In April 2023, Denmark became the first European nation to ban ashwagandha in food supplements. The ban made global headlines. Wellness influencers panicked. Consumers started emptying cabinets. And a plant used safely in Ayurvedic medicine for over 3,000 years was suddenly at the center of an international regulatory debate.
The Netherlands followed with a formal warning in March 2024. France issued its own advisory a month later.
Then something interesting happened.
The scientific and medical communities started pushing back — hard.
Here's the full story most headlines left out.
What Denmark Actually Did (and Why)
In April 2023, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (Fødevarestyrelsen) removed all ashwagandha-containing supplements from Danish shelves.
The decision was based on a 2020 risk assessment from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). That report flagged three main concerns:
- Hormonal disruption — theoretical concerns about testosterone, thyroid, and reproductive hormones
- Reproductive safety — potential risks during pregnancy
- Inability to establish a safe daily intake — the researchers said they couldn't identify a threshold below which no harm could occur
That last point is what drove the regulatory action. Under EU precautionary principle rules, if a safe intake level can't be established, the ingredient can be restricted — even in the absence of clear evidence of harm.
The Netherlands and France Followed — with Warnings, Not Bans
Netherlands (RIVM, March 2024): The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment issued a formal warning, stating that ashwagandha products on the market "may lead to adverse effects such as liver injury, thyrotoxicosis and suppression of the adrenal system in sensitive people."
France (ANSES, April 2024): The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety issued an advisory — not a ban — recommending that specific groups avoid ashwagandha:
- People with thyroid, liver, or heart conditions
- People with hyperandrogenism
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women
- People taking sedative medications
- Children under 18
Notably: no other European country followed Denmark's outright ban. And neither the FDA nor Health Canada has restricted ashwagandha at all.
Where the Scientific Community Pushed Back
Almost immediately after Denmark's decision, researchers began publishing critiques.
The most notable appeared in the International Journal of Ayurveda Research, in a paper titled "When regulation ignores evidence: The case of Denmark's Ashwagandha ban and the Technical University of Denmark's misguided risk assessment."
The paper argued that the Danish report "lacks systematic evidence synthesis to support the decision to ban Ashwagandha." In plainer language: the DTU's risk assessment relied on selective evidence and did not adequately weigh the extensive body of clinical safety data available.
Industry organizations across Europe called the ban "unjustified" and pointed to decades of clinical research showing safety in standardized forms at standard doses.
What the Clinical Data Actually Shows
This is where the story gets clearer.
A 2024 systematic review of 23 randomized clinical trials on standardized ashwagandha root extract found no adverse effects on:
- Hepatic (liver) function
- Renal (kidney) function
- Thyroid function
- Blood biomarkers
Evidence certainty across these safety markers was rated moderate — meaning the findings held consistently across multiple studies using objective clinical measurements.
A 12-month observational study on KSM-66 (a patented, standardized ashwagandha extract) at 600mg per day found no deleterious effects on hepatic, renal, or thyroid function in healthy adults over a full year of continuous use.
Sensoril (another patented, standardized extract) has been backed by 15 gold-standard clinical trials demonstrating both efficacy and safety, with no significant adverse effects on liver, kidney, or thyroid function reported.
So Where Do the Safety Concerns Come From?
There are documented case reports of ashwagandha-related liver injury. They exist in the NIH's LiverTox database and cannot be dismissed. But when those cases are examined closely, most involve one or more of these factors:
- Generic or unbranded ashwagandha without standardization or third-party testing
- Very high doses — often 3-4x the standard clinical dose
- Products from unverified sources — some with confirmed heavy metal contamination
- Pre-existing conditions — particularly liver disease or interactions with other medications
The profile of a serious adverse event reported in the literature looks very different from the profile of a woman taking a clinically-dosed, standardized, third-party-tested ashwagandha extract for daily hormonal support.
Why Form and Dose Matter More Than Most People Realize
Here's what regulatory conversations often miss: "ashwagandha" is not one product.
Generic ashwagandha powder (often sold in bulk online for $10) is a fundamentally different product than Sensoril or KSM-66 — both of which are patented, standardized to specific active compound percentages, and manufactured under pharmaceutical-grade quality control.
The clinical studies showing safety were conducted on the standardized, branded forms. The concerning case reports overwhelmingly involve unstandardized, unbranded, and often adulterated forms.
Dose matters just as much. A responsible ashwagandha supplement contains 125–600mg per day of a standardized extract. A "mega-dose" product marketed to gym-goers may contain 2,000–4,000mg — often stacked with stimulants, additives, or heavy metal contamination.
The regulatory conversation would be more useful if it focused on quality control and standardization rather than blanket bans on an entire plant.
Who Should Actually Be Cautious
Even for standardized, well-dosed forms, certain groups should consult a doctor before taking ashwagandha:
- People with thyroid conditions — ashwagandha can influence thyroid hormone levels. For people with hyper- or hypothyroidism, this may require medication adjustment or avoidance.
- Pregnant or breastfeeding women — long-term safety data is limited, and caution is standard practice for supplements during pregnancy.
- People with liver disease — anyone with existing liver dysfunction should discuss any supplement with their doctor.
- People taking sedatives, immunosuppressants, or thyroid medication — potential interactions exist.
- Children under 18 — insufficient safety data in this age group.
This isn't unique to ashwagandha. It's standard-of-care caution that applies to virtually any supplement, prescription, or over-the-counter medication.
The Bottom Line
The Denmark ban made global headlines, but the fuller picture is more nuanced than the coverage suggested.
The Danish decision has been challenged by researchers as lacking systematic evidence. The Netherlands and France followed with warnings, not bans. No other major regulator has restricted ashwagandha. The extensive clinical trial data on standardized ashwagandha extracts does not support systemic safety concerns at standard doses. And the case reports of adverse events overwhelmingly involve generic, unstandardized, or high-dose products — not the clinically-studied forms.
Ashwagandha remains one of the most-researched adaptogens in the world. Used for over 3,000 years in Ayurveda, backed by hundreds of modern clinical trials, and consumed daily by millions of people safely.
The regulatory conversation isn't going away — and it shouldn't. Consumers deserve rigor. They also deserve accuracy.
Which means: read past the headlines, look at what form of ashwagandha you're actually taking, understand the dose, and know whether you're in one of the specific groups who should consult a doctor.
About the Ashwagandha in The Baseline
The Baseline uses Sensoril® Ashwagandha — the patented, standardized form of ashwagandha root extract clinically shown to reduce serum cortisol up to 14.5%.
Sensoril was chosen for three specific reasons:
- Standardization. Sensoril is standardized to contain a minimum of 10% withanolides — the active compounds responsible for ashwagandha's benefits. Most bulk-market ashwagandha is not standardized.
- Clinical evidence. Sensoril is backed by 15 gold-standard human clinical trials, with no significant adverse effects on liver, kidney, or thyroid function reported.
- Manufacturing quality. Sensoril is produced under pharmaceutical-grade quality control by Natreon and is protected under U.S. Patents 6,153,198 and 7,318,938.
At 150mg per daily serving, the dose in The Baseline sits comfortably within the range shown to be both safe and effective in the clinical research.
If you have a thyroid condition, are pregnant or breastfeeding, take medications that may interact with adaptogens, or fall into any of the caution groups above — talk to your doctor before starting The Baseline or any supplement.
For everyone else: this is the ashwagandha to trust.
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