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View Full Version : Relora - Who has used it?



Frosty
07-31-2009, 11:41 AM
Hey guys, who has used Relora and what has been your experience with it?

Trixter
07-31-2009, 02:46 PM
I've used it for overnight along with some Valerian. I tend to feel overall better rested in the mornings when I take it, or I'll add some in during the day if I'm overwhelmed at work or having to rely more on stimulants to get through the day. Its a nice since it doesn't cause any sort of drowsy or sedative response.

My wife's used it also during stressful times (ie finals at school) and its helped her out as well.

Frosty
07-31-2009, 02:56 PM
Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking along the lines of using it with the last two meals of the day (#5 and #6 for me) to help support natural cortisol circadian rhythms (and therefore sleep). I've noticed as of late due to some stimulant use I'm backwards with low cort in the morning and high at night.

Trixter
07-31-2009, 03:13 PM
I think its good stuff. I was using the NOW Foods brand since it had the best dosage for the dollar. They also make a stress complex that has Relora in it, too, but I haven't bothered to try that one since the Relora has been working well by itself.

Frosty
07-31-2009, 03:28 PM
Moved this thread to the science section :)

Curious of ThePhysicalTherapist has any more to add to this.

I like the idea of using it with evening meals. I was going to combine this with licorice root extract in the first 2 meals to raise cortisol, then Relora last two meals to reduce cortisol so the natural rhythms are better than they are now.

TPT
07-31-2009, 06:29 PM
whats up frosty.

yeah relora is an interesting extracts. with great effects on- rats! lol. well its true. but, we can still learn a lot from basic research and animal model though still have discretion in generalizations.

honokiol (ie., an active constituent of magnolia officinalis) has been shown to have anxiolytic effects. magnolia officinalis and phellodendron amurennse extracts have shown to have similiar effects. and berberine Z(ie, constituent of phellodendron) has shown anxiolytic and antidepresant effects. remember, all using animal models but still promising applications to humans.

on to human subjects. i know of two studies with mixed results.

http://www.nextpharmaceuticals.com/stage/pdfs/Relora_AltTher2006.pdf
the first was a nicely designed study though some dubious results. first i think one of the authors was the chairman of a company that sells relora. lol.

all subjects were overweight premenopausal females ages 20 to 50. two groups for 6 weeks- one with relora and placebo. eighteen in the relora group and 10 in the placebo. keep note of that difference. no issues regarding measures of safety. seems ok. eh.

placebo group showed significant weight gain but no weight gain for the relora group. both groups showed significant reductions in calorie intake. so both groups started reducing food intake likely because of placebo effects. dubious right.

both groups showed improvements in psychological measures as well. so more placebo effects. no differences between groups for psych measures. eh results.

as far as cortisol, there was a nonsignificant trend for reduced cortisol in the relora group. cortisol tended to decrease in the evening for the relora group while the placebo group tended to increase. so these are optimistic results though im suspicous because only a few data were provided so i could not analyze the cortisol data better.

so all we can truly gather is that relora might decrease evening cortisol.

on to the second paper.

TPT
07-31-2009, 07:06 PM
ok now the second study on relora.
http://nutritionj.com/content/pdf/1475-2891-7-11.pdf

this was another nicely designed study with less limitations than the previous one. kalman et al. (2008) used 26 overweight females aged 20 to 50 for 6 weeks. 16 in the relora group and 10 in the placebo group. keep that in mind cause that is a problem.

safely measures were fine.

results showed significant decreases in anxiety for both groups. thats a problem right. but, the reduction in anxiety was significantly greater for the relora group compared to the placebo group. good stuff. other subjective measures in psych were significantly better for the relora group.

now for cortisol measures. unfortunately no significant differences between the groups. there was a trend towards decreases in cortisol levels for both groups. thats both groups. the mutha authors did not report the cortiosl measures. not good. anyway, these data might have indicated effects of relora and "good feeling" but not cortisol changes. you guys tell me what that means. lol.

so relora might have good effects on reducing transitory anxiety but not relate to cortisol or weight loss measures. i suspect with larger number of subjects their would have been stat significance on measures other than psych. however, we might care more than stat signifcance becasue it may not be relevant to the effects bodybuilders want.

what do you think?

we should care about the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, normal levels of glucocorticoids, and the effects of noxious stimuli. but, i dont know if relora and "good feelings" has any effects on cortisol levels.

maybe.

TPT
07-31-2009, 07:07 PM
ok now the second study on relora.
http://nutritionj.com/content/pdf/1475-2891-7-11.pdf

this was another nicely designed study with less limitations than the previous one. kalman et al. (2008) used 26 overweight females aged 20 to 50 for 6 weeks. 16 in the relora group and 10 in the placebo group. keep that in mind cause that is a problem.

safely measures were fine.

results showed significant decreases in anxiety for both groups. thats a problem right. but, the reduction in anxiety was significantly greater for the relora group compared to the placebo group. good stuff. other subjective measures in psych were significantly better for the relora group.

now for cortisol measures. unfortunately no significant differences between the groups. there was a trend towards decreases in cortisol levels for both groups. thats both groups. the mutha authors did not report the cortiosl measures. not good. anyway, these data might have indicated effects of relora and "good feeling" but not cortisol changes. you guys tell me what that means. lol.

so relora might have good effects on reducing transitory anxiety but not relate to cortisol or weight loss measures. i suspect with larger number of subjects their would have been stat significance on measures other than psych. however, we might care more than stat signifcance becasue it may not be relevant to the effects bodybuilders want.

what do you think?

we should care about the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, normal levels of glucocorticoids, and the effects of noxious stimuli. but, i dont know if relora and "good feelings" has any effects on cortisol levels.

maybe.



and weight loss is a whole other issue.

Frosty
08-01-2009, 12:54 AM
Interesting. Not very impressive to say the least. I would have liked to see real changes in cortisol because I don't care about the other things.

So the question would be what compounds actually show real results for lowering cortisol? If I'm not mistaken phosphatidyl serine does, but it's not cheap. I've also heard of magnesium orotate and L-glycine having an effect. What do you think?

I have to say I'm not really interested directly in fat loss from these things. I'm more interested in a holistic approach in that I want to have normal circadian rhythms of cortisol so I have energy in the morning to do my exercise and lower at night so I can fall asleep faster to get more sleep and higher quality. Now THAT will help with fat loss...not the supplements to lower cortisol directly. Because really I don't want a net reduction in cortisol for the day...I want the levels throughout the day to be appropriate.

TPT
08-01-2009, 01:06 PM
relora might have "indirect" effects on reducing cortisol. Since aversive events increase cortisol levels and consequently the availability of glucose; having "good feelings" from relora might lead to reduced cortisol. one study did show trends toward reduced cortisol in the evening.

this is similar to when people recommend reducing stress in our lives through yoga or other activities as if it is reducing stress reduces cortisol. this is an assumption with some validity. i do respect the correlations between obesity, stress, and increased cortisol.

apex23
08-01-2009, 02:41 PM
What is the NOW Brand RELORA called?

This is a great read. Thanks

TPT
08-02-2009, 08:18 PM
What is the NOW Brand RELORA called?

This is a great read. Thanks



whats up apex, relora is registered so many companies have it. now has it cheap as well.

i just might try it.

Trixter
08-02-2009, 09:47 PM
This is usually where I get mine: http://www.discountanabolics.com/p/NF-087

TPT
08-04-2009, 09:16 PM
This is usually where I get mine: http://www.discountanabolics.com/p/NF-087


cool. thanks.

apex23
08-04-2009, 09:46 PM
Damn that is nice and cheap. I will have to give it a try.