While browsing a health foods store or surfing the web, you may have come across Feel Free Tonics and Capsules, plant-based products that promote some very chill vibes. They also purport to help decrease anxiety and insomnia and enhance productivity while being an effective alcohol deterrent. Are plant-based supplements the future of wellness?
JW Ross, the founder Botanic Tonics, which manufactures Feel Free, believes so. Ross first discovered the benefits of medicinal plants in the South Pacific while recovering from alcohol addiction. He shared Feel Free’s benefits, as well as how his journey of recovery led him to launch his successful company, on Vagaro’s podcast, On Point with host Taylor Burke.
What is Feel Free Tonics?
Feel Free tonics has two primary ingredients, kava-root extract and kratom leaf. Kava is a beverage or extract made from the Piper methysticum plant and is known for its sedative and anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing) properties. It can also help with focus and productivity.
Kava originated in the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, where it was consumed for centuries as a drink used in relaxation ceremonies. The root of the plant was ground into a fine powder and mixed with water to create an earthy tasting & somewhat bitter beverage. In fact, the word kava translates to bitter.
It was while taking part in such a ceremony in Vanuatu that Ross first saw the potential of kava and plant-based medicine.
JW Ross & the Founding of Botanic Tonics
“It has been a very long, very strange trip for me,” Ross told Burke.
At one time, Ross was a highly successful oil industry executive who had everything—including an alcohol addiction that was “accelerating faster than his success.” It began damaging his relationships, and Ross was convinced his alcoholism would kill him or land him jail.
Following a difficult intervention and hospitalization, Ross took an extended sabbatical. He researched neuroscience and studied plant-based medicine for several years in Southeast Asia.
During that time, Ross experimented with many different combinations of herbs, kava being one of them, to find the right formula—using himself as a guinea pig. He wanted to create an alternative “social lubricant” that would create a sensation of “chill energy.” Ross described this to Burke as being simultaneously relaxed and focused; euphoric without being intoxicated.
“I needed something I could use on a regular basis that wouldn’t interfere with things like working, driving or exercising,” he said.
Ross finally found it and launched his company in May of 2020. In just three short years, he reports that Botanic Tonics sells 1.3 million servings of Feel Free per month.
Ross described his journey in detail, from his lowest emotional point to studying with a Chinese herbalist, setting up a lab in his basement and starting his company, on Vagaro’s On Point podcast.
Feel Free as an Alcohol Substitute
Plant-based products like Feel Free have become popular alternatives to alcohol in recent years. As Ross explained, this is because Feel Free Tonic and alcohol work on our bodies in different ways.
Alcohol: Classified as a depressant, alcohol’s active ingredient is ethanol, a psychoactive substance that slows down the brain and central nervous system. Alcohol consumption can impair judgment and coordination, cause liver damage and, of course, lead to addiction.
Feel Free: One of Feel Free’s two main ingredients is kava root extract. The active compounds in kava are called kavalactones, which produce a calming and relaxing effect without impairing cognitive function or motor skills. Kavalactones increase GABA in the brain, which produces relaxed and euphoric feelings, and can sharpen focus.
Ross pointed out that Feel Free has no known negative side effects—when used in moderation. Anything, he said, can cause dependence or toxicity if consumed in inappropriately large quantities.
“Anything that makes you feel good, from alcohol and caffeine to sugar or sex, you can become dependent on,” Ross said.
Ross reiterated that consuming Feel Free at the prescribed quantity and dosage will not cause any physical harm. The ingredients in Feel Free enter the body more slowly, through a much different process. Problems arise, Ross says, when human beings process natural ingredients in such a way that it is easier to get large quantities of it into the body faster. The dose, Ross says, becomes the poison.
“That’s when it becomes about getting high instead of wellness, productivity and relieving anxiety,” Ross said.
Ross discusses further why other “natural social lubricants,” like kana and coca leaves, are unfairly given bad reputations on the podcast.
What are Other Health Benefits of Feel Free?
Feel Free plant-based tonicPlant-based based tonics like Feel Free have a long history of use in traditional medicine. Some of the most notable health benefits of include:
Improved Mood: How does Feel Free improve your mood? This is partly due to kava’s ability to increase levels of the neurotransmitter, GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), in the brain. When kava is consumed, increased GABA levels act on the central nervous system to produce a range of euphoric effects. These effects can vary depending on the dose and the individual, but some of the most common effects include relaxation, sedation & a sense of well-being.
Reduced Anxiety and Stress: Ross’s primary motivator for developing Feel Free tonics was to create something that could counter the social anxiety that fueled his drinking—without the detrimental effects of alcohol. Acting on neurotransmitters to reduce feelings of anxiety & stress is, perhaps, kava root’s best-known benefit.
Promoting Sleep: The kava root extract in Feel Free has sedative effects which can help to promote relaxation and reduce racing thoughts. Among other products, Ross’s company is currently developing a dedicated natural sleep aid based on the Feel Free formula.
Improved Focus & Productivity: Feel Free is an alternative to caffeine, as well as sugary energy drinks and crash-inducing synthetic focus enhancers. In fact, the athletics programs of the University of Texas, Florida State University and the University of Southern California have even adopted Feel Free as their official tonic. “This is the first time that universities have embraced plant medicine,” Ross said.
Want to know what else Ross’s company is working on? Listen to the full episode of Vagaro’s On Point wherever you get your podcasts.
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Studies have shown that plant-based supplements like Feel Free can enable both physical & mental well-being. Listen to the entire On Point podcast for more about Ross’s story, Feel Free and the benefits of kava and other plants. Of course, do your own research and consult your doctor if you’re taking certain medications before using this or similar products.
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