Bhavana Garg

The two active ingredients in this tea have real scientific backing. Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) was tested in a double-blind randomized controlled trial (Lopresti et al., 2022, n=100): after 8 weeks, hair cortisol was lower (p=.025) and salivary cortisol during a standardized stress test was markedly reduced (p=.001) versus placebo. Ashwagandha, already documented in our science base (claim SUP_ASHWAGANDHA), shows about a 27% drop in serum cortisol in an anchor trial, though overall certainty is rated low (highly heterogeneous meta-analysis). Cinnamon and lemon zest have no specific cortisol evidence — they're flavor additions. The final leap to "facial depuffing," however, was never measured in these trials, which look at perceived stress and blood cortisol, not appearance. The post cites its sources (PMIDs) and includes reasonable precautions (thyroid, pregnancy) — a rigor rarely seen in this corpus. Verdict: mixed — the two active herbs have a real, modest anti-stress effect, but the promised cosmetic effect remains an untested extrapolation.