Dosing Protocols
Dosing optimally the first 3 days is important. Since the product is easily used up during this period, as your body refills depleted areas, we make the following recommendations:
Day 1-3: Take 4 tablets, 3 times a day (12 total tablets per day) for 3 days.
Day 4-5: Take note of your overall symptoms. If no relief is experienced, then take note of energy levels. If energy levels at least are improved, then continue the same dosage for day 4 and 5. If no energy improvement, increase the dosage to 5 tablets, 3 times a day for day 4 and 5 (15 total tablets per day). Increased energy levels are the usual barometer that the person has taken enough — it is possible that it is all used up in the body and there isn’t enough excess for increased energy levels.
Day 6: Drop to 4 tablets twice per day (8 total tablets per day). If relief is not already felt by then, it is simply going to take longer but one needs to be patient. For most people there should be some sort of relief at this point, so one to two bottles will be enough to tell you if it is going to help you.
Timing
It is recommended to take the doses first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, and again around 3 pm in the afternoon. For a small number who have too much energy at night or occasional anxiety (as in the one case in a thousand who feels agitation), take it closer to lunch time or with lunch.
If on thyroid hormone, take it at least an hour away from your thyroid dose.
Mitigating Factors
- There is a difference between active people and sedentary people. We have seen that the sooner people become active (even mildly active), the more they improve.
- Exercise does consume the protein, which is then used for repair and recovery of damage caused by the exercise as well as improving functionality. Taking higher doses if you are doing strenuous exercise is recommended.
- Taking it on an empty stomach and with food does make a difference to the person and how they respond. For most, taking it on an empty stomach does give a better outcome.
- There are a few people who feel nauseous when taking higher dosages or when taking on an empty stomach. In the past, the answer has been to either take it with a meal or take very small doses more regularly, which in a lot of cases helped people avoid the nausea. Then within a couple weeks most are able to resume the higher dose.
Diet
- Increasing overall water intake is recommended, unless already quite high.
- For some people, a change in the diet helped initially using the following dietary protocol has resulted in excellent outcomes. For the first 3 days, have absolutely nothing but a “Neutral fruit/vegetable” diet consisting of fresh neutral fruits and an oil such as avocado oil, coconut or olive oil, “Neutral fruit/vegetables” include:
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Red Bell Peppers
- Avocados
- Lettuce (not a fruit, but always added, being cleansing and turning the meal into a proper salad)
- No diet changes are required for the product to work, but people often voluntarily improve their diet including the reduction of sugar intake. These diet changes are mostly helpful for the first 3 days of taking the supplement.
For Athletes
The most we have given anyone was 40 tablets in one day, given to an ultra-marathon runner before and during a 110 km ultra-marathon in Vietnam. He improved his time from the previous year by 1.5 hours and had no muscle pain the next day. It is likely, given this massive effort, that the regular dose (6-8 tablets) would not have given him the same level of benefit.
We have what we call a “sports protocol,” recommending that the individual take half the dosage 20-30 minutes before exercise, and the other half immediately after. This type of dosing seems to help improve performance and recovery. If there is a lot of endurance required, typically an additional half dosage would be taken halfway through the event (especially in the case of a marathon or cycle race), giving the athletes what they call a “fresh pair of legs.”
Side Effects
This supplement is usually well tolerated, even for people who seem to be sensitive to a variety of substances. Occasionally though we do see nausea or what we refer to as overstimulation.
For maintenance, most people do best with the mid-range dose, four tablets twice a day. Some people, however, do better with different dosages. One female study participant was taking 4 tablets a day and having moodiness. A change in protocol to two a day (one in the morning, one in the afternoon) flipped the moods around and she was then in a good mood. She was able to slowly increase dosage to 8 per day over a period of 2 weeks.
There have been times when a few people have felt nauseous (usually they have been taking the dosage all at once). Splitting the dosage over the day — in one case it was split into 2 tablets 4 times a day, which provided them the benefits and eliminated the nausea.