Adaptogenic Herbs

Biohacker Review: An Herbal Alternative to Melatonin

Ashwagandha is the anxiolytic Adaptogen, all of the Adaptogens make your body better at handling stress but Ashwagandha is probably the best. If you have a problem with stress or anxiety Ashwagandha is for you! I've been using this Ashwagandha from Organic India for about 2 months now. This is a review of my subjective experiences with Ashwagandha...

Biohacker Review: Tinctured Ashwagandha for Tranquility

This is an alcohol tincture infused with the active components of Ashwagandha. A dropperful, which is a squeeze of the dropper, produces a relaxed but not necessarily drowsy headspace.

Biohacker Review: "Pharmaceutical Grade" Bacopa

I put Pharmaceutical Grade in quotation marks because there's not really such a thing as pharmaceutical-grade herbs and Adaptogens, but I use the phrase because it's known to mean of the highest quality and purity. This is super important with Bacopa in particular. You'll want to read or listen to my meta-analysis of Bacopa before purchasing or consuming this.

Bacopa monnieri, also known as water hyssop, is an herb commonly used in Ayurveda.

Studies have shown that supplementing Bacopa can have a beneficial effect on cognition, both by improving memory formation and by reducing anxiety.

Bacopa affects both the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems but works mainly by enhancing the rate at which neurons communicate by increasing the growth of dendrites (nerve endings), thus facilitating communication between brain cells.

Our Bacopa extract is standardized to 20% bacosides (the active ingredient in the Bacopa herb)

Biohacker Review: An Invigorating Military-Grade Mushroom

This adaptogenic mushroom has a very cool name, doesn't it?

As a Nootropic its effect is pretty subtle, I didn't note much of an uptick in cognition but it does make you more energetic. I used it before the gym several times resulting in some kickass workouts but my go-to pre-workout supplement will remain HMB and Creatine. The past few weekends, my project has been cleaning out a very messy old attic of a bunch of old dusty junk and furniture so I can transform it into my doomsday prepping storehouse. Cordyceps gave me a bit of extra physical energy to spend hours carry stuff down 5 flights of stairs to the dumpster.

It has a pleasant taste and texture. I enjoyed it in a hearty adaptogenic tea with Turkey Tail, Chaga, Schisandra, Eleuthero, Matcha, and a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar.

The immuno-fortifying effects are one of the main things that make it attractive to me, along with the other Adaptogens it kept me and Mrs. Roseland from getting sick during the chilly Eastern European winter here.

I took it in a moderate dosage of several hundred milligrams once daily, as a Nutraceutical you don't need to worry about being really precise in your daily dosing. I would dump about a half-teaspoon into my mug. I didn't notice a big difference in effect varying the dosage.

I wouldn't take Cordyceps daily forever, I would cycle it. in my interview with Ergogenic Biohacker Lucas Aoun, he explained that it stimulates thyroid hormones, taking it in excess chronically could result in hypothyroidism. But, he remains a big fan of it...

Cordyceps has been a long-term staple in my life for many years. It consistently improves my immune system, energy levels and workout tolerance. I find it can make me much more decisive, and also improves libido (no surprise here).

 Summary of Cordyceps Science

On Pubmed, you can find +500 scientific papers referencing Cordyceps Militaris and two clinical trials in the past 5 years. I'll summarize some of the recent interesting findings...

A 2019 study was done at the General Hospital of Daqing Oil Field which found it protected against kidney disease. I can just imagine how hard and dirty a job working in a Chinese oil field must be, so it speaks to the potent stoicism enabling properties of adaptogenic mushrooms.

Cordyceps militaris may show good promise in protecting against chronic kidney disease (CKD) but the molecular mechanism remains unclear. CKD risk is associated with the Toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factor-kappa B (TLR4/NF-κB) signaling pathway.

A Korean placebo-controlled study of 79 healthy men found it produced an uptick in immune activity.

Cordyceps militaris is a mushroom traditionally used for diverse pharmaceutical purposes in East Asia, including China, and has been found to be effective for enhancing immunity... C. militaris enhanced the NK cell activity and lymphocyte proliferation and partially increased Th1 cytokine secretion. Therefore, C. militaris is safe and effective for enhancing cell-mediated immunity of healthy male adults.

It also noted that no adverse side effects occurred.

Another recent Korean paper noted an anti-cancer effect, it induced apoptosis in cancer cells, which is great the problem with Iatrogenic mainstream cancer treatments are that they do so much damage to our bodies and organs while killing cancer cells.

These results suggest that C. militaris inhibited ovarian cancer cell proliferation, survival, and migration, possibly through the coordination between TNF-α/TNFR1 signaling and NF-κB activation. Taken together, our findings provide a new insight into a novel treatment strategy for ovarian cancer using C. militaris.

Purity is a concern with Nutraceuticals, especially mushrooms

Mushrooms tend to absorb the toxins in the environment around them, making many of the mushroom supplement that you might find possibly Iatrogenic - they may actually do you more harm than good. This is why I wouldn't buy any old Cordyceps that I found on store shelves or online, especially if it's cheap. I'd also prefer not to get my Cordyceps in a "multi-vitamin" stack that combines it with a bunch of other things unless they proved its purity with a certificate of analysis. I enthusiastically recommend Lost Empire Herbs as they have the highest standards in the industry for quality assurance and purity testing.

100% ORGANIC CORDYCEPS MILITARIS MUSHROOM CAPSULES

My friend Dinnin Freeman reported

It should be noted that you need to be careful with which Cordyceps supplement that you take. Many brands use the mycelium and grain the fruiting bodies are grown on, and as such generally cheaper products are of notably inferior quality, sometimes to the point of being entirely ineffective. Though recently you can get good Cordyceps reasonably priced. I have personally been taking Cordyceps-M Peak Performance by Real Mushrooms. To be clear they haven’t sponsored me and are as of yet, unaffiliated with my work. I recommend their product as it is 3rd party lab-verified for quality and doesn't use any grain starch or mycelium. It’s scientifically verified for active compounds, and my personal experience with them has always been very positive.

What is Eleuthero Root?

Eleuthero Root is a shrub that grows in Siberia, China, Korea and Japan. The dried root and other underground parts are used for many health benefits. Eleuthero Root was formerly known as Siberian Ginseng since it resembles Panax Ginseng but does not belong to the same type of herb family.

The ancient herb of enlightenment...

Biohacker Review: I RIGHTEOUSLY bang my wife on THIS stuff!

I've used Horny Goat Weed as a sex hack for years now, I've tried several libido-enhancing herbs and supplements and Horny Goat Weed is the best.

I have the best sex of my life on this stuff. It's a sensation enhancer, it makes you hornier and it improves your erections. You might be concerned that you'll orgasm after like 3 minutes if you take something that makes you hornier and more sensitive. Still, in combination with tantric techniques and doing kegels, I'm able to maintain control and stave off orgasm long enough to bring Mrs. Roseland to orgasm consistently.