Review 002: MUD/WTR–Rise

No, it doesn't taste like mud

Author

Martin Martinez
May 07, 2022

Results

  1. Recommend: 👍

  2. Money: ﹩

  3. Quality: 👍

  4. Taste: 👍

Review Process

Below is my detailed review process for products. I take each product review seriously and will NEVER get paid to promote anything. I, personally, use each product for @ least 7 days before reviewing.

Cost:

$ < 5 dollars a day

$$ <10 dollars a day

$$$ >10 dollars a day

💵 shits expensive

Recommendation: Comprehensive review recommendations.

  • 👍: recommend

  • 😐: indifferent; no explicit health harm nor benefit. Meh, ¯_(ツ)/¯

  • 👎: Do not recommend, poor quality, no benefit, shady practices, identical replica of a superior product, or otherwise. A product just has to meet one of these criteria to fall in this basket.

Quality: Where are the ingredients sourced? Does the website have this information? What are the specific measurements? What does the research say?

  • 👍: Ingredients sourced ethically without shady practices, research support one or more of the ingredients, nutritional ingredients labeled.

  • 😐: indifferent; no explicit health harm nor benefit. Meh, ¯_(ツ)/¯

  • 👎: harmful health ingredients or potentially harmful backed by research with references at end of the post. Ingredients sourced in unethically or unclear methods. No quality control. For a product to get this metric, they have to simply meet one of these.

Taste

  • 👍: Taste great.

  • 😐: Not the best tasting; but I can live with it.

  • 🤢: Wow! This tastes awful. This could be the philosopher's stone elixir and I still wouldn’t drink it.

Quality: 👍

  • Ingredients: I reached out to the company for specific measurements for each ingredient.

I think is the most important ingredient on the list. Leena Trivedi- Grenier from Epicurious explains its historical context from a food perspective and gives awesome chai recipes. Masala chai has not only a deep-rooted historical context but for many, reminds them of their childhood.

  • Sourced: India & Sir Lanka

  • Grams per serving: 0.75mg

Specifics:

  • Black Tea: 500mg

  • Ginger: 150mg

  • Cardamom: 70mg

  • Cloves: 1mg

  • Nutmeg: 4mg

  • Black Pepper: 25mg

Benefits stated on website (digestion)

Benefits/downsides from my research:

  • Ginger: doses of 1-3g can reduce nausea and ease digestion quite effectively.

  • Cardamom: Insufficient to support recommendations for human use. Produced from seeds of the plant Elettaria cardamomum. Its human studies that do exist were conducted when patients’ doses were at least 3g/d from 8weeks-3 months. Given one serving is 0.75mg it’s not worth diving into the beneficial results of these studies.

  • Nutmeg: Most benefits were seen in rats including improved metabolism, increase libido, digestive system.

  • Cinnamon: Help regulate glucose metabolism in diabetics.

  • Black tea: inconclusive human results but, we know that black and green tea contain polyphenol (read my post about matcha) tea acts as an antioxidant in vitro (outside the human body). One other important concept is that the company says it is 1/7th the amount of caffeine. I reached out to the company and their reference for caffeine in mg is Starbucks 12fl oz. black Pike’s Place brewed coffee which contains 235mg of caffeine. So if you mix a 6g serving of MUD/WTR in a 12-ounce cup of water you would indeed have 30-35mg of caffeine, which is 1/7th the amount. An important caveat is that the average American consumes 100-400mg of caffeine, and double espresso has ~128mg of caffeine. So generally I would consider their reference maker a bit on the higher side.

Cacao

  • Sourced: Peru

  • Grams per serving: 1.9g– Benefits (on the website) energy, mood, antioxidant:

Benefits/downsides from my research:

  • They use raw cacao instead of cocoa which is predominately used in chocolates and the latter has less to no nutritional value. I could not find high-value studies to support any of these claims (in vivo studies). However, looking at in vitro we know that cacao does have flavonoids that have antioxidant properties and since they have minimal processing meaning ⬆️ antioxidants! This can, in fact, affect mood and satiety. They can also have an antihypertensive effect, where it is thought that it modulates Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (helpful in lower blood pressure). A caution to all of these is of course when one adds sugar, milk, etc negating the beneficial properties.

Chaga (Mushroom; also known as Inonotus obliquus)

Region: California

Grams Per Serving: 0.56g

 Benefits on the website stated (Antioxidant):

Benefits/Downsides from my research:

  • Mostly in vitro studies showing anti-cancer properties, can impair viral infections, reduce markers of oxidative stress and inflammation, lower fatigue, improve diabetes, and improve gut health.

  • 🚫Drawbacks #1 Kidneys (rare): Can produce oxalate-induced kidney disease (a condition that occurs due to the buildup of calcium oxalate crystals within the kidney) after long-term consumption of Chaga. A case report from 2020 reported the development of End-Stage Renal Disease after long-term ingestion of Chaga Mushroom. It’s important to note that this 49-year-old Korean man had been ingesting 2 times for four years and 5 times for one year, higher than that of the usual diet. He was taking 3g chaga mushroom per day and increased to 9g per day because his symptoms did not improve. Another case study reported that a 72-year-old woman with liver cancer developed oxalate-induced kidney disease after 6 months of consuming 4–5 teaspoons of Chaga daily. 1 teaspoon has roughly about 2-4g of Chaga mushroom, so the amount of Chaga in MUD/WTR is negligible to even consider this. However, I bring this up because if you have kidney disease, I would speak with your primary care provider and nephrologist to see if this has any impact (unlikely but plausible).

  • 🚫 Drawback #2 no pregnancy research: No studies to really show + or—effects. Would talk to a provider before use.

  • 🚫Anti-platelet or anticoagulant drugs: Chaga extract inhibited platelet aggregation in a murine model. It may also have synergistic effects when used with anticoagulant/anti-platelet drugs. This is all hypothetical and shown in mice studies and extracts when experimented in tubes. It’s unclear if this has any clinical relevance in real-life.

Cordyceps (mushroom)

Region: California

Grams per serving: 0.56g

Benefits on website (Physical performance, Immune Support)

Benefits/Downsides from my research:

  • Poor to no evidence in human trials to show it improves physical performance. Read here, here, and here.

  • Decreased stress and improved stamina in rat models.

  • Testosterone: In humans, isolated Cordycepin at 40mg/kg body weight does not increase testosterone. However, when injected it does; likely meaning it when consumed is processed differently (poor bioavailability). It likely does nothing but could regular testosterone in some fashion not yet studied given its chemical composition.

  • Antioxidant properties are seen in mice in no in vivo trials but could have anti-cancer action in suppressions.– Maybe anti-aging? antioxidant enzyme status in the brains of rats with accelerated senescence (induced by D-galactose).

Lion's Mane (known as Yamabushitake, mushroom)

Sourced: California

Grams per serving: 0.56g

Benefits on website (Energy, Mood, Antioxidants)

 Benefits/Downsides from my research:

  • Wow! The amount of information on Lion’s mane gives me a headache. Its composition is complex, and each component has its benefit when looked at individually. Let’s start with the fact that it does have promising cognitive enhancer and immunomodulator to include neurotropic and neuroprotective effects. Less known benefits include fat-burning properties (as its a PPARα agonist). – No downsides were found in my research.

Reishi (type of mushroom; Ganoderma lucidum)

Sourced: California

Grams per serving: 0.56g

Benefits on website immune support, stress support

  • Help with Immunostimulation, strength and stamina, high cholesterol, lower urinary tract symptoms– Downsides: Hepatotoxicity, Two cases with the use of powdered reishi mushroom, leading to death in one instance. Please note these were case studies and ONLY two reports. Case studies, although they provide insights these results do not mean causation and no formal studies have shown these results.

  • Downsides: Reishi can increase the risk of bleeding, Reishi can increase plasma antioxidant capacity, and in theory may interact with chemotherapeutic agents that rely on free radicals, is also a Cytochrome P450 substrates (important for people who are on warfarin).

  • Turmeric and cinnamon are fairly, well known, and I won’t dive into their components.

Taste 👍:

  • People will complain about the particulates at the bottom. Surprise! It is mushroom powder and other spices which will eventually settle at the bottom if you don’t drink it fast enough. Make sure you either use an electric hand whisk or if you make a smoothie you can put it in there too. Taste like chocolate milk with mushrooms. Not bad.

Money: ﹩

Morning: rise cost $40 for a tin that contains 30 serving; that means <$2 dollars a day. That’s a good price!

Recommendation: 👍

  • If you made it through that, wow, I’m impressed. It took me two days and >10 hours to compose this and fact-check the information. Putting aside Shane Heath’s origin story of MUD/WTR (which is impressive in itself), it appears his work culture is one that prioritizes physical and mental health (not just verbiage). This product is overall impressive in the quality of ingredients, its thoughtful integration to make said MUD/WTR.

  • Who is this for? Anyone really. Personally, I drink espresso in the morning and coffee around the afternoon. For this product, I stopped drinking coffee and switched solely to MUD/WTR for 14 days. I noticed a slight increase in my cognitive function (clearer thinking) and no jittery, anxiety provoked exacerbation by my afternoon cup. I will continue to use MUD/WTR, not as a substitute to coffee but instead in tandem with it. Coffee in the morning and MUD/WTR thereafter if I need an extra boost.

  • A couple of things to note. The customer service was excellent I emailed them a couple of questions (regarding the quantity amount of caffeine state etc.) and their responses were friendly, quick, and informative. You can also cancel your subscription rather easily.

Go out and be great,

Martin

If you have any product review recommendations please email hello.martinmartinez.co

References 👇

  1. Grenier LT. There’s a Lot More to Masala Chai Than Spiced Milk Tea. Epicurious. Web Site. https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/masala-chai-history-recipe-article

  2. Patel Kamel. Ginger. Examine. https://examine.com/supplements/ginger/research/#citations.

  3. Singletary, Keith PhD Cardamom, Nutrition Today: 1/2 2022 - Volume 57 - Issue 1 - p 38-49 doi: 10.1097/NT.0000000000000507

  4. Patel Kamel. Cinnamon. Examine. https://examine.com/supplements/cinnamon/.

  5. Ruxton CHS. Black tea and health. British Nutritional Foundation. 2008;33(2):91-101. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-3010.2008.00691.x

  6. Indiarto R, Subroto E, Sukri N, Djali M. Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) Beans Processing Technology: A Review of Flavonoid Changes. Asian J Plant Sci. 2021;20(4):684-693. doi:10.3923/ajps.2021.684.693

  7. Neri Louie. Chaga. Examine. https://examine.com/supplements/chaga/

  8. Lee S, Lee HY, Park Y, et al. Development of End Stage Renal Disease after Long-Term Ingestion of Chaga Mushroom: Case Report and Review of Literature. jkms. 2020;35(19):e122-0. doi:10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e122

  9. Yuko Kikuchi, et al. Chaga mushroom-induced oxalate nephropathy. Clin Nephrol. (2014)

  10. Chaga Mushroom. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/chaga-mushroom#references-2

  11. Chen S, Li Z, Krochmal R, Abrazado M, Kim W, Cooper CB. Effect of Cs-4 (Cordyceps sinensis) on exercise performance in healthy older subjects: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2010;16(5):585-590. doi:10.1089/acm.2009.0226

  12. Parcell AC, Smith JM, Schulthies SS, Myrer JW, Fellingham G. Cordyceps Sinensis (CordyMax Cs-4) supplementation does not improve endurance exercise performance. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2004;14(2):236-242. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.14.2.236

  13. Parcell AC, Smith JM, Schulthies SS, Myrer JW, Fellingham G. Cordyceps Sinensis (CordyMax Cs-4) supplementation does not improve endurance exercise performance. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2004;14(2):236-242. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.14.2.236

  14. Patel Kamel. Cordyceps. Examine. https://examine.com/supplements/cordyceps/research/#sources-and-composition

  15. Leu SF, et al. The in vivo and in vitro stimulatory effects of cordycepin on mouse leydig cell steroidogenesis. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. (2011)

  16. Venturella G, Ferraro V, Cirlincione F, Gargano ML. Medicinal Mushrooms: Bioactive Compounds, Use, and Clinical Trials. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021; 22(2):634. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22020634

  17. Lion’s Mane. Exaime. https://examine.com/supplements/lionsmane/

  18. Reishi Mushroom. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/reishi-mushroom

  19. Wanmuang, H., Leopairut, J., Kositchaiwat, C., Wananukul, W., & Bunyaratvej, S. (2007). Fatal fulminant hepatitis associated with Ganoderma lucidum (Lingzhi) mushroom powder. Journal-Medical Association of Thailand, 90(1), 179.

  20. Khalid Amrita. How This Founder Made His Startup a No-Burnout Zone. INC.com. https://www.inc.com/magazine/202106/amrita-khalid/mudwtr-shane-heath-burnout-employee-wellness-coffee-best-workplaces-2021.html

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