Some notes on various supplement and nootropics stacks, and how to recreate them using individual products from iHerb.

The article provides a detailed breakdown of the ingredients in the Mind Lab Pro nootropic supplement and offers a guide to recreating a similar stack using individual products from iHerb. It lists the specific dosages of each component in Mind Lab Pro, such as Citicoline, Bacopa Monnieri, and Lion's Mane Mushroom, and then links to comparable iHerb products with their prices and dosages. The author includes a cost comparison, suggesting that purchasing individual ingredients from iHerb can be a more economical alternative to buying the pre-formulated supplement.

Some notes on various supplement and nootropics stacks, and how to recreate them using individual products from iHerb. - https://au.mindlabpro.com/products/mind-lab-pro - 1 bottle 30 serves, 2 caps per serve for AU$89 equivalent of AU$2.97/dose - 1 bottle 30 serves, 2 caps per serve for AU$80.10 monthly subscription, save 10%, equivalent of AU$2.67/dose - 4 bottles 30 serves, 2 caps per serve for AU$267 'smart subscription', save 25%, equivalent of AU$66.75/bottle / AU$2.225/dose - https://au.mindlabpro.com/pages/ingredients - Vitamin B6 from NutriGenesis® : 2.5 mg 179% NRV - Vitamin B9 from NutriGenesis® : 100 mcg 50% NRV - Vitamin B12 from NutriGenesis® : 7.5 mcg 300% NRV - Citicoline as Cognizin® : 250 mg - Bacopa Monnieri full spectrum extract, 24% bacosides with 9 bioactives, aerial parts : 150 mg - Organic Lion's Mane Mushroom mycelium and fruit : 500 mg - Phosphatidylserine from sunflower lecithin : 100 mg - N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine: 175 mg - L-Theanine: 100 mg - Rhodiola Rosea 3% rosavins, 1% salidrosides, root : 50 mg - Maritime Pine Bark Extract 95% proanthocyanidins : 75 mg - Other Ingredients: - Nu-FLOW® Rice Concentrate - Capsule: Pullulan NutriCaps® Further Reading: - https://nootropicsexpert.com/vitamin-b6-pyridoxine/ - https://nootropicsexpert.com/vitamin-b9-folate/ - https://nootropicsexpert.com/vitamin-b12-cobalamin/ - https://nootropicsexpert.com/cdp-choline/ - https://nootropicsexpert.com/bacopa-monnieri/ - https://nootropicsexpert.com/lions-mane/ - https://nootropicsexpert.com/phosphatidylserine-ps/ - https://nootropicsexpert.com/n-acetyl-l-tyrosine/ - https://nootropicsexpert.com/l-theanine/ - https://nootropicsexpert.com/rhodiola-rosea/ - https://nootropicsexpert.com/pine-bark-extract/ A selection of iHerb sources for the above ingredients note that doses differ, this is not the full/optimised stack : - https://au.iherb.com/pr/life-extension-bioactive-complete-b-complex-60-vegetarian-capsules/67051 - 2 caps per serve, 30 serves per container for AU$17.47 or AU$16.60 with autoship and save : - Vitamin B6 pyrydoxine HCI + P5P : 100 mg - Vitamin B9 5-MTHF : 680 mcg - Vitamin B12 Methylcobalamin : 300 mcg - etc - 2 caps per serve, 30 serves per container for AU$17.47 or AU$16.60 with autoship and save : - https://au.iherb.com/pr/nutricost-cdp-choline-citicoline-300-mg-120-capsules/129060?rcode=WSB640 - Citicoline: 120 x 300mg for AU$62.60 or AU$44.45 with autoship and save - https://au.iherb.com/pr/now-foods-bacopa-extract-450-mg-90-veg-capsules/89694?rcode=WSB640 - Bacopa Monnieri min 40% bacosides : 90 x 450 mg for AU$39.53 or AU$37.55 with autoship and save - https://au.iherb.com/pr/tribe-organics-lion-s-mane-mushroom-120-capsules/145616?rcode=WSB640 - Organic Lion's Mane Mushroom 1:1 extract, min 25% Beta-D-Glucans : 120 x 500 mg for AU$65.02 or AU$52.02 with autoship and save - https://au.iherb.com/pr/toniiq-phosphatidyl-serine-90-capsules-200-mg-per-capsule/144830?rcode=WSB640 - Phosphatidylserine from sunflower lecithin : 90 x 200 mg for AU$54.10 or AU$51.39 with autoship and save - https://au.iherb.com/pr/nutricost-n-acetyl-l-tyrosine-350-mg-120-capsules/139413?rcode=WSB640 - N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine: 120 x 350 mg for AU$22.43 or AU$15.93 with autoship and save - https://au.iherb.com/pr/nutricost-l-theanine-200-mg-120-capsules/140230?rcode=WSB640 - L-Theanine: 120 x 200 mg for AU$15.58 or AU$11.06 with autoship and save - https://au.iherb.com/pr/now-foods-rhodiola-500-mg-120-veg-capsules/123463?rcode=WSB640 - Rhodiola Rosea 3% rosavins, 1% salidrosides, root : 120 x 500 mg for AU$57.93 or AU$41.13 with autoship and save - https://au.iherb.com/pr/life-extension-pycnogenol-french-maritime-pine-bark-extract-100-mg-60-vegetarian-capsules/43981?rcode=WSB640 - Maritime Pine Bark Extract 65% proanthocyanidins : 60 x 100 mg for AU$109.01 or AU$87.21 with autoship and save iHerb cost breakdown by ingredient weight: Using the relative costs of those iHerb products, we can calculate a "cost weighting" for each ingredient. Instead of splitting the Mind Lab Pro price evenly, we scale each ingredient’s share by its real-world cost per unit per mg or per µg, depending on how it’s dosed multiplied by the amount used in the formula. Adding these contributions together gives the total equivalent cost per serve, and dividing each one by that total shows which ingredients actually drive the price versus those that add only a small fraction. Key Takeaways: - Pine Bark alone is about 44% of the total cost. - Lion’s Mane, Citicoline, and Phosphatidylserine together are another ~41%. - All other ingredients combined are only ~15%. So when attributing Mind Lab Pro’s price across ingredients, the bulk of the cost should sit on Pine Bark + Lion’s Mane + Citicoline + Phosphatidylserine. Weighted Mind Lab Pro cost breakdown by ingredient based on AU$89/bottle, ~AU$2.97/dose , with cost shares allocated using relative iHerb costs per mg or per µg rather than raw weight: Based on these raw per-unit breakdowns, Mind Lab Pro’s per-unit costs come out around 22% higher than the iHerb equivalents. By combining whole capsules from iHerb, you can build a stack that not only covers the same ingredients as Mind Lab Pro but generally raises them to evidence-based levels. The table below shows how each iHerb capsule compares against MLP dosing, the evidence ranges, and the cost. Key Takeaway: - MLP doses are mostly below evidence-based ranges, while the iHerb stack raises them into effective levels. - On a per-weight basis, MLP came out about 22% more expensive than sourcing the same amounts from iHerb. - But when built with whole iHerb capsules, the stack totals AU$4.08/day — about 37% higher than MLP’s AU$2.97/day — reflecting the stronger, evidence-aligned doses. - https://github.com/0xdevalias - https://gist.github.com/0xdevalias - https://github.com/0xdevalias/poc-linear-programming - Proof of Concept PoC code/notes exploring using linear programming and similar for optimisation. - eg. Optimising number of supplement stack doses that can be created while minimising leftover stock - - Linear Programming, Optimisation Problems, etc 0xdevalias' gist