It’s been a fair while since we last provided an update of what we’re working on, in no small part due to COVID-19. However, there are a few things we want to let you all know about:

GlycoGenesis V1.4

Working off the strong base of our v1.3 mix, the upgrades to GlycoGenesis mimic those found in our recent KetoGenesis upgrade: namely the addition of phytonutrients beyond what is included in the natural ingredients, and the changing of some micronutrient forms to ones that are equally bioavailable, but provide some benefits. Specific changes are as follows:

Menaquinone-4 replaced with more Menaquinone-7 We previously included 160 micrograms of vitamin K1 (phytonadione) and 240 micrograms of vitamin K2 (120 micrograms as menaquinone-7 and 120 micrograms as menaquinone-4). As menaquinone-7 seems to provide all the same benefits and more as menaquinone-4 and imparts less of an odour, we have changed our recipe to contain the same 160 micrograms of phytonadione paired with 240 micrograms of menaquinone-7. The same overall content of vitamin K1 and K2, but less MK-4 and more MK-7.

Retinyl Palmitate replaced with Retinol Acetate. Beta Carotene source changed from synthetic to natural. Nutritionally the acetates will be the same. However, retinyl palmitate production utilises palm oil, and while our supplier assured us the palm oil in theirs was sustainable, the switch to retinol acetate means there’s not even a potential issue of unsustainable palm oil usage. It should also marginally reduce emissions, as the acetic acid that is used in its production can be produced far more locally to our business than palm oil can. The change in beta carotene source from synthetic to natural increases the cis- to trans-isomer ratio from 1:1 to around 9:1. More information on this change can be seen in the blog post on KetoGenesis’s upgrade (see here), but in short it should increase bioavailability.

Ferrous Bisglycinate replaced with Ferrous Citrate, Zinc Bisglycinate replaced with Zinc Gluconate, and Copper Bisglycinate replaced with Copper Gluconate As with the same changes in KetoGenesis, the switch of the amino acid to which these minerals are chelated is purely to minimise odour. While we never had reports of odour issues with GlycoGenesis, this change also allows us to maintain parity with our KetoGenesis mix. As these are still amino acid chelates, absorption will remain extremely high, and the inclusion of citric acid and gluconic acid also provide some minor benefits (and there’s still plenty of glycine from our electrolyte bisglycinates).

Removal of Adenosylcobalamin, increase of Methylcobalamin This change sees the 5 micrograms of B12 in the Adenosylcobalamin form replaced with an extra 5 micrograms of Methylcobalamin.

Salt has decreased by approximately 0.2g per 2000 calories In order to maintain the same overall mass (~480g per 2000 calories) to allow for whole gram number serving sizes, we have reduced the pink Himalayan salt content.

Lycopene, 5mg per day Lycopene is a fairly potent antioxidant, and can help reduce the risk of certain cancers. It is also thought to be beneficial to heart health. We are using a fermented form of lycopene that contains more of the cis-isomer, as this form is absorbed better by the body.

Astaxanthin, 4mg per day Astaxanthin is the most potent antioxidant that we know of, demonstrating an antioxidant activity of around 6000 times that of vitamin C. It also exhibits anti-inflammatory effects.

Lutein, 10mg per day; meso-zeaxanthin, 10mg per day; zeaxanthin, 2mg per day The other three phytonutrients we’ve included in our mix are all associated with eye health, and sufficient levels of these three reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration. These compounds help absorb excess light energy when it enters the eye to prevent it causing damage to the retina. When levels of these compounds are too low, blue light has the potential to cause significant damage in the eye, and given the prevalence of blue-light emitting screens in modern life, it’s more important than ever to ensure a sufficient intake of these phytonutrients. The dosages of each of these have been selected to maintain an optimal ratio, which leads to a ratio of 1:1:1 in the fovea after absorption and metabolism.

Biodegradable Packaging

We mentioned a couple of months ago that we were looking into biodegradable packaging that would utilise inner layers of cellulose film and potato starch. We are still waiting for this to be available in larger bag sizes (currently it is only available in a bag that supports up to 500g of material, whereas our current Kraft bags support 750g of material). This was expected to become available to a company local to us at the end of February, but COVID-19 has slowed down progress on this front (though we will be using these bags for sample packs when we have shipped out all of our current Kraft sample bags).

In the meantime, however, we have decided to temporarily switch KetoGenesis 5-day bags to a new style. These bags are technically classed as compostable and biodegradable, unlike our current Kraft bags. However, the material they use - Polylactic Acid (PLA) - is difficult to compost or biodegrade at home. Industrial composting facilities can compost it in around 1-3 months, whereas it can take up to 6 months at home. More information on the ways of disposing of PLA can be seen here.

Despite PLA not being perfect for composting, we think it’s a big step up from our current Kraft bags. As a result, we have switched over our KetoGenesis 5-day bags to these new PLA bags, and new orders being placed will receive these (some vegan flavours will continue to receive our Kraft bags until these are out of stock). Notably, these PLA bags are larger than our current Kraft bags - they were only available in a 1-1.2kg size, not the 750g size of our Kraft - so don’t be surprised if you find your bags to be a little larger than normal!

We are considering using these bags for GlycoGenesis once we have used up our current stock of Mylar bags. This will involve a size decrease of the bags, from 10000 calories (the current size) to 5000 calories in order to fit in the PLA bags. We are stress-testing the bags now to ensure they can take 1.2kg of GlycoGenesis powder without splitting during transit, but if they pass this testing we will be excited to be the first company to offer a fully compostable and biodegradable packaging! We will continue to work with the company producing the potato starch and cellulose film bags, as these will be more easily biodegradable at home, but we wanted to make the change to PLA as an intermediate step that will improve our environmental impact.

Fats-Included Keto Trials

Lastly, we mentioned about a month ago that we were getting close to having a recipe for a fats-included KetoGenesis recipe finalised. The fat-source in this recipe is in quite limited supply at the best of times, especially with the supply chain issues that are occurring currently as a result of COVID-19. With that said, the recipe is now at the stage where we are ready to open beta test trials for it.

Normally with beta tests, we have a large number of samples ready to go, and send them out shortly after trials begin. In this case, what we will be doing instead is collecting names of those interested in trialing, and only after we have a full list of names will we buy in the fat-source and produce the mix. This means it may take some time for people’s test samples to arrive, but we will be in touch to let you know if we will be sending anything out to you.

Please note that the recipe in its current form is vegan, but uses soy isolate as its protein source. As such, if you have a soy allergy or intolerance, you may want to skip this test, but we are hoping to release a version in future that is hypoallergenic. Notably, despite the high fat content this recipe contains no nuts or maltodextrin, and a low amount of seeds. The macronutrient information table for the recipe in its current form is as follows: