Disclosure: this was a webinar from Regenerate Company, which Dr. Bohemier and I are part of and which makes MethylateBLUE. We mention the formula throughout and walk through it from 25:17. MethylateBLUE is not methylene blue.
I love coffee. I have indexed research and written about its real benefits for years, so this is not a post telling you to quit.
It is about a question Dr. Joel Bohemier keeps hearing. In almost thirty years of practice, the people asking how to get more energy used to be in their sixties and seventies. Now he hears it from teenagers, university students, and people in their thirties and forties.
At the start of our livestream we asked one question in the chat: what did you have this morning? Dozens of you answered within two minutes. Coffee, espresso, matcha, green tea, a caffeine pill, lemon water, and a few honest “nothing.” Almost nobody said nicotine or blue drops. The real story is the ordinary one: most of us reach for something that changes how tired we feel.
So Joel and I spent an hour on what that something is doing. How caffeine and nicotine act on the brain. Why methylene blue is popular, and why the prescription drug carries an FDA boxed warning. And what cells need to make energy in the first place. Then we took your questions.
Chapters
00:54 Welcome and disclosure
02:06 Joel: why energy complaints are showing up in younger people
04:13 What did you have this morning? The live poll
05:30 How caffeine blocks adenosine, and why you need more over time
07:13 Nicotine, dopamine and pouches
09:04 Joel on food, minerals and “nutrient intelligence”
13:39 Methylene blue: where it came from, what it is approved for, and the warnings
17:00 Joel on friends who recommend methylene blue
19:14 Spirulina, phycocyanin and the Aztec runners
22:34 Chlorophyll pigments, light and mitochondria
25:17 Our formula, step by step (the product walk-through starts here)
41:16 Minerals and how they are used in energy production
45:21 Q&A: why not just spirulina? How to start
50:30 Q&A: how the vitamins are made, blood thinners, CoQ10, other supplements
1:01:52 Closing
Three moments worth sharing (lightly edited for readability)
“Today, I’m getting those questions from teenagers. I’m getting those questions from university students.” Dr. Joel Bohemier [02:06]
“Caffeine just happens to look just like adenosine, and it blocks the receptors.” Sayer Ji [05:40]
“We’re okay if you wanna try it. That’s all. You have agency and sovereignty over your body.” Sayer Ji [18:02], on methylene blue
“There’s no pill on the planet that is gonna solve your problems.” Sayer Ji [1:02:25]
Questions we did not get to
Many of you asked questions we could not reach live. These are the ones that came up most. They are general answers, not medical advice.
Is MethylateBLUE the same as methylene blue? No. Methylene blue is a synthetic dye and an FDA-approved prescription drug for a blood condition called acquired methemoglobinemia. MethylateBLUE is a dietary supplement with B vitamins, nicotinamide (vitamin B3), minerals and organic blue spirulina extract. It contains no methylene blue. Its blue comes from the spirulina pigment phycocyanin.
Why is there iron in it? Three capsules have 9 mg of iron, 50% of the Daily Value, bound to spirulina peptides along with eight other minerals. Iron is part of the heme and iron-sulfur proteins in the cell’s energy chain, which is why it is included. If you have been told to limit iron or have an iron-storage condition, check with your clinician first.
I have Hashimoto’s or take thyroid medication. What about the iodine? Three capsules have 75 mcg of iodine, 50% of the Daily Value. The product page notes that iodine may interact with thyroid medications, and people with autoimmune thyroid conditions are often given individual guidance on iodine. Bring the label to your clinician. We cannot tell you whether it is right for you.
Can I take it with blood thinners, aspirin or other medication? Please ask your prescriber. The product page notes that methylated folate and B12 may interact with methotrexate and some chemotherapies, and that iron and zinc can affect the absorption of some antibiotics and thyroid medicines. Nothing we said on the stream replaces that conversation.
Is it safe with cancer, cancer treatment or kidney disease? We cannot answer that in a webinar or a post. Please take the label to your oncologist or nephrologist.
I am sensitive to B vitamins. Will it make me jittery? Some people who are sensitive to methylated B vitamins notice a stimulating effect. On the stream I suggested starting with one capsule and building up.
Does the nicotinamide act like nicotine? No. Nicotinamide is vitamin B3. It does not act on nicotinic receptors and is not habit-forming. On the stream I described how my first dose felt. That was one person’s experience, not a claim about how the formula works.
How is it different from spirulina powder, E3Live or chlorella? Can I take both? The formula combines 500 mg of pure phycocyanin combined with organic blue spirulina extract, along with B vitamins, fermented nicotinamide and peptide-powered minerals. Whole-food spirulina products are a different thing. I said on the stream that I saw no issue taking both. If you have a thyroid condition or take medication, apply the answers above and check with your clinician.
Will it help my sleep, anxiety, Parkinson’s, Lyme, arthritis or anything else? Several of you asked about specific conditions. We cannot say the formula treats, prevents or cures any condition, and the finished formula has not been tested in a clinical trial. Please talk with your clinician about your situation.
How long should I take it? There is no fixed course. We suggest about three months of steady daily use, 8 to 12 weeks, before judging how it works for you.
Do you ship to Canada or Europe? Not yet. The team said on the stream that it hopes to offer international shipping by December.
What we know and do not know
Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors, and nicotine activates nicotinic receptors and raises dopamine. Both lead to tolerance. This is well established.
Methylene blue is an FDA-approved drug for acquired methemoglobinemia, with a boxed warning for serotonin syndrome when combined with certain medications. The evidence for everyday energy in healthy people is early, and mostly from cells and animals.
The finished MethylateBLUE formula has not been tested in a clinical trial. We rely on research on its ingredients, and we are happy to share the references.
Notes on the video
We covered a lot of ground quickly on a live stream. Where we were imprecise, here are the clarifications.
The Italian smoking study was a small Milan pilot of 64 women that measured the biological age of the skin. It averaged about 13 years lower after nine months without smoking. It did not measure whole-body biological age.
Ordinary micromolar doses (~ 1mg per kg) of Methylene blue is believed to be mostly cleared by the body: it tints urine blue-green, with a half-life of roughly 5 to 6 hours. The blue-green brain and heart discoloration reported at autopsy involves patients who were given IV methylene blue while critically ill. That said, smaller amounts may accumulate, nonetheless, so be aware of the risks.
Cafestol is a coffee diterpene, not an opioid itself, though it appears to act as an opioid agonist and/or releaser. One rat study found it produced pain relief by releasing the body’s own opioid peptides, and other coffee compounds bind opioid receptors in lab assays.
The 2014 chlorophyll study used isolated mitochondria and a roundworm (C. elegans, not an earthworm) with a chlorophyll metabolite. Learn more about the topic by reading We Are Beings of Light.
Mitochondria hold roughly 150 to 180 millivolts across a membrane about 5 nm thick, which is about 30 million volts per meter, not 30,000 millivolts.
Learn More + Special Offer
The research behind many of these topics is open on GreenMedInfo.com. If you would like the label and ingredient details for the formula we discussed, they are on the MethylateBLUE page.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Educational content only, not medical advice. Consult your healthcare provider, especially if you take SSRIs, blood thinners, or other medications.
