Ashwagandha and Body Weight, Trial by Trial
No ashwagandha trial has ever recorded weight gain as a side effect. Here is every trial that measured body weight, its size, population and sponsor.
Adaptogens
Adaptogens guides
What makes a plant an adaptogen, and what does not.
Guides
The guides settle what the word adaptogen does and does not mean before any individual plant is discussed. It is a 1947 Soviet term for substances claimed to raise non-specific resistance to stress; the European Medicines Agency's reflection paper sets out the four-part definition and concludes that the term is not accepted in EU clinical terminology. A category that broad licenses nothing about any one member of it.
What are adaptogens ranks eight herbs and mushrooms by the volume of published human evidence, from ashwagandha with a dozen randomised trials to entries with essentially one. The ashwagandha guides sit alongside it: benefits and side effects, dosage and timing, cortisol and body weight, plus lion's mane, reishi and spirulina. Every one names the extract, the dose and the trial length behind each figure.
Ashwagandha, Cortisol, Sleep and Anxiety, Trial by Trial
Every ashwagandha cortisol trial with its dose, duration, population, the exact cortisol measurement behind it and who funded it, plus the sleep data.
Ashwagandha Benefits and Side Effects, Trial by Trial
What ashwagandha trials actually measured, the liver case reports behind the European restrictions, and the country by country legal position with dates.
Ashwagandha Dosage, Onset and Timing, Read Off the Trials
Trials used 125 mg to 600 mg of ashwagandha a day, each tied to a named extract: KSM-66, Sensoril or Shoden. First measured change, and morning or night.
Hericium erinaceus, and Every Human Lion's Mane Trial
Every human lion's mane trial with its size, dose, duration and population, the three that found nothing, and why fruiting body or mycelium changes the jar.
Reishi Mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum), Audited Trial by Trial
Every human Ganoderma lucidum trial with its dose, duration and population. What reishi was measured to change, what it was not, and who should avoid it.
Spirulina, Audited: The Trials, the Protein and the B12
Every human spirulina trial with its dose, size and duration, plus the protein arithmetic per capsule, the pseudovitamin B12 problem and microcystins.
What Are Adaptogens? Eight Ranked by Strength of Evidence
Adaptogens ranked by published trial volume, not popularity. Eight herbs and mushrooms, the largest trial for each, and where the evidence runs thin.
One level up
Adaptogens
The herbs and mushrooms paired with the resin in the capsule range. Ashwagandha, Lion’s Mane, Reishi, and what each one is actually for.
The questions everyone asks
What is shilajit, actually?
A dark resin that seeps out of rock at altitude in the Himalaya, made of plant matter pressed and broken down over a very long time. What comes off the rock is not the product. Shodhana, the purification step, is what separates the resin from everything it was sitting in, and that is the step worth asking a seller about.
Why does fulvic acid matter?
Fulvic acid is a carrier molecule. It binds trace minerals and is studied as a way of getting them across a cell membrane, which is why the interesting question about a mineral is not how much is in the jar but how much of it arrives. That is the mechanism the research is built on. It is a line of study, not a settled fact, and nobody should sell it to you as one.
How much do I take, and when would I notice anything?
A rice-grain portion, dissolved in warm water or under the tongue, once a day. A 30g jar lasts two to three months at that dose. Shilajit is not a stimulant and nothing here works like one, so the honest unit of time is a month rather than an afternoon. If you want the caffeine experience this will disappoint you.
Resin or capsules?
The range includes resin and six distinct capsule formulas in vegan HPMC shells. Ingredient amounts are listed for each product rather than reduced to one formula for the whole range. One caution: the Sea Moss and Bladderwrack blend contains iodine, so if you have Hashimoto’s or any diagnosed thyroid condition, take that one to your doctor rather than to the checkout.
Where does it come from, and how do I know it is clean?
Our products come from the white-label range offered by established UK supplier Pure Shilajit UK. The supplier describes its resin as Himalayan-sourced. Certificate of Analysis 63849 from Alex Stewart Agriculture, Liverpool (ISO 17025 accredited analyses) covers the February 2026 resin batch: arsenic 0.02, cadmium under 0.2, lead 0.44 and mercury 0.03 mg/kg. It covers the resin only; the capsules are not independently tested.
Do you ship outside Europe?
We ship worldwide, with one exception: not to the United States. Orders to the United Kingdom pay GBP 7.00, free for orders of GBP 140 or more. Switzerland and Europe pay CHF 6.90, free from CHF 150; every other country CHF 14.90, free from CHF 200, converted at checkout.
