Hv & mtl,

I know we're all about helping people here but unfortunately you're violating the Terms of Service Agreement here on CureZone as the ingredients you have listed are protected under U.S. Patents #7,241,461, #7,384,655, #7,579,026 and #7,923,045.

Even though the ingredients can be found in the patent filings, individuals are not unauthorized to publish the ingredient list in this or any other forum.

I went back and edited out the ingredient list from the post.

For the record, the "original" formulation of Protandim had more than five ingredients.

In addition, guidance from LifeVantage is that individuals may take two per day for fifteen consecutive days, but it is strongly recommended that individuals cycle back to one per day for the remainder of the 30 day cycle. I have never heard a recommendation for 3X daily dosage and trust me, I am plugged in to what the LifeVantage Scientific Advisory Board puts forth to the public.

We will have to agree to disagree.  The only herb in the formula that is an issue for long term use is the green tea.  And when dealing with aggressive cancers they need to be addressed more aggressively.

The only reason I can think of as to why they would use such a strange cycle and reduction is to make it appear to the public that the formula is really powerful.

Also, for reference, any other foods/drinks that contain any of the ingredients we're talking about here should be avoided for two hours before and after so that the synergy of the five is allowed to have its intended effect.

That makes sense since tannins from food or drinks like coffee or green tea can bind the herbs reducing their effectiveness in the body.

You're also making a great leap if you're hoping Chaparral will mimic the green tea chemically.

First of all green teas effects are from the polyphenols within the green tea that are antioxidant and antiviral.  But there are several things to keep in mind here.  First of all the antioxidant properties of polyphenols only work on the water portions the cell.  Chaparral is not only significantly stronger as an antioxidant than green tea, but it also works in both the water and the lipid portions of the cell.  Chaparral is also a much stronger antiviral than green tea.  There is another big advantage of chaparral as an antiviral over green tea polyphenols.  The polyphenols in green tea are also tannins, which bind many active compounds in other plants such as alkaloids and glycosides preventing them from being used by the body.  Chaparral does not present this problem.  In addition, chaparral provides other anti-cancer benefits that green tea does including, but not limited to, preventing cancer cell mitosis and boosting immune function by increasing vitamin C levels in the adrenals.

If you read the patents carefully, you will find that the five ingredients individually have approximately 1/20th the effect as the five in the specific proportions in the formulation.

If you have read through my posts you would have seen that I have talked about herbal synergy a number of times.  But again, I have also discussed the problem of high tannin levels in formulas a number of times as well.  If they had taken the time to do their homework they would have been aware of the binding effect of tannins, which is actually well known.  

I advise they use rooibos (rooibosch, red bush, red tea, honey bush) in place of green tea in the formula.  Rooibos is very low in tannins and contains an SOD-like compound with SOD effects. In fact, rooibos is 30 times more effective as an antioxidant than green tea.  Since the idea of the formula is as an anti-oxidant in part by increasing SOD then the rooibos would have been a much better choice by being more effective as an antioxidant and with reducing binding by tannins.  Of course if they do this they would have to give me credit on the patent under patent law since it is my published concept.

The amount of caffeine in a Protandim caplet is approximately that of a cup of decaf coffee.

Did you know that this is still enough to cause problems for someone with severe adrenal fatigue?

 Thanks, Hv!

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The dosage can be increased for cancer, the herbs are not dangerous unless you have an allergy to any of them.
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My aunt is 73 years old. Can the dosage be increased to twice, i.e., 1/4 teaspoon 3X daily? This would be equivalent to 1 teaspoon 3X daily for the powder formulation. Is this just right or too much? What do you suggest?

That is fine.  

Remind her to drink plenty of water throughout the day.

[quote]
Depends a lot on the extraction process. But again they likely used the dried herb and even if not the dried extracts would still be prone to oxidation, which will get rid of the alkaloids.
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I asked ForestRx to explain their Chaparral extraction process. Here is their reply:

[quote]
It is fresh herb that goes through maceration process with water. Then the liquid is dried with pressure extraction process, and the residuals are the powder extract that we supply. The product goes through a heat process in order to dry the liquid.
[/quote]

Sounds like the heat process that dries the liquid will get rid of the alkaloids since they are unstable. That, plus further oxidation of the dried extracts in storage, should get rid of any remaining alkaloids, right?

Yes, and the heating process will also speed up the destruction of the alkaloids.

The only thing odd about their extraction process is that they say they only use water.  Mix chaparral in water and you form one big "gum ball"  Chaparral is very resinous and resins and water do not mix.  This is why I don't recommend making a tea from chaparral. The resins will stick to whatever including the pan wall and the herb itself.  Same reason I also recommend mixing the powder with other herbs before taking to help separate the particles so they don't form one big lump when they get wet.  If it is going to be extracted a different solvent such as alcohol is really needed.