The uber-effective herb has been called the “world’s best Ashwagandha” and is clinically proven to reduce stress. Below, we dive into the science behind this highly-prized ingredient.
Ashwagandha is an herb that’s been used in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries to improve overall health and vitality—and more recently in every stress and focus supplement under the sun. It’s an adaptogen, which means that, among its many purported benefits, it’s believed to help reduce stress and anxiety, and improve focus and mood.
Consider Ashwagandha-KSM-66© Ashwagandha’s cooler, smarter big sister. It’s a standardized extract of the root of the herb with “the highest concentration of all major root only extracts available on the market today.” It’s also a major ingredient in the Beam Core, our new morning blend formulated to replace your vitamin stack.
Here’s why it’s so special: The extraction process used to create Ashwagandha KSM-66© is designed to preserve the bioactive compounds found in the root of the plant, ensuring maximum potency and efficacy. Importantly, it contains a minimum of 5% withanolides, the active compounds responsible for many of its health benefits.
Withano-what?
Let us simplify. Withanolides are a group of naturally-occurring metabolites, and they are POWERFUL. They are primarily responsible for the medicinal properties of Ashwagandha and have been studied extensively for their potential therapeutic benefits. In fact, withanolides are often used as markers to standardize Ashwagandha extracts—hence why it’s significant that Ashwagandha KSM-66© contains a minimum of 5% withanolides.
Withanolides are believed to have anti-inflammatory, anti-disease, and anti-stress properties. They’re believed to work by modulating various signaling pathways in the body, including the immune system, stress response, and inflammation. They’ve also been studied for their potential effects on the nervous system, including improving cognitive function and reducing anxiety and depression.
Get to the root of it
Stress is something we all deal with, but Ashwagandha KSM-66© can be a considerable support against daily stress. For some, this supplement can mean the difference between complete overwhelm and cool, calm, collected. One of the most popular benefits of the compound is its ability to “reduce stress, stress-related food cravings and enhance quality of sleep.”
Let’s pause there, because this is important. Not only can this ingredient support the body’s stress response, it can also decrease food cravings AND improve sleep. This is one of the reasons we were so drawn to this ingredient for Core—because its results impact several systems of the body.
But back to stress. According to the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, “The findings of [a clinical study] suggest that a high-concentration full-spectrum Ashwagandha root extract safely and effectively improves an individual's resistance towards stress and thereby improves self-assessed quality of life.” If your day is filled with heart-pounding, palm-sweating, or teeth-grinding, this supplement may be what your body needs to get back on the beam.
