Baseline Nutritionals Effectve 8-12hz Multi Pack Gum, 1 Count

Relax. Focus. Win. 8-12 combines the "ancient Indian herb," Ashwagandha with "the focusing power of L-Theanine" and chewing a couple of pieces for ten minutes will put you in the "zone" (or so the packaging says).I am a high-stress, mostly unfocused person, and also something of a gum aficionado. I've tried most, and 8-12 ranks in the lower 25% in taste and mouth feel. The flavor is most similar to that of the gums that contain aspirin, the difference being that the aspirin gums have some medicinal effect, whereas 8-12 does not. It leads with a wallop of sugar (the main ingredient) and by the time your ten minutes is up, it's a tasteless blob of artificial rubber. Old bicycle tires probably have more flavor. I have experienced no difference in ability to focus or relaxation."8-12 Hz incorporates all-natural ingredients in a gum delivery system for an enhanced effect." Yeah, well sugar is natural. The "other ingredients" list includes sorbitol and xylitol -- pseudo-sugars that are problematic for many people -- stevia extract, carnauba wax (yumm) and concludes with butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), a preservative and a known carcinogen. Since BHA is the last ingredient on the list, it's unlikely that there's enough to do serious damage, and theoretically you'll be so relaxed you won't care anyway.Ashwagandha and L-Theanine are pretty decent non-prescription stress relievers. My advice is to buy them separately and if you want to chew gum too, choose something less disgusting than 8-12. There are many options and you will pay much less!

Um -- this gum seems to provoke only one reaction from me.It doesn't taste very good.Beyond that, I don't notice any of the purported effects: relaxation, focus, zen state, yada yada.Perhaps other consumers will experience other effects -- or maybe you need to chew this stuff multiple times to prime your mind -- but to me the claims made for this stuff are just hooey. And I'm someone who believes in herbal remedies...UPDATE: I received a thoughtful comment from a gentleman named Jake Hannaford, whom I assume works for Baseline Nutritionals, the company that makes Effective gum. He suggested that I try an activity that requires focus, before and ten minutes after chewing Effective.He mentioned video games, a specialty of mine for several decades (though most kids can play my ancient butt under the table these days).So I chose a favorite game that requires focus, Alien Zombie Megadeath, in which hordes of cute aliens are coming after your ray-gun-equipped astronaut on a multilevel space platform.I played four rounds of the same survival level before chewing Effective and four rounds after. The only other variable I might mention is I did eat dinner between the two sessions, though I did NOT consume any alcohol.So I scored an average of 639,962.5 BEFORE chewing Effective and an average of 277,705 ten minutes AFTER chewing Effective. My lowest and highest score BEFORE chewing were 181,440 and 1,194,670; my lowest and highest scores AFTER chewing were 121,580 and 442,280. (I may also ascribe the lowest score before chewing, after my first round, to being rusty, not having played AZMD in some time.)Was Effective effective for me playing Alien Zombie Megadeath? NO, it was NOT.Perhaps cute aliens are more resistant to the alleged benefits of 812 than other forms of video game opponents. Perhaps if I had been playing one of the Uncharted games, 812 would have assisted Drake and Sully to a greater extent against hordes of thugs.Or perhaps old people like myself don't succumb to the effects of 812 as readily as younger competitors. Or perhaps we oldsters just don't succumb to suggestion as easily either.In any event, if 812 really does offer a competitive edge, I would suggest that Baseline Nutritionals consider narrowing the focus of the benefits described in the package and their advertising, eliminating claims that the gum helps one "feel great" or making comments like "the rest you'll figure out on your own," which the imagination tends to embroider upon given the suggested uses of Effective before dates, among other activities.

This Effectve gum arrived on finals week, so it was the perfect time for me to test it out. I had two finals left at this point. The first final was two hours long and pretty difficult. I felt awake and good going into the final. I chewed the gum before hand as instructed. The first thing I noticed when taking the gum out of the package is that the pieces are huge. I popped one piece into my mouth to start (you are supposed to do two at a time) and the gum was really hard. It also tastes a little weird. It doesn't taste bad, but it has a fake sorbitol taste to it. It would have been nice if they had added peppermint flavoring since they already added a lot of unnecessary ingredients to the formula. Anyways, it was very difficult to chew. With the taste and how hard it was, I failed to keep it in my mouth for 10 minutes as directed. This is partially because I started choking on it. It wasn't the best experience. I felt good going into this final, but I don't know if they gum had anything to do with that. About 1/3 of the way through the final I was feeling awful. I had a migraine and felt drained. It was no fault of the gum, but it didn't seem to help me this day either.For my second final I was determined to use the gum properly and see if it made a difference. I chewed two pieces for exactly 10 minutes and then spit it out. I did notice that after about 5 minutes of chewing the gum became easier to chew. I even started blowing bubbles. I felt pretty good for this final, but again, I don't think that was because of the gum. I had a decent amount of sleep and caffeine for this mid-morning final. I was able to get through this final feeling excellent. No migraines, no drained feelings. I am just not sure it was because of the gum. This final was easier and only an hour. Honestly, the gum didn't make me feel any different from normal. I like to chew peppermint gum when I feel tired or drained and it refreshes me somewhat. I think this gum did about the same for me. For the current price of almost $25, I wouldn't even recommend giving this gum a chance. You are better off with some coffee or tea and peppermint gum. Save your money.