UPDATE: Due to the rise in predatory journal indexing on PubMed, I don’t believe that the information in this article is valid because of the “low-quality” of these journals. I’m leaving it up in case someone wants a quick summary, and I will update as the science gets better (or doesn’t), but I wanted to flag this.
Here is an interesting paper I’ve found regarding cortisol. There seems to be some good science backing ashwagandha (“Withania somnifera”) a traditional Ayurvedic herb, which supports lowering coritsol levels. 300mg over 60 days had statistically significant reductions in cortisol (aka stress) in the participants. Also some interesting science linking it to increased ‘sexuality‘ in women (which is purportedly linked to a woman’s feelings of stress). A metadata survey confirmed that the studies appear to reduce stress/anxiety better than placebo.
