Protocol 32
Seventy-four we left out.
Every one considered. Every one refused. The reason in writing.
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74 Left out
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5 Reasons
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0 In the formula
Protocol 32
Every one considered. Every one refused. The reason in writing.
What this page is
Every one of these seventy four is sold in India or the United States today, most of them by people you have heard of. Every one of them was on our table at some point in fifteen months of formulation, because every one has a real story behind it. Each was left out for one of five reasons, and nothing in the formula appears on this list.
24
The story is good and the trials are not. Small, short, unreplicated, retracted, or a marker moves and nothing follows.
17
It works, and it changes how a prescription medicine works. This sachet is taken by people over 35, and many of them take a medicine every day.
7
It works until it does not. Tolerance builds, or every credible protocol needs weeks off it. This is taken every day for decades.
24
A documented harm, at the doses people actually take, that outweighs the benefit.
2
The ingredient may be fine. What is sold under its name too often is not.
The story is good and the trials are not. Small, short, unreplicated, retracted, or a marker moves and nothing follows.
Sold for. Joints.
The case for it. The most bought joint supplement in the world. Both are building blocks of cartilage, and small early trials showed less knee pain.
Why it is out. The largest trial ever run on it, 1,583 people over two years, found no benefit over placebo. Results since are mixed, and glucosamine is shellfish derived.
Instead. Vitamin C, glycine and copper build the matrix. Boswellia, curcumin, ginger and DHA handle the inflammation.
Sold for. Skin brightening and detox.
The case for it. It is your body’s main repair antioxidant, and levels fall with age, so swallowing it seems obvious.
Why it is out. Most of it is broken into its amino acids in the gut before it arrives. The trials that show a rise in blood levels are small and slow.
Instead. NAC and glycine, the two building blocks your body is short of, plus riboflavin to recharge what you make.
Sold for. Memory and nerve growth.
The case for it. It raises nerve growth factor in cells and animals, and one Japanese trial in older adults with mild impairment improved scores.
Why it is out. That single small trial carries the whole claim, and the gain vanished within four weeks of stopping.
Instead. Bacopa, with nine trials pooled behind it, and the homocysteine chain.
Sold as. Vegetarian omega-3.
The case for it. Rich in ALA, a plant omega-3, and vegetarian.
Why it is out. Under five per cent of ALA becomes DHA, which is the omega-3 your brain and retina are built from.
Instead. Algal DHA, the same molecule fish get from algae, 300 mg a sachet.
Sold for. Blood sugar and cravings.
The case for it. A cofactor in insulin signalling, and deficiency does impair glucose handling.
Why it is out. Pooled trials show a negligible change in HbA1c in people with normal or high blood sugar.
Sold as. The red wine longevity molecule.
The case for it. It extended lifespan in yeast and worms and switched on longevity genes in the lab.
Why it is out. It is poorly absorbed and cleared within minutes, and the human trials have largely come back negative. The drug company that bet on it walked away.
Sold for. Skin hydration and joints.
The case for it. It holds water in skin and lubricates joints, and levels fall with age.
Why it is out. Little of it arrives intact, and the trials showing a benefit are small and industry funded.
Instead. The collagen chain for structure, and astaxanthin for skin moisture, which has a placebo controlled trial behind it.
Sold for. Libido and energy.
The case for it. A Peruvian root with a long history and a few small trials on sexual desire.
Why it is out. Small, short, single region trials with no replication at scale.
Sold for. Sleep.
The case for it. The oldest sleep tea there is, and its apigenin acts on the same receptors as sedatives.
Why it is out. The trials are small and the effect is mild at best.
Instead. Glycine, L-theanine, saffron and magnesium, each with a controlled sleep trial behind it.
Sold for. Weight loss.
The case for it. Chlorogenic acid, and a trial that reported large weight loss.
Why it is out. That central trial was retracted and its sponsor fined. Nothing credible has replaced it.
Sold for. NAD and longevity.
The case for it. NAD falls with age, and NMN raises it in mice and in human blood.
Why it is out. It raises a blood marker with no human outcome behind it yet.
Sold as. A testosterone booster.
The case for it. Used in Ayurveda and by Bulgarian athletes for vigour.
Why it is out. Controlled trials show no rise in testosterone at all.
Sold for. Stamina and VO2 max.
The case for it. Chinese runners in the 1990s, and a plausible effect on how the body uses oxygen.
Why it is out. Effects appear only in small untrained older groups, and they are tiny.
Sold for. Detox and heavy metal binding.
The case for it. A whole food alga dense in nutrients that binds metals in a test tube.
Why it is out. The human trials are small and inconsistent.
Sold to. Blunt sugar cravings.
The case for it. Gurmar, the sugar destroyer, numbs the tongue’s sweet receptors and has centuries of use in Ayurveda.
Why it is out. The supporting trials are old, small and uncontrolled.
Sold for. Pain and inflammation.
The case for it. An enzyme from silkworms, prescribed for swelling in Japan and Europe for decades.
Why it is out. Tiny studies, decades old, never replicated, and Japan withdrew it from the market for lack of evidence.
Instead. Boswellia and curcumin, with controlled trials.
Sold for. Fat loss.
The case for it. A compound structurally similar to capsaicin that raised fat burning in rodents.
Why it is out. Rodent and test tube evidence only, at doses no human could take.
Sold for. Fat loss.
The case for it. It raises cyclic AMP inside cells, which is real biochemistry.
Why it is out. The whole claim rests on one small trial.
Sold for. Calm and sleep.
The case for it. It is the brain’s own calming neurotransmitter.
Why it is out. Swallowed GABA barely crosses into the brain.
Instead. L-theanine and glycine, which do.
Sold for. Calm.
The case for it. A traditional calming herb with a few positive short studies.
Why it is out. Short, small studies using doses that do not agree with each other.
Sold for. NAD and longevity.
The case for it. The better absorbed cousin of NMN, and it does raise NAD in human blood.
Why it is out. A marker moves and nothing measurable follows in the trials so far.
Sold for. Memory.
The case for it. A membrane phospholipid with good trials in older adults in the 1990s.
Why it is out. Those results came from the bovine version, withdrawn decades ago. The soy version has not reproduced them.
Instead. DHA and choline, which build the same membranes.
Sold for. Mitochondrial renewal.
The case for it. A gut metabolite of pomegranate that triggers mitochondrial cleanup in cells and animals.
Why it is out. A handful of small trials on muscle endurance markers, and nothing further yet.
Instead. Riboflavin, CoQ10 and copper, the production line the mitochondria actually run on.
Sold for. Biological age reversal.
The case for it. A metabolite that extended lifespan in mice.
Why it is out. Mouse data plus one uncontrolled epigenetic clock study.
It works, and it changes how a prescription medicine works. This sachet is taken by people over 35, and many of them take a medicine every day.
Sold for. Bones.
The case for it. The mineral bones are made of, and Indian diets often run short.
Why it is out. At supplement doses it blocks absorption of iron, zinc and thyroid medication, and this sachet already carries minerals.
Instead. Vitamin D3 with magnesium, which decide whether the calcium you eat is used.
Sold for. Memory and circulation.
The case for it. The most studied memory herb in Europe.
Why it is out. Bleeding risk alongside aspirin or warfarin, and the largest prevention trial, 3,000 people over six years, found no effect on memory.
Instead. Bacopa and the homocysteine chain.
Sold for. Blood sugar and lactation.
The case for it. Methi, a kitchen staple with real glucose lowering data.
Why it is out. It stacks on top of diabetes drugs and blood thinners. In a daily product for people over 35, that is a hypoglycaemia waiting to happen.
Sold for. Vitamin C and hair.
The case for it. The richest common source of vitamin C in India.
Why it is out. At extract doses it thins blood and lowers glucose on top of medication.
Instead. Vitamin C at one RDA as ascorbic acid, the same job without the extract’s baggage.
Sold for. Cholesterol and blood pressure.
The case for it. Genuine, if modest, blood pressure data.
Why it is out. Bleeding risk, and it lowers blood levels of some antiretrovirals.
Sold as. Natural metformin.
The case for it. It lowers blood sugar about as well as low dose metformin in trials.
Why it is out. That is the problem. It behaves like a drug, stacks with diabetes medication and blocks the enzymes that clear others. A drug belongs in a prescription, not a daily sachet.
Sold for. Mood.
The case for it. As effective as some antidepressants for mild low mood in European trials.
Why it is out. The single worst interacting herb on the market, including with contraceptives, antidepressants and transplant medicines.
Instead. B6, folate and B12, the co-factors mood runs on, and saffron.
Sold as. An absorption booster.
The case for it. Black pepper extract raises curcumin absorption twentyfold.
Why it is out. It does the same to prescription drugs, unpredictably.
Instead. A water soluble curcumin that absorbs on its own.
Sold for. Energy.
The case for it. The original ginseng, with the most trials behind it.
Why it is out. It interferes with blood thinners and diabetes medication more than the American species does.
Instead. American ginseng, with a working memory trial at exactly our 200 mg and fewer, milder interactions in the literature.
Sold for. Allergy and immunity.
The case for it. An antioxidant flavonoid with anti-allergy data in cells.
Why it is out. It blocks the enzymes and transporters that clear common medicines.
Sold for. Detox and bloating.
The case for it. It works so well as an adsorbent that emergency rooms use it for poisoning.
Why it is out. It adsorbs everything else in the sachet and any medicine taken near it.
Sold for. Bones and arteries.
The case for it. It directs calcium into bone and away from arteries, with promising observational data.
Why it is out. It directly opposes warfarin, which millions of people over fifty take.
Sold for. Mood and sleep.
The case for it. One step from serotonin, and it does raise it.
Why it is out. Serotonin syndrome risk for anyone on an antidepressant.
Instead. B6, folate and B12, the co-factors, and saffron at a dose with a placebo controlled sleep trial.
Sold for. Circulation.
The case for it. Procyanidins with some blood pressure data.
Why it is out. It adds to the effect of blood thinners.
Sold for. Inflammation and digestion.
The case for it. A pineapple enzyme with data on swelling after surgery.
Why it is out. It increases bleeding and alters antibiotic absorption.
Instead. A protease without those effects, and boswellia for inflammation.
Sold for. Cholesterol.
The case for it. An Ayurvedic resin once sold as a cholesterol medicine in India.
Why it is out. It speeds up clearance of thyroid, heart and blood pressure medication, and the largest American trial found it raised LDL.
Sold for. Mood and sleep.
The case for it. The amino acid serotonin is made from.
Why it is out. The same serotonin syndrome risk as 5-HTP, and a contaminated batch caused an outbreak of a crippling muscle disease in 1989.
It works until it does not. Tolerance builds, or every credible protocol needs weeks off it. This is taken every day for decades.
Sold for. Alertness.
The case for it. The most effective, best studied stimulant there is.
Why it is out. It works, and that is the problem. Tolerance builds, and it does not belong in something taken every morning for forty years. There is no stimulant in this sachet, so there is no crash.
Sold as. A natural energy source.
The case for it. An Amazonian seed with more caffeine than coffee.
Why it is out. Caffeine under another name, with the dose varying by extract.
Sold for. Sleep.
The case for it. The best known herbal sedative in Europe.
Why it is out. Continuous use brings tolerance and next day heaviness.
Instead. Glycine, L-theanine, saffron and magnesium, none of which sedate.
Sold for. Fatigue and stress.
The case for it. A genuine adaptogen with decades of Russian and Scandinavian trials on fatigue.
Why it is out. Mildly stimulating, and the effect fades unless you cycle off it.
Instead. Ashwagandha and American ginseng, which hold with daily use.
Sold for. Testosterone and drive.
The case for it. Some testosterone data in stressed men.
Why it is out. Every credible protocol requires time off it.
Sold as. Siberian ginseng, for stamina.
The case for it. Soviet athletes and cosmonauts took it.
Why it is out. The classical protocol is weeks on and weeks off, not daily forever.
Sold for. Memory.
The case for it. A club moss compound that blocks the enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine, the same mechanism as prescription memory drugs.
Why it is out. It inhibits an enzyme, accumulates in the body and must be cycled. That is a drug’s behaviour.
Instead. Choline, the raw material of acetylcholine, rather than a block on its breakdown.
A documented harm, at the doses people actually take, that outweighs the benefit.
Sold for. Energy and anaemia.
The case for it. Half of Indian women are anaemic, and iron is the fix when you are low.
Why it is out. Giving it to someone who has not tested low is harmful, because excess iron is stored, not excreted. Get tested, and if you are low, take iron as a prescription, not as a hidden line in a sachet.
Sold for. Metabolism and appetite.
The case for it. Small trials show a little less appetite and a small dip in blood sugar after a meal.
Why it is out. It erodes enamel and has caused injury to the food pipe, particularly in tablet form.
Sold for. Metabolism.
The case for it. Green tea itself is one of the healthiest drinks there is.
Why it is out. Concentrated EGCG in capsules has been linked to liver injury by European regulators. Drink the tea.
Sold for. Stress.
The case for it. Tulsi, with small trials on stress and blood sugar.
Why it is out. Animal data on fertility, and a blood thinning effect at supplement doses.
Instead. Ashwagandha, with larger trials and a cleaner record on both counts.
Sold for. Blood sugar.
The case for it. Small trials on fasting glucose.
Why it is out. The coumarin in cassia is liver toxic at daily doses, and the safe variety is expensive and rarely what is in the capsule.
Sold as. Giloy, for immunity.
The case for it. A pillar of Ayurvedic immunity, and hugely popular since 2020.
Why it is out. Documented acute liver injury cases in India, published by Indian hepatologists.
Sold for. Blood sugar.
The case for it. Karela, with genuine glucose lowering activity.
Why it is out. Hypoglycaemia on top of medication, and reproductive toxicity signals in animals.
Sold for. Skin and vision.
The case for it. Essential, and deficiency blinds children.
Why it is out. At supplement doses it accumulates in the liver and carries pregnancy risk. An Indian diet with dairy, dal and vegetables covers it.
Sold as. A safer vitamin A.
The case for it. The plant form, which the body converts only as needed.
Why it is out. Two large trials found more lung cancer in smokers taking it.
Instead. Lutein, zeaxanthin and astaxanthin, carotenoids with trial data and no such signal.
Sold for. Weight loss.
The case for it. Its hydroxycitric acid blocks a fat making enzyme in the lab.
Why it is out. Hepatotoxicity reports, including liver failure and transplants.
Sold for. Acidity and gut lining.
The case for it. Mulethi, soothing for the stomach lining, with a long history.
Why it is out. Glycyrrhizin raises blood pressure and drops potassium, and the deglycyrrhizinated versions vary from batch to batch.
Instead. Glycine, NAC and riboflavin, which keep the gut lining’s own repair antioxidant supplied.
Sold for. Cholesterol.
The case for it. It raises HDL and was prescribed for that for decades.
Why it is out. The large outcome trials showed harm rather than benefit, alongside flushing and liver stress.
Sold for. Thyroid.
The case for it. The thyroid cannot make its hormone without it.
Why it is out. Indian salt is already iodised, and excess iodine causes the dysfunction it claims to fix.
Sold for. Thyroid and antioxidant support.
The case for it. A real cofactor for thyroid enzymes and for glutathione’s own enzyme.
Why it is out. The safe window is narrow, and a large trial found more type 2 diabetes at 200 mcg a day.
Sold for. Immunity and sleep.
The case for it. The mushroom of immortality in Chinese medicine.
Why it is out. Liver injury reports and a blood thinning effect.
Sold for. Nerve health and glucose.
The case for it. Genuine data on nerve pain in diabetes.
Why it is out. An autoimmune insulin syndrome that shows up disproportionately in Asian populations carrying a particular gene variant.
Sold for. Skin and memory.
The case for it. Brahmi’s cousin, with some wound healing data.
Why it is out. Liver injury reports.
Instead. Bacopa for memory, the collagen chain for skin.
Sold for. Energy and focus.
The case for it. It shuttles fat into the mitochondria to be burned, and has some data in older adults.
Why it is out. No consistent benefit in people who are not deficient, and almost nobody eating a normal diet is.
Instead. Creatine, which the same people are short of.
Sold for. Fat loss.
The case for it. A fatty acid that reduced body fat in mice.
Why it is out. In humans it worsens insulin resistance and raises liver fat.
Sold for. Anxiety.
The case for it. It works for anxiety, with trials to prove it.
Why it is out. Liver toxicity, restricted or banned in several countries.
Sold for. Fat loss and libido.
The case for it. A real drug, once prescribed for erectile dysfunction.
Why it is out. It raises blood pressure and heart rate and drives anxiety.
Sold for. Focus.
The case for it. A choline source that crosses into the brain quickly, popular with athletes.
Why it is out. A stroke risk signal in a cohort of twelve million people followed over ten years.
Instead. Choline bitartrate, the plain form.
Sold for. Immunity.
The case for it. A birch fungus with a high antioxidant content.
Why it is out. The oxalate load has caused kidney injury.
Sold for. Testosterone.
The case for it. A Nigerian shrub that raised testosterone in rats.
Why it is out. Testicular toxicity in animals and no human safety data at all.
The ingredient may be fine. What is sold under its name too often is not.
Sold for. Energy, testosterone and vitality.
The case for it. A Himalayan resin with a small testosterone trial and centuries of use.
Why it is out. Market samples repeatedly test positive for lead, arsenic and mercury, and there is no reliable standard to buy against.
Sold for. Plant protein and antioxidants.
The case for it. A complete protein and a rich source of phycocyanin.
Why it is out. Open pond cultivation carries a real risk of contamination with microcystins, a liver toxin.
Instead. DHA from algae grown in closed fermenters, batch tested.
Nothing in the formula appears on this list.