This is a new one for me. I have seen a load of different vegan products in my 8 years of veganism, but this was a first. I was actually given this by one of my work collegues, who in turn told me that she recieved it in a welcome pack at her new gym. I have to admit that I have never seen this product advertised anywhere before and I also have not heard of the brand before either. So this is a completely new expereince for me.
The front of the packaging stated that this product was meant to improve your focus, boost energy and act as stress relief. Well, I had a very stressful week at work and I even after a lunch time walk away from the office, I was still very much in need of some zen time. Or at least an extra boost of energy to get me through the rest of my never ending to-do list. So what better time to test this?
As such, I went into this with zero expectations. As it was given out by a gym, and the packaging does look very ‘health focused’, my only expectation was possibly a protein ball of some sort? The package seemed too big to contain a pill or something similar, and yet also seemed too small to be any sort of electrolyte candy product. So as I say I had not really expected anything in particular, but I still would not have guessed that the actual food product looked like this. It was also pretty small so I was a bit confused as to how something so little could supposedly give me energy and stress relief. But it didn’t look unappealing. It felt quite solid in my hand with a very slight squish if I squeezed it. Like a wine gum I would say.
So the packaging said that the little stack contained ashwagandha, tart cherry, and maca powder so I can only assume that these were the causes of the different colours within the layers. Now biting into it, it was indeed like a wine gum in texture, but with the ever so slightly gritty texture of a sugar covered sweet, like a tangfastic or similar. It wasn’t actually sweet though. The tart cherry was indeed very tart and even in a very small amount it gave my tastebuds such a kick that it seemed to wake my whole body up. It also contained black pepper and I think that this added a little bitterness to the product. Now I have never tried ashwagandha before but according to research it is quite earthy, and again I think this added to the savoury taste of this little stack. I have also never tried maca powder (or maca in any form actually) but the internet states that this can be very sweet, like butterscotch. I think that the maca powder therefore helped to counteract the very savoury flavours of this stack so that while it was not sweet, it was not overly tart or bitter. So really, it didn’t taste of very much. If I had to pick one flavour it would probably be the very subtle hint of cherry.
Having looked into the company a bit more too, it seems that this is a wellness company that sells supplements but in these little stacks instead of the usual pill or tablet form. I take supplements every day (iron, B12 and vitamin D) and whilst the B12 and vitamin D tend to be tiny little round tablets, the iron is always the longest and largest tablet going and there are days when I struggle to swallow these. I actually think the stacks would be a very good alternaitve to the tablet way of taking supplements, especially if you have to take quite a large amount on a daily basis. I think this company has a cool idea going and I am intrigued to see what other products they bring out. It seems they cover your standard supplements, but also provide blends such as this one to help with weight lifting or physical training, sleep and stress or just overall mood boosters.
So did it actually help wih stress releif? I honestly could not say. It did give me a good burst of energy that did get me through a large chunk of my to-do list, which in turn meant I was less stressed because I was getting so much done. So…it kind of helped? I feel with all of these sorts of things though, having just one rarely does anything substantial. To see any real difference you would need to take it regularly for a set period of time to see if there was a notable difference in your mood or your stress levels or just overall health in general.
The price is of course quite high. It seems that they only sell their products via bulk packs – you buy a box that has 28 servings in it and that would last you, well…28 days. So just under a month if you are taking one every day. They appear to offer a subscription service, where your monthly payment is discounted to £28, but if not then it seems boxes are £38. Which for supplements seems expensive – mine cost me about £25 at the moment but this also lasts me about 3 months because I get 90 tablets per bottle. But then again, this inner peace stack was far more enjoyable that my usual tablets so if you really struggle to take tablets I can see this being more convienent too.
But as with all health related products, don’t take them unless you actually need them. If you are vegan, or if you are following a vegetarian or plant based diet, B12 is a must. If you live in a very dark and rainy country (such as England) then vitamin D can help with mood balancing when you don’t have regular exposure to the sunshine. Anything else though, see your doctor first. Having too much of a nutrrient can be just as damaging to your health as not having enough of it, and there is no need to spend your money on a supplement if your body doesn’t even need it.
Taylor Talks Vegan 
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