Learnings from Experience – Our Latest Staff Trial Reviews

Health is always a bit suck it n see, a bit trial and error…there’s no study on earth that can tell you how a nutrient, herb or mushroom is going to behave in your body.  That’s the beauty of nature, of our biology and its complexity…and it’s why we offer all of our team here the opportunity to trial a new supplement or cosmetic every month to see how it fits in THEIR system.  I love drawing insights from their experiences and conclusions…some aha moments for those of you who want to learn with us.

First up it’s the basics.  Doyna wanted help reaching her “protein goals” so she asked for Plantforce protein to get her summer protein levels up.  It’s amazing actually how few of our team choose protein for their trials…in consults I’ll speak about protein requirements a LOT – for 2 main reasons.

Firstly, protein deficiency is the number 1 driver of ill health according to some of our most experienced nutritional therapists.  And we tend to agree.  With standard government and European dietary guidelines only stating 0.8g/kg of bodyweight, nutritional science has established that most of us need at a MINIMUM 1.5g/kg and for that ever increasing group of us who are taking physical exercise more seriously, it’s actually closer to 1.8-2.0g/kg bodyweight.  Think about that: if you’re an average grown female adult, that means you need to be getting around 90-100 grams of protein in your day, and for the gents that’s 120-170g per day.  Oh and Doyna also “really liked the taste”  😜

And a pro seasonal tip on this – as we approach winter, there’s an even bigger load on us, as the colder days and nights require a MASSIVE spike in energy consumption just to stay warm, so getting your protein in powder/supplement form – as long as you’re choosing decent quality, organic whey or high amino acid profile vegan.  Many of you might notice the spike in hunger in winter season.  Coupled with the lack of energy-giving sunlight, the hunt for calorie dense casseroles and stews is ON. This is completely natural and it’s also healthy to carry a bit of extra weight in the winter.  So lean into it…maybe adding a bit of nourishing bone broth to your winter meals to hearty them up whilst nerdily sealing up those tight junctions in your gut, and stabilsing your immune system could be a plan…? Oh and here’s that link

Next up we turn up the heat with Grant’s Shilajit trial…we’re pretty keen on shilajit around here and since it had a MAJOR spike in attention from some TikTok influencers it’s been having its moment in the sun.  But that said it’s about as well known to most of us as the vagueries of squirrel hunting in the Alaskan tundra, so perhaps good to share a couple of nuggets.  Grant said he felt “less of a mid-afternoon lull/coffee crash, better, easily sustained focus, more alert, more energy overall”, and this makes sense as shilajit is basically a polypharmacy waiting for you to slide some of its slimy black resin into some hot waer, with a vast store of energy enhancing minerals, along with mystery compound ‘fulvic acid’…This is a very exciting little creature, a result of the fermentation of organic material in the earth, it’s one of the magic componds that soil microbes use to transform inorganic minerals  to their organic form, enhancing their uptake into plants.

In humans, shilajit, which is a highly concentrated source of fulvic acid (we only stock resin with 80% and above concentration, and capsules, which are necessarily lower in fulvic acid due to the drying, de-fatting process to encapsulate) helps to both shuttle these essential minerals into cells, and also critically helps to chelate or bind excess potentially toxic substances and remove them from the body.  Shilajit is harvested in two main regions, the Altai mountains in Russia and the surrounds, and the Himalayan mountain region.  In both areas, shilajit has been lauded for centuries for its capacity to support human immunity, potency, stamina and virility as Grant found he was “less tired after the gym, [it] greatly shortened [his] sexual refractory period, and made it way easier to go for multiple rounds.”…not a bad endorsement when he’d ony used Shilajit for 30 days…one tiny word of warning: the flavour of shilajit is um, earthy…not to everyone’s taste, and that’s the reason we also started to stock Shilajit gummies to keep everyone happy.

Last up and since we’re already talking libido, it’s probably a good time to mention Mann’s Cordyceps trial.  Cordyceps is a medicinal mushroom prized for its capacity to enhance stamina, and that doesn’t mean just in the bedroom, though our libido is a great proxy for whole body health, and since we’re heading into marathon season, now is the right time for those of you with a race focus (but the rest of us mere mortals too) to put a focus on cardiovascular health.  Cordyceps is a POWERFUL support to our cells when they’re seeking to up their energy output.  Our supervisor, Mann, said he found that Cordyceps “Sustained energy in my workouts, [I had] better stamina and overall performance boost in my workout”.  And it makes sense.  Cordyceps, like most medicinal mushrooms, acts in myriad ways to enhance energy production in the cell, balance blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity, and through its action on the enzyme nitric oxide synthase, it enhances blood flow to all areas of the body, reducing pressure on the heart and facilitating extra stamina and capacity for daily life, and also for the extra demands we put on ourselves during our mild 26 mile trot around Dublin every October.