Shit lol, glad I didnāt order another bottle of that. Never noticed anything from it besides being really chilled out. Which wasnāt really a good thing 
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taurine (elite) vs ashwagandha (trash)
Yeahā¦ Taurine is light years superior than Ashwagandha.
Ashwagandha is ridiculously overrated in my opinion.
When you take Taurine, youāre optimizing your nutrition which is one of the most fundamental pillars for overall health and well-being.
Ashwagandha has a long history. Itās well known in traditional Ayurvedic medicine and has been used for thousands of years.
Ashwagandha is nothing more than a plant based herb that helps you adapt to stress.
Itās not nutrition based, itās an adaptogen.
Most of the benefits of Ashwagandha are indirectly correlated to its ability to reduce stress.
When you go down the Ashwagandha rabbit hole, what youāll find is that nearly all of the herbās benefits are indirectly related to its ability to reduce stress.
Ashwagandha benefits: fatigue, low energy, immune support, reproductive health, and cognitive function.
When you have high stress and an inability to regulate it, you will experience fatigue, low energy, weak immune system (this is extremely well known), low libido and weaker cognitive abilities.
Most average and unfortunately, non average people have chronic or excessive stress which is affecting a ton of their physiological systems. Ashwagandha basically reduces and balances their stress and then they experience a ton of ābenefitsā.
Any type of androgenic ābenefitā, such as higher testosterone or etc, all has to do with lower cortisol and everyone knows that cortisol is a stress hormone that can drastically lower testosterone.
As you can see, Ashwagandhaās benefits are merely stress-related and have absolutely nothing to do with nutrition, inner vitality and real health - in the sense of your direct tissues, cells, etc.
Taurine on the other hand is an endogenous compound, meaning itās naturally present in the body and the body tightly regulates its levels. Itās an amino acid that gets synthesized in your body. Itās important for essential roles in your body like osmoregulation and antioxidant function. If you have excess Taurine, your body will naturally excrete the excess through your urine. Itās very difficult to get Taurine toxicity because your natural body processes will just balance you out.
When you take Taurine, you are supporting and enhancing the functions that Taurine performs in the body. This includes all of the physiological processes that rely on Taurine. Even the role Taurine plays in balancing of water and electrolytes within cells and tissues, is super important for proper hydration and cellular function.
Now fast forward a thousand years.
The Ayurvedics talk about the Ashwagandha herb that has all of these ābenefitsā (less stress).
What do their diets look like? Iāll tell you right now, theyāre not getting elite level nutrition or optimization. Theyāre just trying to survive, lmao.
If you time traveled a thousand years ago and brought a Taurine supplement to those Indiansā¦ they would not think that its from this planet. They would call it āpowder (or pill) of the godsā.
Taurine = the realm of nutrition, health and vitality.
Ashwagandha = neat little plant/herb that reduces your stress
Completelyā¦ completely different level and scope and yetā¦ nobody is taking Taurine lol.
Everyone just follows trends, black seed oil, ashwagandhas, etc because theyāre all sheep.
Hereās the really big kicker. You donāt need to take a herb that reduces stress when you have proper nutrition and vitality from the inside out.
The similar benefiits youāre experiencing with Taurine compared to Ashwagandha in relation to stressā¦ is coming from the actual nutritional elements of Taurine improving your health and direct body processes. Thatās 1 aspect (there are hundreds) of Taurine and its on the level of the entire aspect of Ashwagandha.
Any effect you experience from Taurine is optimization, meaning youāre getting closer to how youāre supposed to be when nutritionally optimized. Taurine is inside you already and you canāt have excess. That means whatever effect itās having on you is from optimization of it inside your body and a strengthening of the roles it plays.
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100%
When I took ashwagandha it made me super depressed. Like actually full on anhedonic. I actually had to go to the doctor, it was that bad. I was skipping school, being rude to people who didnāt deserve it, wasnāt working outā¦never in my life had I ever been this careless and numb to life. It removed all stress from my life, even the good kind. I was a total zombie.
So I actually have to agree, itās the people who are super stressed who probably find great benefit from this herb but theirs definitely better ways of dealing with stress than taking ashwagandha.
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Thatās spooky, lol. Anhedonia sounds damn near identical to low dopamine.
Inability to feel pleasure, lack of interest, unmotivated, careless, etc. Low dopamine is zombie mode.
Sounds like Ashwagandha can cause cortisol dysregulation or really low cortisol. It interacts with the direct regulator for cortisol production, known as HPA axis. Disrupted cortisol, disrupts dopamine.
(just a theory lol)
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There is not enough science or research, so this is just my own personal theory and intuition:
I donāt think Taurine can cause anhedonia. It has similar effects to Ashwagandha in terms of that calming, lowering of anxiety and GABA interaction, but the mechanism is completely different.
Taurine interacts straight with GABA receptors.
Ashwagandha interacts straight with the HPA axis (cortisol regulator) and stress response.
The calming effect of Taurine comes from an increase of GABA release. GABA is a neurotransmitter that reduces excitability and calms down your nervous system.
Taurine also influences Glutamate which increases excitability.
GABA and Glutamate are basically opposites. They work together to maintain a balance between excitation and inhibition in the brain.
Taurine essentially modulates the balance between Glutamate and GABA. Taurine regulates your neuronal activity so that you achieve a more balanced and calm state. Itās increased optimization.
Youāre balanced and calm but you still pop off when you want to pop off. Think of it like High T calmness or Lion IV module.
The biggest difference between Ashwagandha and Taurine is that Ashwagandha is more of a stress reducer rather than a direct regulator of neurotransmitter activity.
Taurine is considered more of a regulator rather than an excessive inhibitor of Glutamate.
Prolonged use of high doses of Taurine arenāt associated with causing excessive inhibition of Glutamate.
To summarize: Taurine acts as a modulator of neurotransmitter activity and helps maintain a balance between inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmission. It enhances the activity of GABA (inhibiting neurotransmitter) while also regulating Glutamate (excitement neurotransmitter).
Your body already has a bunch of mechanisms to balance GABA and Glutamate but Taurineās regulation balances it even further (natural optimization).
Ashwagandha isnāt considered a regulator/modulator in the same way that Taurine is. It affects GABA indirectly, rather than directly (itās not a neurotransmitter like Taurine). The anhedonia of Ashwagandha has more to do with dysregulation of your cortisol and HPA axis.
(all my opinion, lol)
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Bring me the Ćsirā¦
is this the end lol
My side goal is to maximize my testosterone, anabolism, vitality, virility and vigor as a man as much as possible without sacrificing my health, taking steroids, TRT, or any other stupid shit.
I aim to become peak-human in all levels of masculine physicality and healthā¦ through the safest and most natural means which prolong my lifespan and increase my health/well-being.
So far itās going pretty well. Eating really clean, really dense. A lot of protein, fat and carbsā¦ Iām in a caloric surplus. A lot of veggies, eggs, chicken, steak, beef, red meat, pasta, etc. A lot of salmon. A lot of stews.
My diet is down pat. Iām drinking a lot of water throughout the day.
I added in supplements that I take daily:
Creatine (5g), Taurine (2.5-3g), L-Citrulline (2g), L-Carnitine Tartrate (2g), Silymarin (400mg), Grape Seed Extract (300mg)
Which definitely work by the way. Zero side effects and my body has pretty much adapted.
I pretty much feel better than Iāve ever been. My body is literally recompingā¦ my recovery is getting better. I look bigger and leaner. Vascularity is up. Pumps are up. Libido is high. Focus is deadly. Energy is electric. Sleep is so deep that I wake up and have that surreal feeling.
Have more energy, more staminaā¦ sex lol, is flippin incredible.
Iām stumped right now. I donāt know the next move. I donāt know the next play.
I need more, lmao. I need to keep developing. Fuck yes. Donāt know how though, lol. I checked out how to optimize my diet more - nothing. Looked into some dieting techniques like intermittent fasting - doesnāt appeal to me. Looked at some more supplements - nothing. Looked at new exercises to add to my workout - nothing.
Intuitively, itās just not there.
I guess I just stick with everything I got going right now.
Itāll come to me. This canāt be the end.
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You could try putting Trailblazer into an Emperor Fitness/Quantum Limitless custom. And see what crazy, amazing ideas came out of that.
This is not a suggestion.
Also, murmurings of revolutionary new body-oriented subliminals keep wafting and drifting about. I guess weāll see something soon that does what Iāve just imagined and much more.
Either way, looks like youāre perfectly positioned to take advantage of whatever comes next.
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The bodyās not a simple Response System. Itās also an Adaptation System.
This means that after an initial decrease in response to some factor (for example, an ingested herb or adaptogen), weāll often see a later compensatory increase, as the body re-establishes (or tries to re-establish) its internal setpoints.
We canāt make simple generalizing conclusions about it, because it adapts over time.
Thatās one reason that itās important to vary your routines and freshen them up sometimes.
This, again, falls into the āfeature not bugā category of observations.
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I love that word lmao
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Why are you taking grape seeds? Antioxidants?
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This one is for better silky flawless skin. You are young and probably do not need it but anyways
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I am actually a fan of adaptogens. Always had a problem with my stress level and cortisol.
Due to an overacting fight and fly mode, I got prematurely grey hair. And also with lesser stress I have also a better speech.
Ashwagandha is not bad, like you said above, it lowers cortisol (increases testosterone) and maintains a better stress level which is always good. The only downside is the upregulation of serotonin which causes Anhedonia.
But other adaptogens are good. For example, Rhodiola rosea or Siberian ginseng (Eleuthero) are my favorite so far. Others worth to mention are Shilajit, Panax ginseng, etc.
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I am gonna try this miracle L-Carnitin. When is the best time to take it?
Morning, pre workout, post workout, in the middle of the night at 3 AM during sleep?
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Beleive me, last night I saw a photo of your body posted by you. I recognized you by the grey hair and I was thinking and thinking of your former name.
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No clue, I take 1g twice in the day. In the morning with light meal/before workout and in later in the day with a meal or protein shake
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Yeah, that is the Canadian style 
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becuase yes
GSE is underrated in my opinion, lol. The ROI is very high. Too high for me to not take.
It is high in proanthocyanidins (very efficient and potent antioxidants) and that alone provides a bunch of benefits. These antioxidants are anti-catabolic. GSE also improves your cardiovascular health which can have very wide-ranging indirect effects on overall well-being/health. If your improve your cardiovascular, youāre enhancing your anabolism, testosterone, body composition, etc.
For example:
Better cardiovascular function = better blood flow, circulation, nutrient delivery and hormone regulation/balance. Supports lean muscle growth and aids in reduction of excess body fat. A healthy cardiovascular system is important for overall vitality and sexual function.
Also reduces your risk for heart disease and bad cardiovascular conditions, in general.
It gets even more freaky when some studies have suggested potential anti-estrogenic properties of GSE.
Thereās also a whole rabbit holeā¦ stuff like GSE promoting skeletal muscle fiber hypertrophy in rats. Having anti-obesity effects by reducing body fat accumulation and promoting fat metabolism. Some studies suggest that GSE may specifically target abdominal fat, leading to improvements in body composition. Improving insulin sensitivity. Having pre-biotic effects, improving your gut health. etc, etc. Iām not going to go into the rabbit hole stuff, itās too much.
Basically, the improvement for your overall vitality is very high and without any negative side effects.
Itās sleeper-anabolic. My subconscious mind looks at my goals and forces me to take it, lmao.
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I accidentally have this GSE in my supplement storage among other many things .
Probably will try it again.
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Iāve been reflecting on the past month in terms of fitness/health.
I consider myself to be very above average healthy compared to the average person. I donāt eat processed foods, I donāt drink soda, I donāt smoke anything, I donāt drink alcohol, I donāt consume caffeine, I donāt do drugs. I am extremely clean. Iām in my late 20ās and I consider myself to be in my total prime.
All of that combined with having zero health problems, being very physically active (intense resistance training) and having a very nutritious dietā¦ I put myself at 80%.
My goal (peak-human), would be 100%. I need to become a freak. Lmao
In the past month, I would say that the the combination of adjustments I made (workouts, diet, supplements, habits) has shot me up literally 10%. Iāve only improved in every aspect. Pure optimization.
So now I would say Iām at 90%.
Now, this is excellent. However,
This last 10% is like, how do you do this naturally lol. Thatās probably why I feel plateaued a little. This last 10% is no joke, itās really the top percentile. Whoās really on that level? Maybe people with insane genetics or something. I donāt know. I donāt think itās athletes because most of them abuse PEDās, lmao.
I really donāt want to have to become super OCD about everything like my calorie intakes, macros etc and take blood tests. Shit. Iāll figure it out. I need to break this up in small steps and percentage jumps. Figure out how to get to 91% and take it slow. I have a few ideas that I need to explore.
#journeyToPeakhumanvitality
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