Condition protocol
An anxiety supplement stack that knows when ashwagandha is the wrong call
Magnesium glycinate, KSM-66 ashwagandha, and L-theanine, each with a stated evidence level. Thyroid conditions or pregnancy in your bio profile swap the ashwagandha out automatically.
Ashwagandha shows up in almost every anxiety-supplement list, for good reason: multiple RCTs show real cortisol and anxiety reduction at 600mg KSM-66. What most lists skip is that it's contraindicated for thyroid disorders, autoimmune conditions, and pregnancy. Stack Almanac's Anxiety Relief protocol builds that check in rather than leaving you to remember it.
The protocol pairs magnesium glycinate (the best-tolerated, most-studied form for anxiety), KSM-66 ashwagandha, and L-theanine as the essential core, with omega-3 and phosphatidylserine as optional add-ons.
It surfaces automatically once "anxiety," "stress," or "calm" appears in your bio profile, and the Advisor personalises the base protocol against your actual medications and conditions rather than handing you a generic PDF.
The challenges
Ashwagandha gets recommended without the thyroid caveat
It's genuinely one of the better-evidenced adaptogens, but it's contraindicated for hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, autoimmune conditions, and pregnancy. Most stack lists don't mention it.
Magnesium form matters and most people pick the wrong one
Oxide is cheap and poorly absorbed. Citrate moves fast through the gut. Glycinate is the best-tolerated, most-studied form for anxiety specifically, and it's easy to end up with the wrong one from a pharmacy shelf.
You can't tell if the stack is actually reducing your anxiety
Cortisol and subjective calm both move slowly. Without a baseline and a fixed re-check window, most people either quit too early or keep taking something that stopped mattering weeks ago.
Anxiolytic medication and adaptogens aren't always tracked together
If you're on a prescribed anxiolytic, the interactions with adaptogens and high-dose L-theanine are worth knowing, and worth having flagged rather than discovered.
How Stack Almanac helps
A three-supplement core, evidence-graded
Magnesium glycinate 400mg (strong evidence), KSM-66 ashwagandha 600mg (strong evidence, 14–28% cortisol reduction across studies), and L-theanine 200mg (moderate evidence, no dependency risk) as the essential base. Omega-3 and phosphatidylserine sit alongside as optional.
Automatic ashwagandha swap for thyroid conditions
Thyroid disorders, autoimmune conditions, or pregnancy in your bio profile trigger an inline warning on ashwagandha, and the Advisor suggests rhodiola rosea as the adaptogen alternative instead, rather than leaving you to find out the hard way.
Evidence badges on every item
Strong, moderate, or emerging, shown per supplement in the stack detail view. You can see at a glance that magnesium and ashwagandha carry the strongest data, while phosphatidylserine's HPA-axis effect is still emerging.
Matched to your bio profile automatically
Add "anxiety," "stress," "calm," or "GAD" to your health conditions or primary concerns and this protocol appears in your Protocols tab as a match, with a count of how much of it you already cover.
The Advisor personalises, never prescribes blind
Ask it to personalise the protocol and it reads your medications and conditions before suggesting anything, flags severe or worsening anxiety back to your GP or therapist, and never positions itself as a replacement for either.
The Anxiety Relief Protocol
Strong evidence: magnesium, ashwagandha. Moderate: L-theanine, omega-3. Emerging: phosphatidylserine. £30–50/mo estimated.
The list above is free. This is what isn't.
- Ashwagandha swaps to rhodiola automatically the moment a thyroid condition or pregnancy shows up in your bio profile.
- Evidence levels update as the research does. You're not stuck with today's snapshot a year from now.
- The Advisor personalises dose and timing to your body, not a generic 600mg for everyone.
Free 7-day trial · no credit card required