- Source type
- Meta-analysis
- Access type
- Full text
- Publisher
- Medicine
- Added
- 2026-07-01
Trust profile
VV Source Trust Matrix v1.0
VV Source Trust Matrix v1.0 asks whether this source is trustworthy for the claim lane being used, not whether every possible claim from it is equally strong.
91
Government health research
- Publisher type
- Government research
- Bias profile
- Low
This source is strongest for safety and clinical outcomes and weaker for consumer context and regulatory status.
VV Source Fit Score 1.0
Fit by use case
Fit scores are role-specific. A source can be excellent for one claim lane and weak for another.
- Regulatory status
- 66/100
- Context Source
- Clinical outcomes
- 90/100
- Primary Anchor
- Mechanism
- 90/100
- Primary Anchor
- Safety
- 92/100
- Primary Anchor
- Consumer context
- 88/100
- Strong Support
- Trial discovery
- 89/100
- Strong Support
Best used for
- Research synthesis
- Public-health context
- Safety resources
Weak for
- Primary endpoint extraction when a study is available
Used in Viral Vitalism
Cortisol Is Real. The Internet Turned It Into a Boogeyman.
Roles: Supporting evidence
Show section-level references
Ashwagandha stress and anxiety systematic review and meta-analysis
Roles: Supporting evidence
Show section-level references
Claim ledger
Claims supported
Reviewed claim cards that cite this source in the evidence graph.
Related studies
Related sources
CDC: Steps for Losing Weight
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used across the Viral Vitalism evidence library.
- Trust score
- 91
- Publisher
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Access
- Official
- Usage
- 7 connections
NCCIH: Ashwagandha Usefulness and Safety
Government integrative-health source for ashwagandha safety, uncertainty, pregnancy cautions, adverse effects, and rare liver-injury reports; used to keep stress-supplement claims bounded.
- Trust score
- 91
- Publisher
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- Access
- Official
- Usage
- 5 connections
TikTok scared me about my cortisol levels
Public discourse context source for the 2026 cortisol panic narrative on TikTok and Instagram, used to document virality and claim language rather than to support clinical conclusions.
- Trust score
- 60
- Publisher
- Business Insider
- Access
- Publisher
- Usage
- 4 connections
What happens when you drink a cortisol cocktail
Consumer narrative and expert-context source documenting adrenal/cortisol cocktail claims and clinician cautions; used for public discourse context, not as proof that cocktails regulate cortisol.
- Trust score
- 60
- Publisher
- Verywell Health
- Access
- Publisher
- Usage
- 6 connections
Stress-induced cortisol and fat distribution in women
Peer-reviewed study used for the narrow cortisol and abdominal-fat association lane, not as proof that every belly-fat pattern is a cortisol problem or that cortisol cocktails treat body composition.
- Trust score
- 91
- Publisher
- Psychosomatic Medicine
- Indexed by
- PubMed
- Access
- Abstract/index
- Usage
- 5 connections
Adrenal fatigue does not exist: a systematic review
Peer-reviewed systematic review used to evaluate the adrenal-fatigue construct, cortisol testing inconsistency, and the lack of evidence supporting adrenal fatigue as a valid diagnosis.
- Trust score
- 88
- Publisher
- BMC Endocrine Disorders
- Access
- Publisher
- Usage
- 5 connections