Before You Fade is general information, not medical advice. I'm not a doctor. Talk to a qualified clinician before starting any supplement, especially if you're pregnant, take medication, or have a thyroid, liver, or autoimmune condition.
Supplement Evidence
Supplements come last on this site, after sleep, light, caffeine timing, movement and workload. Not because they’re useless, but because they’re the smallest lever and the most heavily marketed.
When they do come up, the approach is the same every time. Look at each ingredient separately. Find the human trials. Write down the dose that was actually studied, how many people took part, how long it lasted, what was measured and who paid for it. Then compare that with what’s on the label. A formula can contain a well-studied ingredient at a well-studied dose, or it can contain a sprinkle of five trendy herbs at a fraction of the doses tested.
This section covers the evidence on ingredients like ashwagandha, L-theanine and rhodiola, plus reviews and comparisons of specific products. This is an affiliate site: some review pages link to products I earn a commission on, and those pages say so at the top. Comparison pages will also tell you when a cheaper, simpler product makes more sense.
As always, check with a clinician or pharmacist before starting any supplement, especially if you take medication or have a thyroid, liver or autoimmune condition.
Articles
- Ashwagandha for Cortisol: What the Trials Actually Show
What ashwagandha trials found for cortisol and stress, which extracts and doses they used, who paid for them, and what the safety data say.
- Sensoril vs. KSM-66: Which Ashwagandha Extract?
Sensoril and KSM-66 compared: plant part, standardization, the human trials behind each, the doses they tested and who paid for them.
Reviews and comparisons
- CortiSync Review: I Took It for 60 Days (Receipts Inside)
A receipts-first CortiSync review: the label, what the Sensoril trials found and who paid for them, price and guarantee terms, and a 60-day log to come.
In progress
- CortiSync Ingredients: Every Dose vs. the Research
Each CortiSync ingredient next to its human research: label dose vs studied dose, participants, duration, extract match and who paid for the trial.
- CortiSync Side Effects: What the Ingredient Research Says
What NIH and the published trials report on the side effects of the ingredients in CortiSync, from mild stomach upset to rare liver and thyroid effects.
- CortiSync vs. Plain Ashwagandha: Is the 7-Ingredient Stack Worth It?
CortiSync vs. plain ashwagandha: the six extra ingredients, how their doses compare with the trials, and when a single-ingredient bottle makes more sense.
- CortiSync vs. Cortisol Manager
CortiSync vs. Integrative Therapeutics Cortisol Manager: printed doses vs proprietary blends, where the ingredients overlap, and what the trials tested.
In progress
- CortiSync vs. Nugenix Cortisol Control
CortiSync vs. Nugenix Cortisol Control: the shared ingredients, magnolia alone vs Relora, amounts still to confirm, and what the ingredient trials tested.
In progress
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