PS The Goods® - Our Articles + Blogs

In one 8-week weight-loss intervention, more than 25 percent of women ended up with inadequate intake of 2 to 6 essential micronutrients, with statistically significant increases in shortfall risk for vitamin C, E, B12, thiamin, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc in at least one diet group.† Restriction and health are not automatically the same thing.

Folic acid is a synthetic form the body converts into usable folate, while methylated folate, also called 5-MTHF, is already in the form your body uses directly.† At higher intake levels, research shows 5-MTHF is more bioavailable than folic acid, though current CDC guidance is clear that folic acid remains effective at preventing neural tube defects, a detail worth understanding accurately rather than through wellness-space shorthand.

Federal nutrition data shows most American adults fall short on the same handful of nutrients: vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin C, and often calcium and potassium.† "Best multivitamin" searches return millions of results, but very few explain what "best" should actually mean: coverage of the nutrients where real, measurable gaps exist, at doses that matter.

In a lab study using a standardized stress test, people who prayed more frequently and scored higher on measures of religiosity and forgiveness showed lower cortisol responses to the stressor than those who did not.† This does not mean prayer replaces anything else in your life. It means a coping practice many women already reach for has shown up in real physiological measurements, not just in how someone says they feel.

One well-documented study found that just 24 hours without sleep disrupted the body's normal morning cortisol pattern, increased inflammatory markers, and worsened mood and cognitive performance, all at once.† Rather than a straightforward spike, sleep loss appears to throw the whole system, cortisol rhythm, inflammation, and emotional regulation, out of sync together.

Magnesium is often about correcting a shortfall many women already have, since low magnesium status is linked to a more reactive stress response, while ashwagandha is an adaptogen studied for supporting the body's stress response more broadly.† Rather than choosing one over the other, the more useful question is what your daily routine is actually missing.