Who I am
I'm Ash, the founder and research editor of HerbVerdict. I'm a graduate with around a decade in entrepreneurship, and I've built and run several independent websites over that time — including ProHealthIt, an evidence-based health resource where every claim is traced back to primary sources like WHO, NIH, and peer-reviewed studies. HerbVerdict applies that same method to one specific, underserved area: Ayurvedic herbs and the products Indians actually buy.
I started it because I kept hitting the same wall as an ordinary consumer in India. A search for any Ayurvedic herb returned one of two things: a brand trying to sell me something, or a wellness blog repeating tradition without a single citation. Nobody was simply reading the clinical trials and reporting what they found — including the inconvenient parts. So I started doing that.
What I am — and what I'm not
My background is in technology and independent research, not medicine. I am not a doctor, pharmacist, or licensed healthcare professional, and I state that plainly on every page. What I bring is a disciplined approach to primary sources: every factual claim traces back to a named study or guideline, not to another website. I don't diagnose, I don't prescribe, and I don't tell anyone what to take.
The credibility of this site doesn't come from letters after my name. It comes from the method: every claim links to its source, every study summary names its sample size, duration, journal, and at least one limitation, and every verdict can be checked against the same evidence I read. You never have to trust me — you can follow the citations yourself.
How I research an article
Each article starts with a search of indexed databases — primarily PubMed, PMC, and the Cochrane Library — for human clinical trials on the specific herb and outcome. I prioritise randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews over observational studies, and human studies over in-vitro or animal work. I read each study for its design, sample size, duration, funding source, and stated limitations. Where Indian regulatory or safety material is relevant (FSSAI, AYUSH, CCRAS, NIH LiverTox), I read the primary documents. Only then do I write the verdict, and the verdict follows the published scoring criteria, not my opinion.
This is the same way I work on my other projects: read the original source, implement or report it exactly, show the limitations, and date everything so readers know when it was last checked.
Conflicts of interest
I have no financial relationship with any supplement brand, Ayurvedic manufacturer, or pharmaceutical company, and HerbVerdict sells no products. I also don't list fictitious medical reviewers or fabricate credentials — the content is written by me, the sources are on every page, and that's the honest model. If anything changes — for example, if the site introduces clearly-labelled affiliate links — it will be disclosed on the affected page and in the editorial policy. Commercial relationships never influence a verdict.
Corrections and contact
If you believe something on this site is wrong or misrepresents a study, I want to know. Email ash@herbverdict.com with the specific article and the issue, and I'll review it against the source. See the corrections policy for how this works.