no trial of the combination, so there's no research describing an added effect from taking them together. Both are separately reported to cause stomach upset in some people — ashwagandha's most common reported side effects include nausea and loose stools, and ginger can cause heartburn or stomach discomfort at higher doses — so combining them could raise the odds of that kind of side effect, without there being a documented drug-style interaction between the two.
What does ashwagandha and ginger tea do?
No trial has tested that specific preparation. The tea combines an ingredient studied mainly for stress and cortisol (ashwagandha) with one studied mainly for nausea and digestion (ginger), each in its own separate research base, at doses that don't necessarily match what ends up in a cup of tea.
When to talk to a doctor
Persistent nausea, digestive symptoms or stress that affects daily life are worth discussing with a doctor rather than working through a supplement pairing first. Neither ashwagandha nor ginger is a treatment for a diagnosed digestive or stress-related condition, and nothing in the evidence above supports using either, alone or combined, as a substitute for medical evaluation.
Related reading: what is ashwagandha, ashwagandha dosage, and how much ginger should you take a day.
Sources
- A prospective, randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study of safety and efficacy of a high-concentration full-spectrum extract of ashwagandha root in reducing stress and anxiety in adults In a 60-day trial, 600 mg/day of a concentrated ashwagandha extract lowered stress-scale scores and cortisol more than placebo in adults with chronic stress.
- Effects of Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera) on stress and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis Pooling 9 trials in 558 people, ashwagandha lowered perceived stress, anxiety-scale scores and cortisol more than placebo.
- Ginger (Zingiber officinale) reduces acute chemotherapy-induced nausea: a URCC CCOP study of 576 patients In a 576-patient trial, cancer patients taking 0.5-1.5 grams of ginger a day alongside their standard anti-nausea medication had less severe nausea on the first day of chemotherapy than those on placebo, with the biggest effect at the two lower doses tested.
- Effects of ginger on motion sickness and gastric slow-wave dysrhythmias induced by circular vection In a small 2003 trial, people prone to motion sickness who took 1,000-2,000 mg of ginger before being spun in a rotating chair reported less nausea, took longer to feel sick, and recovered faster than those given placebo.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.