Balance My Stress® uses adaptogens to help protect against stress, and medicinal mushroom extracts and herbs to decrease fatigue, protect the immune system and improve blood flow. This adaptogenic blend of reishi mushroom extract, eleuthero root, ashwagandha, and cocoa is carefully crafted to promote overall well being.
– Peak and Valley
Peak and Valley is a wellness company focused on making drink mixes filled with healthy adaptogens to promote well-being in a variety of ways – and in this case, stress management. Though there are a lot of adaptogen blends out there to try, I started with this one for a variety of reasons: the company is lead and owned by a black woman scientist, the data she provided showing the efficacy of adaptogens was convincing, the price/amount ratio seemed reasonable ($35 for about a month’s worth of product), a plethora of positive reviews, and lastly, the simplicity of the ingredient list since this is my first time using adaptogens and I wanted to make sure that if I had an allergic reaction, I could narrow down what may have caused it. Luckily, no such reaction occurred.
This adaptogen blend contains ashwaganda (an ingredient that works well for me), eleuthro root, and reishi mushroom to help with stress, fatigue, and focus in that order, mixed with cocoa powder to give a gritty, semi-hot chocolate taste. Each serving is about one tablespoon, which is larger than you’d think when mixed, and has a somewhat bitter, crumbly taste even when mixed. I found this blend most tolerable when I combined it with David’s Tea Vanilla Matcha, almond milk, and honey (equally good cold and hot). Though I don’t often take my tea (or anything for that matter) with added sugar, I highly advise adding at least honey to your drink if you decide to try this mix. To put it frankly . . . it does not taste good at all, haha.
Despite the taste, I finished the entire 8 oz container, hoping that consistent sipping would allow me access to its de-stressing results. Alas, I believe the concentration of ingredients was too low for me, and I didn’t notice any difference in my stress after completing it.
For others, I’d still recommend giving this brand a try, especially if you are new to adaptogens and are looking for a simple ingredient list (all the positives I listed earlier still apply). Just because this didn’t work for me, doesn’t me it can’t work for you. In any case, before sampling this, please read Peak and Valley‘s FAQ for details on usage depending on your current conditions/allergies.
Ingredients
Balance My Stress Propriety Blend, Organic Cocoa Powder, Organic Reishi Mushroom Extract, Eleuthro Root Powder, Ashwaganda Root Extract
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