I was hiking in the Amazon Rainforest a few years ago when I was first introduced to a safe and natural super-stimulant that I’ve been recommending to my patients ever since.
“This is better than coffee,” a number of my patient s have told me.
I usually smile at this point, because the substance I’m talking about is the extract of an Amazonian, caffeine-loaded berry. But they’re right. It really is better than coffee.
The substance is guarana, an aphrodisiac, medicinal, appetite suppressant and energy-giving plant named for the Guarani tribe.
Legend has it that the first bush sprang up on a bend on the Amazon River, where two lovers from rival Indian tribes had been struck by lightning.
You can’t eat guarana berries, because of their intense bitterness. But guarana seeds yield a powdered extract. And you can dissolve it into liquid to make a drink that packs a powerful energy punch.
All over Brazil, locals create energy shots by adding guarana to sweetened or carbonated soft drinks. Vendors even sell the energy shots from kiosks on some city street corners.
It was early morning during that Amazon trek when my guide handed me his canteen.
“Try it for yourself,” he said. Many Brazilians regard the drink as a symbol of national pride.
Eighteen hours later, I had covered 15 miles of rugged jungle without feeling tired or worn out. My mind was crystal clear without any fogginess from fatigue.
Here’s how it works…
The guarana berry and comes from a seed called Paullina cupana. Its active compound is guaranine, a member of the caffeine family.
Tired Americans have also been downing a host of energy drinks, most of which get their kick from coffee-like caffeine. And more than anything, most of these drinks sell a lifestyle image.
But unlike regular caffeine, guaranine is full of healthy fatty acids.
This good fat gives guaranine a slow release – which means there are no coffee-like highs or lows.
Instead, its effect gradually increases over a period of hours. But it doesn’t pick you up and throw you down like the quick-release caffeine in coffee. There’s no crash with this stuff… and you don’t get any nervous, jittery energy.
Actually, caffeine is the most widely used drug in the world – and it gets a bad rap.
But it’s a proven mental-performance booster. The studies number in the hundreds. Research published in Neurology found that three cups of coffee a day cuts your risk of mental decline by more than 50%.1
Caffeine also contains some powerful antioxidants. In fact, Americans get most of their antioxidants from the caffeine in coffee.
That’s a sad indictment on the unhealthy state of the typical diet in our country. There are much better ways to get antioxidants in your body.
But even as an energy-booster, coffee has a catch. Coffee gives you a short burst of energy, but overheats and excites your body.
Guaranine is different. It has a cooling action that revitalizes and relaxes. The end result is more beneficial to your body. You get all the energy and alertness, but remain calm, cool and collected.
A team of Brazilian scientists recently studied the effect of guaranine on rats. Guaranine increased their physical activity and their physical endurance under stress, and it also improved their memory.2
You can buy guarana powder in health food stores and on the Internet.
It’s so powerful that you’d be wise to limit your dose to one teaspoon per day, or about 5 mg.
Since the powder is bitter, it’s best to mix it into a sweet citrus drink with a strong flavor. I prefer grapefruit or pineapple juice. You can also add it to smoothies or yogurt.
But for best results, I recommend taking guarana with a dose of choline, usually in the form of choline citrate.
You see, guarana causes your brain to flood with acetylcholine – which, in turn, helps your neurons make faster and clearer connections. Suddenly your mind feels sharper and more focused while your memory comes in clearer.
But when your brain runs out of acetylcholine… sooner or later, you come down. And to make more acetycholine, your body uses choline.
I recommend supplements of 535 mg. of choline citrate and 35 mg. of its cousin, CDP choline. They each work in different areas of the brain. You can find them at health food stores or on the Internet.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
1. Ritchie, K., et al. The neuroprotective effects of caffeine: A prospective study (the Three City Study). Neurology 69. 2007 Aug 7:536-545.
2. Espinola EB, et al. Pharmacological activity of Paullina cupana in laboratory animals. J Ethnopharmacol. 1997 Feb;55(3):223-9.