Ginseng is a herbal supplement derived from the root of the ginseng plant of Asia, but more importantly, it’s an extremely powerful secret for lowering stress.
This mountainside plant is a renowned herb in traditional Chinese and Korean medicine for mental focus, alertness, stamina, and energy, but ginseng is also an adaptogen. A herb which normalises stress levels in humans, able to calm your mind down during anxiety, or pump you up when lethargic.
Among herbal supplements, you have maca root for hormones, you have olive leaf extract for the immune system, but ginseng specialises in stress reduction. It’s even believed that 3 of South Korea’s victorious 2008 Olympic swimming team used ginseng.
For acne and a glowing skin tone, meanwhile, reducing stress will automatically help, since stress delays wound healing and triggers fresh pimples by itself. However, ginseng also has bonus acne benefits, like increasing blood flow, and reducing some of the deadliest types of free radicals.
Ginseng is one of greatest herbal supplements available, one with multiple promising powers. But which is the best brand?
Wandering into any health shop and purchasing the first brand you see would be a foolish move, as analyses have revealed many to be weak, contaminated, and poorly formulated. Therefore, here’s a guide to the top 10 ginseng brands for sale today.
As with all herbal supplements, stick to the recommended dosages, and monitor your body closely for side effects. Ginseng is a very safe supplement, but the side effects which can occur are dizziness, headaches and a pounding heartbeat.
For a shortcut, NutraChamps is the ultimate brand listed here.
Let’s get started:
One – NutraChamps
This is a rare ginseng with no harmful additives, containing just vegetable material for the easy to swallow capsule, and rice flour as a harmless filler. Most promisingly, the ginseng itself is standardised, to consist of 5% ginsenosides. These natural plant steroids are the signature compound of true ginseng species. They’re bitter-tasting molecules which are vital for the plant’s own defences, with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.
Most importantly, ginsenosides are the natural substances responsible for much of the ginseng supplement’s benefits. Ginsenosides are proven to increase nitric oxide production, enhance blood flow, control neurotransmitters, and lower oxidative stress. They even have neuroprotective properties, defending the brain against damage.
It’s not known whether ginsenosides contribute most of ginseng’s incredible powers, or just a portion, but what’s clear is that they’re absolutely vital, and NutraChamps delivers a strong dosage. NutraChamps even has a lifetime money back guarantee, and finally, this brand is well-trusted, with hundreds of positive reviews on amazon.
NutraChamps meets every requirement for a stress-calming, acne-clearing ginseng.
Amazon link: NutraChamps Korean Red Ginseng.
Two – NutraBio
NutraBio is slightly different to NutraChamps; the dosage is lower at 400mg per capsule, but the ginseng is standardised to 10% ginsenosides. Each capsule contains 40mg of ginsenosides vs 25mg in NutraChamps. NutraBio is also free from magnesium stearate, with the only additive being the vegetable capsule.
Like NutraChamps, NutraBio contains Korean ginseng, AKA red ginseng or panax ginseng, and this is the best form available. There’s actually 12 subspecies of ginseng in the world, but only two of the most popular supplement forms, American ginseng and Korean ginseng, truly belong to the species. Both are effective for stress and brain enhancement, but Korean ginseng contains the strongest profile of ginsenosides. The American subspecies contains 29 ginsenosides sub-types compared to 20, but Korean ginseng is denser in the powerful RG1 forms.
The only slight downside with NutraBio is that the capsule contains a tiny amount of corn, but this is only a concern if you have a super-sensitive allergy. NutraBio’s capsules are also small and easy to swallow, and NutraBio is one of the most reliable natural supplement companies overall.
The ginseng market is very large indeed, but NutraBio is easily near the top.
Three – Prince Of Peace
Prince Of Peace is very pure for a ginseng supplement, with no magnesium stearate, and just gelatin as the sole additive. Take this ginseng and you too may become the prince of peace, for at 518mg per capsule, the ginseng is easily strong enough to calm your mind.
This product isn’t standardised; it’s a whole extract instead, If you’re determined to take ginseng in its purest form, with no alteration of any compounds, that could be an advantage. After all, ancient Koreans from 2000 years ago ate the plant in its whole form, with no understanding of the ginsenosides, so the choice is yours.
Prince Of Peace is another Korean or Panax ginseng, which brings us to the important topic of Siberian ginseng. Used by Russians for hundreds of years, this plant also has powerful adaptogenic properties, increasing stamina and lowering stress to make you feel like a machine of a man throughout the day.
But there’s a problem – Siberian ginseng is not actually ginseng. It doesn’t belong to the subspecies, and it doesn’t contain ginsenosides. It was simply dubbed ginseng due to its similar properties.
Instead, Siberian ginseng contains compounds called eleutherosides. These plant steroids have interesting properties themselves, and have aided many Russian athletes over the decades, but always stick with Korean or American ginseng if you want the true experience.
Prince Of Peace is one of the best Korean ginsengs available today.
Four – Jalian Acres
This brand contains very few additives, with just the harmless gelatin capsule and rice powder being included. The dosage is 500mg per capsule, enough to calm your mind and enhance your brain, while the capsule count is a huge 200 capsules.
But why would you take American ginseng over Korean ginseng in the first pace? Both subspecies increase brainpower, but American ginseng is subtly different. It focuses on cognitive performance and boosting the mood, while Korean ginseng is renowned for its short-term memory enhancing properties. American ginseng is also nearly as effective for lowering stress.
All these benefits can be yours with Jalian Acres. The brand is also standardised to contain 5% ginsenosides, and thus guaranteed to be potent.
If you’re lucky, you might actually stumble across wild ginseng growing in forests across America, but the plant is so rare, and so sought after for its high value (it takes 6 years for agricultural ginseng to reach its full potency), that your chances are slim. Its optimal habitat is dark forests and bloodroot plant tends to grow nearby.
Jalian Acres stands above the majority of American ginsengs for sale today.
Five – Pure Encapsulations
Speaking of which, you also need to know about two other widely discussed forms: Brazilian ginseng and Indian ginseng. The former, also known as suma root, is a ground vine cultivated in the Amazon rain-forest. Like ginseng, suma root contains steroidal saponins which lower stress, and is beloved by athletes worldwide, but these are not ginsenosides.
What about Indian ginseng? It’s nothing more than ashwagandha, another popular adaptogen, which has no relation to ginseng but was given the nickname due to its similar stress-lowering benefits. Suma root and ashwagandha are promising supplements themselves, but they are unrelated to ginseng.
Pure Encapsulations is a top quality Korean ginseng, which is very hard to beat.
Six – aSquared Nutrition
Magnesium stearate is an anti-caking agent, found in most supplements. It’s used to prevent powdered herbs and vitamins from sticking to factory machinery, but is believed to lower nutrient absorption in the gut. Luckily, the balance of the evidence suggests that the effect is only small. Therefore, our first 5 products are the ultimate in quality, but the next five are also some of the best around.
Anyway, aSquared Nutrition is very pure elsewhere, with the only two extra additives being vegetable cellulose and rice powder. The dosage per capsule is strong at 500mg of Korean ginseng, with 90 capsules per bottle.
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What’s the optimal dosage for ginseng? 500mg is perfect. One study observed a big improvement in mental health from just 200mg. Another found that 400mg of Korean ginseng acted as a shield against the common cold, while another found that 400mg improved calmness and mental arithmetic. ASquared Nutrition therefore succeeds wildly.
ASquared Nutrition is a top quality ginseng supplement for stress and acne.
Seven – Lean Nutraceuticals
The per capsule dosage is 500mg, the subspecies Korean ginseng. The additives are magnesium stearate, vegetable cellulose and rice powder. Each bottle contains 90 capsules for a 3 month supply, and the ginseng is sourced from premium growers in Asia.
Both Lean Nutraceuticals and Origin Labs will soothe stress just as effectively as each other, except for a small advantage: Lean Nutraceuticals is a 4:1 extract. Its dosage is identical, but the ginseng itself is extra concentrated, being 4 times more concentrated than normal root extracts. Interestingly, there’s no standardisation with Lean Nutraceuticals, but the ginseng is reportedly grown to maximise the vital RB1, RB2 and RG1 ginsenoside content. How this is achieved is a mystery, but this feature is promising.
A final question with Lean Nutraceuticals and all ginsengs is your strategy. Put simply, it’s vital to cycle ginseng and all adaptogens, for herbal supplements like this tend to build resistance rapidly. Your default strategy is two weeks on and two weeks off, or perhaps a smaller-scale alternation of two days on and two days off, but remember that you can alternate between ginseng and another adaoptgen like ashwagandha or rhodiola rosea.
If ginseng is the supplement you need, Lean Nutraceuticals will easily succeed.
Eight – Teraputics
Aside from magnesium stearate, the only additives are the safe vegetable cellulose and rice power, while importantly for any herbal supplement connected to Asia, Teraputics has a tight quality control system. Despite its name, Korean ginseng is indigenous to north-eastern regions of China as well as Russia and Korea, so there’s big potential for dodgy dealers and crops grown in contaminated fields.
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According to studies, downmarket ginseng is particularly likely to contain the heavy metal aluminium and fungicides like quintozene. It’s very important to buy your ginseng from a reputable company and Teraputics fits the bill nicely, sourcing their ginseng from premium growers in Asia. Finally, Teraputics has a 60 day money back guarantee, which is easily enough time to test the product.
Teraputics is one of the more powerful ginseng supplements a stressed out person could buy.
Nine – Sash Vitality
Ginger root is extremely beneficial for acne; its signature gingerol and shogaol compounds lower inflammation and function as antioxidants superbly. Piperine, meanwhile, is an alkaloid extracted from black pepper which will enhance the absorption of both the ginger and ginseng. Ginger is also believed to calm anxiety, so its presence could compliment the ginseng nicely.
Elsewhere, Sash Vitality’s only additives other than magnesium stearate are the harmless vegetable cellulose and rice powder. This is therefore a 100% vegan product, as is every brand here except for Jalian Acres and Prince Of Peace.
The ginseng itself is more potent than average, standardised to 10% ginsenosides, while the 120 capsule bottle will last for 4 months. Sash Vitality carefully monitors their farmers across Asia, and each batch is examined for purity.
Overall, Sash Vitality is an extremely potent, nearly perfect Korean ginseng supplement.
Ten – Origin Labs
Origin Labs contains the normal dosage for this list, 500mg per capsule. One trick you have to watch out for is weaker than advertised products; an investigation into ginseng brands revealed that 25% of those being sold contained less ginseng per capsule than advertised. Meanwhile, 45% of brands tested were lacking the all-important ginsenosides or contaminated with heavy metals.
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Luckily, Origin Labs is a reputable brand. It’s also sourced directly from premium growers in Korea, making it literal Korean ginseng as well as the Korean subspecies.
Origin Labs is yet another high quality ginseng supplement.
Conclusion
There you have it. NutraChamps is the greatest brand here, but NutraBio and Prince Of Peace are close behind. The latter five brands belong to the second tier of ginseng supplements, but still beat most ginsengs on the market with ease.
Several ginsengs combined with the herb ginkgo biloba exist too, but since ginkgo biloba is a complex supplement, this list mostly contains pure ginseng.
The market is like the wild west right now, with few pure products and number of shoddy ones, but things are improving slowly. Never buy a ginseng from a street vendor in China! Their product will sell based solely on being local and straight from the source; there’s no need for it to be high quality and free from heavy metal horror.
This list should give you all the tools you need to lower your stress levels using ginseng.
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Thanks for reading!
wait what about solgar korean ginseng? you put that as the go to in your article on ginseng. where does that fit in in these rankings?
Times have changed. Solgar is still an effective brand since its dosage is strong (450mg), its reasonably pure (has some magnesium stearate), and interestingly, it’s actually split between 200mg of a standard ginseng extract and a 250mg of an extract standardised to 8% ginsenosides. If you have a supply of Solgar ginseng you can use it up with no worries.
i havent got any yet, but im debating between nutribio and pure encapsilations. what is better, the dosage per serving or percentage of ginsenosides? is a 5% difference in ginsenosides that much of a difference? and if so so what are the differences?
They’re about equal because the dosage per capsule of NutraBio is slightly higher to compensate.