Top 5 Supplement Stacks of 2017 for Energy, Libido, Sleep, Memory, and Health Promoting!

Many people on the internet are searching for the ultimate supplement stacks for 2017. Dietary supplements can be combined to provide extra benefits. Some supplements have a synergistic relationship that can be exploited to create an ultimate supplement stack!   In this article, we explore the top 5 supplement stacks of the year so far. These stacks are highly effective because of the way that the supplements work together. They have been tried and tested and found to be some of the best performing stacks that you’re likely to encounter anywhere! What better way to boost your supplements experience? [caption id=""attachment_2395"" align=""alignright"" width=""848""] Supplement stacks are a rising trend in 2017![/caption]

1.    Stimulating & Energizing Stack: Hordenine with Phenylethylamine (PEA)

[caption id=""attachment_702"" align=""alignright"" width=""300""] Liftmode Hordenine: 98%+ purity, goes well with PEA[/caption] The Hordenine with Phenylethylamine (PEA) stack has been known for some time and is used for its powerful energizing benefits. This is one of the top natural stimulating/energy producing supplement stacks available in 2017. Hordenine is a phytochemical derived from the Bitter Orange plant – which also contains compounds like Synephrine and Ephedrine. Hordenine is known to be a powerful energizing supplement. It has the ability to produce a mild mood-lift through its effects on the dopamine and norepinephrine neurotransmitters. [1]   With regards to the PEA with Hordenine stack, one of Hordenine’s most important effects is that it acts as an MAO-B enzyme substrate. The MAO-B enzyme is responsible for breaking down neurotransmitters like dopamine and epinephrine. By blocking this action, Hordenine helps to produce energizing and mood-lifting effects. [2]   [caption id=""attachment_263"" align=""alignright"" width=""300""] Liftmode's PEA, 99+% purity[/caption] However, Hordenine’s ability to work as an MAO-B substrate is also the reason why it goes so well with Phenylethylamine. PEA is a natural chemical found in all animals and plants and is a promoter of catecholamine release – this includes neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine. PEA is rapidly degraded by the MAO-B enzyme. [3]   By combining PEA with Hordenine, you are able to extend PEA’s effects, as well as to enhance the effects of both supplements. Since both Hordenine and PEA are degraded by MAO-B enzymes they both compete for the enzyme. The result is that the effects of both supplements last longer and are stronger. That’s why people consider this combination to be one of the best energizing supplement stacks of 2017!  

2.    General Health Promoting Stack: Green Tea Extract with Baicalin

People often wonder what a list of the ultimate health-promoting supplement stacks would include. We’ve come to the conclusion that taking Green Tea Extract with Baicalin has got to be high up on that list! Baicalin with Green Tea Extract is one of the top health-promoting supplement stacks of the year.   [caption id=""attachment_1481"" align=""alignright"" width=""300""] Green Tea Extract has a number of great health-promoting benefits[/caption] Green Tea Extract contains phytochemicals called polyphenols and catechins (like EGCG). These plant-derived compounds have a holistic range of benefits for your body and mind. [4]   In fact, green tea is often considered to be the healthiest drink in the world and has been used in Eastern cultures for many centuries because of its stress-reducing and health-promoting effects.   Some of the scientifically researched benefits of green tea, which contains the chemicals found in Green Tea Extract include:

• Powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects
• Helping to support a healthy immune system
• Helping to maintain a healthy circulatory system
• May have antibiotic/antiviral benefits
• Helps to support healthy blood sugar levels
• May help your body to burn fat [5]

When you combine Green Tea Extract with Baicalin, not only will you experience the benefits of Green Tea Extract, but you’ll also gain from the health-promoting effects of Baicalin. While Baicalin is not as well-known as Green Tea Extract, its benefits are certainly no less exciting! Some of the most important Baicalin benefits include:   [caption id=""attachment_1544"" align=""alignright"" width=""300""] Baicalin was originally extracted from the beautiful Blue Skullcap[/caption]

• Pain-relief and the promotion of relaxation
• Powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects
• Potential antibiotic/antiviral effects
• Helps support a healthy immune system [6]

  As you can imagine, a combination of Green Tea Extract with Baicalin easily proves to be one of the top supplement stacks of 2017 for its incredible health-promoting benefits!  

3.    Memory and Cognition Boosting Stack: Choline Bitartrate with Huperzine A

With the sale of Nootropics becoming ever more regulated in 2017, people are looking for natural alternatives. We’ve managed to find one of the best supplement stacks for memory and cognition that you can use this year. Both these dietary supplements could be considered to be Nootropics because of their wonderful effects on learning, memory, and attention.   [caption id=""attachment_905"" align=""alignright"" width=""287""] Liftmode Choline Bitartrate, 99%+ purity[/caption] Choline Bitartrate is a salt form of the essential nutrient, Choline, found in low concentrations in many food sources. Choline is an essential nutrient and supports the healthy development of the brain – especially memory. Choline also has secondary health benefits like anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and supporting a healthy circulatory system. [7]   However, the most important benefit of Choline Bitartrate is its ability to help improve cognitive performance and boost memory. Not only this, but it also acts as a precursor to acetylcholine – also known as the ‘learning transmitter’. [8]   Huperzine A is an incredibly potent phytochemical derived from the Chinese herb, Huperzia serrata. Combining Choline Bitartrate with Huperzine A is a great way to improve cognitive performance because of their positive interactions. One of the most important effects of Huperzine A is to limit the breakdown of acetylcholine. [9] Acetylcholine is critical to the learning process. Not only this, but it is found at the synaptic ends of nerve cells and helps with electrochemical signal transduction between neurons. What this means is that an increase in acetylcholine may improve mental stimulation and basically gets your brain buzzing! [10]   [caption id=""attachment_2396"" align=""alignright"" width=""300""] Acetylcholine helps with signal transduction through synapses[/caption] Combining Choline Bitartrate with Huperzine A is one of the top supplement stacks of the year because of the synergistic relationship between the two compounds – Choline Bitartrate is a precursor to acetylcholine, and Huperzine A prevents acetylcholine from being broken down. This natural stack produces a memory and cognition boost that rivals most Nootropics substances!   Check out our article on how to use Choline Bitartrate!

4.   Aphrodisiac Stack: Icariin with Quercetin

What’s the ultimate aphrodisiac supplement stack for 2017? Many people wonder about how to improve their libido using natural supplements and health-promoting compounds instead of chemical agents.   [caption id=""attachment_771"" align=""alignright"" width=""300""] Liftmode's Icariin, 98+% purity[/caption] Icariin is a natural chemical derived from a Chinese herb known as ‘Horny Goat Weed’. Icariin has a long history of use in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), where it was once used as a tonic for improving sexual health and libido, as well as offering support to bones and cartilage and maintaining a healthy metabolism. Today, Icariin is offered as a powerful dietary supplement for supporting a healthy libido. [11]   Icarrin acts as a PDE-5 inhibitor – in a similar way as many other agents that are used to improve blood flow to the body. PDE-5 inhibitors help with smooth muscle contractions – offering support to the circulatory and respiratory system, as well as helping to support healthy erections. Not only this, but studies have shown that Icariin has a powerful ability to support healthy lipid (fats) levels in your blood. [12]   This is why combining Icariin with Quercetin is such a great idea. Quercetin is a plant compound found in onions, ginger, and grapes – as well as many other fruits and vegetables (and even in red wine!). Quercetin has been shown to help encourage blood flow, as well as to help support a healthy circulatory system. Quercetin is a powerful antioxidant and is especially good at destroying LDL cholesterol (‘bad’ cholesterol).  It can also be used to reduce stress and promote relaxation. [13]   The reason why Quercetin with Icariin is known as one of the top supplement stacks is that Quercetin offers benefits that help to improve Icariin’s effects. Loss of libido is related to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and stress [14]. [caption id=""attachment_799"" align=""alignright"" width=""640""] Boost your libido with Icariin and Quercetin - a powerful aphrodisiac supplement stack![/caption]

5.   Sleep Enhancing Stack: 5-HTP with Oleamide

Finally, we come to our fifth of the top supplement stacks for 2017 – the ultimate stack for sleep. There are so many recommendations about supplements to help with sleep available on the internet and it can be difficult to decide which is the best one. Don’t worry, we’ve done the work for you! Our choice of the ultimate supplement stack for sleep is combining 5-HTP with Oleamide. This has been proven to work first-hand by our employees as well as by reviews on the internet.   [caption id=""attachment_1298"" align=""alignright"" width=""300""] Liftmode's 5-HTP, 98+% pure[/caption] Science shows that 5-HTP is an effective supplement to help promote healthy sleep. The way that it works is by being converted into melatonin – a natural sleep-enhancing hormone in your brain. 5-HTP is the direct precursor to serotonin, a brain hormone responsible for mood and perception. [16] When your brain detects a change in light (the ‘dark cycle’), serotonin is converted into melatonin which helps you to fall asleep. [17]   Oleamide is another sleep-promoting compound produced in your brain. Studies have found that a few hours of sleep deprivation cause an increase in your brain’s Oleamide levels of around three to four-fold! [18] Oleamide increases the potency of signals from the GABA system – your body’s natural tranquilizing hormone/neurotransmitter system. By increasing GABA signals and binding to cannabinoid receptors, Oleamide helps to promote healthy sleep. [19]   The combination of 5-HTP with Oleamide is especially effective in promoting healthy sleep because it uses two of your brain’s natural and powerful sleep-enhancing transmitters – melatonin and Oleamide. Although Oleamide is not as well-known in terms of its abilities to promote healthy sleep, it certainly is just as effective as melatonin. [20]   Using one supplement or the other can definitely bring sleep-promoting benefits, but combining the two is an ultimate supplement stack!

Supplement Stacks Warnings and Side Effects

There are some important considerations about the safety of taking supplement stacks that you should be aware of. People often tend to forget about the potency of many dietary supplements. Since supplements aren’t classified as ‘medicine’, it can be easy to dismiss them as being without side effects. However, the truth is that many dietary supplements are powerful chemical compounds that need to be used responsibly and treated with care.   [caption id=""attachment_2365"" align=""alignright"" width=""300""] Dietary supplements are regulated by the FDA[/caption] The most important consideration about supplement stacks is the interactions between supplements. Interactions mean that different supplements sometimes affect the same areas of your body or bind to the same receptors. Sometimes, interactions can refer to how one supplement affects the way that another is absorbed or metabolized. [21] When combining supplement stacks, you need to be aware of potential interactions: Supplement stacks are designed to improve the effectiveness of two or more supplements, and so they almost always have some kind of interaction. For the most part, the interactions in supplement stacks are positive interactions – meaning that each supplement boosts the effects of the other.   While this is great for a number of benefits (which we’ve looked at above), it also means that there is a greater potential for negative side effects, and even overdosing. For example, taking two supplements that target GABA receptors can cause over-tiredness, dizziness, lethargy, and weak breathing. When combining supplement stacks, we always recommend using lower doses than the recommended dosage for each supplement. For the first time, it’s best to start by using around half the recommended dosage for each supplement. See how this affects you, and if needed, you can increase the dosage for the next use. Eventually, you’ll find the ideal dosage for your body. [caption id=""attachment_2398"" align=""alignright"" width=""799""] Supplement stacks are subject to interactions and need to be used responsibly![/caption]

Conclusion – Supplement stacks for 2017!

In summary, the ultimate top 5 supplement stacks for this year include a range of stacks for different purposes. This is by no means a final list, you may already using a different stack that works really well. Our top 5 supplement stacks for 2017 include: [caption id=""attachment_2399"" align=""alignright"" width=""200""] These are the top supplement stacks for 2017![/caption]

• Energizing = Hordenine with Phenylethylamine
• Health-Promoting = Green Tea Extract with Baicalin
• Cognition Boosting = Choline Bitartrate with Huperzine A
• Aphrodisiac = Icariin with Quercetin
• Sleep-enhancing = 5-HTP with Oleamide

  We’ve broken down this year’s top supplement stacks for your consideration and we hope that you’ll benefit from using these stacks responsibly! All the supplements we’ve included in this list are of natural origins and can be prescribed by holistic healers and naturopaths. Herbal supplements and phytochemicals, although not considered to be medicine, are powerful and effective. They must be taken responsibly and always be used within the recommended dosage guidelines. For supplements stacks, we recommend using around half the recommended dosage for each supplement, at first. If this feels okay, you can gradually increase the dosage of each supplement until you find the ideal dose.   Make sure to check the potential side effects of each supplement in a stack before you take the stack! This way, you’ll be aware of any adverse effects that you could experience and it will help you to find the ideal dosage for your desired effects.

       

References:

[1] “Hordenine”, PubChem, Open Chemistry Database, US National Library of Medicine, available online, accessed June 14, 2017 [2] CJ Barwell et al., “Deamination of hordenine by monoamine oxidase and its action on vasa deferentia of the rat”, J Pharm Pharmacol. 1989 Jun;41(6):421-3. [3] M Irsfeld et al., “β-phenylethylamine, a small molecule with a large impact”, Webmedcentral. 2013 Sep 30; 4(9): 4409. [4] SM Chacko et al., “Beneficial effects of green tea: A literature review”, Chin Med. 2010; 5: 13. [5] Y Suzuki et al., “Health-promoting effects of green tea”, Proc Jpn Acad Ser B Phys Biol Sci. 2012 Mar 9; 88(3): 88–101. [6] NR Srinivas, “Baicalin, an emerging multi-therapeutic agent: pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and considerations from drug development perspectives”, Xenobiotica. 2010 May;40(5):357-67 [7] SH Zeisel, KA da Costa, “Choline: an essential nutrient for public health”, Nutr Rev. 2009 Nov;67(11):615-23. [8] EL Cohen, RJ Wurtman, “Brain acetylcholine: control by dietary choline”, Science. 1976 Feb 13;191(4227):561-2. [9] “Huperzine A”, Examine.com, accessed June 14, 2017 [10] ME Hasselmo, “The Role of Acetylcholine in Learning and Memory”, Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2006 Dec; 16(6): 710–715. [11] ZB Zhang, QT Yang, “The testosterone mimetic properties of icariin”, Asian J Androl. 2006 Sep;8(5):601-5. Epub 2006 Jun 5. [12] AW Shindel et al., “Erectogenic and neurotrophic effects of icariin, a purified extract of horny goat weed (Epimedium spp.) in vitro and in vivo”, J Sex Med. 2010 Apr;7(4 Pt 1):1518-28 [13] Y Li et al., “Quercetin, Inflammation and Immunity”, Nutrients. 2016 Mar; 8(3): 167. [14] “Screening men with ED for heart disease could save money, lives”, By Kathryn Doyle, Reuters Health, Wed Mar 11, 2015, accessed June 14, 2017 [15] G Askari et al., “The effect of quercetin supplementation on selected markers of inflammation and oxidative stress”, J Res Med Sci. 2012 Jul; 17(7): 637–641. [16] TC Birdsall, “5-Hydroxytryptophan: a clinically-effective serotonin precursor”, Altern Med Rev. 1998 Aug;3(4):271-80. [17] AB Hickman et al., “Melatonin Biosynthesis: The Structure of Serotonin N-Acetyltransferase at 2.5 Å Resolution Suggests a Catalytic Mechanism”, Molecular Cell, Volume 3, Issue 1, January 1999, Pages 23-32 [18] WB Mendelson, AS Basile. “The hypnotic actions of the fatty acid amide, oleamide”, Neuropsychopharmacology. 2001 Nov;25(5 Suppl):S36-9. [19] CJ Fowler, “Oleamide: a member of the endocannabinoid family?”, Br J Pharmacol. 2004 Jan; 141(2): 195–196. [20] DL Boger et al., “Oleamide: an endogenous sleep-inducing lipid and prototypical member of a new class of biological signaling molecules”, Curr Pharm Des. 1998 Aug;4(4):303-14. [21] “Herb-Drug Interactions”, NCCIH Clinical Digest for health professionals, September 2015, accessed June 14, 2017