I'm not a doctor, medical professional, or trained therapist. I'm a researcher and pragmatic biohacking practitioner exercising free speech to share evidence as I find it. I make no claims. Please practice skepticism and rational critical thinking. You should consult a professional about any serious decisions that you might make about your health. Affiliate links in this article support Limitless Mindset - spend over $150 and you'll be eligible to join the Limitless Mindset Secret Society.
Biohacker Review: A Tasty Nootropic Shot!
Yesterday I was excited to pick up a rather large box full of Peak IQ Shots. The product contains a number of the Adaptogenic herbs that are some of my favorite Nootropics and 80 milligrams of caffeine which is equivalent to a strong cup of coffee.
So the next morning I refrained from drinking coffee, unboxed the package, and skulled two of the yellow bottles. It tastes downright nutritional - an earthy herbal taste with some bittersweet undertones. Its taste certainly won't make you cringe like a lot of powdered Nootropics I've tried.
I didn't need coffee that morning. About 10 minutes later I was feeling very awake, joking with my wife as we went for our morning dog walk together. I was generally focused, energized, and in a good mood that morning.
The next day I mixed it with coconut water which was delicious, maybe next I'll try vodka!
On new year's day, I was feeling a bit hungover from an excess of champagne the night before. I had two Peak IQ bottles, the product contains a lot of ingredients that should help with a hangover, about 30 minutes later I was feeling more like myself and ready to take on 2019!
Ingredients
As I mentioned it contains a few of my favorite Nootropics…
Rhodiola - My favorite mood-boosting, energizing adaptogen.
Schisandra - The flowstate-promoting five-flavor fruit that enhances cognition subtly and is also good for your skin.
Eleuthero - The anti-fatigue immune booster.
ALCAR - the classic mitochondria supporting Nootropic.
Immune Booster
I used the Nootropic during the onset of the cold Bulgarian winter while plenty of people around me were sniffling and getting sick. These adaptogens (along with some other immune hacks) fortified my immune system and kept me from getting sick.There's a couple of very cheap pseudo-Nootropics that a lot of bad Nootropic stacks contain like DMAE or excessive amounts of Huperzine. I was happy to see that the Peak IQ Shot didn't have any of these. It also does not contain any weird, toxic preservatives or artificial coloring chemicals. Other than the Nootropics and vitamins it contains…
Purified water, cherry and raspberry juice from concentrate, stevia extract, natural flavors, caffeine (from coffee beans), citric acid, potassium sorbate, sucralose.
Certificate of Analysis
One thing I LOVE about this product is that they have publicized their certificate of analysis (COA). This is a 3rd party analysis of the product's ingredients that shows, as you can see below, that it actually contains the advertised ingredients. A huge problem with the supplement industry is that many products ask their customers to just accept on faith that their products contain the ingredients listed on the label.
I'd suggest this as a gift (or stocking stuffer) for someone in your life who you want to get interested in Nootropics. You might have someone in your life who is always drinking a bunch of coffee or 5 Hour Energy to try to stay awake, they might not be willing to start sleep hacking or eating paleo but I bet you could get them to take this stuff which will give them energy, improve their mood and enhance their immunity during the cold winter season. Then you can maybe convince them to try something like meditation, HIIT training, or brain training.
Cost
It's a bit pricey compared with a lot of energy shot products at $4 per bottle or 28 bottles for $105.
But I think it's a whole lot better value than the ubiquitous gas station energy shot 5-HOUR Energy which costs about $2 per bottle. The crucial difference in my view is that PeakIQ shows us in their COA that they use high-quality, pure individual ingredients. The ingredients of any product that you purchase at a gas station are no doubt from the cheapest possible source, probably industrial China. Whenever these sorts of products are tested by food investigators they contain toxins and pollutants.
Also, PeakIQ includes 5 of the best Adaptogenic Nutriceuticals. Adaptogens are some of the most proven and effective Nootropics. When my loved ones ask me what sorts of supplements are safe and will actually help their health and energize their productivity the kinds of Adaptogens in PeakIQ are what I confidently recommend to them. With herbal Nutraceuticals quality really matters you don't want to be putting the cheap stuff in your system. The guys behind 5-HOUR Energy definitely won't be publishing a COA anytime soon because it would show that their product contains shoddy ingredients.
I'll go on a bit of a rant…
A lot of my audience is very interested in hacking intelligence or increasing their IQ so that they can be better entrepreneurs or app developers or whatever. For them, I should clarify that Nootropics and vitamins like this will not as the product name implies actually raise your IQ. The product name, PeakIQ is an example of what should be puffery: this is a legal phrase for an advertising or marketing phrase that "no reasonable person would take seriously." Nootropics will make you more intelligent in a general sense that you will be more focused and motivated along with improving your memory but if you want to raise your IQ you need to do brain training with the Dual N-Back app, or learn another language or go read books like Atlas Shrugged or Antifragile. I would suggest using Nootropics like this or quintessential cognitive enhancers like the Racetams while doing your brain training tasks.
In the biohacking space, you see a lot of products and offerings with IQ appended to the name. IQ is actually not that important, it's a genetic factor that you don't have that much control over, it's like being tall or having a big nose. I think that, socially speaking, morality and self-discipline are more important. IQ is important if you want to be a mathematician or software developer BUT it's not that important to living a happy life. Good habits matter a lot more. If you want to live a good life take Nootropics while also reading books about morality like the two I mentioned.
" />