Ashwagandha is the most-searched adaptogen in the world, and most of what's written about it is either breathless or vague. Neither is useful. Here's what the root actually is, what human trials have measured, what a meaningful dose looks like — and why we built BLISS around it.
What is ashwagandha?
Ashwagandha is the root of Withania somnifera, a small shrub in the nightshade family that has been used in Ayurvedic practice for over two thousand years. The name translates roughly to "smell of the horse" — a reference to the root's earthy odour, not its effects.
What matters for a drink is the extract. Modern trials almost always use a concentrated root extract standardised for withanolides — the steroidal lactones believed to drive ashwagandha's activity. That's also what goes into BLISS: root extract, not ground whole root, because the extract is what the evidence is actually based on.
Ashwagandha is classed as an adaptogen — a compound that appears to moderate the body's stress response rather than push it in one direction. That's a testable claim, and it has been tested.
What does the evidence actually show?
Ashwagandha is one of the few adaptogens with multiple randomised, placebo-controlled human trials behind it — the same standard we apply to the science section of our juice cleanse program. Three are worth knowing:
Cortisol and perceived stress. A 60-day randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 64 adults with chronic stress found that 300 mg of high-concentration ashwagandha root extract twice daily reduced serum cortisol by roughly 28% versus baseline, alongside significant reductions on every stress scale measured (Chandrasekhar et al., Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 2012 · DOI: 10.4103/0253-7176.106022).
Anxiety and morning cortisol. A 2019 randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 60 adults found that 240 mg per day of a standardised ashwagandha extract over 60 days reduced anxiety scores (HAM-A) and lowered morning cortisol compared with placebo (Lopresti et al., Medicine, 2019 · DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000017186).
Dose response and sleep. An 8-week randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 58 healthy adults compared 250 mg and 600 mg daily doses: both reduced perceived stress scores and serum cortisol versus placebo, with the higher dose producing the larger effect and a measurable improvement in sleep quality (Salve et al., Cureus, 2019 · DOI: 10.7759/cureus.6466).
The honest summary: in adults reporting stress, daily ashwagandha root extract over 6–8 weeks consistently lowered measured cortisol and self-reported stress versus placebo. The trials are real but mostly small, mostly run in India, and mostly funded by extract manufacturers — typical for the category. The direction of the evidence is consistent; the effect sizes are moderate, not miraculous.
How much ashwagandha do you need for an effect?
The trials above used between 240 mg and 600 mg of concentrated root extract per day — and crucially, every day for six to eight weeks. No study shows an acute, same-hour effect from a single dose.
That has two honest implications for a smoothie. One BLISS is not a clinical intervention. A single drink contributes a meaningful amount of root extract, but the measured effects in the literature came from consistent daily intake over weeks. Consistency is the mechanism.If you're drinking BLISS for the ashwagandha, a regular habit — a few times a week, over a month or more — is the pattern the evidence supports. A one-off is a very good smoothie.
We'd rather say that plainly than imply a single serving resets your cortisol. It doesn't, and nothing does.
What else is in BLISS, and what does each ingredient do?
BLISS is mango, pineapple, banana and almond milk underneath — tropical and naturally sweet — with four functional ingredients layered in. Each is there for a reason:
Ashwagandha (root extract). The core of the formula, for the cortisol and perceived-stress evidence above.
CBD.A non-intoxicating cannabinoid. The strongest human data — such as a 2011 placebo-controlled trial where 600 mg reduced anxiety in a simulated public-speaking test (Bergamaschi et al., Neuropsychopharmacology, 2011 · DOI: 10.1038/npp.2011.6) — used pharmaceutical doses far above what any food can deliver. At drink levels, CBD is a complement to the calm profile, not a clinical dose. We include it honestly on those terms.
Turmeric.Curcumin, turmeric's active compound, is among the most-studied anti-inflammatory polyphenols. It's poorly absorbed on its own — which is why it sits in a smoothie with almond milk and our homemade coconut whipped cream, since fat meaningfully improves curcumin uptake.
Dandelion root extract. A traditional digestive bitter and a source of inulin, a prebiotic fibre. The human evidence here is thinner than for ashwagandha, and we say so; it earns its place for digestion alongside the bromelain in the pineapple.
The full ingredient list and per-ingredient breakdown is on the BLISS product page, and you can go deeper on every adaptogen we use in our ingredients library.
When should you drink an ashwagandha smoothie?
Ashwagandha is not a sedative. In trials it didn't blunt alertness — it moderated stress markers over time. So BLISS is not a "before bed" drink and doesn't need to be saved for a crisis. The pattern that fits the evidence: afternoons, when cortisol-driven tension tends to peak — BLISS was designed to make the afternoon feel a little further away. Regularly, if the adaptogen is your reason for ordering it. Weeks, not minutes, is the timescale the data supports. Alongside the obvious things— sleep, movement, daylight. An adaptogen moderates a stress response; it doesn't replace the basics.
What ashwagandha won't do
It won't fix a bad week in an afternoon. It isn't a treatment for an anxiety disorder — if stress is interfering with your life, that's a conversation for a clinician, not a menu. And anyone pregnant, breastfeeding, on thyroid medication or sedatives should check with their doctor before taking ashwagandha regularly, in any form.
We make this drink because the root extract has real, repeated human evidence behind it — rare in this category — and because it tastes like mango and turmeric gold rather than a supplement. That's the whole pitch.
Where to try it in Lisbon
BLISS is on the menu at our Campo de Ourique flagship (R. Domingos Sequeira 11A), inside MVMT Studio in Santos, and inside Fine Club in Campolide — and in Porto inside Prescription. Full smoothie menu at aurawellnessbar.com/menu/smoothies.
Aura is a wellness bar in Lisbon. Everything we publish about ingredients cites human studies where they exist and says plainly where they don't.