Lasting Caffeine-Free Energy, Optimize Your Performance & Improve Sleep with MTE Supplements (Ancient Nutrition with Modern Science)

Nick Urban [00:00:07]:
Are you a high performer, obsessed with growth, and looking for an edge? Welcome to MINDBODY Peak Performance. Together, we’ll discover underground secrets to unlocking the full potential of your mind, body, and spirit. We’ll learn from some of the world’s leading minds, from ancient wisdom to cutting edge tools and everything in between. This is your host, Nick Urban. Enjoy the episode. Is there a natural supplement that can outperform antidepressants when it comes to supporting an optimal mood? What about a natural ingredient to give you all day energy without the crash? And, no, I’m not talking about caffeine. Or how about stress reduction without sedation? In this week’s episode, we dive into one of my favorite subjects, and that is a special class of substances known as adaptogens. Now ingredients that fall into this category must fulfill very specific criteria, namely that they’re very safe, they bring the body back into balance, and they help the body better manage and regulate its response to stress, whether it’s physical, emotional, environmental, chemical, all forms of stress.

Nick Urban [00:01:27]:
They are a backbone of not only herbal medicine, but integrative medicine and biohacking because they offer tremendous benefit to safety ratios. You’ve surely heard of some of these, such as ashwagandha, rhodiola, ginseng, holy basil, saffron, tulsi, and many more. In this episode, we’re exploring some of those as well as other ingredients that I sometimes use as a replacement for caffeine. Joining us this week is Jeff Boyd. He’s the founder and chairman of a company called MTE, which appropriately stands for more than energy. I will admit that most of the time when I get sent a product that has proprietary blends and a secret formula without disclosing the dosages of each ingredient, I usually throw them away. I like to know exactly what I’m consuming and the quantity of each ingredient. This was an exception because the product itself came highly recommended from a few close friends.

Nick Urban [00:02:37]:
I did ask Jeff about that and asked him to please disclose exactly how much we’re consuming of each of the core ingredients in this. But, regardless, this is a product I feel and enjoy, especially when I’m traveling or on the go as an awesome alternative to caffeine. I describe a lot more of my experience in the episode itself as does he and some of the stories of other users. If you wanna learn more, you can find all the resources and things we discuss in the show notes for this episode, which will be at mindbodypeak.com slash the number 181. There, I will also have a link to the MTE products. They currently offer 2, a daily blend and a performance blend. For most people, the everyday blend will be what you want. It’s got paraxanthine, which is the superior metabolite of caffeine, which is sometimes called the benefits of caffeine without the downsides.

Nick Urban [00:03:33]:
Performance is a bit stronger, but possibly not suitable for everyone. And if you use my code urban, that’ll save you 20% on your order. But whether or not you decide to give us a product a shot, you’ll learn a ton about botanicals, adaptogens, and how you may wanna consider incorporating them into your supplement stack. Alright. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this conversation with Jeff Boyd of MTE. Jeff, welcome to the podcast.

Jeff Boyd [00:04:06]:
Thank you. How are you?

Nick Urban [00:04:08]:
I’m doing pretty well. I am looking forward to discussing some of your products today and the particular ingredients within them because ever since I came across something called paraxanthine a few years back, I’ve been a huge fan, and I often replace my caffeine with this metabolite, and I actually much prefer it. But your formulas are more thorough, and they do a lot more than just stimulate. So I’m we’re gonna dive into that today. Before we get started, what have you done so far today? The unusual nonnegotiables for your health, your performance, and your bioharmony.

Jeff Boyd [00:04:43]:
I don’t know if it’s unusual at all, but I can’t really get much done if I don’t move my body straight away. So I get up and I just chug a couple of glasses of water, kinda get organized, check my phone, make sure the the, you know, the world hasn’t burned down. And then, I usually I just whatever it is. Right? Like this morning, I went on a 30 minute run with the dogs. So, you know, 2 birds there. He got them some exercise, got my body moving, lifted some weights, did a heavy stretch. I was at the park yesterday with my son doing a bunch of crazy. I don’t know if you know Eric Hinman, but he turned me on to this world’s most difficult mile.

Jeff Boyd [00:05:30]:
I just have to move my body and get active, and to and drink a bunch of water. And, and then I try to, you know, obviously, a shower follows, and I try to use the shower sort of work on I mean, this is am I you know, it’s early on. I’m already gonna sound absolutely insane, but, like, I try to take my showers on one foot, you know, to kinda work work on balance and sort of try to do a pseudo meditation and, you know, be very contemplative and present in the shower, kinda think about what I’m grateful for, you know, just kinda try to be present and, while on one foot or the other. And, and then that’s it. Then off to the races. So that’s that’s and that’s a pretty standard morning for me. And the the workouts change, but, you know, whether it’s like pickleball or tennis or, you know, it’s I’ll I’ll do anything, but I have to move my body.

Nick Urban [00:06:25]:
Yeah. I’m the same way. I usually just do a long walk or hike in the morning. Sometimes I’ll rock with, like, a backpack and some weight in the backpack. And then, like, I like the idea of challenging yourself, your motor coordination, everything by doing either, like, brushing your teeth with your opposite hand or standing on one foot while you’re showering, all those types of things. Because they’re small and they seem inconsequential, but they actually, like, directly translate over into your other movement practices in your everyday life.

Jeff Boyd [00:06:50]:
I love that.

Nick Urban [00:06:51]:
Yeah. Well, Jeff, we could talk about movement for probably 1 or 2 podcasts easily, but I’m excited to dig into your products today and specifically the your origin story behind them, why you created them. And, we’re gonna dig into some of the ingredients because I find them very fascinating. I love some of the things you have in there that most other people haven’t seen that in their products. And, also, I think most people aren’t even aware of ingredients to begin with, and they’re very powerful. So tell me about your backstory.

Jeff Boyd [00:07:17]:
Yeah. So I I’ve been in health and wellness. You know, it’s been important to me in a big part of my life since I was a teenager. And I you know, initially, it was for athletics. And then as I got older, it was more vanity and and then older still, and it started to be about feeling good and taking care of myself and longevity. And now, finally, all those things have sort of morphed into one big ball of of wellness and awareness, and that, and that with the added complexity of of sort of educating and passing that down to my children now too. So it’s always been a big part of me. I was not in the industry.

Jeff Boyd [00:08:00]:
I had a shipping company for almost 20 years. I sold it in 2019 and just realized at that point, I could sort of free to do whatever I wanted. And so I thought, hey, I wanna do something I’m passionate about. I can really help others be well. And I kinda reached the point in my life where a lot of people were talking about health and wellness far more openly. You know, I think I think as you’re younger I mean, clearly, it’s not a secret. You know, you’re going to go to the gym or this, that, and the other, but people are starting to to really vocalize, oh, man. I I hit 40.

Jeff Boyd [00:08:38]:
I can’t lose any weight anymore, or I have no energy, or I have brain fog now. Or, you know, it’s just it’s it was all over the place. I’m starting to hear it from friends and family, and it was always near and dear to me. And and so that intersection of of opportunity and and need and want and everything else. So that’s that was the genesis of sort of wanting to do it. It was the the spark, if you will. And so then I started looking around and just I I’ve always loved supplements. For me, you start at the top of, like, the world’s greatest athletes, Olympians, what have you.

Jeff Boyd [00:09:11]:
They’re using supplements to take great to, you know, the best or or very good to great or, you know, and on it goes. So I’ve always loved that, and I’ve always wanted to try to use supplements to sort of enhance my existence, whether it’s a PR, a race, or just feeling even if it’s a psychosomatic benefit over my opponent and a tennis match, you know, whatever it is, just something to help me be better and feel better and recover better form better auto win. So I’ve taken a lot of supplements over the years, knew that knew the landscape well, and just felt like there was nothing really that was a whole system supplement that could help with many of the things that MTE now does. Right? But largely giving us energy, but but, you know, really, I found everything in the space did not they sort of treated the manifestation of lack of energy, but not really the cause. Right? It was like, here’s a bunch of caffeine or some, you know, yerba mate. Like, whatever. There’s an there’s an a number of different ways to skin the cat, but they all end with you being stimulated for a few hours and then the end. Right? And then it’s just like, we’ll see you tomorrow for more.

Jeff Boyd [00:10:31]:
You know? So I just thought that was a huge miss, particularly as I saw friends taking 5 hour energies as, like, a daily vitamin, you know, and they’re like getting up, taking a 5 hour and then take another one at noon and just to get through the day every day. And I was like, man, I don’t, I’m not, I just, I don’t know if that’s that great for you. And I don’t know if that’s even the use case. I mean, even even the founder of 5 hour, I don’t know, would tell you to take 2 a day every day. You know? And it was nothing was treating the cause of this. So I start I started there and then started, you know, to spanned out and recognize to me, everything starts with sleep and gut health. And so, you know, let’s talk, let’s, let’s get into sleep. Let’s start supporting that.

Jeff Boyd [00:11:21]:
Let’s start supporting the gut health and start recognizing, Hey, a bunch of caffeine is going to inhibit your sleep. So you’re constantly going to be on hamster wheel spinning wheels. If, if you’re taking a bunch of caffeine to prop yourself up during the day. Now the rub was, and I think this is where empty is really special. This is why I’m singing from the hills now. And it took us many years to get here is there are products out there that will support you in this way, but it’s very passive. Right? So it’s 30, 60, 120 days. And, you know, it’s it’s one of those, like, just keep taking it.

Jeff Boyd [00:11:58]:
Keep taking it. Bear with us. You’re gonna feel good in 2 months or 3 months or 5 months, you know, which is cool, but, you know, most people won’t have time for that. They’re not willing I mean, first of all, it involves an element of trust. And second of all, you know, we’re, what have you done for us lately now now now society? So I was like, look. We need to help people now in the manifestation of their lethargy or, you know, whatever is driving them to be tired. But we also need to treat the core of why that’s happening and sort of attack that support in that way. And and when that’s the base along with gut health, then you begin to have these ambient benefits that are oddly probably more powerful in terms of, like, focus, productivity, attention, ability to to reduce airs and mental fatigue during exertion, you know, those types of things.

Jeff Boyd [00:12:58]:
And then the mood lift, which is significant in our adaptogenic profile and because of your stress response. And also but also just some of the nootropics that that actually been clinically studied to lift your mood in terms of lowering, confusion, anger, increasing vigor, what saffron’s even been studied to, reduce depression, you know, or or levels of depression. So we dug deep into this, and that was like, the the world needs this. And more importantly, I didn’t I’d never seen anything like it. Like, I’d I’d to this day, like, people are like, well, how do you compare to this or that? And they’re like, we’re better. And they’re like, you know, I didn’t you didn’t even let me finish the sentence. I’m like, because I look for this product forever. I mean, for years, I tried to find this product.

Jeff Boyd [00:13:48]:
It’s not out there. So whatever product you’re is about to come out of your mouth, I know it, and I was aware of it when I built them to eat. Why who in their right mind would build a product that was inferior or something that was already in the market? I mean, to me, that’s just moronic. I would never do that, and I wouldn’t even build a pier. I would build something light years ahead of what is available in the market, and and I feel like we’ve done that. So that’s, you know, without at the at the risk of sounding pompous or, you know, whatever. But I I truly I mean, I’m all in on this. I just I think it’s a a very special formula that we’ve put together, and it’s and it’s not all me.

Jeff Boyd [00:14:26]:
I mean, I have we had an amazing team of Ayurvedic formulators, nutritionists, biochemists. I mean, we had all input from all sorts of people that are far smarter and more accomplished than I am, and they and, you know, we were able to put it in a pot and sort of make it make it just right.

Nick Urban [00:14:44]:
I look at a ton of different formulas. I’ve used 200 plus nootropics, different ingredients in my time. I’m very rarely impressed by something. And when I saw your formula, I’m like, oh, he he understands because a lot of the stimulants and nootropics, they’re depleting. And it’s like even Kestiny as simple as caffeine. Yeah. It has benefits. It gives you energy.

Nick Urban [00:15:05]:
It does these different things. Lots of polyphenols, chlorogenic acid, lots of that. But then also, it’s like there’s no biological free lunch. So if you’re just stimulating, you’re gonna pay the price somewhere, whether you’re aware of it or not. Like, even modern research might not know where you’re paying for it yet, but you’ll be paying for it somewhere.

Jeff Boyd [00:15:23]:
Yeah. Totally.

Nick Urban [00:15:24]:
What I’m curious about is your approach to formulation because we’ve already mentioned that you didn’t do things the way most people do. And the fact that your product contains adaptogens was the first thing that clued me in that, okay, they point out what they’re doing because caffeine increases, like, norepinephrine, cortisol, and other stress hormones. And that can be not necessarily a bad thing if you have, like, your other areas of stress under control, but then the adaptogens, the way they work, like, one of the requirements for something to be classified as an adaptogen is that it has to help your body regulate your stress system, your HPA access, and all that. And so it’s like a it’s a perfect combination.

Jeff Boyd [00:15:59]:
Yeah. And it’s one of the reasons our newest formula doesn’t have any caffeine, because we’ve always been working to try to get away from it while still being able to support people today. And we can talk about paraxanthin. I’m sure we will so shortly. But to me, it felt like you’re spitting in the wind a little bit. Right? Like, if I’m gonna give you like, we have 4 adaptogens in ours as there’s some for some redundancies and, because in different dosage levels and and, you know, just different affinities for each of them and sort of what they do and bring to the table. And I thought we could put 14 adaptogens in here, but if we’re jamming it full of something that’s spiking your cortisol, putting you in fight or flight, increasing your epinephrine, like, doing all these things that are contra to the adaptogens. What’s the point? Right? And that to my comments earlier, that’s sort of like these quote, unquote healthy energy drinks where they’ll put, like, some adaptogenic mushroom or something, which is nice.

Jeff Boyd [00:16:58]:
I mean, like, totally better than nothing, but you’re still you know, to me, it’s like drinking some of that, like, hangover medicine before you start drinking booze. Like, you know, it’s like, maybe it’s better than nothing, but I think you’re better off just doing it the right way. So that’s kind of what we wanted to do. We and the other thing is I’m sort of high strong and and being able to adapt to stress physically and mentally. Right? I mean, I loved the the origin of adaptogens. Right? And they’re coming from the Russian space program, athletic athletic program. They’re looking for an edge in the cold war. I I like that a lot because I like to put my body under stress, you know, to the world’s most difficult mile or whatever, but also, thinking.

Jeff Boyd [00:17:48]:
Not in not in a stress, you know, in the white knuckling kind of way, but more of a more of in a productive way. Like last night, I checked emails till midnight, you know, whereas I probably would have, you know, if I didn’t have MTU, I probably would have gone to bed at 9:30. So, you know, a lot differently. So, the adaptions are important to me and and not but just as important to me in the formula was setting them up for success and and not putting something in their contra to them that was going to have them be swimming upstream the whole time.

Nick Urban [00:18:23]:
Yeah. So I think people are gonna some of them are gonna hear what you just said that you usually go to bed at 9, 9:30, but then because you had MTE, you stay up till midnight. And the conclusion I would draw from that is, like, oh, is that actually a good thing? Because then you’re you might be short changing your sleep or not aligning with your natural cortisol rhythm or something.

Jeff Boyd [00:18:42]:
No. A 100%. To be clear, it wasn’t because I had an an MT. It’s because I own MT, and I was and I was working on it. The final point on adaptogen, just to just to go back to that, one thing that I I think you might geek out on a little bit based on what I know of you is it was important to us to have the the multifaceted adaptogens in there. And we really wanted we thought it was important to have so we have Ashwagandha, Maca, holy basil, and sun during 10 setting are are 4 adaptogens. And we stick pretty rigid to the traditional world. I think you you probably know they’re about 19 adaptogens ish, but some you know, a lot of people will take liberties and say there’s more like 30 or 40.

Jeff Boyd [00:19:29]:
And I think you people get a little loose with declaring something that adapts to it that the traditionalist will tell you there’s there’s fewer than 2,004 of which are in ours. And we, it was important to me that we had all of them, but I especially want a Siberian ginseng because I felt like it’s the OG. It’s the most knocked off, but because there’s so many other types of ginseng, and the Siberian ginseng is you know, came it was, like, one of the OGs from the Russian sis space to something like, I know it’s a weird dichotomy to sort of attribute something to Russia. And, you know, they’ve they were like our enemy for many years, and now they’re they’re at war again. And but what they the work on Adatyjids in particular was was revolutionary, and I’m I’m thrilled to tap into that size.

Nick Urban [00:20:20]:
I’m glad you brought that up. My next question to you was to dig into those adaptogens that you chose because you chose 4 as you mentioned. And 3 of my favorites are absolutely ashwagandha, rhodiola, and ginseng. And I use multiple forms of ginseng because there’s, like I don’t even know how many, but I like either Panax ginseng, and I also use Siberian ginseng. And I think one other one also. But I’m curious. Like, let’s explore those because I’ve never talked about any of those in the podcast.

Jeff Boyd [00:20:46]:
Some are a little bit more stimulating than others, of course, in the in the whole adaptogenic profile. You know, adaptogens, as I know, you know, but just for the benefit of anybody listening who may not geek out in this like we do, they’ll sort of bring you to homeostasis. So they’ll rev you up or down. Right. It’s not all. A lot of times people, they go, they help you adapt to stress. They’re going to get, they were going to mellow you. They can also rev you up.

Jeff Boyd [00:21:13]:
And so there are some adaptogens that are more prone to that, maka being one of them. So we use and we use mock up for that that very reason. So that’s that’s one of one of the main reasons we use mock up. But, again, they’re dynamic. It’s not a one you know, it’s not like caffeine where it’s like, we’re going one direction. Like, get on the bus or not. Right? Like, Maca is like, we would we generally go this direction, but we can ebb and flow if we need to take a detour or what have you. Ashwagandha, I think is, I mean, everybody loves Ashwagandha, right? I mean, it’s just Ashwagandha is the best.

Jeff Boyd [00:21:49]:
We, we started with a patented Ashwagandha. Was so bitter. We had to pull it out. I loved it for a lot of its, you know, mood. I mean, again, we talked about stress response. They all have that property, but I really liked the calm the calming mood that you get with Ashwagandha and the sleep. Right? That’s a there’s a there’s a huge benefit to to those from ashwagandha in particular. Holy basil, I love because it’s it’s just like it flies under the radar, I think, a little bit.

Jeff Boyd [00:22:20]:
A lot of people are unfamiliar with it. It’s a cousin of of what you would cook with. Right? The the, the actual herb. And it’s sort of a Swiss army knife of adaptogens for me, but not too strong. Right? Like, some of these, like rhodiola, we we gave a a long hard look and just felt like we could cover all of it with our other 4. And then Siberian ginseng, we like because, again, mood enhancing, stress response, those things were big for us is is really the mood. We we’re really using adaptogens at our profile for mood and stress largely. And so those 4, we felt like give us the best profile, the best cross section of we can give you a calm mood, calm your mind, you know, combining in with L theanine and GABA to really give you that that, that calm existence.

Jeff Boyd [00:23:20]:
Because I think when you’re well rested and your gut health’s in line and you have a calm existence, the world is your oyster.

Nick Urban [00:23:32]:
And oftentimes, the ashwagandha is considered, like, the more feminine yin adaptogen and rhodiola. Those 2 are considered, like, the perfect complement. Rhodiola is more energizing. It’s more, young and, like, stimulating. And so those 2 are often combined, and the other ones also just, like, enhance the effects of those. And those are, like, the 2, I’d say, most popular adaptogens, ashwagandha and rhodiola.

Jeff Boyd [00:23:59]:
Yep. Yep. Definitely.

Nick Urban [00:24:01]:
Off the top of your head, do you know the criteria that an ingredient has to fit to be considered a true adaptogen?

Jeff Boyd [00:24:08]:
Off the top of my head, no. Okay. I know there’s 4 or 5 of them. Or do you?

Nick Urban [00:24:15]:
I used to. It has to do with, like one of them is, like, balancing the or I’d say modulating the HPA axis of, like, if you’re understressed to bring your stress up, if you’re overstressed to bring it back down, it’s, like, restoring homeostasis or balance. Another one has to do with, like, increasing resilience of the body. Like, it makes you more resilient to your environment. I think another has to do with, like, the safety profile. Like, these are all, like, very safe. If it’s a dangerous ingredient, it can’t be a true adaptogen. If there’s a lot of, like, really nasty side effects, it’s not a true adaptogen.

Nick Urban [00:24:46]:
And there’s a couple others. And the true adaptogens all have centuries or millennia of use too. So it’s like they’ve proven themselves over time. In my opinion, this is, like, one of the classes of ingredients that is the most neglected and almost universally beneficial. Like, there’s some people who don’t react well to ashwagandha, but it’s tiny, and it’s, like, less than pretty much any other supplement you can take.

Jeff Boyd [00:25:09]:
And I think that’s I think that’s the case with all of them.

Nick Urban [00:25:12]:
So on your packages themselves, you write the that they provide energy, focus, mood, and recovery, and very few other products claim to do all of those things at the same time. So this is the for anyone listening, I’m holding up the the daily MTE right here. And these are little sachets that you mix into water. And then this one right here is the performance one, and it’s a powder that you mix in. And some of the star ingredients of these when I was looking at them, ones that caught my eye, you alluded to earlier. The first one is saffron. And I’ve seen research that saffron can perform similarly and, in some cases, even outperform antidepressants in terms of the effect on mood. Saffron itself is extremely expensive because you can you have to, like, handpick each of the flowers or petals or whatever they are.

Nick Urban [00:26:01]:
But it’s, like, one of the coolest nootropics that very few people talk about. Tell me about why you chose saffron.

Jeff Boyd [00:26:06]:
Dude, saffron is the best. I mean, like, it’s the best. It’s I I think you would see it so much more widely if it were if it were cheaper. But it’s you know, it’s just so expensive. When we started hearing about, hey. This this stuff, this is what it can do for mood, and you get these unbelievable sleep properties. I was like, dude, this is like, we’re putting this in the formula. Right? And he was like, well, you know, you gotta you know, you have to be mindful of cost.

Jeff Boyd [00:26:32]:
And I was like, oh, like, we’ll figure that out later. Like, people people get the memo of what this does for you. I I think we’ll be fine. We don’t like to throw around, hey, this is an antidepressant type of thing because it’s just such a slippery slope and it’s, you know, you can get into a lot of the powers that be will pull you down and you start throwing antidepressants around and rightfully so. I mean, that’s no joke, but, you look at some of the clinical studies on the product that we use in particular, it’s the world’s most studied saffron. What’s really blows me away by the studies that I’ve seen for this saffron that we use is double blind, placebo controlled, randomized, you know, a 128 adults, which I think is important because you see a and it was a 4 week study. I think you see a lot of studies that are done in the supplement world. They’re done on mice.

Jeff Boyd [00:27:29]:
They’re done on a the n is 4 people. You know? It’s just your standard deviation there is just nowhere near where it needs to be. So this is a you know, I call it a very real study, and what blew me away was everything that they were testing for in terms of changes from mean, so confusion, fatigue, depression, anger, tension, and vigor, you’d see this waterfall effect where the placebo would would have a little bit of to the good. So the placebo effect took effect in every single one. So you’re like, okay. It’s somewhat noteworthy. And then they used 22 milligrams, was the next, and you saw that would further the good in terms of the change from the mean. So, like, reduced tension would be this for for the placebo and this for 22 milligrams, and then 28 milligrams would be even further.

Jeff Boyd [00:28:25]:
So it’s just a diagonal line on every one of them. And so to me, it was just very striking. This is you know, I’m not a scientist, unscientific opinion here, but looking at this thinking there you know, logic has to prevail here. When when you see a little bit of good from the placebo, a little more, 22 milligrams, and then even more, 28 milligrams, it just seemed it was so powerful to me. It’s such a powerful graphic that I saw and seen in particular the depression line and how it it reduced depression was, like, off the charts. The placebo was a little 22 milligrams. It’s, like, triple that, and then the 28 milligrams was, what, I don’t know, 8 x. And so as we’re looking at this, you know, the first thing I mean, you can imagine the first thing I said to my formulary is we’re using 28 milligrams.

Jeff Boyd [00:29:18]:
Like, that’s not up for debate. And I think that’s another important point of emphasis for for the supplement and MTE in particular because I built this for myself. You know, a lot of people are naysayers or a little skeptical, and and I think rightfully so. Totally. To very much. So when you start to look at a brand like empty and it’s owner founded owner run and something that I built for myself and my family and to my wife and my parents and my best friends. And if I’m cheating myself and all of them, then, then, you know, sure. I’d be cheating you at the same time.

Jeff Boyd [00:29:56]:
But, and then the typo on it, the, the support it gives you for sleep is insane. I mean, same deal. You’re talking about 4 week healthy adults, you know, randomized double blind placebo, all these things. And you’re seeing just this insane improvement in sleep reduction in sleeplessness, all these things that lend itself to what I’m all about, which is getting a great night’s sleep.

Nick Urban [00:30:25]:
When I’ve used saffron by itself after an hour or so, I noticed the mood change, and I don’t think it’s just related to serotonin increasing too. I think there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes. And as a pro tip, when I was looking at your product, I noticed that you guys didn’t just use saffron in it like a lot of companies would, but you actually use Afron Saffron, which is like the patented branded version, which is more expensive, but it actually has the bioactive levels that you need or you wanna get to make sure you’re getting the benefits. And so that was another, like, green flag for me when I was reviewing your product.

Jeff Boyd [00:30:55]:
Totally. Yeah. Like I said, this is I built this for me. You know? And and so I was I’m cutting I’m cutting corners for you. I’m cutting for me. And I just that’s a that’s a nonstarter for me.

Nick Urban [00:31:06]:
Sometimes what I like to do too is when I’m making coffee, if I’m having coffee, I will take, like, the actual saffron, whatever you call them, stems or something, and I will I’ll extract them in hot water. I don’t know if it actually extracts best in hot water or ethanol, but then I’ll add it to the coffee afterward after it’s it’s fully extracted, and that’s a nice it changes the flavor of the coffee. It gives it, like, a little unique twist. It’s kind of expensive to do that very consistently. But if you can get a good deal on saffron, like, then you have to make sure you’re actually procuring real saffron, but it’s it’s another way of, like, getting it in.

Jeff Boyd [00:31:38]:
That’s cool. I I was in, Marrakesh not too long ago and went to the to the market and found a bunch of cool saffron and because, you know, the Moroccans will tell you their saffron’s the best. The Spaniards are, you know, on it goes. So I was like, dude, I gotta have some. I’m like, load me up. So I brought back a bunch, and now I love cooking paella, so I’m always doing that. So I have a bunch on hand. I think I might start throwing some some tea in your audience.

Nick Urban [00:32:04]:
Cool. So you have 2 products. You have the daily product, and you have the performance one. One of the other star ingredients that I have mentioned on the show in the daily stack is your paraxanthine. Can you break down briefly what that is?

Jeff Boyd [00:32:16]:
Yeah. So paraxanthine’s a derivative of caffeine’s downstream metabolite. So when we ingest caffeine as humans, it’s broken down into 3 compounds, about 70% of which is paraxanthine. And, you know, the other 2, theobroloyme and theobrolite, I think. I don’t know. I’m gonna butcher that. But, yeah, I I I don’t really commit them to memory because I just I want nothing to do with them. It’s the other and bay the way to think about it, it’s it seems overly simple, but it sort of is that way is when you break it down, all the good you associate with caffeine ends up as paraxanthine, and all the bad for me ends up in the other 30 ish percent.

Jeff Boyd [00:33:02]:
So what the biochemists have done is isolated paraxanthin. Just said, look. Let’s just skip that step, go straight to paraxanthin, get all the good, get all the boosts to moon, the incredible boost to focus, attention, on it goes. We talk about all the specific benefits. Get all that, bundle all that, and purge basically the cost of it, right, in terms of the impact on sleep or the jitters or the crash or the habituation and on it goes. And that’s what they’ve done. And so they isolated paraxanthosome, and that’s when that was a a like, the home run ingredient for us in terms of helping people support today and long term, right. The manifestation and the cause.

Jeff Boyd [00:33:52]:
So that was a big, like saffron going back to saffron was like an amazing treating the manifestation of the cause of of, like, mood, but less so energy. Paraxanthin is sort of focus, mood, energy, and and treating you know, giving you support today and long term. And most importantly, or just as important, I don’t know if it’s most important, but just as importantly, it gets out of the way of the rest of the formula and lets them do their jobs. Right? So the adaptogens are free to roam, if you will. Safran is free to do its thing. GABA and L Thea and Ian are able to step up and and bring their benefits to the table on it goes as opposed to, you know, I think I look at caffeine as sort of like a bully. Right? Just just comes in and just it’s like, you know, we’re doing it my way, and, if I encroach upon what you’re doing, that’s just tough. Right? And and paraxanthine is just all the good.

Jeff Boyd [00:34:49]:
And and, what what we love about it more so than, you know, where I just articulated is the clinicals on paraxanthine just in terms of of, you know, the energy largely energy support is, you know, the adenosine receptors being bound and and just effectively tricking your body into not being able to tell you it’s tired. Right? So that’s sort of the same, but what what this does that I think is just unbelievable is the cognitives. Right? In terms of I mean, you’re talking about better short term memory, enhanced short term memory, enhanced ability to pay attention, the prevention of mental fatigue after exercise, supportive executive functions. Just it’s an amazing contribution to your ability to dial in. Like I, for me, I use colloquially. Of course, I always tell my friends when they’re like, Hey, tell me, you know, I’m TB, blah, blah. I’m like, look, it’s like the limitless powder for me. I’m just so dialed in on this stuff and it’s driven largely by paraxanthine and then everything else, all these dominoes fall behind the paraxanthine that just make you better and make you your your best version of yourself for not only the balance of the day, but then tonight, tomorrow, next week, next month, and on it goes.

Jeff Boyd [00:36:19]:
So it all starts at paraxanthin.

Nick Urban [00:36:21]:
I agree. Alright. I did a roundup and review of all the science on paraxanthin, I wanna say, about 2 years ago when it was a novel molecule. And I’ll put a link to that article I wrote on it in the show notes for this episode. I also interviewed Sean Wells, who’s the biochemist and formulator who brought it to the market, and that was episode 116 as well as 95. So I’m a huge fan. Paraxanthin is also more dopaminergic than caffeine, and it has, like like you were saying, Jeff, fewer downsides. It doesn’t have the jitters, the nervousness, the tightness in the chest.

Nick Urban [00:36:55]:
People who are sensitive to caffeine and, like, they don’t have the genetics to metabolize it. They’re they’re considered slow metabolizers. They can do really well on paraxanthine. Like Sean him himself, he can’t actually consume caffeine because he just gets all the side effects. But paraxanthine is a wonder molecule for him.

Jeff Boyd [00:37:12]:
Yeah. Sean’s the man. We love Sean. He’s he’s I remember I was on a call with him. So we’re considering using it. We’re still MTE has gone through, I don’t know, 50 iterations over the past few years as we you know, because we constantly want it to evolve and and be better in these things. And Sean told me this too. I guess the best way for me to articulate it is you don’t really realize the dirtiness that you get from coffee until you get the clean version and paraxanthine, and then you’re like, oh, I see.

Jeff Boyd [00:37:45]:
That was kind of putting up with a little bit of you know, it’s it’s rough around the edges coffee or or any caffeine to speak of.

Nick Urban [00:37:52]:
I agree. That’s exactly how I describe it. It’s just the paraxanthine is a lot cleaner than caffeine. And after you experience enough times, you try caffeine again. You you go back, and you’re like, oh, this is isn’t the same. My workaround is I will now have a very clean decaf coffee, and I’ll have, like, my usual preparation methods. And then I’ll pair that with paraxanthine in some form. And that is, like, the ultimate stack to get the benefits of coffee and also, like, the feel good nootropic mood boosting effects of paraxanthin.

Jeff Boyd [00:38:18]:
Dude, that’s it.

Nick Urban [00:38:19]:
Cool. I wanna keep exploring your products because there’s other things. We’ve explored a lot of your daily products so far, and then you also have your performance. And one thing I noticed, which is, like, related to caffeine and paraxanthine that gets absolutely no love, and I’ve been buying it for the last, I wanna say, 7, 8 years, is an ingredient called, theacrine or tea cream, and it’s a little bit different than caffeine. I don’t like it as much as paraxanthine, personally, but you’ve included that one in this, and I rarely see that in nootropics. Why’d you choose to include that one?

Jeff Boyd [00:38:54]:
I’m with you. I think it’s I I like paraxanthine better if I’m if I’m totally honest. You know? Like, having a favorite child. But, I chose it because it has much of the properties of caffeine without all of the jitters and the crash and habituation. Right? So it’s it’s a it’s a metabolite of caffeine, comes in plants. I mean, my understanding of it is plants create caffeine as a pesticide to ensure their survival, but it didn’t it requires a lot of energy. And so they don’t produce it year round. After a reproduction has been insured, they sort of walk back and and metabolize, and methylate the caffeine, and it becomes effectively t grade in in nature.

Jeff Boyd [00:39:47]:
So theacrine is a nature identical version of that, and it sort of fits the properties of wanting to support energy without having a huge caffeine dump. And so it’s sort of the spark or the fuse, if you will, to the formula in that in the performance blend.

Nick Urban [00:40:04]:
One thing I’ve noticed from experimenting it with it over the years is that and I also read about this online, that a low dose of it, like a very low dose can be sedating, and then a higher dose of it is energizing, which is pretty crazy that the same molecule you use in different dosages can have, like, completely different effects.

Jeff Boyd [00:40:19]:
Yeah. It’s almost adaptogenic in that regard. Right? Like, can rev you up or down, but, you know, depending on dosage, I guess, as opposed to it being a dynamic molecule or compound. But, yeah, that’s that’s a fact. And we we noticed that. So as, you know, performance is is dynamic because we have a little bit of caffeine in that blend. We also have dynamine in there. So we were playing around with how much do we want to use? What’s the ratio.

Jeff Boyd [00:40:51]:
And as we got into super low doses, I was like, man, this thing is bringing me down. And, you know, that’s when we learned that it it does in fact or you can can bring you tired.

Nick Urban [00:41:04]:
Tell me about dynamin. That’s another one that’s pretty cool, and most people have not heard of it. And it’s a very powerful ingredient.

Jeff Boyd [00:41:11]:
Yeah. It is. It’s it’s the great thing about dynamin is half life is very short. So it comes it has an onset far faster and rapid than caffeine or t cream or any of those. So you’re gonna get an onset almost instantly. That’s why we it’s in our performance blend. And performance really the the thinking behind that was and we have 2 blends, performance and every day. Right? So performance is more like, in my mind, when you wanna go perform.

Jeff Boyd [00:41:38]:
Right? Whatever that is. Right? Are you gonna go give a presentation? Are you gonna be on the tennis court, soccer pitch? You you know, you name it. And that’s one of the the main reasons we used it was let’s get in and and not have to wait 30 minutes for an onset or what or whatever the time is, you know, varies by individual, dynamine will will come on a lot quicker and give you that steeper arc to onset. So we like that. So you can you know, it’s one of those things where I I could grab a scoop of performance right before I walk on a tennis court. By the time I’ve warmed up and we’re ready to start playing, I’m already feeling the effects of of the performance, and that’s largely on the strength of dynamine being so rapid.

Nick Urban [00:42:23]:
I don’t think we mentioned the half life of paraxanthin. It tends to be much more stable from person to person, like, regardless of how you oxidize caffeine. But then with dynamine, you said it’s shorter. Is this something I could take, like, say, at noon after taking I don’t even know if it’s recommended to take daily in the morning and then this in the afternoon because it if it has a shorter half life, it seems like it would interfere with sleep less even if I took it a little later than it would caffeine.

Jeff Boyd [00:42:46]:
Well, it isolated. Sure. But, you know, in our formula, you also then have the tea cream and you have the green tea extract. So the this is more of about having a full spectrum, like, said, you know, tea cream or caffeine. You know, they sort of start low and and then you’ll come up. Whereas this is like, let’s get right into the dynamine. And then as that’s tailing off, the tea cream and and green tea extract are picking up, and now you have a quicker onset and then an even arc throughout the the metabolism you know, metabolizing the the supplement. So, no.

Jeff Boyd [00:43:23]:
Dynamine by itself, but then I don’t know. I don’t know if you wanna take diamine by itself.

Nick Urban [00:43:27]:
I’ve noticed when I take it that I have I get more of tunnel vision. I’m, like, locked into what’s directly ahead of me. And so it seems to me, like, if you need to focus on one thing in particular, this would be a great formula in terms of, like, the mental work versus daily. It’s like I have more perspective still. I’m not just, like, locked into what’s directly ahead of me. So, like, how do you see these being used? Like, for if I wanted to do creative thinking, I probably wouldn’t use performance because it doesn’t seem like it would complement that kind of thing very well.

Jeff Boyd [00:43:54]:
Correct. Yeah. I mean, I I call the everyday I call it was we’re thinking this new formula. I was like, how are we gonna call? Are we gonna call this that? And I was like, man, we should just call this every day because this is how I wanna feel every day. Right? Like, truly. Like, I you know, I it’s funny. I I tell people sometimes I’m like, look. If most people if you could just switch bodies with somebody, you know, I mean, the exercise would be so fascinating.

Jeff Boyd [00:44:18]:
You could just switch bodies and see what that person’s feeling. Not mentally, but just, like, physically. The ailments or the are they walking through life 80% of full power, like, you know, like, a cell phone charge? They’re like, are you 80% charged? You know? And that’s just your norm? And and, you know, you don’t know that if you’re able to step into somebody else’s body and be like, oh my god. This is what it’s like to be a 100% charged every day? Because that’s how I feel. I’m telling you. I’m like, I’m a 100% charged. I just feel amazing every day. And which is, you know, to me, that’s the goal.

Jeff Boyd [00:44:52]:
I mean, when I’m able to do that, it’s I I liken it to the the old airline, like, help you you know, if the the oxygen mask comes out, like, help yourself first and you help others. Like, that’s how I am. Like, help myself. I feel good. Be good. And then I can help my family and my employees and and my colleagues and my partners and my wife and parents. You know, I can be a good son, brother, friend, boss, you name it. So that’s that was the genesis of every day.

Jeff Boyd [00:45:22]:
I was like, and and every day for me is I wanna be dialed in. I wanna feel great. I wanna be healthy. I wanna do it foundationally, not a not a quick fix. And I want and need to be big thinking and creative, and I thrive on that. Right? From, you know, from running the business and being able to relate to my kids and you name it. So absolutely agree with you. And then performance to me is tip of a spear.

Jeff Boyd [00:45:54]:
It’s like, I’m going I have one single mission. Right? It’s like like the world’s toughest smile that I was talking about. I took a performance before that was like, oh, one mission. Just I’m gonna go hammer this out, suffer however long it takes me, and this is gonna be my tailwind. And then off I go. So that’s why we called it because it used to just be empty. And then we, as we evolved and we had 2, I was like, okay, this is every day. Take this every day.

Jeff Boyd [00:46:23]:
And then this is performance where it’s like, or perform in a way that we talked about earlier. We opened with, I have to move my body every morning. You could argue that’s a performance, but I don’t I don’t really consider that performance. That’s more of just moving my body. Performance is like I’m keeping score somewhere, You know? Or or there’s a a timer running. That type of you know, that to me is performance.

Nick Urban [00:46:47]:
Yeah. That makes so much sense. And I’ve even seen dynamine in certain other of those ingredients in pre workouts because it seems to be very conducive to being able to exert yourself harder. I’m curious how that would impact recovery specifically, because usually the things that are stronger stimulants tend to also impair recovery more. And it’s, like, the whole downside with using a lot of smart drugs and that kind of thing is that, sure, they might be great. You might get a lot of work done on, but they’re depleting. And afterward, then your body’s recovery is gonna be extra taxed, and you’re not gonna show up as well tomorrow as if you didn’t take them.

Jeff Boyd [00:47:20]:
I think you see that a lot in the supplement game. It’s one of the reasons we have this full stack. Right? Performance has 13 ingredients. Every day has 11, and many of that is is for that very reason. Right? I’d this is not about rev you up, love you, and leave you. Right? I mean, it’s like, you know, it’s a it’s a weird analogy, but, I mean, there’s so many of those products out there, and it’s so many of them are it’s like, okay. I woke up. I’m tired.

Jeff Boyd [00:47:45]:
Supplement. Right? Doesn’t don’t won’t treat anything long term, but it’ll just prop me up. Then it’s, okay. Now I’m gonna, I can’t focus. Supplement. Right now, you know, and okay. Now I’m in a bad mood. Supplement.

Jeff Boyd [00:47:57]:
Now I can’t sleep. Another supplement. And you’re just like, you know, they’re just all spinning the wheels. Meanwhile, nothing is treating any reason or supporting any reason. Treating is the wrong word, but because that’s, you know, people equate that to like prescription drugs, but no, nothing is supporting your body’s ability to help you adapt to any of those deficiencies. Right. We wanted MTA to do all that. And so that’s that’s why you have the adaptogenic profile.

Jeff Boyd [00:48:25]:
That’s why you have the saffron to go along with some support. Like, you’ll find I mean, you know, you’ve had it, but for for somebody listening in who’s ever had it, every day, the energy works in the background. It’s more of energy of, like, somebody who got a great night’s sleep and feels really rested and ate really clean recently and moved their body and has some dopamine and feels good. That’s that’s what kind of energy you get from MTE everyday. Not melt your face, heavy metal, like, let’s go. Like, you know, because that’s not supportive. Right? There’s you know, if you like that, I mean, there’s a market for that. There’s no denying that.

Jeff Boyd [00:49:06]:
But that’s not us. That’s not what we’re about. We’ll try to do something different.

Nick Urban [00:49:10]:
Both of your products have 2 ingredients that are rarely seen in energy and focus promoting nootropics and supplements in general. And I saw those and immediately thought, this is probably taking the edge off of some of the other energizing ingredients, and those are GABA, which is the chief relaxing and inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, and then also L theanine.

Jeff Boyd [00:49:35]:
Yes. So both of them meant for focus and mood. Right? And they I I like them in concert with each other. I think they they complement each other really well. And, again, to me, it may you know, the name of our brand is more than energy, and we use the acronym MTE. And and it was important that this did a lot more than just stimulate as as we’ve talked about at length now. And one of those things was, like, what’s the point if if you have energy? Like, let’s say you found a way to stay awake, whether it’s 6 cups of coffee or melt your face energy drink or whatever it is. Right? But you’re now anxious in a shitty mood, you know, in a low mood, stressed out, you know, and and also I find that there’s a big difference in what I call artificial energy and rested energy.

Jeff Boyd [00:50:24]:
Right? I mean, because we’ve all had a restless night sleep, and, you know, you can prop yourself up with whatever you need to do. You you don’t feel the same as you do when you’re rested. And I think a lot of that is a product of all these things stacked on each other. If you’re it’s tougher to get a good night sleep if you’re stressed or you’re anxious or you’re you’re low mood. Those things, you just don’t get as much rest, and that begins to accumulate. So it was very important to me to help take that edge off and help us be feel comfortable and feel smooth and and and feel good. I mean, that’s one of the the colloquial sayings we use about MT. It’s the feel good shot or feel good powder.

Jeff Boyd [00:51:10]:
Right? It’s like so we want you to feel good.

Nick Urban [00:51:13]:
I also noticed when I was reviewing the product, I’m like, okay. These ingredients are all great, and I have a feeling it’s gonna go downhill from here when I check the other ingredients list, and I see all kinds of junk and fillers and excipients and flow agents and binders and all that stuff. But I noticed that you didn’t do that, which speaks that you’re probably using this yourself, and you don’t want that junk in your body either.

Jeff Boyd [00:51:33]:
Yep. That’s it. You just I mean, no further message necessary. You know? I’m I’m not putting that crap in my body. And it’s you know, I think it’s noteworthy that that’s why it tastes sort of natural. Right? Like, I think it tastes amazing, but, you know, it it it does not taste like liquid candy.

Nick Urban [00:51:53]:
One thing that I don’t think I’ve told you, back a couple years ago, your team reached out to me. And, initially, I was not interested in your product for one reason and one reason only because, traditionally, that’s a red flag in the supplement world. I don’t know if you know where I’m going with this, but it’s when I was looking at your formula and I saw the proprietary ingredient breakdown. I didn’t know how much of each thing I was getting, and I get that that makes it it gives you, like, a competitive advantage, a secret formula, and everything. And what eventually convinced me is, like, okay. I will try it and see if I notice a big difference. And that really speaks more to me than anything else. Like, I don’t care about the dosages if I actually feel considerably better.

Nick Urban [00:52:33]:
So I’m curious about that for you and if you get a lot of pushback about that.

Jeff Boyd [00:52:36]:
Yeah. Wait. I mean, you’re not the first, of course. You know? And some people are like, ah, you know, you can just reverse engineer it. They you know? You absolutely can. But it’s like a $20,000 process to do it. You know? It’s it’s it’s not easy. You Yeah.

Jeff Boyd [00:52:52]:
And so I’m not gonna give you a $20,000 head start to rip me off. And on the flip side, I think more importantly, we’ve said that from day 1. I mean, just try it. Just try it. We built something special. We built I built it for myself. I know how good it is. You try it.

Jeff Boyd [00:53:09]:
If you don’t love it, I’ll send your money back. You’re like

Nick Urban [00:53:12]:
Okay. Well, anything else that you want to cover that we haven’t gotten into yet? I have see a couple of other ingredients in your formula that caught my eye, and I’m not sure if it’s for color or I doubt it’s for flavor. But, like, for example, you have microalgae spirulina in there. I’m guessing that’s for color?

Jeff Boyd [00:53:30]:
No. So we put it in there just to sort of have a superfood component. It’s like, if you’re look out looking for a spirulina supplement, MTEs were not for you. But in, you know, in the context of everything we do, we just wanted we wanted to put some spirulina there. I really like what algae does. I take, I take some algae separately that I think maybe the next iteration of of MTU, we’re gonna we’re gonna include a reg out red algae in there as well. So, yeah, I just wanted to get some spirulina in there. You know, I think it’s I’ve I’ve long been a a fan of of its story and its use, and and so I wanted to get some in the formula just to have it in there.

Jeff Boyd [00:54:13]:
And, you know, it’s one of those things where it’s like sometimes in running a brand, we see this a lot where it’s like you know, because attribution’s tough. Marketing attribution was like, would you know, did did how’d you come to us? Did you come from a direct outreach or you come from a direct outreach that that was 60% got you over the edge and then 40% because, you know, so so I feel like that’s kind of how spirulina is here. It’s like we just it’s gonna be tough to attribute exactly what it’s doing for you in the context of, the dosage we use and our other 10 to 12 ingredients, depending on the blend. But I wanted it. I like spirulina a lot, and so I wanted it in my formula.

Nick Urban [00:54:53]:
Yes. Absolutely. That’s another one. That’s a nonnegotiable for me. I take it every single day. It’s the microalgae, spirulina, and chlorella. I thought red algae was toxic, but maybe maybe I’m mistaken. I can’t Okay.

Nick Urban [00:55:04]:
Okay. Did you consider chlorella also, or are you just a spirulina fan?

Jeff Boyd [00:55:08]:
No. I, you know, I didn’t because what’s funny is first of all, like, just to go super deep is, all I make sure all my pools are saltwater. Right? So I try to stay away from chlorine. I I infrared sauna every day to try to get heavy metals out. And so it’s for me, it was more about spirulina than chlorella. I find, that that’s sort of the benefits for me. Those are the large like, whenever I’m in a a chlorine pool and loading up on on that. And and so I just again, going back to this being made for me, I just kept it with spirulina.

Nick Urban [00:55:46]:
Makes perfect sense. Well, I’m a big fan of those, and I’m glad to hear it’s not just for the color because people often use spirulina for a green color and chlorella, I believe, or, you know, backwards. Spirulina for blue and chlorella for green.

Jeff Boyd [00:55:58]:
Uh-huh. That’s right. No. We use, turmeric for color. So, you know, lightweight, it’s just it’s just for color, but that’s it. Which is, I guess, it’s I mean, I like that we’re using an active and, you know, what could be an active ingredient as our color. I mean, that was it’s, you know, as opposed to artificial colors, it’s important to me. But, it’s also some people are like, oh, there’s turmeric in here.

Jeff Boyd [00:56:22]:
You know? Where’s the black pepper? I’m like, no. No. No. That’s not why we’re using it.

Nick Urban [00:56:27]:
Well, it’s interesting that turmeric’s one of those things that people just, like, see it and, like, oh, it’s curcumin, but not as good. And even turmeric without the black pepper, without the fat, it has other effects in the body. Like, yeah, it doesn’t skin the bloodstream as much, but it has more effects on like, beneficial effects on the gut and the gut microbiome than if you have it with combined with other things. So I think just because you don’t have black pepper with it doesn’t mean you’re not getting anything out of it.

Jeff Boyd [00:56:50]:
Yeah. I agree. I agree with that. Yeah. I mean, I think it’s all, like, it’s all nuanced. Right? I mean, I think we live in this world where everybody just wants it to be black or white. Right? It’s like, you know, the like, GABA’s a great one. Like, lot of people is supposed to be is meant for cognition and calming and a lot of people, like, well, it doesn’t pass pass the blood brain barrier.

Jeff Boyd [00:57:09]:
So, you know, how how can that be? And I’m like, well, you know, second gut is in your gut. Their second brain’s in your gut. You know? Like, that’s a pretty strong, powerful indication of of what you’re absorbing into your body even cognitively through your stomach, through your gut, which is, again, why gut health is so important to me, and it should be to everybody.

Nick Urban [00:57:30]:
Yeah. There’s a big company in the space that keeps educating that taking most GABA is useless. You have to take either either phenibut, which is a GABA with a phenyl group attached to it that passes the blood brain barrier or an ingredient called piquamalone, which can pass the blood brain barrier because it’s GABA attached to niacin. What’s interesting about that is I feel a significant effect on in my mind and not just my body when I take GABA. And their answer to that is because it’s because I have a leaky blood brain barrier, which isn’t true from all my own research. But, also, there’s a pharmaceutical company, I think it’s in the US, that’s exploring GABA specifically, just plain old GABA as a drug alternative to alcohol. And if it didn’t pass the blood brain barrier in some way, if it wasn’t influencing your neurochemistry, that wouldn’t go very far, and they’re making a lot of progress and headway on it.

Jeff Boyd [00:58:20]:
Dude, I’m telling you. It’s like yeah. One of the more powerful things I’ve ever heard was there’s not a supercomputer in existence today that can pump out all the different variations of what’s happening in our guts because it’s that complex. Even I mean, think about, like, we’re worried about AI taking over the world. Like, that’s what kind of computing power we have, but we can’t you know, they wouldn’t be unable because of the billions and billions of different combinations of virus and bacteria and mold and everything else in there. And, you know, the notion that GABA can’t affect your because it doesn’t pass the blood brain barrier, I think, is less about the blood brain barrier and more about how powerful your gut is and what how much that impacts your body.

Nick Urban [00:59:06]:
Well, Jeff, this has been fun. Let’s start to wind this one down. If people want to connect with you to pick up MTE, give it a shot whether or not they are have a problem with the proprietary formula, how can they go about that?

Jeff Boyd [00:59:18]:
Getmte.com. Buy it online. We’re also on Amazon, and, and we’re starting, retail presence. I think, my partner just told me we’re our 100th store today.

Nick Urban [00:59:30]:
Yes. And you were generous enough to hook my audience up. So if you guys use the code urban, that will unlock a 20% off deal that I don’t think you can get in person. So this might be the best deal available.

Jeff Boyd [00:59:42]:
Correct.

Nick Urban [00:59:42]:
What area of your own health or performance are you currently working on?

Jeff Boyd [00:59:47]:
Flexibility.

Nick Urban [00:59:48]:
And what is one thing the MTE tribe does not know about you?

Jeff Boyd [00:59:52]:
No one knows this about me. I don’t wear deodorant. I haven’t worn deodorant 30 years.

Nick Urban [00:59:57]:
If your family doesn’t know that, that must be speaking that you have a pretty natural aroma.

Jeff Boyd [01:00:02]:
Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Try. Try.

Nick Urban [01:00:04]:
Well, Jeff, if people leave here with no other message, what would you like to leave them with today?

Jeff Boyd [01:00:11]:
Well, I’m gonna leave the interview and let it stand for itself. And I I think the one thing I preach to anybody who will listen, which at this point is, like, one of my kids, is, live a balanced life. Right? I think I think, we’re so prone to get out of balance and focus. There’s so much pressure for whatever reason, to overdo it in some areas. And, you know, generally speaking, there’s it’s a zero sum game. You know, it’s very difficult to push way out in one area and not have other areas affected. Right? And and on it goes, so, obviously, that’s it’s a juggling act, but I think balance and everything we do is key. And then the last thing I’ll tell you is that I constantly preach to is I think convenience is killing us.

Jeff Boyd [01:00:58]:
I think, you know, it’s very convenient to pick up your phone and have food delivered to your front door. I think it’s very convenient to go out to eat. You know? Even if you’re eating healthy, it’s a lot more difficult to cook at home. It’s a lot more difficult to go to the farmer’s market and get fresh food. It’s a lot more difficult to spend more of your paycheck getting organic organic food. I think it’s worth it. And, I think, you know, anecdotally, like, here, if somebody wants dessert in my house, you know, one day my daughter ordered cookies in from, well, you know, delivery service. I was like, that’s never happening again.

Jeff Boyd [01:01:33]:
Like, we want cookies here. We’re gonna make them. If you don’t want cookies bad enough to make them, then you don’t want them bad enough. And then we’ll just and we’ll have the next time.

Nick Urban [01:01:44]:
And my take on balance is similar to yours, and it’s not necessarily about, like, never deviating, never pushing yourself too hard or not hard enough. It’s like, yeah, you can push yourself really hard. You can either physically or mentally or whatever it is, but then you have to recover like a pro also. And it’s, like, a net balance, but it’s not necessarily balanced in the moment.

Jeff Boyd [01:02:03]:
100%. Yeah. I mean, that’s what we do. Like, I just think about starting MTE as an example. Like, my last business, I started it and ran it. I didn’t have any kids. So it was just it was different. I’d sleep at the office, which I did a lot.

Jeff Boyd [01:02:16]:
Just, you know, I’d work all day to get it off the ground. Now it’s different. Sometimes I gotta go really hard and for whatever reason, and then walk that back or in fitness or, you know, on a go. So, yeah, I think it’s, yeah, never, it, you can definitely push, but knowing you are pushing, being self aware enough, walking it back, being centered, being balanced, and and recovering, if you will, like, just like you said. Yeah. It seems like seems like we live very similar lives, similar constitutions for sure.

Nick Urban [01:02:54]:
Well, Jeff, this has been a blast. We covered a lot of ground. I’m sure we could cover even more in another episode and lots of different directions we could go. Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today. I’m excited to share MTE with my audience, and until next time.

Jeff Boyd [01:03:08]:
Thanks, man. Thank you. Thanks for having me. This is great.

Nick Urban [01:03:11]:
Thank you for tuning in to this episode. Head over to Apple Music, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and leave a rating. Every review helps me bring you thought provoking guests. As always, you can find the show notes for this one at mindbodypeak.com/ and then the number of the episode. There, you can also chat with other peak performers or connect with me directly. The information depicted in this podcast is for information purposes only. Please consult your primary health care professional before making any lifestyle changes.