RJ is feeling good with SAN's new MultiVitamin -- DR FEEL GOOD!

[rjcranium]

First off, I would like to thank poison and San for the opportunity to log their 1 of a kind, and America's first, Feel Good multivitamin!

I was sent out a 1 month (28 day) supply of DR. FEEL GOOD! multivitamins -- each serving consists of 8 pills which I will be spreading out throughout the day. Each pill is 1/8 the daily total which makes it easy to divide up (as opposed to some multivitamin packs which are all separate vitamins in each pill and require you to take all of them at once). Spreading the daily serving out over 3 meals will ensure that the ingredients are steadily released into my bloodstream and not wasted down the toilet.

Dr. Feel Good Description from SAN:

Health, Vitality, Energy, Longevity...LIFE. Live it with DR. FEEL GOOD! - America's 1st FEEL-GOOD Multi. DR. FEEL GOOD! combines a potent combination of vitamins A-Z, a broad spectrum of minerals, an Antioxidant & Liver Support Matrix and Cognition & "FEEL-GOOD" Components. Together, this unprecedented combination of precisely dosed ingredients provide you vital nutrients and botanicals that support improved health, energy, mood, and focus. DR. FEEL GOOD! also combats stress while working to fight off the "blues" thus supporting a longer and better quality life. All this in one convenient, cost-effective and easy-to-use fomula. It's your life and it's your choice. Choose wisely, choose DR. FEEL GOOD! and live your life with great health, vitality, energy and longevity. Run after your dreams and feel good all day every day with DR. FEEL GOOD!.

[rjcranium]

So far today I have taken 1/2 of the daily serving -- 3 pills at noon/lunch and 1 more at 3pm, right after a meal. I will be taking the last 4 pills split between a 6pm meal and a 9pm snack.

I worked out today for the first time in 15 days and was feeling pretty spent afterwards but I must say the first 3 DR FEEL GOOD pills brought me back to life.

Well, it's only day 1, but so far so good. I will be back tomorrow morning for an update and as the weekend rolls along I should be getting a better idea as to the full effects of the DR. FEEL GOOD experience.

[laneanders]

Sounds like a plan, subbed!

[poison]

Sweet! I'm interested to see how different dosing schemes work out!

[rjcranium]

Well, instead of splitting up the daily serving over 3-4 meals, I have decided to try out 2 meals at 4 pills each and see how that works for me. I think the Brain Cognitive/Feel Good Complex will work better with a higher dosage such as 1/2 the daily serving as opposed to 1/4 or less of the recommended daily serving.

I will be dosing at noon and 8pm for a few days and see how that works. I don't have much fat content in my breakfast, usually, so I prefer to wait until lunchtime before doing my first vitamins.

I was feeling a bit listless after I ate lunch today and I took 4 DR. FEEL GOOD! pills right afterward. It took about 1 hour before i felt anything but I must say it did brighten my mood somewhat. I also don't feel as wore out from my workout yesterday as I was expecting to be, which is a good sign.

This is my first day doing a 4/4 split, so by later this evening I should have a better idea as to how effective that dosing scheme is for me. So far so good, though!

[cxm]

This is my first day doing a 4/4 split, so by later this evening I should have a better idea as to how effective that dosing scheme is for me. So far so good, though!

I am doing the same, it's just too much work for me to do anymore than 2 doses. 4 with breakfast and 4 with dinner.

Subbed for this log!

[rjcranium]

I am doing the same, it's just too much work for me to do anymore than 2 doses. 4 with breakfast and 4 with dinner.

Subbed for this log!

Heya, cxm! Welcome to the party.

I did 4 pills -- 1/2 serving -- at 8:30pm last night after my second to last meal of the day and I definitely felt better afterward. It takes about an hour to kick in for me and at that point my mood seems to pick up and I start to feel more "normal" than I did before the DR. FEEL GOOD!

Today I took my 1/2 serving around noon (1.5 hours ago). I will have a better idea in a few more days but it seems to me that I am not as tired as I usually am, especially after a meal. I'm not jumping up and clicking my heels, per se, but I feel more alert than usual. Time will tell. I can imagine that there is an accumulative affect from the DR. FEEL GOOD! pills and that's what I am on a mission to find out.

FEELS GOOD, man!

[Bronzebird]

Hi RJ, Good luck with the progress and be like water bro...




Water will accept what ever you throw at it, then make a splash, make some ripples, and find it's own level again. Enjoy the water theme for the summer!

[rjcranium]

Hi RJ, Good luck with the progress and be like water bro...




Water will accept what ever you throw at it, then make a splash, make some ripples, and find it's own level again. Enjoy the water theme for the summer!

Good advice, as usual, Bronze. Also, let me say, I sure am loving the water theme!

[rjcranium]

I took my second dose of the day, 4 pills yesterday, at 9pm.

My next dose after that was 4 pills at 12 noon after my workout today. I also did 2 pills, instead of 4, about 1.5 hours ago after my second to last meal for the day.



I usually get tired early in the evening, around 5-7pm. I don't fall asleep or take a nap, but lately it seems I never get enough sleep and have periods of drowsiness during the early evening. What I have noticed is that I don't have those drowsy periods since starting on the DR. FEEL GOOD! multivitamins. I don't feel stim'd up at all, I just don't feel as tired and wore out.

[laneanders]

I definitely agree. I feel much better on this multivitamin.

[poison]

That gif is great cinema, one long-ass take!

[bmontgomery87]

subbed

[rjcranium]

That gif is great cinema, one long-ass take!

Ya, I like that one, too.

subbed

.

Heya, BM. How's it going, brah? Thanks for stopping by and checking out the log.

I definitely agree. I feel much better on this multivitamin.

[rjcranium]

Sorry I haven't been on very often the past few days. I have some drama going on in my offline life and I will be very busy for the next month or so. I am needing to find a new place to live and the sooner the better.

If life was easy, everybody would be doing it... wha??!!

--------------------------------------------------------------

And now back to the show--

I have been doing 6 per day the last couple days, doing them 2 + 2 + 2 split over 3 meals. I like the 4 + 4 scheme better. The effects aren't as pronounced when done 2 pills at a time, at least not for me. I still "feel good," though, due to the quality of the vitamins, minerals and herbs in DR. FEEL GOOD!

[poison]

...offline life

Que?



sorry man, hope you get it squared away favorably, soon. Glad DFG is helping lighten the mood a bit.

[rjcranium]

Today I did all 8 pills one hour after my workout in my first whole food meal post-workout. Normally I am literally vibrating after my workout and kind of feel like I am coming down with a cold for the rest of the day. I should probably do less legwork on my full body workouts but that's a story for another day.

The (8) DR. FEEL GOOD! pills kind of made me feel like I do after taking some stimulants before a workout. There was just a hint of the normal "coming down with the flu" feeling I am used to getting after a good workout, but it was very slight and only lasted maybe 2 hours after the DFG pills were taken. It has now been 9 hour since my workout ended and 8 hour since I took the full daily dose of DR. FEEL GOOD! pills and I feel pretty darn good. It definitely put my Central Nervous System at ease and was a welcome change from how I normally feel at this point in time.

I think on my next workout I will try 6 DFG pills afterwards and see how that goes. Cheers!

[storm1507]

Good morning rj.

Interested in this....especially the brain and feel good complex.

[rjcranium]

Good morning rj.

Interested in this....especially the brain and feel good complex.

Hey Storm, how's it going? It's well better than what I would normally take, multivitamin wise. Of course it is quite a bit more than your average multi, what with the additional herbs and nootropics included in the formula.

[rjcranium]

Okay, it has been a few days since my last entry in the DR. FEEL GOOD! log.

I mentioned in another one of the DFG! logs that after trying (8) DR. FEEL GOOD! pills on my first whole food meal after a workout that next time I would try (6) DFG! pills and see how that worked for me.

I worked out yesterday and 1 hour after my workout I had my first whole food meal and afterward I took (6) DFG! pills. The effects were not as pronounced as when I took (8) of them on my previous workout, but I was spared the feeling of being on a stimulant, which I seemed to notice after a full serving of (8) pills.

It didn't relieve my post workout "hangover" as much as taking (8) pills did, but it most definitely was effective at relieving the "rode hard and put away wet" feeling I normally get after lifting weights. Both taking (8) and (6) pills worked pretty nicely at giving me some relief and helping to recharge my Central Nervous System. I do not get this kind of relief from the multivitamins that I normally take, so this is a big deal to me.

[cxm]

Good feedback so far, I will try 8 pills too. I think the dosage scheme should be adjusted according to your lifestyle. Let's say someone works a regular Mon-Fri 9-5, then I would take 4 in the morning with breakfast and 4 with dinner(6-7pm). The second dose in order to finish up the day and have some alertness.

Taking the full dose of 8 could also have it's advantages on weekends in the morning to take a break off coffee or later in the day as well.

[poison]

I'm liking the 4 and 4 protocol, as well.

[rjcranium]

I tried (7) yesterday after my workout. I had a dentist appointment about 2.5 hours after the workout and I was feeling pretty good by the time I arrived. What I find is the "feel good" effects wear off after maybe 6 hours when I take (6) or more DR. FEEL GOOD! pills -- which works out very well after a good workout.

I took 6 total today -- 4 and then 2 -- and I must say that I am liking the effects from the nootropics in the formula.

[dalkon]

I tried (7) yesterday after my workout. I had a dentist appointment about 2.5 hours after the workout and I was feeling pretty good by the time I arrived. What I find is the "feel good" effects wear off after maybe 6 hours when I take (6) or more DR. FEEL GOOD! pills -- which works out very well after a good workout.

I took 6 total today -- 4 and then 2 -- and I must say that I am liking the effects from the nootropics in the formula.

Sounds like a pretty solid product. The only thing I don't like is 8 pills a day, anything over 2 sucks.

[storm1507]

I tried (7) yesterday after my workout. I had a dentist appointment about 2.5 hours after the workout and I was feeling pretty good by the time I arrived. What I find is the "feel good" effects wear off after maybe 6 hours when I take (6) or more DR. FEEL GOOD! pills -- which works out very well after a good workout.

I took 6 total today -- 4 and then 2 -- and I must say that I am liking the effects from the nootropics in the formula.

Nice. How much longer til your supply runs out?

[rjcranium]

Sounds like a pretty solid product. The only thing I don't like is 8 pills a day, anything over 2 sucks.

I'm actually used to taking 3 per day spread out during the day, so this is right up my alley. I like that each pill is standardized so that taking (1) DFG pill is basically 1/8th the total contents of the recommended dosage of (8) per day. You could theoretically take however many you desired to get the effect you want, because they aren't all separate pills with specific ingredients in them (each pill has a percentage of all the ingredients in it). I have taken anywhere from 4 to 8 in one day.

Nice. How much longer til your supply runs out?

Around the first week of July. The jar contains a 28 day supply of DR. FEEL GOOD! -- assuming you take all (8) each day.

[rjcranium]

I worked out yesterday in the morning and did (7) Dr. Feel Good pills afterward. I find that it really makes a difference in how I feel for the remainder of the day. It definitely has a pick-me-up effect and keeps me from getting a post workout crash, which sometimes happens due to my usage of stims pre-workout.

I won't be working out until Tuesday, so I will be dosing at 4 and 4 till then. Four seems to be a minimum requirement for me, as I don't feel any effects from the nootropics with anything lower. 4 DFG at noon and another 4 around 6pm works out fairly well for me.

[INGENIUM]

subbed...good feedback...

I will be playing around with the dosing as well...

[rjcranium]

subbed...good feedback...

I will be playing around with the dosing as well...

Thanks for stopping by, INGENIUM. I look forward to hearing about your dosing scheme and how it is working.

I did 6 today about 1 hour after my workout, with food. I felt really good for about 3 hours and then it tapered down a bit. I was thinking that Dr. Feel Good would be a good multivitamin to take exclusively after working out. In that way, you wouldn't build up such a high tolerance for the nootropics and to be honest, it really gets me over the hump on my workout days.

I am going to try an experiment and only do the Dr. Feel Good pills on my workout days for the remainder of the week -- which will be this Thursday and Saturday -- and see how that works out. I think it will prolong the "feel good" effects if I am not doing them every day and I will also dose at 8 pills on Thursday and Saturday, post workout.

[poison]

Well, that's interesting. Just remember it is primarily a multi, with added benefits. Some of those extras require chronic dosing to take effect, like rhodiola, schizandra, etc.

LE Magazine February 2006

Rhodiola

The Cellular Energy-Boosting Herb
By Dave Tuttle

In November 2004, Life Extension added rhodiola to a multi-nutrient formula that most members use every day.

The reason for this addition is that rhodiola has demonstrated a remarkable ability to enhance cellular energy metabolism. As people age, the ability of cells to produce energy is diminished. Scientists have identified cellular energy deficit as the underlying culprit behind most degenerative diseases. The reason coenzyme Q10 has become such a popular supplement among health-conscious adults is its proven ability to maintain and enhance cellular energy production.

Because rhodiola remains relatively unknown to Americans, many questions have been asked about its nature and effects. In this article, we provide an overview of the science behind this unique herbal extract.

During the Cold War, a strict wall of separation—in politics, culture, science, and other spheres of life—was maintained between the Soviet Union and the United States and other Western nations. In the realm of science, information received by the West was often viewed through a filter that disparaged the accuracy of the data. At the same time, Soviet research was shrouded in a veil of almost obsessive secrecy, lest its potential benefits leak out and reduce any competitive advantage it might convey in the battle against capitalism.

With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the eventual breakup of the Soviet Union, the rationale for this separation and secrecy ceased to exist as well. Because of language barriers and lingering prejudices, however, it has taken years for valuable medical research performed in the former Soviet Union to be made available to health-conscious people in Western countries.


One of the casualties of this information roadblock was extensive research performed on rhodiola, an herb that is native to Siberia and northern Scandinavia. Known as “golden root” because of its many therapeutic properties, rhodiola grows in dry, sandy ground at high altitudes in arctic areas of Europe and Asia.1 In traditional folk medicine, the herb, known botanically as Rhodiola rosea, has been used to fight fatigue and depression, increase physical endurance, enhance work productivity, treat impotence, and even prevent altitude sickness. Rhodiola is considered an adaptogen, an agent that increases one’s resistance to biological, chemical, and physical stressors.2

The Soviets studied rhodiola extensively, in part to evaluate its potential benefits for military personnel and athletes participating in international competition. As a result of much promising research, standardized extracts of rhodiola became widely available in the former Soviet Union. Now, thanks to the pioneering efforts of Richard P. Brown, MD, and Patricia L. Gerbarg, MD, coauthors of The Rhodiola Revolution, and Zakir Ramazanov, PhD, coauthor of Arctic Root (Rhodiola Rosea): The Powerful New Ginseng Alternative, Westerners are finally discovering the remarkable benefits of this ancient herbal adaptogen.

More Energy for Daily Activities

One of the most frequent complaints of older adults is loss of physical and mental energy. While earlier in life there was plenty of energy to go around, the supply seems to diminish as the years progress. This can be due to many factors. For example, declining hormone levels make it harder to retain muscle and brain tissue that once powered the day’s activities. A more sedentary lifestyle also promotes the loss of lean tissue and a gain of unhealthy body fat. Yet even when controlling for these factors, negative changes that accompany the aging process contribute to energy loss.

The human body has three main ways of producing energy. During the first 30 seconds of high-intensity physical activity, energy demand is powered by a pathway known as ATP-CP.3 This involves an exchange of phosphate groups between ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and CP (creatine phosphate) in cellular mitochondria. Energy is produced when ATP is split, leaving a molecule with only two phosphate groups known as ADP (adenosine diphosphate). Creatine phosphate comes to the rescue by donating its phosphate group to ADP, thus re-synthesizing an ATP molecule and allowing it to be used again for energy production. Whenever you pick up a heavy bag of groceries, you are using the ATP-CP pathway.


Unfortunately, the resting level of creatine phosphate declines as we age,4,5 a reduction that contributes to greater fatigue during physical exertion. Compounding this problem is the rate of re-synthesis of creatine phosphate, which declines by up to 9% during each succeeding decade of life after the age of 30.6 For older adults, the good news is that rhodiola has been shown to promote higher levels of ATP and CP, providing more of the energy molecules needed to power many daily activities.7

At the Tomsk State University and Medical Institute in Tomsk, Russia, scientists examined rhodiola’s effects on fighting fatigue and boosting energy.7 Mice with weights attached to them were forced to swim to exhaustion twice a day for six days. Half of the mice received an oral rhodiola extract, while the control group was given only water. By day six, the rhodiola-supplemented group had ATP levels that were 17% higher, and creatine phosphate levels that were 45% higher, than those of the control group. Rhodiola’s benefits did not end there, however. The level of muscle glycogen (a storage form of glucose that can provide energy for more prolonged activities) was 53% greater in the supplemented group than in the control group, while concentrations of muscle lactic acid and ammonia (two toxic byproducts of muscular effort) were 18% and 60% lower, respectively. Clearly, the rhodiola extract helped maintain levels of key energy compounds needed for physical activity, while at the same time decreasing markers of fatigue.7

A recent study at the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences also demonstrated that rhodiola helps boost physical working capacity. In an animal study, an oral rhodiola extract boosted ATP content in the mitochondria of skeletal muscles such that rhodiola-supplemented rats were able to swim 25% longer than control rats before reaching exhaustion.8 This is consistent with research demonstrating that rhodiola helps improve exercise endurance in humans after just a single dose (200 mg of Rhodiola rosea, containing 3% rosavin and 1% salidroside).9

Multiple Benefits of Reduced Stress

Stress is produced whenever an outside stimulus disrupts the body’s normal biological and psychological equilibrium. Over millions of years, the human body has evolved a sophisticated, versatile complex of integrated systems that is able to detect the slightest aberration in this equilibrium. Once detected, these aberrations must be corrected promptly to prevent damage to the body.

For most people, stress is a fact of modern life. Today’s world is marked by a frenetic pace of life, mounting financial, occupational, and other pressures, and even social alienation and isolation. These pressures are often exacerbated by factors ranging from unhealthy fast-food diets to environmental pollution. Stress has become unnaturally intensified in ways that undermine our capacity to adapt and remain healthy. This makes stress reduction an essential part of any life extension strategy.


When a stimulus evokes a stress response, the sympathetic nervous system, or sympathetic-adrenal medullary system, is activated.10 This causes the brain to send a message down the spinal cord to the adrenal medulla, signaling it to release a chemical messenger called epinephrine. Epinephrine results in a nonspecific, whole-body stress response. Additionally, a chemical messenger called norepinephrine is released by nerve cells onto particular glands and muscles, contributing to numerous physiological changes that prepare the body for the “fight-or-flight” response. Heart rate and blood pressure increase, while blood volume is diverted away from the skin and to the deep muscles of the legs. Respiratory rate increases and the pupils dilate. Fat and carbohydrate reserves are mobilized to provide energy. All of these responses prime the body to deal with the stressor.

So important is it for the body to maintain equilibrium that it also recruits a component of the endo-crine system called the hypothal-amic-pituitary-adrenal axis. This axis is mainly involved in the long-term stress response. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis begins in the hypothalamus, a “switching station” in the brain that receives electrical and hormonal impulses from various central, peripheral, and autonomic systems. When the body’s equilibrium is disrupted, the hypothalamus secretes corticotropin-releasing factor, which triggers the release of adrenocorticotropin hormone in the pituitary. Adrenocorticotropin hormone in turn travels to the adrenal cortex, where it stimulates the secretion of a group of compounds called corticosteroids, the most important of which is cortisol. These cortico-steroids promote enhanced carbohydrate metabolism and mineral balance, ensuring an adequate supply of energy and proper fluid balance during the stress response.

“While the sympathetic nervous system provides the immediate response to a stressful event—preparing the body to expend energy in a crisis—it is not designed for the kind of prolonged stress we experience today,” notes Richard Brown, MD. “The parasympathetic system counterbalances the sympathetic system, healing and recharging the body. When the stress response system is chronically overstimulated, we tend to feel anxious, irritable, depressed, or fatigued. Rhodiola rosea helps balance the stress response system, reducing anxiety and over-reactivity, enabling people to remain calmer and cope better—whether they have normal or overactive stress response systems. By stabilizing the stress response system, Rhodiola rosea improves physical health and emotional well-being.”

Several studies have shown that rhodiola can reduce stress dramatically, thereby increasing mental performance. One such study investigated whether low-dose (170 mg/day) supplementation with rhodiola counters the well-known fatigue and stress experienced by physicians on night duty.11 In this double-blind, crossover study, researchers measured rhodiola’s effect on five different measures of mental acuity: associative thinking, short-term memory, calculation, concentration, and speed of audiovisual perception. They found statistically significant improvements in the 56 young, healthy physicians after just two weeks of supplementation. No side effects were reported.11

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