Ashwagandha has become synonymous with stress relief, but what happens when you put that claim through a placebo-controlled clinical trial?

A 12-week randomized, double-blind study of a standardized ashwagandha root extract found an unexpected result: perceived stress improved substantially in both the ashwagandha and placebo groups, with no significant difference between them. But look beyond stress scores, and a much more interesting picture emerges. 

In Episode 144 of the Orange Pill Podcast, we unpack what the trial revealed about fatigue, heart rate variability, hormonal markers and safety, and why understanding an adaptogen may require looking beyond how stressed someone feels to what is happening physiologically.