Ancient Nutra Wellness Team · 11 July 2026 · 8 min read
Best supplements for women's vitality: 4 Ayurvedic herbs that earn their place
- Shatavari (Hathawariya) is the standout for perimenopause: an 8-week trial found it cut menopausal symptom scores far more than placebo.
- Ashwagandha calms daily stress, with a well-known trial showing a 27.9% drop in serum cortisol.
- Iramusu (cooling and antioxidant) and Welpenela (skin and joints) round out the set for heat and inflammation.
- Start with one herb, give it 8 to 12 weeks, and build the foundation of sleep, food, and movement first.
Women's vitality does not usually collapse. It erodes. The energy that used to carry you to 6 PM starts fading by 3. Sleep gets lighter. Moods swing a little wider around your cycle, and then, years later, around perimenopause. None of it is dramatic on any single day, which is exactly why it gets ignored for so long.
It is also more common than most women realise. Moderate to severe menopausal symptoms like hot flashes affect roughly 34 to 40% of women, and the tiredness and disturbed sleep that travel with them are reported by even more (Menopause, 2021). The good news: a few well-studied herbs can support the systems underneath all of that, from stress and hormones to sleep and inflammation. This is not a list of thirty supplements. It is four herbs, three of them rooted in Sri Lankan and Ayurvedic tradition, each with real evidence behind it. Here is how they earn their place.
1. Shatavari (Hathawariya): the root for hormonal balance
Shatavari, known in Sinhala as Hathawariya (Asparagus racemosus), is the herb Ayurveda has long reached for when a woman's hormones shift. What modern science adds is specifics. In a 2025 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 300mg of Shatavari root extract taken daily for 8 weeks improved overall menopausal symptom scores far more than placebo, a drop of 12.54 points versus 1.61, with fewer hot flashes and a favourable shift in estradiol (International Journal of Women's Health, 2025).
What it actually does: its steroidal saponins, called shatavarins, act as gentle phytoestrogens. That is why the strongest signal shows up during perimenopause, when your own estrogen is falling. It helps most for women in their forties and fifties navigating hot flashes, mood swings, and broken sleep, and traditionally for new mothers too, since Shatavari has a long history as a galactagogue (though that lactation evidence is still emerging).
Look for
Standardized Asparagus racemosus root, around 300mg per day. Ancient Nutra's Hathawariya/Shatavari uses a whole-root capsule.
2. Ashwagandha: the adaptogen that turns down cortisol
If Shatavari handles hormones, Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) handles stress. In a 60-day randomized, double-blind trial that included women, a standardized root extract lowered serum cortisol by 27.9% versus 7.9% on placebo, and cut perceived-stress scores by 44% (Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 2012).
What it does is calm the stress-hormone response, which is why women notice steadier energy and easier sleep rather than a stimulant-style lift. It helps most if you feel "wired and tired," alert at bedtime exactly when you most want to switch off, with a mind that will not stop replaying the day. That pattern, high stress bleeding into poor sleep, is one of the most common quiet drains on a woman's energy. A separate trial has also looked at ashwagandha for sexual well-being in healthy women. For daily use, look for a standardized root at 300mg twice a day, the studied range. Ancient Nutra's Ashwagandha is a single-herb daily capsule.
3. Iramusu: the cooling root for skin and heat
Iramusu, also called Sarsaparilla (Hemidesmus indicus), is Sri Lanka's classic cooling root, taken for generations to "purify the blood" and settle body heat. Lab work backs the antioxidant story: its root phenolics are strong free-radical scavengers and protected DNA from oxidative damage in test-tube studies (Pharmacognosy Research, 2011). That is in-vitro evidence, not a human trial, so treat it as promising rather than proven.
The antioxidant activity is the likely reason Iramusu has a reputation for clearer skin and a cooler, calmer feeling in hot weather. In the Sri Lankan tradition, it is the root you steep when the body feels overheated, and grandmothers were pouring it long before anyone measured its free-radical scavenging in a lab. It suits women who run hot, break out around their cycle, or simply want a gentle daily cooling herb through the dry season. Ancient Nutra's Iramusu (Sarsaparilla) is a daily root capsule.
4. Welpenela: the herb for skin comfort and joints
Welpenela, also called Love in a Puff (Cardiospermum halicacabum), is the quiet anti-inflammatory of the group. It contains phytosterols with a mild cortisone-like action, and topical Cardiospermum creams have eased eczema and dermatitis symptoms in clinical use (Dermatologic Therapy, 2020). Note that this evidence is for a cream on the skin, so an oral capsule supports the herb's traditional anti-inflammatory and skin profile rather than copying those exact results.
Traditionally, Welpenela is used to soothe itchy, irritated skin and to ease stiff, aching joints. It fits women dealing with sensitive skin, seasonal flare-ups, or the joint stiffness that often arrives alongside hormonal change. Ancient Nutra's Welpenela is a daily whole-herb capsule.
How should you actually use these four herbs?
Do not start all four on the same day. You will not know what is working, and your body does not need four new things at once.
Pick the one that matches your loudest signal. Hormonal shifts and hot flashes: start with Shatavari. Stress and poor sleep: start with Ashwagandha. Heat and skin: reach for Iramusu. Itchy skin or achy joints: Welpenela. Add a second herb only once the first has settled in, a week or two apart, so you can tell what each one is doing.
Then give it time. Most of the human research on these herbs runs for 8 weeks or longer, so judge them at the two to three month mark, not at two weeks. Take them daily, ideally with food. And keep the order honest: sleep, real food, movement, and stress management come first, every time. These herbs support a foundation that is already in place. They do not replace it.
Frequently asked questions
Can you take Shatavari and Ashwagandha together?
Yes. They work on different systems, Shatavari on hormonal balance and Ashwagandha on stress and cortisol, so many women take both. Start them a week or two apart so you can tell what each one is doing.
How long before these herbs make a difference?
Most of the human research runs for 8 weeks or longer. Give any of these herbs 8 to 12 weeks of daily use before deciding whether it helps. They support slow-moving systems, not quick fixes.
Which of the four is best for menopause?
Shatavari has the strongest women-specific evidence for perimenopause. In a 2025 trial it improved menopausal symptom scores and reduced hot flashes far more than placebo over 8 weeks.
Are these herbs safe during pregnancy or breastfeeding?
Talk to your doctor first. Shatavari has a traditional use in breastfeeding, but the clinical evidence is still limited, and pregnancy is a time to always check with a qualified provider before starting any supplement.
The bottom line
Four herbs, not thirty. Shatavari (Hathawariya) is the one to reach for first if hormones and perimenopause are the issue, with the strongest women-specific trial data of the group. Ashwagandha is the pick for stress and sleep. Iramusu keeps you cool and supports clear skin, and Welpenela covers skin comfort and joints. Start with one, give it three months, and build it on top of good sleep and real food. For a clean, standardized whole-root capsule to begin with, that is what Ancient Nutra's Hathawariya/Shatavari was made for.
Hathawariya/Shatavari, 60 capsules
A whole-root Shatavari capsule to support hormonal balance and vitality through perimenopause.
Shop Hathawariya/ShatavariSources and further reading
- Shatavari for perimenopause (RCT), International Journal of Women's Health, 2025.
- Ashwagandha, cortisol and stress (RCT), Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 2012.
- Ashwagandha and sexual function in women (pilot study), NIH National Library of Medicine (PMC).
- Hemidesmus indicus antioxidant activity (in vitro), Pharmacognosy Research, 2011.
- Cardiospermum halicacabum in atopic dermatitis, Dermatologic Therapy, 2020.
- Menopausal symptom prevalence survey, Menopause, 2021.
- Shatavari and lactation (safety context), NIH LactMed, Wild Asparagus.
Written by the Ancient Nutra Wellness Team. The team researches, sources, and tests every ingredient before it earns a place in an Ancient Nutra blend. Questions? Email info@ancientnutra.com or message Ancient Nutra on Instagram.
Medical disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Ancient Nutra products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Speak with a qualified healthcare provider before starting any new supplement, especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, take prescription medication, or have a medical condition.
