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What is the best supplement for me? What potency is right? What does the research show? Is it worth the money? These and all of your other supplement questions are answered here. Jared St. Clair brings well researched information so that you can make more informed decisions regarding your health, specifically focused on how to effectively use natural supplements to optimize your health and Vitality. Of course supplement and food choices aren't the only factors in optimal health. Jared also shares a regular series of Emotional Vitality episodes that will help you release the negativity that may be holding you back and embrace your full potential. Vitality Radio is not JUST about health, it is about HEALTH FREEDOM. Jared provides needed insight into the current threats to your health as well as the threats coming from government agencies, pharmaceutical companies and modern medicine as a whole. With over 35 years of experience in the natural products world, and a hearty dose of wit and sarcasm, Vitality Radio isn't just educational but entertaining and enlightening.
Nikita Saturday Show
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Jared: [00:00:00] Welcome to Vitality Radio. I'm your host. My name is Jared St. Clair, and I get to interview lots of really cool people on this show. And then sometimes I have to interview people like my next guest. No, I'm kidding. Uh, Nikita has been on Vitality Radio before. Uh, she's become a bit of a friend of mine and she just told me that I'm 90 years old and therefore I'm dishing it back, uh, for the, uh, introduction of this show.
But before I introduce you to my next guest, I have to remind you of a couple of things that are going on. Uh, first off Vitality Radio course always brought to you by Vitality Nutrition in Bountiful. You know, more and more the bigger this show gets and the more people listen to it outside of the state.
I recognize that I actually. Have an audience that is, that is made up of a bunch of people I may never meet. And I used to just love the idea of all the people in and around Bountiful coming in and visiting and, uh, saying hi and all that kind of [00:01:00] stuff. I had a great, uh, a really, really great time this last weekend at Be Healthy, Utah.
You heard me talking about it quite a bit. I was able to meet a lot of you listening for the first time and I had one really, really amazing lady that flew in from California after hearing about Be Healthy Utah to attend. And we spent 20 or so minutes together talking about health and nutrition and.
Supplements and all the things that we talk about on Vitality Radio. And the reason I say all this is to say thank you no matter where you are for listening to me. If you're nowhere near Utah, that's okay. You can jump on our website, vitality nutrition.com. You can also, if you're someone who hasn't given up on Facebook, you can jump into our Facebook listeners community, which is about 450 people strong and is a really great and uh, vibrant community.
Lots of people helping each other out inside of the community. And of course, I'm in there as well, trying to answer as many [00:02:00] questions as I can. So that's how you can interact with us. You can call us if you have questions about anything you hear on the show. 8 0 1. 2 9 2 66 62. That's 8 0 1 2 9 2 66 62.
Come visit us in Bountiful or online@vitalitynutrition.com. And now I will introduce my next guest. Her name is Nikita Austin. She is the Director of Education and Innovation Specialist at Better Being Co. I think that stands for company and she is also kind of a uh, uh, what would you call it, kind of a weirdo that's really into like natural stuff and mushrooms and herbs and all the kind of stuff that people like us that do podcasts like this Love talking about.
So Nikita, welcome back to Vitality Radio.
Nikita: I was really hoping you'd call me a weirdo. I was like, I think he's gonna go with weirdo. And now I'm like, okay. You just [00:03:00] said so much information. I don't know which joke to start with first. First of all, you are totally 90 years old. Everybody knows it, and I'll tell you how we know it is because you reference Facebook, which I at 31 years old do not have.
I did have it at one point, I have to say, but then now I just kind of stick with Instagram. But I don't know, Facebook might, it could have a comeback.
Jared: I have a lot more people following me on Instagram than Facebook, but Instagram, I think if you're 50 and over, it's impossible to use. I've never figured it out. So I do my best. I have younger people that work for me, thankfully, and uh, can help me post things over there. In fact, we're getting more and more active on Instagram, doing q and As and things like that, so I can, you know, I'm trying to stay young, social media wise speaking.
Nikita: No, but they, you know what, they're both really good platforms. I feel like you can do very different things between them as well, whether like you're having events at the store and signups and things like that. So Facebook is crucial if you have a business [00:04:00] without question. Um, I do use Instagram a lot though, and that would be another place that we could do, I.
You know, an interview we could do like an Instagram live or have q and as. I'd love to have like a live q and a and let the questions come in and we could just answer them. So, but yeah, so you guys heard me. Uh, my name is Nikita Austin. I work for an amazing company called Better Being Co, which is also Utah based company, but I actually live in Arizona.
So you do have a listener. You're gonna have one listener today in Arizona. It's gonna be me listening to myself. Um, no, but you have probably a lot down here as well, so, um, yes. My background, just to give you guys a little insight, is I studied, uh, nutrition, biology, chemistry. That's really where I nerd out.
That's, that's always been my favorite. But even before then, I was a, a professional gymnast. So my background from a very young age has been nutrition, health, fitness, exercise. If I ate McDonald's, I'd have my hands slapped, you know what I mean? Like, it was very, very strict. When we were gymnasts, we learned a lot about nutrition [00:05:00] and so I.
From a young age and then when I was 16 I started doing body building, which was, I was extremely young at the time for that. So my background in sports nutrition is really big and I think as I just got older and every year went by, I worked for Whole Foods and I worked in the vitamin section and now here, what, 15 years later?
I would say from 15 to, you know, 16 to 31. I have such a wide variety of knowledge that I'm so grateful to have, cuz I think what better knowledge to have than nutrition? Like you have one thing in this life and that's your physical body. That's the one thing that you can guarantee. So why not know everything you can about it?
Why not understand nutrition and support it the best way? So I am absolutely, um, I call myself my, my company mascot as well. I literally emailed them not joking, HR last week because they asked me to give a description of my job and I said, can you please put company mascot in like my description?
Because I feel like I'm just so obsessed with what I do, that I'm always so excited that I could be outside in a pill costume kind of spinning a [00:06:00] sign. Um, so if you want me to do the outside your store, sign me up, I will come outside your store and I will put up a sign and be like, Hey guys, come on in.
So,
Jared: That'd be great. You can come up in the summers, it'll be about 15 degrees cooler, where we're at. And uh, yeah, you can spend a little vitamin sign. I love that idea actually. The the Instagram live thing though, I'm definitely gonna take you up on that. That sounds like a lot of fun. So
Nikita: I think it's fun.
Jared: when someone like myself, uh, invites someone like you onto the show, uh, what we end up with sometimes is this huge pool of things that we could potentially talk about.
Right? Last time you were here, we talked about medicinal mushrooms, and that was a few years ago now. And, um, it was a great conversation. It was very popular. In fact, we should probably do it again, uh, w in, in maybe a little bit more detail. But today I asked you if we could talk about some of your favorite herbs that maybe people don't know very much about, because you know, a lot of people know what Echinacea is [00:07:00] and elderberry and ashwaganda and some of these things.
And there's nothing that we can say negative about any of those amazing herbs, but they get talked about a lot more than maybe some of these that we've chosen to talk about today. So we're gonna hit five herbs, we'll see how long it takes to get through these five herbs. And we may even toss in a little bit of extra at the end if we still have some time.
But, uh, Nikita, you are actually the one that suggested these herbs. So, um, I'm gonna let you start with, uh, the one that you'd like to start with.
Nikita: Yeah, so I wanted to pick FJA Greek for a couple reasons. I think it's not necessarily an uncommon herb, but I think it's commonly looked at for one benefit. And so I want to give people that open mind and that perspective because we either, I feel like in nutrition and supplements, especially like in herbs, we either know something to do one thing or we think it does everything.
And I'm like, oh. It's like, oh, it just cures everything. Apple cider vinegar, but like, what does it really do? Or you know, eia. And so [00:08:00] I wanted to bring this one up and I'll still give you guys like a little reminder of, hey, what is it commonly used for? But I wanna give you a broader perspective of what else it can be used for, because herbs really do have multiple benefits.
We don't even know a quarter of them yet. We're still testing all the different phytonutrients and different plans and, and discovering more as time goes on. But starting with Fen Greek, I wanted to give you just a couple things, um, for you guys to understand a little background on it as well. So it is for the appearance of it in case you go to the nursery, because I just went to the nursery this weekend to look for these and they were like, no, we don't have them right now in season.
Um, but they're usually like three feet tall. They have green leaves and they have these small little white flowers on them. And in the flowers are those pods. Okay. They're kind of these gold and brown seeds that are within the pots. That is what is primarily used when we source our, our herbs. In this case with Fen Greek, we are sourcing from the seed of the Fen Greek.
[00:09:00] And that's what's giving a lot of the different benefits that it supplies. So when you see the white little flowers and you see little seeds, you can kind of pull those out. That's what's gonna give you a lot of those medicinal benefits as well. Um, it's typically found in like the Mediterranean region south, um, south, excuse me, Southern Europe as well.
So it's kind of in that general area. And as far as the taste goes, this was kind of interesting I read cause I've never just eaten the seed on its own. I don't think you probably have either. But um, it has a sweet, nutty taste. In fact, someone said it tasted like maple syrup. And so I thought, well, sometimes we have like a shortage in maple syrup.
Could we like manipulate Vine Greek into being the next maple syrup? I don't know, maple syrup with like blood sugar benefits? Who knows? We'll see. Um, but it's typically when and when you're eating it, besides if you were just eating it, the seed on its own. Again, you probably are not, but you can find it in like different Indian dishes.
That's where it's really common. So if you're actually looking at some of those main ingredients, Fenny Greek is often used [00:10:00] in, in Indian dishes and I love Indian food, so I know I'm getting it some way or another.
Jared: Yes. I actually, I, I always thought that was really cool. Um, the, the things you often see in ingredients lists in Indian curries or Fya Greek, and then you, when you leave an Indian restaurant, they always have fennel at the front to, uh, to uh, you know, kind of fresh, freshen your breath and calm your stomach and help you with digestion and all that kind of stuff.
I love the traditions that so many countries have. And then we've created this melting pot in America of all these different people. And it seems like we've left so many of those things behind, but, uh, some of these traditional dishes that have, because I mean, if, think about it, in Indian food, you have turmeric, right?
You have, turmeric is amazing, ginger is amazing. Uh, fennel and fre can some of these amazing herbs that have such incredible medicinal value. And, uh, I would love to return to some more of that, uh, here in this country.
Nikita: That's actually really cool that you mentioned that, because it's true when you do leave the [00:11:00] restaurant, they have that little dish up at the front, right? So, okay, so that's the Indian tradition. What's the American tradition to have anti acids up at the front?
Jared: Something like that. Yep.
Nikita: We need to come up with something cool. I mean, what's going on here, right?
We have toothpicks and anti acids, but yeah, so like, again, typically found in, in Indian dishes, um, very common there. And now it's most common use that I believe, again, that I often sell it for as well is for breast milk production. So this is why I say I wanna give you what it does that we know it for, but also branch out into a little bit more.
And we're gonna kind of branch into, into testosterone as, um, as the other benefit I think that, um, that Fyre can supply. But yes, it is known to increase milk supply in women that are breastfeeding. So that, I think that's typically where you're gonna see it. I have seen it as well to support things like blood sugar and even menstrual cramps, which is interesting.
Um, I just did a whole, we just created a whole [00:12:00] new line in Soray in one of our brands that are specifically geared towards menstrual cramps and things like that. And I hadn't even read, I mean, I searched menstrual cramps endlessly. I didn't really read a lot about FY Greek. However, now reading FY Greek in another light with testosterone, I found things on menstrual cramps.
So this is where I go back to like, yes, herbs can have so many different benefits, um, even past what we know. And this was something newer for me when I just, just re researched it lately. But, um, so yeah. So as far as like, one thing I'd like to point out too before I go into breast milk is, Um, sometimes people ask about like side effects and how do you know if you've had too much of something and I mean you could take vitamin C and I always say you're gonna know cuz you're gonna get probably diarrhea, your body's gonna kick it out.
Um, the sum of the side effects as well that would go with Fyre. I just wanna point this out, is, um, there could be things like diarrhea or nausea. Okay. Typical things that we think about if you might have a side effect, even digestive tract symptoms. But one thing I do wanna point out is that since I mentioned there is support for um, [00:13:00] blood sugar as well.
The one thing that this could do similar to Burberine is actually lower your blood sugar. And so just an fyi, if you hear me mention like blood sugar kind of lightly throughout, I just want you to be mindful that it could lower your blood sugar, uh, to the point where if you know that you can have low, too low blood sugar, you wanna monitor that.
So that could be a side effect. Um, just throwing that, that one out there. But um, okay. So as far as the breast milk production and Jared, do you think too, like when people come in, is that primarily what you're selling it for?
Jared: Oh, for sure. I, I can't tell you how many, hundreds of times over the years I've had somebody say, my midwife sent me in for Fre, or my, uh, lactation specialist sent me in for Fre. You know, we hear that all the time and, and frankly, I'm kind of there, I think with what, what you were saying that has been, you know, the common traditional use and it kind of blew my mind and I, I'm, I'm curious how you felt about this, but when the first studies came out on boosting testosterone, and they were significant [00:14:00] studies that were really, really impressive as far as the research, I was like, wow, that's something I would've never thought of for FJA Greek.
So really pretty fascinating to me.
Nikita: And F. And with that being said too, like a lot of times when I go into health food stores where I find venue break besides, maybe the herb wall is in the woman's health
Jared: Mm-hmm.
Nikita: Because again, we think breast milk production, so yes. But then if I was a male going in, I, you know, I wouldn't even look in that section necessarily.
Maybe Fyre wouldn't even be a thought that I would take it. And here we are now going, wait a minute, this should be in both sections, you know, for men and women. And so I, yeah, I pulled up some good studies as well on testosterone. And I, I kind of like to start off. Always really slow and give a little definition of what testosterone really does.
And so it's a sex hormone that we find in both men and women that affects sexual function, which can ultimately affect, um, energy levels, can affect cognition, can help bone mood, I mean, affects a lot of things. We know that testosterone is really, [00:15:00] really important way past just sexual function as well. We think of it like sexual function or energy, but cognitive function and bone health are also highly related to, you know, the importance of, of having good testosterone levels.
We also know that it can decrease with age. I also had read that it is lower in those who might be obese or might have blood sugar or diabetic issues. So we found that, you know, studies showed that, you know, when they pooled from people who were either a di uh, excuse me, diabetic or obese, that they naturally had lower levels.
So that's just something else to keep in mind. Um, whether maybe you are trying to, you know, supply breast milk or your testosterone levels are, are lower. Um, we know that there's a deficiency in, in testosterone as well. About 39% of men over the age of 45. That's a pretty high number. So it's like, you know, almost 40% of men over 45 already have a deficiency, let alone just like lower levels, but deficiency.
And so I [00:16:00] think constantly I'm seeing people go, yeah, I'm on hrts. They're on hormone replacement therapies, and if they're not doing that, then testosterone, you know, they're trying to get it one way or another. So I think it's a big issue, and I think a lot of men and women, but a lot of men are struggling with having low levels of it.
Um, so
Jared: and let me jump in on that too, because, you know, the deficiency thing is kind of confusing for a lot of people when it comes to a hormone. Uh, particularly if you look at the, you know, the, the reference levels that they talk about in your blood test results with testosterone. For a man my age, uh, at 50 years old is 300 to 800 is is the range.
And to me that's a silly range because that's a 500 point range. And then from 300 to zero is only a 300 point range. And un interestingly enough, if you're, you know, three 50 or 400, you're way into the low end of that range, but you wouldn't be considered. Deficient or abnormal if you're in the range. So when you say 39% of [00:17:00] men over 45 are dealing with deficiency, that means that they're like out of the range.
And then you're gonna have a whole bunch of other men that are in the low end of the range that could, you know, really benefit from optimizing their testosterone levels. And a lot of men can't get a prescription for testosterone, even if they want it from their doctor, if they're still in the normal range, even if they're all the way down, you know, low.
So things like fre, uh, can really be a, a powerful addition for men that are sort of in that boat as well.
Nikita: That's a really good point because I always say that too with people. They're like, oh, I got my blood work back and my vitamin D is fine. And I'm like, well, what's fine? Where is it actually, you know, because a lot of times the doctors do read it and they see, oh, well it's above the line, so you know, as, as far as maybe the deficiency line.
So if it's above the line, then you're fine, but not necessarily, maybe we're in a decline or maybe I really should have a little bit more. And so when you give that perspective of oh zero to 300 s deficiency, but then you [00:18:00] have 300, 800 as a range, then okay, I said 39% are deficient. I mean, we could be between 39% to 55% that are actually in that range of deficiency or, or having, you know, whether it's not deficiency, but having problems from not having enough.
Jared: Yeah, because there is a difference between normal and optimal, right? And, and we, we always need to keep, keep that in mind. And we found evidence of that during the last few years with vitamin D and the, the difference in mortality, uh, from covid with people that were under 50, uh, in the range with vitamin D.
And, and the vitamin D range is similarly large. It's 30 to 80, which is interesting. It's basically the exact same range as testosterone, just with a smaller number. Right? And yet we know now, or at least it seems pretty clear to me that people over 50, uh, in the normal range makes more sense. And, and I would dare say the same about, uh, testosterone.
And I see a naturopathic medical doctor. In fact, I'm going in to see him. Well when I set [00:19:00] the appointment, but hopefully in the next couple of weeks cuz I keep putting it off, um, to get blood drawn cuz it's been a few years. And last time I saw him he said, Jared, you're kind of in the lower end of that range.
Maybe you ought to look into doing something about that. And I had a long talk with him about it cuz he kind of specializes in this stuff. And he said, yeah, you wanna be optimal, you wanna be up higher in the range if you really wanna see all of the benefits that we hear about with testosterone.
Nikita: Agree. Agree. And yeah, opt optimals, the keyword word, it's always the keyword word, right? It's like you could be living life, okay? And then you start to actually change your diet and you're healthy and you're working out and you're like, oh, this is what it should feel like. This is what feeling good feels like.
Look, let's get to optimal levels, you know? Let's not just keep, let, stop coexisting and let's live a little bit more. So, yeah. So with all of that, we just talked right there about what, like what the benefits of testosterone are, why it's so important to have good levels of that. And so going back to the Fen Greek, this is where I'm pivoting and going, yep, you know it for breast milk, but let's also think [00:20:00] about it for testosterone.
And so the benefit of consuming Fen Greek can be that it boosts your testosterone levels and it also increases your libido, right? That sexual desire, that energy is, which is again, Uh, deficient or low in so many people these days, whether that's just from stress throwing us off and a lot of other things.
But, um, a decreased libido is a, a concern I hear every week from customers as well. So Fre can support that. One of the studies that I read, um, it's where they gave, uh, different, uh, 60 different healthy males. They, uh, gave them Fen Greek. They also had them do a little bit of resistance training, so this was part of the protocol, but they had 60 healthy males.
They tested them for their total and their free levels of testosterone. They tested their muscle strength and then repetitions to failure. So that was sort of the protocol, right? And repetitions to failure are just like working out until you're like, I'm done, call it quits. Right? So that was the protocol and then the results, they said that there was significant improvements [00:21:00] in both body fat, okay.
Without a reduction in muscle strength or repetitions to failure. Okay? So it approved, they're both, excuse me, it improved both their anabolic. Which is sort of that tissue building that muscle, um, muscle building. And they're androgenic, which is their sex hormone activity compared to the placebo. Okay?
They, what they required them to take was actually not too much. I was surprised it was 300 milligrams, two times a day for eight weeks. Okay, so an eight week ti. So if you guys wanted to take that based on this protocol, 300 milligrams, you take it twice a day for two months. Um, and that again, had significant improvements with both the body fat, with the, um, just testosterone levels in general that's gonna support that muscle growth as well.
So there's a lot of different studies, but most of them that I read, I actually notated was around the 250 to 600 milligram range. So a really good low amount. And I say low because so many times we read studies and it will [00:22:00] be like, oh, you need 1.5 grams, which to give you guys a perspective is like six capsules, right?
Or seven. And I'm lucky if you guys take one sometimes. So I'm like, no, I need something that's realistic that's gonna work. So there was a lot of really good studies, um, that, that supported that.
Jared: Yeah, like I said, when I first started reading about fre and testosterone, I was pretty blown away by not just the efficacy, but also, yeah, it wasn't a massive dose that was required. Uh, and it kind of came af outta left field. And since then there's been more studies done and everything seems to be pointing up for test or for, uh, fre in terms of testosterone and, and both men's and women's health.
It's a, a very cool herb that again, uh, for years was just pigeonholed as something to help with increasing breast milk supply, which is still great for that too. Uh, but, uh, so many other uses as well.
Nikita: Yeah, it's one of the supplements where you can be like, honey, we can both take this one. Right? Like, you want it for your breast milk production for the baby? And he's like, I [00:23:00] need my to get rid of my dad bought. I'm gonna go back in the gym and work out. Here we go. You've got a supplement for both of you.
Um, so yeah, so. Again, there are many studies on it, but all collectively I found that it absolutely improved libido health. It absolutely, you know, increased your testosterone levels, which in turn is also a domino effect for, you know, better energy, better cognition, better libido in general. So a lot of good benefits.
And then the other one I, I wanted to point out, which is the one that I kind of. Lightly alluded to, which was the appetite support. And you know, I was talking to Jared even before the call and I'm like, listen, if, if somebody came in specifically for like blood sugar or appetite support and sugar cravings, my favorite thing to really recommend is burberine.
I think Burberine is fantastic for that. You could even go with Cinnamon and a few others. But what I like about this kind of additional fact is you might be taking Fenni Greek because you do want breast milk production and you do want to saster Rhone, you know, boosting effects. But as like a nice little bonus, you could also get really good appetite control and [00:24:00] appetite support with this product.
So I just kind of mentioned that, like I said, as a, as almost an a bonus effect there. And I did state in the beginning that it does have the ability to lower your blood sugar. So if you ever worried about having too low of blood sugar, just. Monitor yourself. Keep that in mind. Speak with your doctor if you have any like further concerns about it.
Um, but what's cool about it is it selectively reduces spontaneous fat consumption. That's how it was, it was written in the study and I'm like, Ooh, spontaneous fat consumption. Like what? When I'm just like having a sugar craving, you know, just like randomly throughout the day. But it's like, yeah, it is selectively kind of reducing that You get that spontaneous feeling that you just all of a sudden want to eat sugars.
It keeps those sugar levels a little bit more balanced. Um, and, and one of the things within it that actually helps do that is the soluble fiber. Um, and so the soluble fiber contents actually help to lower your blood sugar by slowing digestion and ab and kind of helping with the absorption of the carbohydrates.
You know, and that's the thing. That's why [00:25:00] like those who do have blood sugar issues will say, don't drink orange juice, but if you want to eat an orange, okay, that's fine. Or whether it's an apple or banana, because those fibers or soluble and soluble fibers are really releasing the sugar slowly. It's kind of helping that have, you know, not give you a spike and give you that rush that you would normally get from drinking a juice or consuming sugar.
Jared: Yeah, absolutely. Fendi Greek is, is way more of a, uh, useful herb than I ever gave it credit for, for sure. Uh, however, we are gonna run out of time if we're not careful. We got four more herbs to get to. So let's jump to one that's kind of related. Uh, in terms of why people use it. Uh, it's known as well, a lot of things.
It's got so many names. It's got Uro Coma, long Lalia is the Latin name for it. And then we have Tong Kat Ali, uh, which sounds like, uh, you know, uh, illegitimate son of Muhammad Ali or something like that. Uh, but it's not, it's just an herb. And then we [00:26:00] also have, uh, let's see, what else? Long jack. Long Jack.
So if you've ever wondered what all those things are, They're the same thing. So let's talk about it. We'll refer to it as Tong Kat Ali, uh, but, uh, athletic performance, testosterone. These are the things most people know about it. Tell us a little bit more about it. Nikita,
Nikita: Yes, yes. Yeah, it does have a lot of fun names. I do love the tongue, tongue, cat Ali. It does sound like I'm ready for a boxing match when I hear that one. Or Long Jack. I don't know. Like, it reminds me of like one of those punching games back in the day where the arm would swing out of
Jared: you go.
Nikita: So back in your day, you know, your day.
Of
Jared: Right The old
Nikita: naturally the old days. Um, but yeah, so Tonka Ali or Long Jack, um, it is a root or it's like a little shrub that you would see as well. It's usually native in Southeast Asia and Malaysian rainforests, that's where you would typically find it. So we're not finding it on a daily basis. Um, the actives within it would be things like different flavonoids, alkaloids, antioxidants.
It has a wide range like most [00:27:00] plants do, um, of different sort of antibes as I call them. But its use that we often see are things like erectile dysfunction, ev. It actually, and this is kind of all over the place. It also helps with fevers a lot. There was a lot of research with fevers. I was like, okay, you're throwing me for a loop.
I didn't know that one. Um, and also with bacterial infections, but really where I like to lean this conversation would be going back to the testosterone levels, talking about erectile dysfunction, um, male infertility, low libido levels. So like you said, it was, it's really good lead-in from Fenny Greek because it also has, you know, similar benefits that are.
Again, top of concern, I mean, erectile dysfunction. There's a huge concern right now for a lot of customers. And so this could also be really, um, beneficial because again, what it can do is it can boost male fertility, it can help kind of alleviate stress levels, it improves body composition, which is what I think about when I think of like weight management and just kind of that ratio [00:28:00] between fat and, and muscle mass.
Um, and overall kind of male wellness and vitality. So this is certainly something that you guys are gonna find more in a structure function set with men's health.
Jared: Mm-hmm.
Nikita: Um, but one of the first ones I wanna talk about, and again, I have some great studies for you guys here as well, but is male infertility. You know, it's, so, it's a multifactoral disease basically.
It has numerous factors that contribute to both, like a red reduction of sperm count. Okay. And also, um, And also the, like, the PR production of sperm in general. So it's kind of like this dysfunction sperm is what I believe they call it. Um, so there was a meta-analysis of 61 studies worldwide that reported a downward trend in sperm count and semen volume over the past 50 years.
So we're seeing this like, okay, hold on, let's wake up, you know, what's going on here? Because now that we do collect data every year, we can see over the past [00:29:00] 50 years, this is substantially going downward, right? So it's not even, it's not even producing enough sperm. And when you are producing sperm, is it even healthy, you know, enough sperm, uh, to function and, and, and ideally create a baby, you know, through that process as well.
So yes. So we can see that there has been, uh, over 50 years of decline. This study here showed they took 350 patients, which is nice. I always like, if there's at least like 150, I always think it's a really good study. Um, 350 patients to give 'em 200 milligrams of extract daily. Okay. And again, they followed up on their semen analysis, which they performed every three months for nine months.
So in a nine month period, they took 200 milligrams, extract, 350 patients, and over every three months is when they continually checked that up. They noticed the results were that they had significant improvement in all the semen parameters. Again, whether that's the production of the semen and also healthy semen levels, which ultimately helped improved pregnancy, you [00:30:00] know, between the, the, the male and, and, and his cup and his wife in this case.
Um, so the active that the long JAK or the, uh, to Catal is giving, in order to give these benefits is the glycoprotein. So the glycoproteins, those compound, uh, components within the Long J or toca, um, is what helps ultimately with pro fertility and also gives it that aphrodisiac effect, which that would be like supporting libido health.
So male fertility is, is a concern. I know a lot of my friends, especially now that I'm in that 31 year year range, are like my, a lot of my friends are having babies and getting pregnant and I'm constantly getting questions like, okay, what do I do, you know, for low fertility or I'm not able to conceive, or what supplements can I take?
And so I feel like the women put a lot of pressure on themselves too, and we're like, yeah, we are the ones who have to figure out what's wrong with us. But there's a lot of things that males, you know, can do as well to contribute very much to make sure that their fertility levels, that their eggs are, their sperm, excuse me, is healthy enough.[00:31:00]
To help create a baby. So guys, I want you to think about that. If, you know, if you're in a position too where you know your wife is trying to get pregnant and you're trying to conceive and you're having difficulty, there's parts where you can contribute as well to really help, um, with making that happen.
Jared: Absolutely. Yeah, it's, uh, it is interesting. It's definitely a two-person job. We know that. And there are oftentimes issues on the male side as well as the female side. And Tongkat Ali though, I mean, it's kinda like what we said about, uh, Finny Greek, but even more impressive, I think some of the research on Tonka Ali in terms of male sexual health.
There's so much, uh, such a wide range of benefit. Even guys like Andrew Huberman are, are, uh, promoting it on his podcast and, and talking about the studies and, and if anybody's listening to Huberman, if you're, you listen to this show, I anticipate a lot of people also to huberman. Um, you know that he's a study guy, right?
Everything he's talking about [00:32:00] has to be supported in, you know, multiple different clinical trials and, and he only talks about a couple of different things that he thinks can really boost testosterone. And Tom Cat Ali is, uh, I think number one on his list based on what I've heard. So there's some really, really good information out there and, and good research supporting it.
Nikita: Yeah, Huberman is probably owns the space a lot when it comes to podcasts besides like Rogan and a few others, you know? Um, but yeah, he, he, that's funny. He mentioned Tong Cat Ali, and he mentioned Solaray, so he mentioned our brand and you guys, if you were trying to buy it, I'm so sorry, but it was outta stock for a long time because that one thing and everybody was buying it.
So every, that was what brought my attention back to Tonka Ali because again, I mean, how many herbs do we have in Solaray? We have like 50 plus of them. It's hard for me to keep them all at the center of my attention all the time. Then he said, Tonka, I'm like, oh yeah, I forgot about Tonka. And that's when I started kind of going, yeah, hold on.
This has so many good benefits. I didn't even realize all the new research, [00:33:00] all the new studies that had come out supporting, again, whether it's the mal fertility, it's libido, it's testosterone, it's, you know, erectile dysfunction. He really hit it hard, um, on it's back in stock you guys, so don't worry, everything's fine.
But it did go out for a hot minute there. Um, so yeah, so that was the study I, I just covered for Mel Fertility. Um, I have one as well that I like for the, uh, lot testosterone levels. And actually did I have on here? Oh, in the libido? Let me, I wanna tell you the libido one. Um, and the testosterone. So with testo, with testosterone, um, low levels of testosterone can ultimately, as I mentioned, cause low libido, cause erectile dysfunction and infertility.
In this particular study for testosterone, they took 76, um, older men. Okay? Excuse me, 76 years or older men. There needed to be a space there,
Jared: older than me.
Nikita: even older than Jared Sink Claire,
you guys.
Jared: find people like that outside of like, uh, politics?
Nikita: Uh, you know, great [00:34:00] content politics. Oh my gosh. You would, you totally would. Um, yeah, I don't know where they'd find them either, but they found 'em and all of them had low testosterone. They gave them 200 milligrams a day, which again, is even lower than some of the other studies we've seen. And they had significantly increased levels of their hormone to normal value in 90% of the participants.
So, as I mentioned, when they tested them, they already had low levels. So taking 200 milligrams a day was able to increase it to a healthy, normal levels of testosterone in 90%. Of all of them. I mean, that's, that's a huge, that's a huge percentage there. So, yeah. So, you know, definitely significant there for, for bringing testosterone levels up and then libido.
Right. What is issue with libido? That's kind of that low sex drive that we have. And again, libido does help with more than just sexual activities. It does help with way that we work out. It helps with our mood and our energy. But certainly, [00:35:00] I think where we, we see it in conversation affecting people is, is at home.
Right? Is, is, is having low libido. Having low sex drive. And so in this study they took 109 men. What I like about this is the ages were 30 to 55. Okay. Over 12 weeks, 300 milligrams of the extract. Okay. And the testing method is really interesting. I was, I had to read this study a few times to get it all, but basically the way they test him is they have a quality of life test, which is this questionnaire, a sexual wellbeing test, and then it's a se seminal fluid analysis.
Okay. So sometimes even like when they do tests on like depression and mood, they have to kind of ask them a wellbeing test. You know, they're not always just testing them like chemicals in the brain. They kind of have to ask 'em and see where they're at. And so with this as well, we saw that after week 12 there was significant improvements.
There were higher scores in the erectile function and sexual libido by 14%, 14%, [00:36:00] and then 44% increase in sperm motility and in 18.2% in semen volume by the end of the treatment. So collectively, my point here is between the fertility, between the testosterone and the libido is supporting all three. We know, again, that ton is, is is really fantastic for, again, I would even connect it to boosting testosterone cuz with testosterone is you're getting the the benefits of libido and you're getting the benefits of male infertility as well. So,
Jared: Excellent. Yeah, that's, sorry, go ahead.
Nikita: Oh no, I was just gonna say, and the, the soy herb one that we have, the serving is a 400 milligram veg cap. Okay. So that's typically what you would get in one. And so the sl the libido study had 300 milligrams. The testosterone had 200, and the male fertility had 200. So I know that that might seem like, oh, is that, you know, is 400 milligrams too much?
You guys, I, I feel very confident with the 400 milligrams as well, that you would get those benefits. That's just giving you more milligrams. And also we would never [00:37:00] have a, a recommended amount on a product that didn't already go through the toxicity and safety regulations. So you'll be okay taking a little bit more if needed.
Jared: Excellent. All right, so then we've got Tom Cat Ali, and Fya Greek. Uh, a lot of highlights, uh, with testosterone, uh, in particular with those, but also some other benefits. Let's jump to the next one because I think this is one that a lot of people have heard. Uh, About as like a food that we can eat to help with our overall health and wellbeing.
It's a cruciferous vegetable, but they, there's also some really, really cool research on it for medicinal purposes. Um, you know, as a supplement, not just as a food, and that's broccoli, but specifically a form called activated broccoli.
Nikita: Yes. In fact, um, I was, I was having a brain fart when I did go to the, uh, nursery over the weekend. I'm like, do you guys have activated [00:38:00] broccoli? And they're like, Broccoli and I'm like, oh, sorry, I'm just, it's instinctual for me to call it activated broccoli, but no, I mean broccoli and I'm gonna try to activate it myself.
That's really what we're doing here. And we'll kind of, I'll explain to you how we activate broccoli and why this product would be considered activated broccoli, kinda activated charcoal, but a little different. So, you know, you mentioned what foods it come from. Yeah, it does come from broccoli, it comes from B Choi, it comes from cabbage.
There are many different cruciferous vegetables, um, out there that in this case, um, sorry, I kind of missed a whole step here. Activated broccoli is the ingredient. What we have inside of activated broccoli. That's the active that I would, that I'm kind of jumping gun here is sulforaphane. And then from there I was gonna say, okay, where is sulforaphane?
You know, where do you get it from in food? And that leads me to not just broccoli, but you also have options like bach, choy, and cabbage in these different cruciferous [00:39:00] vegetables. However, even though sulforaphane is, again, when you're buying activated broccoli, the main active that you are purchasing in a supplement form, it is not found in broccoli on its own.
You have to activate the broccoli to get the sulforaphane. So in broccoli you have a deact de, I would call it a deactivated form, which is the glucoraphanin. Okay, so if I just took a whole head of broccoli and looked inside of it, it would have glucoraphanin. If I cut that, if I chew it, if I break it, in other words, if I damage the, the structure of it, what releases is an enzyme called myrosinase.
So myrosinase releases when I kind of cut up the broccoli, I have that glucoraphanin already in there. They then come together and then you get this activated form of the glucoraphanin, which then converts into sulforaphane. So looking at broccoli on its own, doesn't have the sulforaphane, but once we [00:40:00] chew it, we cut it, we start to digest it, the enzyme releases, it connects with the glu, uh, the glucoraphanin, and then we have sulforaphane.
And that is really what we want when we are consuming activated broccoli. So sulfur ahan is, is sort of, again, the, the main benefit. In fact, when you look at the label as well, you're gonna, usually on any herb or, or especially with an extract, you'll have kind of what the, you know what the main ingredient is?
Like, let's say it's turmeric and then in parenthesis you'll see, oh, it has curcumin or Right, or black seed oil has thy quinone. What is the active in it? Sulforaphane is really that active, that broccoli can give you that has a lot of its proprietary benefits
Jared: So then what is it about Sulfa that we know from clinical trials, uh, that would make somebody want to use this as a supplement or even consume more, you know, broccoli in their diet? What, what benefits are we looking at?
Nikita: so with sulforaphane, one of the really important benefits is it is it stimulates your antioxidant defense system. So we know antioxidants are the [00:41:00] there to help with, you know, reducing or stabilizing oxidation, neutralizing them, right? And when we think we buy it an apple and it turns brown. Why? Because it oxidizes.
Well, we have this oxidation going on in our body when that goes on. We have aging, we have more bone issues, more joint issues. A lot more health concerns are growing when we have a lot of oxidation. Yes, when we have a lot of oxidation. So in this case, taking Sulforaphane stimulates the antioxidant defense system within the body and it also induces enzymes for detoxification.
And this is the big one when I think of sulforaphane and activated broccoli, I think of detoxification. If you've ever read on dim as well, there's that phase one, phase two, liver detoxification. Sulforaphane is part of the phase two. Liver detoxification process and really supports detoxification, which we know is crucial because we have so many heavy metals, wastes, different kind of poisons and stuff that build up in the body.
When we don't get rid of those, what [00:42:00] happens? They just fester in the body and, and create problems. Detox is a really underrated thing. We don't, we all don't do it enough, you know, compared to the lifestyles we consume.
Jared: Right. For sure. And you know, many of the people that listen to this show found me from, uh, just Ingredients podcast. Uh, and I don't know if you're familiar with that one, Nikita or not, but she's got a gigantic Instagram following and everything. And I've been on her show a couple of times, and one of the things Carl Lynn talks about on her show a lot, and I've talked about a fair amount here, is the level of toxicity we deal with in America today.
You know,
Nikita: Mm-hmm.
Jared: it's ubiquitous these toxins, they're nearly impossible to get rid of, even if you're eating organically and doing a lot of things right. Uh, about 40% of the toxins that, uh, tend to build up in the liver, uh, and in the fatty tissue in the body are, uh, unavoidable at this point. Uh, they're, we breathe them in.
Uh, you know, I, I always talk about how if I [00:43:00] go to a public restroom, I'll walk in the door and I smell. The chemicals and not the other stuff that's in the public restroom that is covering up the other stuff that's in the public restroom. And those chemicals that I'm smelling are toxins, uh, and, uh, in some cases neurotoxic, uh, but certainly, uh, hormonally toxic, toxic to the endocrine system.
And one of the things that we know for sure about these cruciferous vegetables as they're powerful detoxifiers of those types of chemicals, and, uh, we, I couldn't agree with you more that we spend not nearly enough time thinking about. We, I feel like now a lot of us are spending more time thinking about avoidance, which is awesome, but maybe not spending as much time thinking about detoxifying the ones that we can't avoid.
Nikita: absolutely. So, you know, detoxification is huge. The other benefits that Sul Fluorine gives past that thought of detox is helps with heart health, it helps with blood sugar support, brain function. Uh, I [00:44:00] mentioned supporting phase two. It helps a lot with prostate as well. There's a lot of research that's even more that we can get into here that, uh, supports, uh, that, that, that can support prostate health.
So men, if you get time, I would certainly start to, to research that one as well.
Jared: Excellent. All right. And because we are talking, talking slow and go
Nikita: that I was gonna, I thought I was gonna go really
Jared: thought we were gonna have extra time.
Nikita: yeah. But, okay, so we'll go to what? Black seeded oil is the
next one.
Jared: seed oil and let's make sure everybody hears that correctly. Black, like the color, not flax, uh, because the first time you said, Black seeded oil To me, when we were first talking, it sounded like you said flaxseed not the same thing. Um, and I wanna make sure just everybody's clear on that.
So it's black seed oil that we wanna talk about, which comes in a liquid form or in capsules. I actually did a show on black seeded oil, uh, maybe a year and a half ago or something. So in fact, we'll link to it in this episode, and you can get into a little bit more nitty gritty there. But let, I'm very curious to [00:45:00] know what your overall feelings are on black seed oil.
Nikita: Okay, so here's my joke for you. For black seeded
Jared: All right.
Nikita: okay. It's anti-everything but religious. Okay. And the reason I say this is because there is so many biblical and historical ties to black seeded oil. Okay. It is like Mohammed quoted it multiple times. He said it would cure everything except for death itself.
King Tut Cleopatra has blacks seeded oil in their tombs with them. So there's so much of this historical and religious tie to blacked oil. But when you look at the anti list, it's anti-inflammatory histamine, oxidant, c Colin, like it hits everything. So that's why I'm like, it's anti-everything but religious.
It has so many benefits. Um, some of the things that I, I love to recommend black seeded oil for, and again, blacks seeded oil is black cumin seed. Okay? There are different varieties though of Cuban seeds. It doesn't mean just the one that you see [00:46:00] in the store as well. The N the Latin name is Nigella Sativa.
Jared: Mm-hmm.
Nikita: you never, it's so funny when I went to the plant store again and I said, hi, do you guys have Nigel Sativa? And she's like, we don't sell weed here. And I'm like, no, no ma'am. That is not what I'm saying. You're just hearing the word sativa. I'm like, Nope, no, I'm just asking for black seeded oil. If you could help me known as Nigel Sativa, I thought you'd want the Latin name.
But anyway, so it has, again, tons of benefits. Um, a lot of benefits I mentioned with, with inflammation as well. Um, when you do look at the back, cuz it is an oil, okay, it can be high in omegas, typically more of sixes and nines. And I know we recommend more of omega three s because I think that's more dominant, six and nines in our diet.
So I wouldn't necessarily take this just because you're looking for a good dose of omegas. Though it can support some of that, but it's very good for skin health, both topically and internally. I saw a lot of studies supporting acne health and reducing like lesions, so anybody [00:47:00] that has acne, eczema, psoriasis, a lot of the dry skin conditions, yes, we do like to apply things topically, but how do we fix the outside?
We fix it through the inside. And that's where omegas and different healthy fats can be really supportive. So there was a lot for acne. In fact, there was a, uh, 60 people kind of, uh, trial where they took the oil, cuz you can buy it in oil for or capsule. Jared sells both of them, depends on the function that you want, but they kind of mix it together and created their own little like lotion.
It's just an oil, so you could apply it that way as well. But they mixed it together kind of in a gel. They applied it for two day, excuse me, two times a day for 60 days. And they had a 78% reduction in acne severity. Um, and it had improvements in skin lesions. And acne is a huge issue for a lot of people.
In fact, they take that, I forget the name of it right now, but that really harmful Accutane, that's what it
is, a really harmful drug that messes with your body. So if you're somebody, even if you have, you know, your child has some skin issues and you don't wanna go that route, I certainly [00:48:00] would give blacks seeded oil a try.
Um, so big for acne, big four. Um, skin health in general. We see things like wound healing. Wound healing is a big one. It really helps with tissue growth, so it kind of rebuilds the tissues in there. Uh, I also have seen a lot of studies for hair health, lots of studies for hair health and scalp, and I think that when I see both the liquid and the capsule, I think a lot of the consumers buying the liquid are more of that diy.
They wanna do it themselves, maybe create a hair mask, maybe rub it into their skin again, cuz if you do have it as a concern for acne, then I would absolutely suggest taking the capsules internally and also mixing it to apply it topically. Um,
Jared: Yeah, sorry, I wanted to jump in here really quick cause there's a couple of things. These are more anecdotal. So, um, I, I don't know exactly what we have in terms of clinical research on this, but one of the things that I did in, in preparing for this show is try and see if I could find some new information on blacked that I haven't shared [00:49:00] before.
And, uh, apparently there's a direct tie to both serotonin and gaba, uh, levels with, uh, consumption of, of black seeded. Um, one guy, uh, and this again very anecdotal, but one guy on Reddit said it feels like theanine on steroids is super, super calming, uh, every time I take it. So there's some kind of interesting stuff in terms of the mental health, uh, thing that people are using it for.
And then also, uh, I know a couple of people personally now that are using it for asthma, which with some really, really impressive results. And of course asthma is very much an inflamed condition, so it does make sense that the anti-inflammatory benefits might. Potentially be, uh, useful. So black seeded oil, I, I kind of think that we're sort of still on the cusp of learning maybe everything there is to learn about it.
As you mentioned earlier, tons of historical use and, um, and, and I hate to paint anything as a panacea. I don't think there is such a thing that cures at all. But blacked oil does seem to have a pretty [00:50:00] wide range of benefits. And I will answer a question that everybody asks me about blacked oil. How does it taste if you did decide to do the liquid?
Um, it's. Not tasty, I'll say it's kind of got a bitterness to it that is, uh, uniquely black seed oil. Right? Um, and the funny thing is on my, if you go back and listen to the episode I did on black seed oil, I'll tell you that I think it's actually relatively mild. I've tasted a lot of things. I've worked in a health food store my whole life.
The longer I drank black seed oil, the more I didn't like the taste of blacked oil. I'll be honest. So more and more I'm actually recommending capsules, unless you're kind of brave, uh, and, and wanna do the liquid. But in terms of results, you know, whether you do the liquid or the capsules is doesn't matter.
You're just make sure you're getting enough. And, uh, I think blacked oil is, uh, I think we're gonna learn a lot more about black seeded oil and some of the amazing benefits in the very
Nikita: I think we're just scratching the surface. The first article I ever read on black seeded oil said 101 benefits, and I'm like, oh my gosh, [00:51:00] this is gonna take me two work days just to get through the benefits. But one thing I'll mention really quick, which was interesting, we had a, a big retailer reach out to us and they said, oh, we really wanna bring in your blacked oil.
And we were like, black seed oil. Okay. Like, not something we'd expect to see in like a, a store. We were like, well, what do you want it for? Oh, well, everybody wants it for weight loss. And then I was like, weight loss. That's the last thing I ever thought of when it came to blacked oil. Yet this mor or this morning, this week when I was reading the studies on, on blacks seed oil, there was a ton for weight loss in helping with B M I, that body mass index or the weight circumference.
So I think those are, if I'm not mistaken, those are more the newer trials. I didn't see anything that was more historical. Um, but looks like weight loss is a, you know, again, not something I even expected, but something that's gaining popularity for black seal oil. But I certainly think if you are doing the liquid, it's great topically.
I absolutely love the oil. It's really nice. But it does, it has that nutty, almost a reg oil sharp kind of taste to
Jared: Yeah, it's got, it's got a good little [00:52:00] bite to it at the end for sure. Um, we are actually running out of time. We've only done four of the five herbs. We are going to do, and I'm gonna need to, uh, cut this short. So I'm gonna ask you live Nikita right now. Would you be willing to do an after the show thing and we'll air just, uh, 15 or 20 minutes on the last things that we wanted to talk about as a separate episode?
Nikita: Absolutely.
Jared: All right. Awesome. So I'm gonna keep her on board here, but I'm gonna wrap up the show. Uh, stay tuned. This show's gonna air on, uh, Saturday. So when you hear it, it'll be like April 29th
when this, this show will launch. But you might hear Nikita before this show. On Wednesday the 26th. This will be fun. So if you're listening right now and you're thinking, shut up, Jared, just end the show. I understand cause I feel the same way.
I want you to know that if you have questions about anything that you've heard today on Vitality Radio, you can call us at (801) 292-6662. You can jump on our chat [00:53:00] feature on vitality nutrition.com. Uh, you can click on, uh, the, uh, what's new on Vitality Radio, if you wanna look at some of the things that we've talked about today, um, on the website.
And again, you can join us in the listeners' community. Don't try and find it on Facebook. It's darn near impossible without a link. But there is a link in the show description and you can jump in there and be part of the community. We would absolutely love to have you. I'm gonna go ahead and end this episode and then Nikita and I'll pick it up on the other side and, uh, give you a little bonus content very, very soon.
Thank you so much for listening to me. I'm Jared St. Clair. Oh, and thanks Nikita for coming on Vitality Radio.
Nikita: Oh, you're welcome.
Jared: right. And, uh, I'll talk to you again very, very soon on Vitality Radio.