Today’s energy drink market is saturated, crowded, and largely one-dimensional. If you’re looking for energy shots, you’ll find them, packed full of B vitamins, caffeine and other stimulants. But isn’t caffeine just a sort of band-aid for tiredness? What does our morning coffee really do for our health? And what might a blend of adaptogens, nootropics and superfoods do for our health as an alternative?

 

We formulated MTE to fix the giant hole in the energy drink market: natural, holistic ingredients focused on overall health, vitality and longevity. Made for daily use, the health benefits of MTE have the potential to accumulate over time. Instead of focusing on the fact that you’re tired and trying to fix it with an energy boost, MTE focuses on why you’re tired, and aims to give you the resources not to be. And that means more than energy, but stress resilience, calm focus, immune support, and better athletic performance as well.

 

Here’s a rundown of MTE’s blend of wellness-boosting ingredients and what they do:

 

Anxiety Management

Ashwagandha: Ashwagandha lowers activity in the HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis), which regulates stress responses. It is also thought to lower the activity of the central nervous system, producing a calming effect.

 

GABA: An amino acid that acts like a neurotransmitter, GABA is a nootropic that calms neuron activity. It’s known to produce a calming effect, offering protection against symptoms of anxiety brought on by an overexcited nervous system.

 

L-Theanine: L-theanine is an amino acid and potent nootropic that supports anxiety and stress management. It’s thought L-theanine acts by increasing alpha waves in the brain, associated with calm, and GABA production, which reduces anxious responses.

 

Calm Focus

Ashwagandha: This powerful adaptogen’s regenerative effects on nerve and soft tissues in the body support the longevity of cognitive function and may improve concentration via a coupling of this function with the suppression of the nervous system. Clinical trials indicate the sitoindosides and acylsterylglucosides increase motor and cognition-related neurotransmission. This results in a calm focus.

 

L-Theanine: The same mechanisms that make L-theanine an effective nootropic for anxiety support also make it great for a cognitive boost without the jitters of a stimulant. Clinical trials support the claim that L-theanine increases the ability to concentrate on a task.

 

Cognitive Support

Maca: Clinical research indicates that the amino acids in the adaptogen maca may help support brain health by acting as a neuroprotectant and improving mitochondrial function. This adaptogen has also demonstrated an ability to reduce memory impairments.

 

Saffron: Saffron is considered a nootropic and a superfood. One of its many abilities is cognitive support; active compounds in saffron may offer neuroprotective benefits, especially in the hippocampus, and it has reduced memory-related cognitive impairments in clinical research.

 

Energy

InnovaTea®: An extract of green tea leaves standardized to 98% caffeine, InnovaTea offers all the energy-boosting benefits of a natural caffeine drink, including faster reaction time and improved focus, and may be better for blood glucose and cardiovascular health than synthetic caffeine sources.

 

Theacrine: This adaptogen offers has all the benefits of caffeine without any of the drawbacks. Since it’s not a stimulant, this alkaloid doesn’t raise your blood pressure or heart rate, and your body doesn’t build a tolerance to it like caffeine. Theacrine promotes a calm, continuous flow of energy that helps you stay alert throughout the day, and doesn’t result in tolerance the way caffeine does.

 

Immunity

Ashwagandha: The stress-protective properties of this adaptogen reduce the energy your immune system spends on managing stress, which is a facet of why ashwagandha is thought to boost immune system activity. In addition, glucosides in ashwagandha may modulate both the innate and the adaptive immune systems, improving the immune system’s capabilities.

 

GABA: Just as this nootropic acts as an inhibitor in the brain, it has a related relationship with the immune system. Current research indicates the immune system has GABAergic capacities, and that GABA supports the immune system via anti-inflammatory signals, notably T cell responses to adverse stimuli.

 

Saffron: Saffron contains powerful antioxidants that have repeatedly demonstrated an ability to scavenge free radicals and facilitate DNA repair in clinical settings, including liver, kidney, lung, heart, and brain function.

 

Spirulina: This superfood is packed with vitamins and minerals that support your immune system function, and daily supplementation with spirulina has been shown to decrease viral load levels while increasing hemoglobin.

 

Increased Physical Performance

Amaranth: Because this superfood is rich in nitrites, amaranth supplements promote physical endurance by increasing your body’s nitric oxide production. Amaranth may also support muscle recovery and aerobic metabolism.

 

Ashwagandha: This adaptogen helps optimize the body’s use of oxygen, improving your VO2 max and, in turn, promoting respiratory and muscle health. This is another facet that contributes to ashwagandha’s immune-boosting properties. Research indicates ashwagandha may speed muscle recovery and help burn fat more efficiently.

 

InnovaTea®: A clean, natural caffeine source, this adaptogen offers the energy and endurance-boosting effects of caffeine, and may promote cardiovascular health.

 

Maca: This adaptogen is high in copper, manganese and potassium, which support bone density while offering anti-inflammatory benefits. A study on athletes and maca supplements resulted in better athletic performance in all subjects after two weeks of daily maca consumption.

 

Mood Support

GABA: Several mood, affect and psychotic disorders are associated with low GABA levels or impaired GABA function. Since this nootropic inhibits neuronal activity, it may prevent things like anxiety, depression and mania by modulating the nervous system and calming the overexcited neurons.

 

Holy Basil: This plant is an ancient nootropic with well-documented health benefits. Several studies on mood alone have consistently indicated that holy basil improves mood and reduces stress and anxiety. Clinical research has also observes a reduction in stress-induced psychosomatic symptoms after taking holy basil.

 

Maca: Traditionally used for energy and vitality, this superfood-adaptogen hybrid has clinical research to support its usefulness for symptoms of anxiety, depression, and overall mood support by modulating the HPA.

 

Theacrine: Theacrine works by binding to specific dopamine receptors in your brain. Dopamine is responsible for feelings of motivation, pleasure and satisfaction. So, when theacrine communicates with these receptors, it signals your brain to produce more dopamine. This can improve your mood and motivation in a measured and sustainable way.

 

Reduced Inflammation

Ashwagandha: Ashwagandha targets inflammatory pathways and signal molecules in the body, which may contribute to a reduction in inflammatory markers and an increase in immune function. Key compounds modulate cytokine expression and inhibit protein kinase pathways, resulting in an anti-inflammatory effect.

 

Spirulina: This superfood is packed with vitamins and minerals that help modulate the body’s inflammatory responses, and clinical research suggests spirulina reduces inflammation by balancing different serum levels in the blood. It has also been shown to reduce oxidative stress.

 

Theacrine: Theacrine is one of the main compounds in the kucha plant, which has properties that could be vital in promoting faster recovery and maintaining optimal health. As an adaptogen, theacrine is posited to have anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, which current research supports.

 

Stress Resilience

Ashwagandha: This powerhouse of an adaptogen contains sitoindosides and acylsterylglucosides that regulate stress responses by controlling cortisol levels, heat shock proteins, and the JNK-1 protein, which is produced because of stress responses.

 

Holy Basil: The tulsi plant has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to mitigate both metabolic and psychological symptoms of stress via blood sugar regulation and cognitive support.

 

Siberian Ginseng: This adaptogenic plant seems to help manage mental and physical responses to stress by modulating key chemicals in the blood. Siberian ginseng, also called Eleuthero, may also increase mental performance under stressful conditions.

 

Maca: As a nootropic and a superfood, one of the ways maca acts on the brain is by modulating the HPA axis. Clinical research shows that maca is capable of boosting stress resilience via anti-depressant properties and boosting antioxidant levels in the brain.

Want to know more about MTE’s formulation? Stop by our Learn page for profiles on each and every ingredient in MTE. Don’t worry; there are only 11. And visit our Wellness Blog for health tips and more nerdy articles about the power of adaptogens, nootropics and superfoods.