Shawn Wells Breaks Down GLP-1 Drag: Muscle Loss, Mitochondria, and Dopamine

Shawn Wells, Chief Science Officer at NNB Diet, breaks down GLP-1 Drag, precision fermentation, and NNB’s subsequent wave of buccal supply substances on Episode #227 of the PricePlow Podcast.

0:00 – Introductions

Mike and Ben open from the NNB Diet sales space at IFT First 2026 in Chicago, joined by Shawn Wells for his newest return to the present. The staff explains the format for this journey to the present ground: two separate episodes, with this one centered on the place the trade is headed moderately than NNB’s present lineup. Wells jumps proper into what’s modified since his final look, beginning with a shift in how NNB describes itself as an organization.

1:15 – NNB’s Unicorn Development and the Shift to Pure, Potent, Exact

Shawn walks by way of NNB’s development since shifting its mantra from We Create Elements to Pure, Potent, Exact, which was lined in Episode #192. The corporate is now totally vertically built-in, simply closed a $30 million funding spherical, and has a $70 million facility coming on-line by the tip of subsequent yr, including a 3rd manufacturing unit to its international footprint. Wells calls NNB a 9-figure unicorn in-built simply 10 years.

The larger shift is philosophical. A 1% natural extract is usually 99% one thing else, and that the rest varies lot to lot even when the energetic compound is standardized. NNB’s technique is to isolate the one energetic that issues, purify it by way of precision fermentation, and ship it at a fraction of the unique dose.

3:15 – Why Precision Fermentation Is Changing Natural Extracts

NNB’s format ambitions go nicely past capsules and powders. Wells says the corporate is constructing towards ready-to-drink drinks, gums, gummies, pouches, candies, and transdermals, all constructed round substances which are organoleptically clear (no style or scent), extremely soluble, and dosed sufficiently small to vanish right into a product. Consistency issues as a lot as efficiency, since a fermented single energetic behaves the identical batch after batch in a method a crude natural extract by no means fairly does.

That consistency additionally solves an environmental downside. Precision fermentation sidesteps the glyphosate residues, heavy steel contamination, and poisonous extraction solvents that include sourcing uncooked botanicals at scale, together with the poisonous waste these extraction processes go away behind.

7:45 – Turning Opponents Into Prospects

NNB’s development technique leans on an uncommon thought: let former rivals develop into clients. Firms like TSI, NutraScience, Glanbia, and Prinova now distribute a number of NNB substances, since constructing an ingredient and distributing it require fully totally different ability units. Wells and Ben agree that NNB has extra innovation within the pipeline than it could commercialize alone, so leaning on established distribution lets the science staff maintain transferring as a substitute of getting slowed down in gross sales and logistics.

Ben factors to SalidroPure®, NNB’s branded salidroside ingredient, as a very good instance. NutraScience handles distribution whereas NNB focuses on producing new knowledge and growing new compounds.

9:15 – Adaptogens Over Stimulants

Wild Rhodiola now protected by CITES – NNB Diet launches SalidroPURE as sustainable various, delivering pure salidroside by way of precision fermentation. The way forward for adaptogenic supplementation has arrived.

Because the trade seems to be previous caffeine, Wells says adaptogens are having a second, pointing to MitoPrime®, NNB’s branded ergothioneine, alongside SalidroPure as substances constructed for resilience and mitochondrial help moderately than a fast jolt. He personally takes each day by day and credit salidroside particularly for dealing with the stress of fixed journey.

Wells additionally raises a delicate level about ashwagandha: pushback connecting the herb to anhedonia (a blunted skill to really feel pleasure) at greater doses, one thing he says salidroside would not share. He credit the impact to withanolides, ashwagandha’s energetic compounds, noting {that a} dampening impact that appears like decreased stress can tip into flattening at greater doses or when individuals triple their regular quantity, the identical dose-dependent curve he sees with GLP-1 drugs.

11:45 – What Shawn Wells Calls “Mitochondrial Drag”

Wells introduces a time period he is coined for one thing he sees continuously in GLP-1 customers: mitochondrial drag. Somebody in a caloric deficit who’s additionally working their sympathetic nervous system in overdrive places severe pressure on ATP manufacturing. Over time, mitochondrial perform declines as a result of the cells don’t get sufficient substrate to maintain up, and the stress on them retains climbing.

He is used each main GLP-1 treatment himself and says newer multi-mechanism medicine like retatrutide carry this price greater than older ones like semaglutide, because the added glucagon mechanism pushes the nervous system more durable, regardless that it is also the best for fats loss. He compares it to Ozempic’s single mechanism versus retatrutide’s three, minus the GI misery however with a steeper toll elsewhere.

13:45 – GlucoVantage: A Publish-GLP-1 Answer

That is the place GlucoVantage®, NNB’s branded dihydroberberine, is available in as what Wells calls a post-GLP-1 resolution moderately than a competitor to the medicine themselves. Dihydroberberine prompts AMPK, helps insulin sensitivity, and helps push glucose towards muscle as a substitute of fats, all with out the GI misery that comes with berberine. Wells says its bioavailability runs roughly 20 instances greater than commonplace berberine, basically a special ingredient moderately than a stronger model of the identical one.

New 14-week preclinical knowledge on GlucoVantage® dihydroberberine reveals 165% GLP-1 improve at week 14 and 33.3% physique weight discount by week 13. Advantages intensified over time moderately than plateauing. Pure metabolic help for the post-GLP-1 window.

He is cautious about dosing, although. He would not advocate going above 200mg twice day by day, and says overdoing it comes with its personal mitochondrial price, the identical fatigue some individuals mistake for low blood sugar. NNB’s analysis on the post-GLP-1 window retains increasing.

17:45 – Titrate Down: Why Quitting GLP-1s Chilly Backfires

Wells calls again to Episode #048, the one the place he introduced his canine right into a resort room interview years in the past, earlier than pivoting to a message he needs heard clearly. Anybody coming off a GLP-1 receptor agonist must titrate down the identical method they ramped up, not cease chilly at their peak dose.

Stopping abruptly, he says, brings the identical rebound threat as stopping steroids at max dose with no taper. Urge for food comes roaring again, and the burden that returns lands disproportionately as fats, on a smaller muscle and bone base than earlier than therapy began. Individuals who skip the taper are sometimes simply advised to get again on the treatment, retaining them on it indefinitely with all the identical unwanted side effects.

19:15 – Dopamine Flattening and the Publish-GLP-1 Comedown

Wells walks by way of what he calls dopamine flattening, a facet impact he thinks flies underneath the radar in comparison with muscle loss. GLP-1 drugs clear up loads of compulsive conduct alongside the way in which, quieting meals noise and sometimes porn, playing, and alcohol cravings too. The tradeoff is that individuals lose their joie de vivre proper alongside the cravings, and lots of chalk up the ensuing low libido and flat temper as much as simply having an off day moderately than the treatment itself.

He skilled this firsthand: a month with none curiosity in intimacy, and it took a dialog together with his accomplice to understand what was really taking place. His recommendation is to observe for it and get forward of it moderately than write it off as unrelated.

20:45 – Ben and Mike on Their Personal GLP-1 Experiences

NNB Diet introduced three precision-fermented substances launching in 2026: Icariin D2 for sexual well being, 4-Hydroxy-L-Isoleucine for glucose metabolism, and 6-Paradol as a clear thermogenic. Pure molecules changing inconsistent botanical extracts.

Ben shares his personal expertise coming off retatrutide after growing coronary heart palpitations he wasn’t comfy with, regardless that his prescribing steering known as the facet impact regular. He by no means went above 1.5mg weekly, nicely underneath what some friends use, and says dihydroberberine was the very first thing he added again in as soon as he stopped, serving to protect the more healthy habits he’d constructed whereas on the treatment.

Mike, who says he’ll by no means personally use a GLP-1 drug, estimates 30 to 40% of individuals within the complement trade are presently on one. Each hosts land on the identical minimum-effective-dose philosophy Wells has been preaching all episode: extra is not routinely higher, whether or not that is a drug dose or a complement ingredient.

25:45 – DL185 Dileucine and the Muscle-Sparing Stack

Wells lays out his go-to muscle-sparing stack for GLP-1-related muscle loss: creatine, HMB, and DL185®, NNB’s branded dileucine dipeptide, with betaine as an possibility too. He is transferring dileucine to twice-daily dosing (2 grams every time) after seeing higher restoration and power outcomes than the once-daily post-workout protocol NNB already established.

There is a connection right here Wells hasn’t mentioned on air but: GLP-1 medicine gradual gastric emptying, blunting the leucine spike a fast-absorbing anabolic set off is dependent upon, making the medicine one thing like an anti-dileucine by nature. The ingredient issues most for anybody getting leucine from plant or collagen protein, each naturally low in it. Wells credit Raza Bashir, who examined dileucine early and is now CEO at Iovate, MuscleTech’s mother or father firm, as dwelling proof it really works.

31:45 – Contained in the Buccal Pouch: Paraxanthine, Alpha-GPC, and Huperzine A

Wells will get into the science behind NNB’s pouch platform, constructed on buccal absorption by way of the gum moderately than sublingually, underneath the tongue. A typical formulation pairs 100 to 150mg of enfinity® paraxanthine with 100mg of alpha-GPC, a small dose of Huperzine A (an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor), and piracetam, all working collectively to spice up acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter behind deep focus and artistic circulation.

Sarcopenia is not nearly shedding muscle. It is about shedding the power to reside independently. DL185® analysis reveals dileucine addresses what commonplace dietary supplements cannot.

The enchantment is velocity. A pouch hits the bloodstream in minutes moderately than the 30 to 40 minutes a capsule takes, which suggests doses have to run a lot decrease than what works orally. NNB is working new acute research on each ingredient within the lineup to nail down doses constructed particularly for this format, as a substitute of simply shrinking an oral dose and guessing.

38:15 – AmeriPouch, Troches, and the Nicotine Pouch Increase

Ben admits he used to dip tobacco and has been making an attempt to avoid nicotine, which makes him a becoming messenger for NNB’s partnership with AmeriPouch, the producer based by Steven Salmon. The class has exploded since its final development spurt again in 2011 and 2012, and Wells thinks the cat is already out of the bag on pouches as a format, no matter how the nicotine dialog shakes out.

NNB can also be exploring troche expertise, a gel matrix frequent in compounding pharmacies that takes 10-plus minutes to dissolve totally within the mouth, in contrast to a pouch that is solely partially consumed. Ben notes the largest threat is not the substances themselves, however manufacturers making irresponsible nicotine-adjacent claims they cannot again up.

41:45 – Flush Niacin as a Doable Nicotine Off-Ramp

The dialog takes an unplanned flip into flush niacin (a fast-absorbing, high-dose type of vitamin B3) as a attainable instrument for nicotine customers making an attempt to give up. Mike floats the concept that niacin deficiency performs a job in nicotine habit, and that dosing flush niacin right into a pouch may assist individuals transition off nicotine. He factors to the unique 12-step program’s little-known “thirteenth step” as precedent, which reportedly concerned flush niacin earlier than the thought was dropped.

Wells backs this up with analysis exhibiting 500mg doses of niacin taken 3 instances day by day alongside NAD+ can produce an 8-fold improve in muscle uptake, forward of what he sees from NMN, NR, or NAD IVs. Taking it earlier than mattress, he provides, principally avoids the flush altogether.

44:15 – What’s Subsequent: GAA, 4-Hydroxyisoleucine, and Pure 6-Paradol

Shawn Wells and Dustin Elliott reveal NNB Diet’s Pure, Potent, Exact revolution at SupplySide World 2025, discussing precision fermentation, Pürest Creatine, OnSwitch beverage innovation, and the way forward for pharmaceutical-grade complement substances on Episode #192 of the PricePlow Podcast

Requested what’s subsequent, Wells rattles off roughly 20 substances in energetic growth. A number of give attention to boosting creatine’s efficacy instantly, together with GAA (guanidinoacetic acid) and a purified type of 4-hydroxyisoleucine, together with a associated compound Wells calls 4-hydroxyleucine, each derived from fenugreek and produced by way of precision fermentation moderately than crude extraction.

NNB can also be purifying 6-paradol, one of many compounds behind CaloriBurn®’s thermogenic results from grains of paradise. By itself, 6-paradol drives extra of the brown fats activation than the extract’s different compounds, is way much less spicy, and carries a greater security margin, letting NNB discover greater doses and construct out a full dose-response curve because it turns into accessible.

Just a few of those substances have been teased in an earlier article, NNB Diet Proclaims New 2026 Ingredient Launches.

48:45 – The Case for Temper and “Shift in State” Drinks

With Gen Z ingesting much less alcohol however nonetheless eager to socialize, Wells sees a gap for drinks that shift temper with no hangover hooked up. He name-checks PEA (each phenylethylamine, the dopamine-boosting model, and the distinct palmitoylethanolamide), the kanna alkaloids mesembrine and mesembrinone, kavain from kava, and anandamide (bought by NNB Diet as FastBliss), typically known as the physique’s personal bliss molecule, as candidates.

NNB already produces anandamide and has cleared regulatory overview on it to date, although Wells says it is nonetheless early. A microencapsulated model presently delivers roughly 15 to half-hour of impact, and the staff is engaged on an FAAH inhibitor to increase that window nearer to an hour. Early ampule variations from 2020 tasted tough sufficient that Ben remembers chugging them anyway simply to get by way of it.

52:45 – Blue Mild Glasses, Well being Transformations, and Hyrox Objectives

Because the dialog winds down, Wells credit his TrueDark blue gentle blocking glasses for saving him from the fluorescent lighting and flashing at commerce reveals like this one. He is additionally in the midst of his personal well being transformation, coaching 5 to six days per week at a gymnasium in Austin, prioritizing heavy lifting alongside his current swim background, all whereas working the corporate by way of a stretch of quick development.

His subsequent objective is Hyrox, the worldwide health race, which he plans to try as a part of a staff subsequent yr moderately than solo. Mike and Ben shut out with some swimming and endurance banter of their very own earlier than teasing subsequent time’s episode, which turns to NNB’s enterprise facet with Dustin Elliott and Jake Mulder.