Stress Cookies Ingredient Summary

Dr. Shawn Talbott (Ph.D., CNS, LDN, FACSM, FACN, FAIS) has gone from triathlon struggler to gut-brain guru! With a Ph.D. in Nutritional Biochemistry, he's on a mission to boost everyday human performance through the power of natural solutions and the gut-brain axis.

Stress Cookies come in two flavors – Dark Chocolate and Crunchy Peanut Butter. Both versions share the same “salty oat” base that is slightly sweet and slightly salty (just what you want when you’re stressed).

Stress Cookies look like cookies – and taste like cookies – but they’re really more like healthy energy snacks that are high in protein (10-12g from whey/egg), low in sugar (5-6g), and moderate in healthy fat (4-6g) & smart carbs (12g prebiotic carbs & 5g fiber).

You can think of Stress Cookies as a superior choice compared to mainstream energy bars like Clif bars (protein for soy and ~5x higher in sugar) and Kind (~half the protein and ~3x the fat). They’re also a lot lower in total calories (150-160 per Stress Cookie) compared to a Kind bar (~200) or Clif bar (~260) – so you can enjoy a Stress Cookie any time that stress hits. I typically eat at least 2-per day – starting (breakfast) and ending (nighttime snack) my day on the right note and often having another Stress Cookie during a long running or cycling workout.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not “against” Clif bars or Kind bars – they’re basically indestructible, so I carry them in my computer bag when traveling and in my glove compartment as “emergency” snacks for long trips – but I created Stress Cookies to have a superior nutrition profile and a superior “functionality” profile (reducing stress, improving focus, elevating mood, and enhancing sleep quality).

We only sell Stress Cookies online and we bake every batch “on-demand” by hand – so your Stress Cookies arrive fresh and vacuum-packed to your door within 2-3 days of coming out of the oven.

Let’s take a look at some of the goodness in Stress Cookies

First of all, you’ll see that Stress Cookies contain 3 “EQQIL” blends for carbs, proteins, and fats. EQQIL is the name of our company – our tagline is “Achieve Balance. Elevate Life.” The name “EQQIL” comes from the idea of restoring equilibrium (balance) in body/mind to achieve “Qi” (the concept of “life force” in traditional Chinese medicine).

EQQILTM Carb Blend: Rolled Oats, Wheat Flour, Brown Rice Flour, Sorghum Flour, Cane Sugar

Our primary source of carbohydrate is Rolled Oats for their ability to balance blood sugar and increase production of both serotonin (for good mood) and melatonin (for good sleep quality). Because Stress Cookies contain Wheat Flour, they’re not “gluten free” – but because our 5 carb sources are varied, they can be considered “low gluten” for people who are only moderately sensitive. Combining Brown Rice Flour and Sorghum Flour enables us to reduce our use of Wheat Flour – but we can’t eliminate it completely without “ruining” the delicious experience of Stress Cookies (gluten-free cookies are simply unsatisfying). Cane Sugar?!?! Despite what you may have heard about sugar being “toxic” – you might be surprised to learn that our brain is designed to perform optimally when using sugar (glucose) as its exclusive fuel source. In addition, our bodies are most efficient at burning stored fat for fuel when we have access to a small amount of sugar to “prime” the metabolic fat-burning machinery (“fat burns in the flame of carbohydrate” is a common saying among metabolism experts). The small amount of sugar (5-6g) that we use in Stress Cookies is just enough to give you the sweet taste that we all crave as part of our natural stress response – and the right amount to maximize serotonin/melatonin synthesis for good mood during the day (serotonin) and superior sleep quality at night (melatonin). The total carb content of Stress Cookies is 22-23g per cookie (about half of what you get in many energy bars) – with most of that coming from “prebiotic” carbs and fiber (both of which support the health of beneficial probiotic bacteria in our guts).

EQQILTM Protein Blend: Ultra-Filtered Whey Protein, Organic Free-Range High-Omega-3 Eggs

The quality of our protein blend is second-to-none (10g for Dark Chocolate & 12g for Crunchy Peanut Butter). We don’t use cheap inferior protein sources like soy or gelatin/collagen – we use the very highest-quality Ultra-Filtered Whey Protein Concentrate rich in immune-supporting immunoglobulins such as beta-lactoglobulin and alpha-lactalbumin – combined with ethically-raised Organic Free-Range High-Omega-3 Eggs to give you targeted benefits for muscle gain and fat loss.

EQQILTM Fat Blend: Grade AA Butter, Virgin Coconut Oil, Cold-Pressed Avocado Oil, RSPO-Certified Malaysian Red Palm Oil

I’ve been formulating nutrition products for long enough to remember when fat was “worse” than carbohydrates and “too much” protein was “dangerous” for some unexplained reason.  People get so (inappropriately) focused on specific macronutrients that we get hysterical and fooled into eating food abominations like nonfat SnackWell cookies or low-carb bread. Good grief! What the science tells us quite convincingly is that no single macronutrient (protein/fat/carb) is “good” or “bad” on it’s own – but the total amount (quantity) and source (quality) and ratio (balance) of macronutrients can be very important for overall well-being. This is why our blend of fat sources includes fat sources providing saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, and medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) that are also rich in naturally-occurring antioxidants such as vitamin E, carotenoids, and flavonoids.

EQQILTM Herb Blend: Corn grass [Zea mays] extract, New Zealand pine bark [Pinus radiata] extract, Enzyme-treated Asparagus [Asparagus officinalis] extract, SuntheanineTM L-Theanine

If Stress Cookies were simply a handmade-to-order healthy treat that tasted amazing, they would be a hit. But, it’s our proprietary blend of 4 research-proven herbal ingredients that really sets Stress Cookies apart in terms of their ability to address different aspects of stress:

  • Theanine (psychological stress) – a unique amino acid naturally found in green tea leaves. Theanine reduces the beta brain waves associated with tension/anxiety – and increases the alpha brain waves associated with relaxed alertness and calm focus.
  • New Zealand Pine Bark Extract (physiological stress) – contains OPCs (oligomeric proanthycyanins), that protect the body and brain from inflammatory and oxidative stress – improving both mental performance (of the brain) and physical performance (of the body).
  • Japanese Asparagus Extract (environmental stress) – a novel amino acid profile stimulates the production of anti-stress compounds called heat-shock proteins (HSPs) that improve the body’s stress resilience at the cellular level.
  • Corn Grass Extract (circadian stress) – contains high levels of MBOA, a non-drowsy phytonutrient precursor to serotonin and melatonin that improves mood during the day (serotonin) and dramatically enhances sleep quality at night (melatonin).

Eat a Stress Cookie (and drink a Stress Tea) – you’ll feel better during the day – you’ll sleep better at night – and you’ll reach personal performance levels that you’ve been missing out on because of your chronic stress exposure. It’s not an overstatement to say that you can “get lean by eating cookies” – as long as the “cookies” are Stress Cookies that deliver the right balance of high-quality proteins, smart carbs, and healthy fats – combined with our cortisol-lowering and motivation-enhancing herbal blend to get you in the right biochemical and psychological zones to be at your best.

About the Author

Exercise physiologist (MS, UMass Amherst) and Nutritional Biochemist (PhD, Rutgers) who studies how lifestyle influences our biochemistry, psychology and behavior - which kind of makes me a "Psycho-Nutritionist"?!?!

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