Dietary supplements, Oskar Westerlin | “New” food supplements are being pulled from the shelves: – Gives a little more of the fuck

– Are you looking for ashwagandha too?, says the lady behind the cash register as Nettavisen’s reporter enters the health food store Kinsarvik Naturkost in Bislett.

She can say that in the last few hours five people have come in and asked for the “unknown” dietary supplement.

Because what exactly is ashwagandha, and how does it work?

The dietary supplement is on everyone’s lips the day after verkächt.no published an article in which they fact-checked Oskar Westerlin’s claims about the supplement. The influencer (25) has in recent weeks spoken warmly about the dietary supplement on his social media.

Despite the fact that it is only now that Norwegians have really opened their eyes to the dietary supplement – which is claimed to reduce stress, provide more energy and increase muscle strength – it has been used as folk medicine in several countries and in traditional Indian medicine for several hundred years .

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Flows to the shops

That Norwegians have now opened their eyes to ashwagandha is confirmed by store employees in several different health food stores.

Helene Waldermo (22) works in the Sunkost store in Glassmagasinet in Oslo. She tells of a noticeable increase in demand in the last couple of weeks.

– It is slightly different what people will use it for, but there are definitely more people coming in and asking about it now. The store has only been open for a month, but we have noticed an increase in traffic in the last two weeks, Waldermo tells Nettavisen.

That sales of ashwagandha have increased in the last couple of weeks is consistent with Westerlin’s advertising of the dietary supplement on social media.

On April 19, the influencer posted several videos on TikTok where he promoted the various health benefits ashwagandha is supposed to provide.

Nettavisen has previously discussed the influence Westerlin has on young people. This time, too, it is mainly the target group that has bitten.

– It is mainly young people. Typically people aged 22 and under, but there was also one older man who came in and wondered if it had any effect on oxygen uptake, explains Waldermo.

– I don’t think it works that well

Waldermo uses the dietary supplement himself, but does not think it is as effective in reducing stress as is claimed.

– No, I don’t think it works very well to reduce stress. Then you can rather use other things.

– Have you noticed any other advantages or disadvantages?

– No, not that I can prove. But I haven’t gotten any better anyway, laughs Waldermo.

Waldermo’s experiences with the dietary supplement are at odds with how Westerlin himself experiences it.

He tells Nettavisen that he has been using the dietary supplement since 2024, and is under the impression that it does what it promises.

– It is always difficult to say whether it is a placebo or an actual effect, and I have never struggled with anxiety or the like, but I myself notice that I stress less, am calmer and give a little more shit, says Westerlin to Nettavisen.

The influencer thinks it is a good thing that more Norwegians are now opening their eyes to ashwagandha.

– If people become less stressed and have a good effect, I think it is good that more people get to test it out, says Westerlin.

– Encourages people to be critical

In the actual.no article that was published on Tuesday, Arne Johan Norheim, doctor and researcher at NAFKAM, and Mette Kvittum Tangen, general practitioner and head of the Norwegian Association for General Medicine, point out that Westerlin’s statements about ashwagandha are undocumented and without support in research.

Westerlin presents eight international studies done on ashwagandha for Nettavisen, and comes with a jab at those who have claimed that his statements are baseless:

– “Nutrition expert” titles grow on trees by the day. Recognized international research should weigh more heavily than “influencer experts” who barely have a bachelor’s degree in nutrition. Encourage people to be critical!

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The National Research Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NAFKAM) states on its website that “ashwagandha contains substances which in theory can calm the brain, reduce swelling in inflammation, lower blood pressure and strengthen the immune system”.

At the same time, they point out that the research on the dietary supplement is limited, and call for more research before anything can be determined with certainty.

Illegal in Denmark

The lack of clear answers from the research led Denmark to take action.

In April 2023, they banned ashwagandha and made it illegal to sell, citing that they considered it impossible to recommend a safe dose given the current lack of research.

The move was based on a research study carried out at the Technical University of Denmark, where five of them came to the conclusion that the substance can potentially have a harmful effect on hormone production and, in the worst case, can promote abortion.