Autoimmune Warning on Trendy Herbal Supplements

A doctor who studies autoimmune disease says some of the same herbs sold to calm your stress could be quietly fueling inflammation inside your body.

Quick Take

Adaptogens are herbs like ashwagandha, ginseng, and rhodiola that mainstream health sources say help the body handle stress and bounce back afterward.
Doctors at UCLA Health and Cleveland Clinic say these herbs are generally safe, but they don’t work the same for everyone.
A 2025 review found 227 herbal supplements, including several popular adaptogens, can stimulate the immune system in ways that may worsen autoimmune disease.
Experts agree the science is much stronger for a few well-studied herbs than for adaptogens as one big category.
No agency tightly regulates these products, so labels don’t always show what’s really inside.

What Adaptogens Are Supposed To Do

Adaptogens are plants and mushrooms that herbalists and some doctors say help the body manage stress and return to balance afterward. UCLA Health describes them as substances that help the body “manage stress and restore balance after a stressful situation.” A review hosted by the National Institutes of Health backs this idea for herbs like Rhodiola rosea, calling the traditional use scientifically plausible.

How Herbalists Say They Should Be Used

Clinical herbalists don’t treat adaptogens like quick fixes. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Whole Health Library describes ginseng as a model adaptogen used to build long-term resilience in the immune system and body. Herbalist David Winston explains that adaptogenic blends work best when used to “smooth out the highs and lows of the stress response” over time, not as one-time remedies for a bad day.

A small human study of a multi-herb formula backs up part of this idea. Researchers found participants reported major improvements in how well they coped with stress after using the product. Cleveland Clinic also says most adaptogens are “generally well tolerated,” whether taken as capsules, teas, or food.

A Doctor’s Warning Changes The Conversation

Allergist and immunologist Dr. Kara Wada reviewed nearly 12,000 studies and found 227 herbal supplements with immune-stimulating effects. Fifteen of them, including ashwagandha, ginseng, astragalus, echinacea, licorice, and reishi, had strong evidence across human, animal, and lab research. She warns these same herbs, often marketed for stress or immune support, can push autoimmune diseases like lupus or Sjögren’s into flare-ups.

Wada’s warning isn’t just theoretical. She says she personally suffered severe liver damage in 2019 after taking a superfood blend loaded with these immune-stimulating herbs, an injury serious enough to require a biopsy. She also notes that many of these ingredients hide inside “proprietary blends,” making it hard for buyers to know what they’re actually swallowing.

Where The Two Sides Actually Disagree

The doctor’s warning does not disprove the basic idea that some adaptogens help people manage everyday stress. It focuses on a narrower, serious risk: immune activation in people who already have autoimmune conditions. Neither side offers strong proof about safe long-term dosing for healthy users, and experts admit adaptogens work better as a description for a few specific, well-tested herbs than as one trustworthy category.

Why The Confusion Keeps Spreading

Part of the problem is that nobody agrees on a strict list of what counts as an adaptogen. Some herbs are called “proven,” others “probable,” and others just “possible.” That fuzziness lets marketers slap the label on all kinds of products promising energy, immunity, and calm all at once, even though solid evidence covers only a handful of specific plants.

This mirrors a bigger pattern people already sense with government and big institutions: strong claims get repeated everywhere long before the hard proof catches up. Shoppers are left to sort out safety on their own, often without the FDA reviewing these products the way it reviews drugs. Anyone with an autoimmune condition, or on other medications, should talk to a doctor before adding any adaptogen to their routine.