Wormwood

(Artemisia Absinthium, Common wormwood)

Evidence: Reasonable
Possible Benefits: Low
Safety: Low

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is Wormwood?

Artemisia absinthium, also known as wormwood or common wormwood, is a herb used to make alcoholic drinks vermouth and absinthe. However, the amount of wormwood or thujone (the main active compound in wormwood) in these drinks is generally low. This herb is sometimes used as a supplement for improving digestive health but it can cause a variety of side effects, including seizures and kidney damage, because of its thujone content. Thujone-free wormwood appears much safer to use. This article is about the main benefits of wormwood, its potential side effects, the best time to take it, and more.

Possible benefits

All of the potential benefits mentioned below are dose-dependent. As with other adaptogenic herbs, there is a sweet-spot dose that allows you to get most of the benefits without causing meaningful side effects or tolerance buildup in the body. We will discuss the best dosing protocol later in this article.

Minor benefits

  • Reduced inflammation – Wormwood may reduce TNF-alpha and other markers of inflammation, which may be helpful for people with Crohn’s disease and other inflammatory conditions.
  • Antioxidant properties – This benefit is likely small and more research is needed to confirm it.
  • Liver protection – At least some research suggests wormwood may be hepatoprotective.
  • Improved brain health – This herb has been used traditionally in Europe and Pakistan for improving memory and restoring impaired brain function. This may be due to wormwood’s cholinergic activity. However, more research is needed to confirm or disprove this effect.

Possible side effects

The side effects below are dose-dependent. The risk for them increases (often linearly but sometimes exponentially) as you increase the dose. Some of the side effects only apply to very high doses.

  • Seizures – High doses of thujone from wormwood excite the central nervous system and can cause seizures.
  • Kidney damage – High doses of wormwood may cause kidney damage and even kidney failure.
  • Initial adverse reaction – When you start taking wormwood, things can get worse before they get better. This herb can temporarily worsen some aspects of your health and even make you sick for a few days after you start taking it. That can be unpleasant, but it is usually a sign that the supplement is working and creating a hormetic response that allows the body to adapt and become more resilient in the long term.
  • Allergic reaction – Some people are allergic to this herb and may experience an allergic reaction after they start taking it. Unlike the “initial adverse reaction,” allergic reactions typically don’t disappear until one stops taking the herb.
  • Nausea – This side effect is most common when people take the herb on an empty stomach.
  • Diarrhea – You can usually prevent diarrhea or stomach discomfort by taking this herb with a meal.
  • Toxicity – High doses of thujone in wormwood can cause kidney damage and various other symptoms of toxicity.
  • Contamination – If growing or storing conditions are not adequately controlled, wormwood can be contaminated with bacteria, molds, and other potentially harmful microorganisms. Some growers also use pesticides and herbicides that can be unsafe. Another issue is that herbal supplements can get contaminated with other supplements and chemicals during the manufacturing process. Choose the brand you get herbs and herbal supplements from wisely. It is often best to use websites like Amazon, where thousands of users have reviewed and rated the products. You are less likely to buy something of lower quality there.

Who should not take wormwood?

You should probably avoid taking wormwood if you:

  • don’t have a great reason to take it
  • are allergic to this herb
  • have damaged kidneys
  • experience a severe adverse reaction after taking the herb (though a mild adverse reaction is usually a great thing as it is a sign that the supplement is working and causing a hormetic response that allows the body to adapt and become more resilient)
  • are pregnant or breastfeeding (wormwood may cause many risks to the child)

Who will benefit the most?

Taking this herb is rarely worth it. The negatives outweigh the positives in the vast majority of cases.

How much wormwood should you take?

The best dose to take for most people is 0 mg/d. This herb seems to have very few benefits and many side effects associated with it.

There isn’t much information on wormwood dosing. If you do decide to take this herb, it’s probably best to follow the dosing recommendation of the specific product you buy.

Best time to take wormwood

You can take this herb with or without food. Each of these options has its benefits. The main bioactive compounds in the herb should absorb well either way.

If you experience nausea or stomach discomfort when you take this herb, taking it with food should prevent these unpleasant effects or at least make them less intense.

If you take this herb on an empty stomach, the short-term effects will kick in faster, and they will be more pronounced but will not last as long.

Whether you take this herb in the morning or the evening typically does not make much difference. Both options are fine so feel free to experiment.

Where to buy wormwood?

In most countries, Amazon is the best option for ordering wormwood and other herbs and herbal supplements. They offer some very affordable products backed by many positive reviews. Also, you can choose from a wide range of brands without having to search through other markets on the internet.

Some brands display the dosage per serving instead of per pill or capsule. Therefore, you may accidentally buy something less potent than you intended. Do not fall for this marketing trick.

FAQ

As with most other herbs and herbal supplements, it is best to cycle wormwood and take a break from it for about two days per week to reset your tolerance back to baseline. That will keep your body sensitive to the herb and allow you to keep getting the benefits in the long term.

When you take a standardized extract, you know exactly how potent it is and how much you need to take to get the desired outcome. Herbal extracts also tend to be cheaper than unextracted powders in many cases. However, many of the potentially beneficial compounds get lost during the extraction process. Therefore, if you know how potent the unextracted powder is, it is almost always a better option.

All of these options are fine. The two most important things to consider are the price and dosing. Powders are almost always the cheapest form. However, you may need a highly accurate scale to dose them correctly (preferably 0.001g). You can get one for as little as $20 from Amazon. Dosing the powders also takes time which can add up over months or years. The disadvantage of capsules is that they are often made of bovine gelatine, which rarely comes from ethical sources.

This herb should not become harmful once it exceeds the expiration date, but it can lose potency over time. Keep this herb or herbal supplement in a cold, dark, and dry place and it should remain just as potent for many months or even years.

Yes. High doses of wormwood can cause a variety of side effects, including seizures and kidney damage.

Unfortunately, there is not much information about the half-life of wormwood in the body. The half-life of absinthe made from wormwood is about 4-5 hours.

The short-term effects of wormwood and beverages made from it can usually be felt within minutes. The possible long-term benefits, such as improved digestion, can take multiple weeks to become notable.

Yes, wormwood is vegan-friendly. If you buy this herb in a capsulated form, beware that the capsules often contain animal-based gelatin. Instead, find a brand that puts its products into cellulose capsules.

No, it does not. The herb does not interfere with fasting in any significant way.

References

Most of the information in this guide is based on scientific research that can be found and verified in the PubMed medical library. We highly encourage you to use the library to verify anything you read in this article. We excluded from consideration studies that are either confounded or have a high conflict of interest.

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We hope this guide has helped you determine if you should add wormwood to your supplement stack and how to do it right.

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