Lucas Aoun

Nick, good to be back.

Yeah, man. Well, um, some people would call me Australia's leading biohacker.

And, uh, I would say that's probably because I've positioned myself...

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Creating a lot of content, stroking your ego. Creating a lot of content in the biohacking space has always been a big passion of mine. And, um, I'm also a fully qualified naturopath as well. So got this, you know, four years full-time degree under my belt. Ended up, ended up becoming Dux of my year level for that. So wasn't too hard. I was studying amongst a lot of, uh, hippies in I think, you know, the sort of caliber there. So wasn't, wasn't too difficult to to Dux that. But having said that, I'm, yeah, really, really passionate about creating health content and doing that on YouTube, Instagram, you know, podcast. And, um, yeah, I'm really passionate specifically about male hormonal optimisation, so testosterone enhancement.

Uh, obviously, at the time, my test, testosterone wasn't probably where it needed to be. And then you obviously coached me on some supplements.

Yeah, of course. I actually do remember you said to me, you're like, "Give me everything you've got."

Um, I don't want to go on testosterone. You, you said to me, you said you don't want to actually take testosterone. So I'm like, "All right, let's whip out the big guns." Basically, pulled out all the most powerful herbs that I know about. And also enclomiphene as well to leverage that.

Yeah, man, that took me. I remember overnight I went from feeling just okay to then, "Whoa!" I feel like a new man just from taking that one supplement. Obviously, they're all very synergistic. But that one supplement is an absolute game-changer. Yeah, yeah. So the combination of like enclomiphene with shilajit, pine pollen, shilajit, tongkat ali. These different herbs basically work in unison, like synergistically with enclomiphene. So enclomiphene, it's a considered a SERM, selective estrogen receptor modulator. Basically, it tricks the brain into perceiving that there's low estrogen. Um, and then it, it stimulates luteinising hormone. So it actually re-kickstarts that testosterone pathway. And a lot of ex-bodybuilders that been on T like steroids and testosterone actually use this as like a PCT.

Yep. Stinging nettle supplement. Yep. Nettle root. And nettle root. Sorry.

Really?

Well, I learned it after we spoke like properly 'cause I was like going down a rabbit hole. It wasn't the intention for this particular compound. It's called ostarine. Now, ostarine is considered a SARM.

Like it's a performance-enhancing drug and yes, it's toxic, but the dose determines the poison. Now, if you look at the studies, 3 milligrams of ostarine is safe and effective for increasing lean body mass with a concomitant slight increase in liver enzymes, but it actually suppresses SHBG. Now it does that even as low as 3 milligrams, which means you can take ostarine for like eight weeks.

Powder. Yeah, powder capsule.

Yeah, so, um, probably the best results are the guys mid-40s. So similar to yourself, although your biological age is probably, what is it now?

Okay. Um, yeah, seeing pretty good results in that mid-age range. Yeah. Basically reigniting energy, improving, um, muscle mass, improving recovery, improving strength. Um, healthy mood, feeling confident, feeling resilient. These are probably the best effects that we see with guys that are going from, let's say, and the doctors will say, you know, "You're completely normal." We've had this discussion before where it's like the doctor says your results are completely normal. You could be sitting at like 280 or whatever, which is quite low.

You know, 50 years ago would have testosterone levels that high. So it's like, you don't want to be sitting in that low end of the reference range. You want to try and as a guy, mostly, most people listening to this podcast will want to feel amazing. They want to feel optimal. They want to feel energetic. You can't feel good at that low.

Yeah, yeah. Please.

Uh, look, I tend to, I tend to handballed them on to other female practitioners. Like I still have a pretty good understanding on, um, women's health in general. The same principles apply. But there's one pathway that I guess gets neglected a lot for women. And that is optimisng free T3. Most women who have like reproductive issues or they suffer from like, you know, they feel moody or they feel like they they've lost their libido or they just feel just low energy. Instead of focusing on estrogen and progesterone, I think we should be focusing more on optimising T3. So that's free thyroid hormone. The most metabolically active, energetic, to put it in simple terms. T3 is like the spark plug of the body.

Iodine. We can throw in some, um, selenium, zinc. These are all important. And then also, um, thyroid glandular. Desiccated thyroid glandular. You know, the, um, organ supplements.

So, bovine thyroid glandular can work pretty well. They actually have trace amounts of like T3 and T4 in the in the capsule. Not a lot. Yeah. Um, then the other option is you can look into like, um, there are some pretty good herbs that can stimulate thyroid production. Um, Coleus Forskohlii.

Yes, it was. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and then also, we can also throw in cordyceps. All right. So cordyceps mushroom. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm a fan of because it actually helps to increase ATP production in the body, improves lung functioning, uh, helps in so many different ways. And if you look at it in traditional Chinese medicine, literally say that cordyceps restores both the yin and the yang kidney essence, which is literally like the life force of the body.

Oh, for sure. For sure. So before I prescribe, and this is a lot, a lot of people just want a a quick a quick fix.

Yeah, but we really need to take an objective sniper rifle approach instead of just going, "Hey, let's just like guns blazing." Yeah. 'Cause what happens is if you, if you go all in like that without any data points, you can end up just throwing things out of whack. And you won't know where your baseline actually was.

So specifically, if we're looking at cancer, I would say anything that sort of stimulates human growth hormone. Um, so that could potentially theoretically, for people who have existing cancers, it may actually worsen that. So that could be things like MK-677. Yeah. Which is not really a SARM, but it's similar to that. Then if we looking...

Oh, potentially. Potentially. Yeah. This is again, anyone who prescribes these usually does blood work before prescribing them. So as long as it's being done like that. But, um, we're sort of speaking about different supplements that can cause harm in high doses now. Not not specifically cancer, but some serious side effects. So high-dose Vitamin B6. I was telling you before, I was featured on ABC News a few weeks ago talking about high-dose Vitamin B6 can actually, we're talking the, the, um, pyridoxine hydrochloride, not P5P. P5P is the active form, which has less side effects and you're less likely to get the toxicity. But for people, literally, like you got mothers out there that are taking B6 about 50 milligrams a day, every day for months.

That's what ends up happening. And so they get these toxicity symptoms. They'll get something called peripheral neuropathy, where they get like numbness and ting, numbness and tingling over their body. And this is a, this can be a lasting side effect. So, um, this is, it's not really discussed much online, but recently it's started to really become more of a viral topic. So basically that form of B6, obviously never touch and stay away from.

The only other one potentially is kava. Kava extract. The fizzy drink.

If it's improperly synthesized or manufactured, their kavalactones when used chronically, that's like the active ingredient, could lead to some degree of like liver toxicity. Not not cancer. It's really hard to say with cancer. There's not many supplements that will like speed up proliferation. Yeah, a lot of them actually have anti-cancer properties. Like Vitamin D, anti-cancer properties. Like it literally, if you look at the data, higher levels of Vitamin D increases your likelihood of survival from breast cancer and things like that.

Mhm.

It depends on the blood work. So like, if we go back to the blood work, if you're doing 10,000 IU, some guys, they need 10,000 IU to to hover it around 150. Mine's at 190. Pretty much max it out. Yeah, it's quite high. So, so if you, if your Vitamin D does end up going that high, it can drive up calcium. So calcium in your blood goes up and calcium in the blood can be...

A little bit, um, it can be problematic in the long run. But if you're taking K2 with it, it should be fine.

I try to actually optimise levels through sunlight exposure. Um, so I personally very rarely will use Vitamin D supplementation because I'm able to keep my levels high enough through sunlight exposure. Um, alternatively, I've also got a Vitamin D lamp, like a Sperti Vitamin D lamp. Yeah. And that can also, just three minutes a day can boost your Vitamin D levels pretty, pretty well.

Yeah. Guys like Brian Johnson, go, uh, "I want to live a very long time. I want to look young." So he refuses to go in the sun. So the issue is when you go into sun too much, it can obviously cause skin damage.

Do you believe in that?

Doesn't matter for Brian Johnson 'cause he's on testosterone. I think it's part of his stack.

Well, Dave Asprey promotes melanotan. So melanotan is injectable, uh, drug that basically gives you a nice all over tan. I've got a few mates on that right now. It works. Yeah. I've used it before in the past. And think about melanotan, it does make you brown. But the issue is if you got moles or freckles, it makes them a lot darker. That's the only issue I found with it. And it gives you, made basic, makes my face go red for about 10 minutes and then dissipates. Yeah.

Yeah, no, that's, that's definitely one way. But I'd say like, um, so Vitamin D mega dose, like you said before, it's really beneficial during periods of acute colds or flu or sickness. Like I'm not going to mention the, the C word here. But, yeah, beneficial effects on, um,

Selenium as well. And that's another one to keep on keep on standing. I've actually got, um, stash of it.

Yeah, first and foremost, I like to say that good quality sleep starts the moment you wake up that day. So what I mean by that is similar to what Huberman emphasises, which is outside light exposure. You're probably already doing that. Um, just and also just another factor there is like trying to fall asleep and wake up roughly at the same time every day is beneficial for your body. Um, because it sort of helps synchronise your circadian rhythm. I think key areas that I see people going wrong when it comes to optimising sleep is they'll forget they'll forget to optimise their food intake specifically two to three hours before bedtime. So they haven't had too much food before bed.

Usually like half an hour. Worst thing you can do. It's really bad. Like it will just completely affect your sleep quality. Um, pitch black room, you know, block out the curtains. Like, yeah, just optimising. Yeah. Minimising light exposure. Wearing an eye mask. I still wear one as well.

Yeah. I do it because of you. Yeah, yeah. Does that work?

Top of my bed. I've actually got dumbbell plates at the base of each, at the base of the bed. And they're lifted up at least, uh, four or five inches.

No way. Not. I mean, there's, um, it you look at the research on, um, the lymphatic drainage that helps the brain to detoxify toxins and, um, helps to remove, you know, dead cells and things like that. So I think some, some people report improvements in in like if they've got back pain, some people see improvements in that area. Um, the varicose veins as well. That's a big one. So and also, uh, reducing nighttime urination. There's something to that.

Yeah, look, there's, there's quite a few pretty powerful ones. Um, in, ile, maybe we break it up. Sorry, maybe we go, "Okay, what's a supplement to help you get to sleep?" And then maybe a supplement to help you stay as sleep. All right. So first of all, to get to sleep, like as in sleep onset, basically, what we want to do is we want to reduce the amount of excitatory neurotransmitters in the brain. So we want to basically shut off the catecholamines, dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. Like we want to be reducing these act, the activity of these in the brain. How do we do that? Well, we minimise screen time. We minimize like deep thinking activities. We try not to stress about too many things. And we can also use a range of different supplements that actually help to suppress the production of these, um, neurotransmitters. Now, one in particular, I don't usually prescribe it unless I need to like whip out the big guns. Um, it's a particular constituent from Corydalis extract. Corydalis, Corydalis extract has been used in Chinese medicine to support sleep. It's a Shen tonic. So basically helps with you reducing, um, nervousness, worry, anxiety, fear, that sort of stuff. And it contains an antipsychotic ingredient called L-tetrahydropalmatine, LTHP. Now, back in the day, a few of my neutropic nerdy friends got their hands on some LTHP. Yeah. Um, and that can suppress dopamine and nephrine and shut off the excitatory signals very, very well. And quickly as well. Within half an hour.

Um, so it's really effective in that regard. Doesn't have too much carryover, so that you're not feeling super groggy the next day.

Some people like myself actually get stimulated from magnesium glycinate.

So this just got to be careful with some of the magnesiums. It could be, it could be. I've heard enough reports now where some people are like, "I can't take magnesium glycinate before bed. Can't sleep." Yeah, yeah. So it might mean you just got to switch it up to a magnesium L-threonate or citrate. Two, they're decent. Like they still get absorbed. Then if we're looking at optimising like in in terms of like staying asleep, right? We want melatonin levels to be high throughout the night. And in order to do that, we, we need to optimise precursors. So like tryptophan and serotonin. Yeah. You can use melatonin. Like melatonin extended release. For some people, they'll find that's actually good for their ability to stay asleep. But the issue with some of these extended release tablets is they've got B6 in the wrong form of B6. Yeah, yeah. So that's...

Yeah. I'm pretty sure there's some, there are ones on the market. They're just US. Okay. Companies. Um, there's like extended release versions, stuff. So I'd say another factor there is, um, and this is this doesn't really get talked about, but that is we want to base, basically, um, keep liver glycogen. So liver carbohydrate stores replenished before bed. Now, for some people, it might mean that they need to have a little bit of honey with some oats or yogurt.

At nighttime. Yeah. And that is enough to keep them like not going into a what happens is if your body senses low blood sugar, let's just put it this way, if you have low blood sugar during your sleep, you wake up. Yeah. It causes an, it cause micro...

Because cortisol gets released, adrenaline gets released to bring blood sugar back up. So if you go to bed without, uh, issues with, um, blood sugar regulation, then you should be okay. And that's where Aniracetam really fits in nicely as well, because it has the GABA effects and the blood sugar stabilising effect as well.

Oh, definitely. Yeah. Or other reasons.

Um, body temperature. Oh, yeah. So too hot. Yeah. You wake up when you're too hot. The bed should be cooler as well. Um, I've got an Eight Sleep mattress that does the temperature regulation.

I'd love to. But my girlfriend just can't. Really? It's annoying. I'd love to. But I, yeah, personally, I had the bed to myself. Then I blast the air conditioner, keep it cool. But, um, I think keeping it cool is one thing. Uh, any micro amounts of light. So like little red lights or little blue lights that come off chargers and stuff like that. Get rid of them.

No, no.

Yeah, so recently I've sort of pioneered this, um, brand new supplement that I've just released. And it's a particular herbal extract from Brazil. Now, if you go to South America and you mention, "Hey, do you like to..." Let's say you go to go up to the bar or the guy working at the bar or like even a shaman, say, "I'm looking to have a good time. Do you have any catawba?" They'll be like, "Catawba?"

Yeah, so this, this catawba is, um, pretty unique in the sense that it's

first of all, it's an aphrodisiac from Brazil. So it's been used historically to ignite libido in men and women. So both men and women can benefit. Secondly, it also works on the dopamine system. Now it does it in a way that's atypical or not the same as like caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines, all that sort of stuff. It, it's believed to work as a dopamine reuptake inhibitor. And it does that in a very mild way. Some of the alkaloids found in catawba possess that effect. And when most people use catawba the first few times after taking it, they'll report feeling more socially fluent, more confident. Um, so does it relax you or does it give you energy? Puts people in a good mood. Like a good good mood state. It's like a state where you actually want to like, for me, sometimes I find if I'm being working all day, let's say it's Friday and it's like time to go out on the Friday night. It's like sometimes I find it hard to switch out of that work intense, intense mode. And it's like instead of resorting to alcohol to loosen you up, this is where catawba can be really beneficial.

Absolutely. Yeah.

Oh, you could say so. Yeah. Because that's used obviously to reduce, um, fear and anxiety and reduce the heart rate. We did find, and I was sort of saying this to you before, that some users have reported increases in HRV from our catawba. Now, I might mention, when people look up catawba, and I really want people to do so, when they Google catawba benefits. And you'll see some insane historical, like traditional usages and like the reports on Reddit as well. And different forums. Everyone loves this herb. Everyone just raves on about it. And I'm like, I've kept it in my back pocket for years. And yeah, now finally we've, we've named it Catapult Pure. And we've actually trademarked the name Catapult Pure because it's extremely hard to source legitimate catawba from South America. Like we had to get it sent off to a lab to get checked. And had to pass third-party assessment, um, to prove that it's legit because a lot of these South American companies, they fake, they'll just send you not even real catawba. Good luck with it, mate. It's great.

Yeah, I think there's a definite time and place for statins, um, particularly in like extreme cases where they're at high risk for severe heart attack and or recovering from one. But there's definitely complimentary supplements that could be work in tandem with some of these.

NES is phenomenal. Um, Bromelain is another one from pineapple that that helps to reduce fibrin and, um, scar tissue, things like that. Coenzyme Q10 as well. 300 milligrams a day of ubiquinol is quite good.

Well, um, ubiquinol. Yeah, yeah. Ubiquinol more, um, efficacious. And then anything that can support like cardiac, um, tissue and also reducing hypoxia. So basically that's low oxygen. Uh, there's compounds out there that can, and actually funnily enough, Maria Sharapova. I don't know if you remember this tennis player. Yeah. She got, she got in trouble for using a particular drug to support the heart. And I've actually used that drug by the way.

Meldonium. Um, it's a, she, she reckons it wasn't having any performance-enhancing effects. But I know for sure it, because I've used it. And and it really does work. And I've got a bunch of clients and friends who are using it.

There's there's more and more athletes sort of getting done with these compounds. But meldonium is one of those ones that initially was designed to actually protect the heart against low oxygen states. Um, and to actually use post heart attacks as well. Is that right?

Yep. NES. NES. Bromelain.

Meldonium. Yeah. And that's if you take these even if you don't have any heart issues, would you recommend people take them just for preventative reasons? General health and energy and vitality. Yeah. Could definitely help with these areas.

Yep. That you think everyone should take. Male and female. Okay. So first and foremost, I think taurine can benefit most people. I put as number one. Um, that is because first of all, we live in a society where everyone's super stressed and super on the edge. And magnesium just doesn't cut it for most people. That's where taurine can just add another, um, anti-stress action or anti-stress effect. And we're looking at around 3 to 5 grams a day. So that's what, potentially five tablets a day 'cause each tablet is usually one gram. That's quite a lot. Or you can get the powder form and just do like a full teaspoon in the morning.

Yeah, there was an amazing animal study recently that came out about taurine's life extension properties. Um, it makes it literally makes no sense for anyone to like disregard it. Like if you look at the, it basically blocks fluorides negative effects on the body as well. And also BPA. It stops BPA or xenoestrogens from damaging the testicles as well. Is that right?

Do you take it personally? Five grams a day.

Every day. Every morning. Have you noticed a difference?

I mean, I've had, um, in terms of anti-stress effects or like general calmness. Yes, it definitely helps in that regard. Not just you don't, you know, when you get to boiling point, it just caps that. It just brings that down.

Some people prefer to use taurine at nighttime. Um, I personally feel like I get the anxiolytic effects or anti-stress effects in the morning that lasts throughout the day. Um, in addition to that, it also has a hypoglycemic effect. So I've worn a CGM, um, and I've actually seen that when I take a big dose of taurine, it can actually drop my blood sugar levels as well.

Number two is the other one that I actually take very often is, um, tongkat ali. Um,

Yeah. So if you were to look into, basically tongkat ali is a liver-protective supplement. Now, you'll see it prescribed for liver disease, cirrhosis, um, um, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcohol damage, acetaminophen or a Panadol overdose to recover the, um, the liver as well. Or maybe someone who's taken a lot of, um, prescription medications as well.

Um, and the reality is a lot of people are living in, I mean, today's society, there's so many things that are toxic. The reason why I take about a gram of of tongkat ali, which is a pretty high dose by the way.

1,000 milligrams of tongkat ali every single day is because, number one, I know that I'm protecting my liver every day. And I want something there. Number two is it actually helps to increase digestion, improve digestion specifically aiding in, um, fat-soluble vitamin absorption. So vitamins A, D, E, K absorption.

Uh, both. It would do both food and supplements. So beneficial effects there. And then third is that it actually has that beneficial effect on increasing T3. That thyroid hormone that I was talking about before, that's so important. So definitely recommend tongkat ali. So tongkat ali number two. I had heard of that before. And so thank you for that. I'm going to add that to the list.

Uh, number three, I would put this down for like most people, creatine monohydrate. Yeah. Now, it's not one that I, I'm sort of dipping my toes here and there. I'm playing with other compounds. I'm trying not to confound the variables. But 'cause you, you were also a fan of a creatine.

Most people look at the literature and they'll agree that creatine monohydrate is the most studied form. That's correct. But if you add the precursor, GAA, guanidinoacetic acid, if you add that in as a precursor, that can actually saturate brain creatine. So this, it basically saturates creatine levels in the brain even higher than just creatine monohydrate. So that would be, um, number three. Number four.

All right. First of all, um, increases ATP production in the body, which is the energy currency of the entire of the entire body. Uh, so what does that translate to? Uh, improvements in memory performance, cognitive performance, specifically in sleep deprivation as well. Um, during sleep deprivation.

You can even go up to as high as like 15 grams by the way. Um, 15 to 20 grams a day. There's no...

Look, in order to get the like the kidney damage and all side effects, you need to be having a significant amount of creatine to get like they just, you need to be having a lot.

Creatinine. Creatinine. Yeah. Or EGFR is another one. But having said that, if you're taking taurine and you're taking tongkat ali, they're both kidney-protective supplements. So then this is what I mean by like, you want to have like this insurance policy by using something like taurine. If you're using big doses of other things and you're trying different stuff, you know what I said before about ostarine, which is a SARM. Um, like you need some sort of liver support just running in the background. It's like, it's like installing a, um, antivirus software on a on a PC. That's what I like to look at. Tongkat ali is a good one.

Easy. Yeah. Number four is actually probably a new one. I had two tablets before I came here actually today. Um, I also used it before my talk in Dubai when I was speaking on stage as well. And I've really found it's great for like verbal fluency and just just locking in and zoning in, getting in the zone. Um, it's called Actigen.

Did he? He did. He did. He was using alongside EPO to benefit, um, from its like, it's basically Actigen is not, it's not really a drug. It's a deproteinised calf blood extract.

Well, all the ones I'm mentioning so far have minimal toxicity and or can be used long-term. So I wouldn't be putting in anything here that is like toxic. Yeah. Like it has to be sustainable. This is sustainable. Like this Actigen is sustainable. Um, basically it's a deproteinised calf blood extract. And the way they describe it is that it's like Poor Man's EPO. So if you can't get EPO and you can't dope and cheat with EPO, then you can use Actigen to sort of mimic the benefits of having high red blood cells.

Uh, energy, uh, cardiovascular fitness. VO2 max goes up. Um, mental clarity, glucose oxidation. So you, you have to remember that if you're having something like this, you need to eat a *[expletive]* load more carbs because it drives up carbohydrates. It basically just burn through carbohydrates. So if you're on keto, it's not going to work for you. I wouldn't recommend it. And that also enables me to then go and enjoy some of the best foods ever.

True. It's like going out on...

Look, I am. I'm pretty well balanced. Like I there was a period of time where I was like walk. I do to max out testosterone as high as possible naturally. There was a specific diet protocol for that. I've now since dropped that. And I've got a pretty happy medium where I'm doing like if you actually did if you did track it and check what's the macro split? Fats, proteins, carbs. It's probably about 30.

Like 30, 40, 30. Yeah, yeah. So it's just a good wholesome diet. Yeah. It's not like there's obviously key foods that I love and I'll keep in my routine quite a lot. Like blueberries, um, sourdough bread, you know, good quality grass-fed butter. The best butter, the that Paris. The butter from Paris. So good. Um, raw honey as well. Yeah, just so good. Maple syrup. And then also Greek yogurt. Or, um, kefir. That's another one. I haven't. I just, it's not stocked in my in my fridge.

Most people can benefit. Yeah, yeah. Um, sheep milk yogurt. Yep. That's nice. Um, goat's milk yogurt as well. Just they're great. Like pre-protein, good prebiotics in there and stuff like that. Um, so then we got so we've sort of spoken about those. And then fifth and final. All right.

Uh, I mean, yeah, we, we could. We could put those in there. That's your, this is your list.

Yeah, I would say for, let's say, general population. The general population, Vitamin D3 with K2 can benefit most people. The reason I say that is because if you look at the data, look at, look at the data points. Yeah. Vitamin D, most people are very low. And it's funny how people think when they go outside for their lunch break and they're wearing like a, like a a shirt and they're wearing like long pants. They get the sun. They eat lunch in the sun. They're like, "Oh, I'm getting so much Vitamin D." I'm like, "No, you're not." Yeah. Like you're not.

Yeah, yeah. So the raw carrot salad. Um, which is basically popularised by one of my favorite doctors who unfortunately passed away, Dr. Ray Peat. Um, he talked about eating raw carrots.

Some people say that. Well, what, I mean, dude, what if Brian Johnson, like, it wouldn't, wouldn't just like, let's just say, un, very unlikely, but like, let's say in the next 10 years he does it. It wouldn't discredit his information. You wouldn't like then say his info is bad. Right?

Yeah. What if it's like a, yeah, Charles Poliquin. Yeah, the bodybuilder. He had a, was he had...

Well, this guy was like, uh, 79. So it's a decent run.

He had definite, like he had dyslexia. I think he, he couldn't speak properly for a long time. Anyway, um, so Dr. Ray Peat popularised the benefits of raw carrot salad. So basically, I had something this morning, actually, before my mince meat. So you grate the carrots. And you put in a little bit of like coconut oil over the top and then a little bit of apple cider vinegar. And that combination there, if you take that, like obviously consume that every day, can just dramatically improve your your poops, your stool quality. Um, so is that for gut health?

Literally lowers endotoxin.

Oh, it's most, you can do it even without the coconut oil. And just do the raw carrots just by itself with a bit of salt, no oil. And you still get the gut benefits. So no greens. No nothing. Just a raw carrot. Just by itself. It's incredible. Like the number of people I've prescribed that to have reported benefits is is insane. Like someone who's constipated, constipated, bloating, gas. Um, anyone who has high endotoxin in the gut can benefit dramatically.

Um, was this, um, who was talking about that?

No, it from India.

Do you know much about coconut oil and the benefits? Oh, for sure. I mean, looking at, um, so like specifically for thyroid, coconut oil. I'm not sure whether or not it actually has beneficial effects on thyroid. It's a saturated fatty acid. So it's mostly, um, most of the benefits come from the C8, the caprylic acid, which is what Dave Asprey combined with, um, Bullet, you know, for Bulletproof Coffee. Um, but I'd say, look, I have coconut oil in my pantry. I have, these are the oils that I have. Olive oil, extra. Has to be there.

Peppery aftertaste. But does your normal extra virgin really?

Yeah, it should have a peppery aftertaste. It's a good brand. And it's...

Right. Yeah. So if you look at, I mean, olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, um, coconut oil. I have that in my pantry. Ghee as well. Yeah. And then obviously, I've got butter in the grass-fed butter in the fridge. There's no sunflower oil. There's no canola oil. There's no soybean oil. There's none of those. The only closest thing that I probably have is like, um, no, I was going to say coconut syrup. I've been having, um, coconut syrup to have on top of, um, yogurt. Try, you should try this combination. Greek yogurt with with coconut syrup and then add in some guar gum. That's a PHA. Mix that in. It's like a thick. It's like literally like a thick, um, you know, those Froot Loops.

Awesome.

I'm not. I, I don't believe that. I think that, um, heart attacks and cardiovascular health, we need to look beyond just cholesterol. And Peter Attia also discusses this. Um, and a few other. But he's also taking statins. That's why I can't work out. These these longevity gurus are taking statins, which obviously lowers your cholesterol, but lowers your testosterone.

Yeah, you feel terrible.

I think it will.

Mhm.

Yeah, so first and foremost, sorry. I should clarify for those who actually get the jitters or genetically they shouldn't be drinking coffee because they just can't pro process it correctly. Yeah. So there's definitely a portion of the population that they do respond negatively to caffeine. Causes the jitters. They feel a bit anxious and just a bit like can increase blood pressure. What I really want to emphasise is this new molecule that my actually my, um, my mentor, he's the world's greatest supplement formulator, Shawn Wells. Shout out to Shawn.

It is a big call. But he's patented many famous ingredients. And, you know, he's well respected in this space. It's called paraxanthine. Paraxanthine is the metabolite of caffeine. Now it's spelled P A R A. So P A R A X A N T H I N E.

Not related. It's, it's, it's the primary metabolite of caffeine. Now the good thing is they've been able to actually extract this paraxanthine and turn it into a powder format into a capsule format. And the unique thing about paraxanthine is that it can actually increase, um, energy and motivation and also mood and things like that without the blood pressure rise. Without the like the same level of tolerance build up as caffeine. And also reduces the anxiety and the jitters. So paraxanthine, then just mark my words, in 2025, I think it's going to be, you'll start to see it popping up.

Well, you can buy it in capsule format. So it's either in it's basically a powder. But you you wouldn't buy you wouldn't first of all, you can't buy it as a powder format 'cause it's only 100 milligrams per dosage. And you don't want to be, it's like playing with caffeine powder sort of thing. It's a bit risky. Um, you know, the best thing about coffee though, is actually just sitting there in the morning with a beautiful cup of coffee that tastes great. And I'm like, "Yes, I'm about to get jitters. But I'm going to enjoy every inch and sip of this coffee." And then when I get the jitters, I'm like, "Ah, I have another coffee to counteract the jitters." And I just compound the issue. So I actually do miss drinking that beautiful cup of coffee. So with this, yes, you get the benefits, but you still can't enjoy the taste and the flavor. Can you?

No. We can just have decaf coffee. And then you have...

Yeah, you could combine it with this paraxanthine. Okay. So you can combine the two and then the taste and and the benefits without the side effects.

Yes. So ashwagandha, whilst it's effective for reducing stress, um, anxiety, helping with cortisol, it does have a bit of a nasty side. Like a really dark side. Um, and I actually call it the the devil's herb. Um, for that, that's my nickname for it. Now, the reason why I say this is because, um, after many years studying the effects of ashwagandha and understanding what it's specifically doing in the body, we've actually come to the conclusion, and this is myself and a bunch of research buddies of mine who are also into understanding, um, neuroscience and things like that, that it can actually mimic some of the effects associated with SSRIs or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. So it can actually have a very similar effect on serotonin production in the brain. And you might be thinking, "Lucas, what's wrong with serotonin?" Like, "That's, you know, does it matter that we're increasing serotonin? Like what's the drawbacks?" Well, serotonin when in high amounts can actually offset and blunt the effects of dopamine, meaning that it can actually have more of a numbing effect on our emotions. It can blunt the pleasure response. And what's the point of having high testosterone if you can't actually feel that euphoric, that dopamine buzz, the high after exercise? This is where ashwagandha can actually blunt. Uh, people, people will say when they use ashwagandha, they can't experience the highs or the lows in life. So that that's basically everything.

Oh, it's like having a a blunting effect. So you're just hovering in this like everything is dull. Sort of nothing is really bad. Nothing is really good. Everything is just like me.

Yeah, I think there's many other fantastic herbs that can be used for sleep. Um, magnolia bark is one of them. Um, like I mentioned before, lemon balm is another one. Um, in terms of lowering stress in cortisol, there's other ways to do that from ashwagandha.

Awesome, mate. That was great. Thank you, Lucas. Mate. And obviously, I wish you all the best. Yeah.