These are stressful times. The CDC site has a page dedicated to stress and the pandemic: “The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may be stressful for people. Fear and anxiety about a new disease and what could happen can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Public health actions, such as social distancing, can make people feel isolated and lonely and can increase stress and anxiety,” acknowledges the Center under an all too obvious heading that reads, “Pandemics can be stressful.”
Beauty-from-within brand HUM moves to address symptoms of stress
This week, HUM launched a new gummie vitamin called Calm Sweet Calm on both the brand’s own ecommerce site and at Sephora. The key ingredients in the new supplement are ashwagandha and the amino acid L-Theanine.
To discuss the benefits and import of their new Calm Sweet Calm product, HUM worked with renowned nutritional psychiatrist and Harvard Medical School faculty member Dr Uma Naidoo. Naidoo is also the author of This Is Your Brain on Food: An Indispensable Guide to the Surprising Foods that Fight Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, and More.
And in this week’s press release about the new product launch Naidoo explains that, “studies provide good evidence that we should be using Ashwagandha to help those suffering with anxiety, particularly those who wish to use a natural ingredient.”
“In fact," she adds, “a recent double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study shows that after 8 weeks, those who took Ashwagandha had much lower levels on the Perceived Stress Scale and found a significant decrease in their Serum Cortisol Levels.”
And she addresses the use of ashwagandha and L-Theanine in combination, saying, “the use of key ingredients Ashwagandha root coupled with L-Theanine has shown to provide some relief from symptoms of daily stress.”
A few notes on the HUM Nutrition approach to formulation
HUM supplements come in a variety of formats: capsules, soft gels, dissolvable tablets, and gummies. The brand prides itself on gluten-free formulations and on what it describes as sustainably sourced and non-GMO ingredients.
This particular gummie is vegan and flavored with “HUM Nutrition's natural sour cherry flavor [which] covers the bitter taste” of ashwagandha.
The benefits claim for Calm Sweet Clam is that the combination of “ashwagandha root and L-theanine to reduce and control symptoms of stress.”
