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Ora Organic claims that Hormonious can stabilize your hormones, providing you with stable energy levels, hormonal acne relief, and better mood, and may also alleviate some PMS or menopausal symptoms.
But can Hormonious actually deliver on these claims, or are the ingredients in this formula not efficacious enough? What is the evidence behind them and what is the feedback from those real people who have tried it?
In this article, I’ll be looking at the scientific literature and help you understand whether or not Ora Organic’s Hormonious formula is worth it.
Brief Summary
- My dive into the scientific literature tells me that Hormonious lacks substantial evidence to prove some of the claims made in its favor, although it may still particularly be effective in the context of stress relief and reproductive health.
- At the same time, a look at the customer feedback extrapolated from third-party websites shows that most are happy with results— reporting results such as clearer skin and better mood.
- Hormonious is quite expensive at $1.20 per serving, although some may find the pricing justified due to the fact that Ora Organic is a more ethical brand and uses only organic ingredients.
Ingredient Analysis
Hormonious is a very unique formula because it is claimed to tackle issues stemming from hormonal imbalances with a blend of adaptogens that are typically used in the context of mental performance.
One ingredient that’s being used is organic acerola extract, which is touted for having the highest amount of vitamin C of any fruit out there.
Vitamin C is extremely popular because it is also an antioxidant, thus acting against oxidative stress, which is associated with hormonal imbalance. [1]
Oxidative stress is also associated with a panoply of conditions, like chronic inflammation, and may even impact thyroid hormones, which play a crucial role in metabolism and energy expenditure. It’s theorized that reduced thyroid function may slow metabolism and lead to weight gain. [2, 3]
There’s also recent evidence suggesting that higher vitamin C levels correlate with increased estrogen and progesterone levels, which opens the door to the idea that antioxidants play an important role in women’s reproductive health and fertility. [4]
As I’ve mentioned, Hormonious also has an adaptogen blend with herbs and fungi, but what’s the evidence behind each one?
Among the different ingredients in the blend, there are 4 noteworthy ones, namely maca, ashwagandha, cordyceps, and holy basil.
Well, maca has been widely marketed for improving reproductive and sexual health, but there is no strong research supporting its use for these goals.
A clinical study suggests that gelatinized maca, as found in this formulation, may hormone balancing effects. However, this study was based on rats, meaning the evidence isn’t particularly robust. [5]
Ashwagandha, which is among the most studied herbs in scientific literature, is best known for its anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) and stress-relieving effects [6, 7, 8, 9, 10], and it also appears to reduce cortisol levels. [8, 9, 10, 11, 12]
Because it enhances the body’s ability to withstand stress, it may help stabilize or even increase the production of other hormones.
For example, a study found that women experiencing menopause saw specific benefits from using ashwagandha. The herb increased estrogen levels while reducing follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone levels. These changes contributed to an overall improvement in the quality of life for these women, particularly in alleviating menopausal symptoms. [13]
But again, although the evidence is promising, it’s not conclusive.
Cordyceps is a mushroom used in traditional Chinese medicine that although it’s been shown to temporarily raise estrogen levels in rats, the evidence is not strong enough to assert that these effects would be the same in humans. [14]
Similarly, there’s Holy basil, another herb that’s purported as having pro-vitality benefits, but there’s no significant evidence to suggest it has special hormonal balancing effects— apart from the fact it contains some antioxidants.
Bottom line
Hormonious may contain ingredients that theoretically could have hormone-balancing effects, particularly in the context of stress relief and reproductive health. However, the scientific evidence supporting these claims is not consistent across all the ingredients and, in some cases, is only backed by animal studies.
Thus, while some ingredients may show promise, a clear and definitive statement that this supplement will balance hormones is not endorsed by current research.
What Do Real People Have To Say?
Given that the evidence is mixed when it comes to my analysis of the ingredients in this formula, I would like to provide you with opinions from real users.
Here’s a compilation of opinions taken from different third-party websites:
“It is almost a month I have been taking this ORA product and my skin has improved a lot!! My acne has been reduced and it did helped me in reducing my stress. I also sleep much better because I usually used to wake up in the middle of the night and it took me a while to get back to my sleep, now I don’t get up in the middle