TA Ep. 156 Nikki Bostwick, The Fullest – Saffron vs. Prozac: The Natural Alternative for Anxiety, Depression, and ADHD

Leigh Ann: [00:00:00] Let me hit start on the recording. Well, Nikki, welcome to the Accrescent podcast, the Accrescent community. So excited to have actually like a local,

Nikki Bostwick: Um,

Leigh Ann: local small business, a local entrepreneur, um, just a local, you know, energy on the show. So welcome.

Nikki Bostwick: Thank you. Thanks for having me. I’m excited as well. I just found out that you’re a local when we were, you know, making the appointment to do this. And I was so excited to hear about the work that you do.

Leigh Ann: Yeah. Oh, I know we’ll have to get into so much of that. And this is one of the reasons I’m particularly interested in the fullest, which we’ll get into all of that is, you know, I have a mental health, emotional wellness practice that is. Holistically minded. And, and so I’m always really interested in what are, you know, outside of what I do, what are some great resources, products, modalities that I can build, you know, this list of to send clients to for extra.

Extra input. And [00:01:00] so I’m very excited to share your, your brand, your story, your journey with the audience today. So we, I, I love to get into some of the nitty gritty. We’re going to be talking about Saffron and the fullest, but I also am such a sucker for an origin story. Um, I love to hear how did you actually get there?

And that probably could be a whole episode by itself, but a little bit of kind of the highlights of what led you to founding this brand. Yes.

Nikki Bostwick: like, um, try and do a high level. Um, so yeah, I’ve just, I’ve been into wellness for a long time. I knew I wanted to have my own business and I studied business in college. I was a business major and I had come from a family of entrepreneurs, but I felt like I didn’t get.

Um, when you study business, they don’t like tell you anything about a specific [00:02:00] thing, you know, it’s just like very general. So then I was like, Oh, great. This is like not setting me up for anything. Um, So I had been teaching yoga in college and I really was into nutrition and learning about all that and implementing it in my own life.

And I, the more I researched, the more I would just implement, like I stopped drinking. I got off medication, I was on the pill, I was on Adderall and it just didn’t feel aligned with me anymore. The more I would learn, the more I would implement, I felt like I could get off of pharmaceuticals. And, um, So I did that, but I also was looking for an alternative to Adderall.

And I, and I also had my own health journey and whatnot. And, um, through my own experience of like wanting to start a business and helping others and first wanting to kind of tackle what I was going through. Um, I [00:03:00] went back to like, just being more connected with my roots. And I’m first generation Iranian American.

And I grew up knowing that saffron is the happy spice and. My mom used it. We use a lot of that in our cooking in Iran and in Persian culture. And I understood that it was, you know, there to elevate your mood, but just what was really cool about it is, you know, as I got older, science had actually been able to prove the exact dosage.

that you could get these therapeutic benefits. So if you’re someone who’s actually, you know, trying to work with a physician to get off of methylphenidate, which is the generic form of Ritalin, then there’s research that you can share with your physician to kind of guide through a dosage and, you know, through.

Getting off of the medication. If that’s your, what you’re looking to do, which is what I was looking to do. And, um, the more I learned [00:04:00] about it, the more I was like, oh my gosh, this is so incredible. And I was working with it. I went to culinary school for plant based food after college. So I was working with saffron.

It was naturally making its way into what I was doing without me knowing, just because it was part of my culture. So I like did this plant based saffron ice cream thing. And I was like, I don’t want to do ice cream. But it’s really good. And then,

Leigh Ann: The pistachio saffron.

Nikki Bostwick: it’s so good with rose. I mean, it’s my favorite. And there’s so many amazing desserts and dishes with it that make it fun to use.

But really, when you’re talking about the mental health and therapeutic benefits, you have to get a therapeutic dose, which is at least 30 milligrams a day, which is five flowers that are harvested.

Leigh Ann: This is what I was going to ask is because you, you guys are eating it so much, by the way, my, my ex, my partner of eight years, um, is Persian. So I’ve been in the Persian community the last like eight years of my life. [00:05:00] Beautiful, and there’s still so much love with him, but so well versed in, in all of this.

I love it.

Nikki Bostwick: yeah. So it’s like kind of hard to figure out. It’s like they’re using that dose that I’m talking about for a whole, you know, party of

Leigh Ann: Right. That’s, that was going to be my question is because they’re eating it so much, but still, like, you don’t need that much saffron to cook your rice.

Nikki Bostwick: exactly. It’s like, You don’t need that much to get the therapeutic dose, but you, it’s still more than what they’re using because a little bit does go a long way. So it’s kind of, it’s interesting. But when I started doing the research, I was like, oh my gosh, um, okay, now I have this, this baseline.

Cause even with adaptogens and stuff like that, where people are just kind of feeling it out, right? Like there’s not that much research on specific. adaptogens and mushrooms and all these herbs. But for some reason with saffron, there’s a lot of research, a [00:06:00] lot like two decades worth of research and they’ve double blind placebo tested against.

So many ailments and it’s really exciting. So, and it’s one of those things that the research has shown. You start to feel the benefits almost instantly. A lot of people feel it within an hour.

Leigh Ann: Oh my

Nikki Bostwick: And most, um, even pharmaceuticals take like six weeks to kick in. So, and it’s something that you can take alongside pharmaceuticals.

It’s not like it, um, it doesn’t have to be one or the other. It’s just supportive for anyone. So. Long story short, I started the fullest because I was just like really into wellness and it was more of a magazine and content website until I figured out what product it was that I wanted to produce. It was more of just building a community of like minded people and the product organically showed up once I like had a pop up and I realized that people just were very familiar with adding powders.

To their beverage [00:07:00] or it was like an easy avenue to give people a medicine that that was like also just like functional beverage type of thing, you know, so that’s kind of where the latte powder came into play. And I realized that that was a great way for us to just focus because no, at the time, like, no one knew, like, what’s saffron and wow.

This is. This is incredible. I can really share about something that I feel so passionate about. That’s part of my lineage that I know about and that science has been able to back up. So if there’s been centuries of, you know, evidence, um, by my ancestors and many cultures, but science really helps it, you know, just kind of make it so people feel more comfortable.

Leigh Ann: Yeah.

Nikki Bostwick: So that was,

Leigh Ann: how like for generations, literally thousands of years, the [00:08:00] ancients have known all of this wisdom. And yet we kind of discount that until it can be like double blind proven. And so I do think it’s really interesting that so much of modern day science is just proving what has been taught for generations.

Nikki Bostwick: know. And that’s like, that’s the type of science I like. I’m like, okay, take what they knew and then just. you find out with that, let’s not just like make up new. I mean, it is what it is. There’s, um, good and bad and everything. Right. So anyways, I, I was really excited to have that research. And I went on to formulate the product line and then We kind of just like made the decision to focus mainly on the products versus just the content.

And it was where we saw that we can make the most impact, um, as more and more brands started doing like so much content. And it just started becoming like, you know, at the time it was, it wasn’t like every single brand had a blog and all that now it’s. I think [00:09:00] that you do. But

Leigh Ann: hmm.

Nikki Bostwick: so anyways, we started doing the products and I feel just very blessed to have something I’m passionate about that I can share with people and continue to educate how it can change people’s lives.

And it’s changed mine because during this time period, I became a mom and it’s traditionally used during the postpartum period. So it was just like a really beautiful thing that came into my life at the exact time where I needed it and where I could. Share it with others when they need it.

Leigh Ann: Mm hmm. And I think I saw on your website, I think this is public knowledge, if it’s not I can cut it out, that you, you did, you wanted to get off the Adderall, you wanted to get off some of these things, and then you were able to, ultimately.

Nikki Bostwick: yeah, I was able to fully get off of them and through different things, obviously with the birth control pill that doesn’t have to do with the saffron, right? But taking saffron helps regulate your hormones. It helps get your body back into alignment and optimize it. [00:10:00] So, yeah. That was really nice.

Obviously I use a different tracking method, right? That’s not like the saffron, but the SAP, but having been on the pill for so long, it helps when you get off of it to have something like saffron balance. Yes.

Leigh Ann: let’s get into some more of these Saffron benefits. By the way, as an entrepreneur, there’s like so many questions I could ask you about launching products, sourcing, all these different things. I will save that for another time. We’ll kind of stick to the benefits. Cause I know that’s, that’s, that’s what I want the audience to really get out of.

This is. What are your products? How can they be supportive? Particularly as it pertains to mental and emotional wellness. But in general, what are some of the benefits of saffron?

Nikki Bostwick: Okay. So the main ones we focus on are mental health, so anxiety, depression, A DHD, inflammation, super potent, anti-inflammatory. I always say it’s like turmeric on steroids. Uh, ’cause it’s just [00:11:00] very, very potent and helps a lot. Like if you have headaches, it can help. almost immediately. Um, joint pain, muscle recovery workouts.

I did like a half marathon that I did not prep for and like I was not sore the next day. Like I couldn’t walk afterwards and then I downed a bunch of saffron next day. I was like fine as if I didn’t even do it. It was

Leigh Ann: Oh my gosh. I needed this on a, my best friend and I did a, a five day backpacking trip in Scotland this year. And I have never been in so much pain in my entire life.

Nikki Bostwick: you’re like, oh gosh, I’m getting older. And this actually is the thing that I need help with. And because it’s such a potent anti inflammatory, it helps a lot with that. Um, but yeah, so anxiety, depression, ADHD, those are all double blind placebo tested, uh, 30 milligrams or more, um, of saffron, um, even like stress induced weight gain.

That’s like a big one that I didn’t realize a [00:12:00] lot of people were really, um, finding support with and are interested in. Um, and Even like skin, we don’t really like push this cause saffron is like a miracle spice that can help with like everything. It’s crazy. I like to keep it narrow, but skin is a big one because rashes, the, it’s all inflammation of the skin, right?

So redness, rashes. and just like irritation in general, it can really help support. You can make like a paste with it, a topical paste with like Manuka honey and even a powder or you can internally when you take it, it helps. And then digestion. So this is a big one because IBS, like different sorts of, you know, digestive conditions, it helps support.

Because it’s an anti inflammatory and if you think about anxiety, depression, ADHD, these are all like imbalances of our neurotransmitters and serotonin and [00:13:00] dopamine are created in the gut. So when you think about how does it work for our gut? Well, it’s because it’s helping optimize the gut so that we can also create our own serotonin and dopamine levels.

Leigh Ann: yeah, the, again, we’re going to go deeper into some of the mental and emotional pieces, but the inflammation one really, really stands out to me because I’m even thinking of some family members who’ve been dealing with some arthritis type stuff, which really, so many of these chronic issues are just.

Chronic inflammation that for whatever reason for them is manifesting in the joints for someone else’s manifesting in the gut for someone else’s manifesting over here. And so that is really something that’s standing out to me. Like I already have a couple of people that I’m like, I think we, I think you need to get this.

Nikki Bostwick: Yes. Yes. Right. Um, I know. I’m always like, it’s funny because I, I feel like my mom’s like the original saffron lady because she was [00:14:00] obviously my introduction to it and used it heavily in our cooking, like more than the average person in our culture. He like dosed everything with it and that’s how I got into it because I would like go in and drink the vial in our fridge that she would like pre make and I’d like drink the whole thing and she’d be like, oh my god, stop.

This is gonna make you have a laughing attack. Um, and I loved it. But yeah, I’ve like, I joke that I’ve turned so many other people into saffron ladies. Everyone’s like, I literally give this for any and anything and everything because it works. And I, they just can’t believe it. And I’m like, I know it’s, it’s crazy.

I give it to my children. I give it to my parents. And my sister broke out in hives. It really helped her. So it’s just really, um, an exciting thing that feels new. That’s been around forever.

Leigh Ann: Totally. That’s the funny thing is some of this stuff that starts to become trendy, but even just like [00:15:00] more widely talked about, widely accepted, widely studied. It’s like, like we said before, yeah, this has been around for so long. It’s like just kind of coming back to the mainstream.

Nikki Bostwick: Yeah.

Leigh Ann: Yep, um, you also, I followed you, I follow you on Instagram and you posted something that is particularly interesting to me right now about saffron.

You said it’s very anti fungal.

Nikki Bostwick: Yes.

Leigh Ann: Cause I am in the midst of, oh, this is like a mold situation.

Nikki Bostwick: Okay. People have found relief from mold from it for sure. And I’ve gotten like a bunch of testimonials. There’s no, in the studies they say it’s antifungal, but there, I haven’t found like very specific ones. So I haven’t like gone into it too much, but I’m amazed. And I think that’s why it also helps with like, it just helps with acne and all that too.

You know, it’s

Leigh Ann: Yeah,

Nikki Bostwick: what’s your mold situation?

Leigh Ann: Yeah. Oh, well, um, my, a space I was [00:16:00] in is moldy that I’m moving, that I’m moving out of, you know, here on the beach, old buildings. Um, so I’ve been there for a couple of years. I’m moving out of that space. So now I’m kind of like actively doing a bunch of different things and protocols with my naturopathic doctor to start to detox.

But when I saw that, I was like, Ooh, okay, this might be something I want to add, add to the protocol.

Nikki Bostwick: I think that’s a great idea. And for mold, I like to do saffron and ozone, like the combo. Yeah. So good.

Leigh Ann: So I work, um, on Fridays. I am actually a practitioner at the Cancer Center for Healing Center for New

Nikki Bostwick: Well, with Dr.

Leigh Ann: with Dr. Keneally. And so I, you know, they have eboo there, the ozone and like blood filtration. They have so much stuff there. So there’s a lot. There’s a lot there that I’m doing some different IVs, the eboo.

And then, you know, at home, like the red light, the sauna. Um,

Nikki Bostwick: And I feel like what’s nice too, with incorporating it for fungus and mold and all that, and just [00:17:00] anything, the drink is exciting for it. ’cause you’re not like, oh my God, I’ve taken this other supplement.

Leigh Ann: thing.

Nikki Bostwick: It’s like this other thing I’m doing. It’s like, no, I’m just making this drink. It tastes good. I like it and it has a really potent therapeutic dose.

So our drink has 150 milligrams of saffron in it. So to give you an idea, 25 flowers are harvested per one serving.

Leigh Ann: Wow, okay.

Nikki Bostwick: It’s really potent. It’s not like it’s going to make you like high or loopy or anything, but you’re going to feel this really good and elevated from it. And. Our capsules have the 30 milligram dose because we use a saffron extract for that.

That’s undergone the clinical studies, whereas the beverage uses saffron and it’s raw form. So it’s like basically the strands that are ground, just like you would grind any other spice. Right. And so the extract like the 30 milligrams is probably Um, what I’ve like heard [00:18:00] from them is the equivalent of 90 milligrams.

So the powder and the drink is more potent, but they’re both really effective and well above the, like the initial therapeutic dosage is great.

Leigh Ann: So there’s, you kind of have those two core products, the, the, like the capsules and then the drink. You also, I saw, which I’m like, oh my gosh, the bath salts, which I don’t know, maybe that’s a new product that could be fun to chat about a

Nikki Bostwick: Yes.

Leigh Ann: but the capsules and the drink are the two, the two core products.

Yeah. Mm

Nikki Bostwick: the baths are super fun. We introduced them a while ago and like we still have them, but they’re kind of like add ons, right? And I mean, they’re really, really great. They’re just like super expensive products and Well, all of it is right. Saffron’s expensive, but people are used to spending money on supplements.

And so we think of saffron as a [00:19:00] supplement versus a culinary spice. You’re like, okay, I can spend that much on my supplement. This like replaces this, um, in my, You know, toolbox. Whereas with the baths, like I’m such a bath person. And if you have like this skin stuff going on, or if you’re like bloated, you can drink it or you could get in one of the bath.

It like helps with bloating and you’re, cause sometimes it’s like, You’re so bloated that you’re like, I can’t have another drink, right? I can’t have another liquid and I feel like sick. I like don’t even want to take a capsule, even though that would help do the trick. Sometimes it’s like sitting in a bath is maybe the best thing for you.

So we have that and I love it. And I like, it’s one of those things where I’m like, I need to send, you know, I need to like get rid of it. In terms of like profit, you know, business wise, it’s one of those things.

Leigh Ann: percent. [00:20:00] They

Nikki Bostwick: only, but I don’t necessarily have any, um, investors yet.

So I’m like, I still love it. And it’s something that I love and I use in my kids use and my friends, like everyone’s like, you can not get rid of the bath. Those are like my favorite thing. And I’m like me too. So we like, there’s like a handful of us that just want to keep. Like the baths to just use like for ourselves and hoard them Anyway, if you’re listening to this and the baths are still on the site like stock up because that’s the conversation we’re having internally And I have this with like so many of my entrepreneur friends, like friends that have huge skincare brands or like the baths just don’t move as quickly.

And so the easiest ones for like everyone to be like, don’t do it. But in terms of like the therapeutic benefits, I feel like I’d be doing a disservice, like completely getting rid of it because it. Baths are just so therapeutic. Right? [00:21:00] Um, I, and I used to take them like many, multiple times a week before I had my kids to where some people just like, don’t have them.

I just don’t have access to a bathtub. Right. Like we’re renting, you don’t like your bathtub. You don’t want to deal with it. Right. Like there’s a lot of people that are, but I would say in the wellness community, I don’t know. What is your take on it? Like, do you, do you prescribe like a lot of baths? Yes.

Leigh Ann: oh my gosh, baths are the thing for me. Now, with that said, I recently moved and I’m not in like a single family home anymore. I’m in a complex, so I take a lot less baths just because this water isn’t filtered and there’s a ton of S H I T in it. Unfortunately, although sometimes I’ll put, you know, I’ll put like sodium bicarbonate, the clay and kind of all the stuff in there too.

But yeah, everyone I know loves a good bath. I’m laughing a little bit because I don’t know if you’re familiar with flower essences,

Nikki Bostwick: Oh yeah, I love

Leigh Ann: not essential oils, [00:22:00] flower essences. So I’m a, I’m a flower essence specialist. And when I first started my practice three years ago, I actually had a line of like, Oral flower, like custom blends.

And then I made a line of bath salts with like these flower essences infused for specific emotions. Like luxury of the luxury. I think it was like 30 for a jar.

Nikki Bostwick: Yeah. Yeah.

Leigh Ann: All that to say, like, I don’t have that line anymore because literally just the time it took to make this. A single thing of bath salts, a single flower essence blend took so much time, but it really was like my dream product.

I was like, this is what I want to pour in my

Nikki Bostwick: we were going to do that. Like we were going to go fully into skin because like it’s saffron’s great for hair saffron’s great for so like shampoo conditioner body, like all of the things. And, um, since you’re into flower essences, I’m sure, you know, Alexis smart flower.

Leigh Ann: Uh huh.

Nikki Bostwick: She’s a good friend of mine. And so I was like, [00:23:00] Alexis, we need to incorporate flower essences into the products that I’m launching, like totally on the same page as

Leigh Ann: Mm hmm.

Nikki Bostwick: And we were like talking about it and stuff. But then basically what it came down to was I realized everyone can like either take a capsule or a powder. And like, I think. And this is like a lesson in, um, business, right? It’s like growing horizontally just wasn’t going to be great for our brand at this time, because I can support more people with like these two products, these three core products that do the same thing essentially. Internally then as the other ones and like, can you just get the job done? And I think in a world where we’re so, um, bombarded with like so much, like going on a website and being like, Oh my God, I like want this and I want this and I want this. And then now my, and my cart’s like a million dollars. And like, I just don’t even know.

And then something comes up and you move on. [00:24:00] Right. Where you’re like, Oh, well they could have just gotten this one thing. It would have really, right. Moved the needle for them and made a huge difference and my ego of like wanting to give them all these things because I Want them to have it? Has to get out of the effing way and I’ll make it a DIY version for myself at home and not a manufacturer Make it basically

Leigh Ann: gosh, you know what you need to do, and this is like, selfishly, I’m saying this. Have like a, an in person event where we all get to like, make the bath salts and do something.

Nikki Bostwick: Yes. That’s a great idea.

Leigh Ann: So we’ll all get it, we’ll pay our cover fee, we’ll get our baths, our saffron bath salts.

Nikki Bostwick: gosh, such a good idea. I might do that. No, like twice a year we do it and we just stock up and do both.

Leigh Ann: Yes, totally, totally. No, it’s so true. This whole thing, I literally, this is my constant battle is all the things I want to offer because I’m like, they need this, they need this, they need this. And then I [00:25:00] always have to pause and go, okay, Leanne, what is this actually going to cost you time to more, more than anything, like time and emotional capacity, not even so much the financial piece.

Yeah.

Nikki Bostwick: It’s so true. And it goes back to having a, whatever, you know, your therapist, your healer, your doctor, like whoever it is you’re working with, right. Be in that state of like, They’re emotionally like at their best and not like totally, you know, giving too much. So, cause you need to, you need to take care of yourself so you can be able to provide the best service to them.

Right. And I felt like the same thing where I was like, I’m sober out trying to do all of these things, but I feel my best when I just have this opportunity to give the thing that is going to still move the needle. 100%. And I can be with my kids and I can, I can do all the things and be at my [00:26:00] best too.

And I feel like the You know, just the balance of giving and receiving is so important for everyone, not just your customers or your patient, but also yourself. And I’ve really had to learn that the hard way, but I’m glad I did because it’s something I’m so. So passionate about sharing with everyone. I know because it doesn’t just apply to other entrepreneurs.

It applies to our customers or anyone listening to this podcast. Like it can apply to any aspect of your life in your relationship with your Loved ones or with whatever career you have or decisions that you make on a daily basis. It’s like, it goes back to mental health. Like when we feel like we’re drained, it’s like we can take everything, but we like even saffron, saffron is going to help it.

Like there’s that something there that needs to shift lifestyle.

Leigh Ann: Yeah, Oh, a [00:27:00] hundred percent. And this is, this is what I’m doing all day, every day with clients. And you know, this, the subconscious approach to all of this, right. Which is yeah. What is going on in my subconscious also using this Evox therapy that I use that is keeping me stuck in these patterns. And I can’t tell you, like, especially with the cancer patients, um, I just see time and time and time again, and I believe so deeply to my core that there is an emotional component to every cancer.

I just see it so profoundly and So they’re coming into me getting, having all these doctors basically tell them, okay, you need to change your diet and take these supplements and do these protocols and eat this food and not eat that food. And, and like maybe literally maybe 1 percent of what they’re doing or being told to do has anything to do with the emotional side of things.

And so I’m very, very passionate about that specifically. Um,

Nikki Bostwick: of the [00:28:00] emotions like involve, I think shame is a big one. I think that

Leigh Ann: shame, guilt, resentment, regret. Mm hmm.

Nikki Bostwick: Oh my gosh. It’s so crazy. I, I can’t wait. I have to have you on my podcast and we’ll do like all the things around that. Well, Saffron is potent anti cancer medicine as well. Um, but you know, I don’t really talk about that.

Right.

Leigh Ann: Yeah, yeah, I know

Nikki Bostwick: like, yeah. Yeah.

Leigh Ann: It’s the same thing because it’s like I I could work with On any topic. I am so passionate about the cancer patients that a lot of my messaging now revolves around that, but it’s like, there’s so many different people I can and do work with. But to your point, I love that you said this, especially because it’s your product and you’re saying even this product is not like the end all be all magic pill.

We need to do that deeper work of. I kind of break emotional work into two categories. There’s work that’s [00:29:00] soothing and then there’s work that’s solving, soothing and solving. And we need both. Like we need to, when we’re having a rough day. Do our meditations, do our yoga, do whatever the things are. Take our saffron capsules, our saffron baths.

Nikki Bostwick: Yeah, yeah,

Leigh Ann: But if we’re not at some point doing work around what is causing all this turbulence that I need to, to soothe, we’re just going to be soothing indefinitely. And in fact, we’re going to need to soothe more and more and more and more.

Nikki Bostwick: exactly. And that’s a big one that I really believe. And I always say what’s beautiful about saffron is it does get to the root in certain aspects, right? You’re not doing a serotonin dump. You’re helping train your body to create its own optimal levels of serotonin and dopamine so that You are in some capacity and some ways getting to the root and training your body to do the work.

Right. But the big thing is that there’s something causing that [00:30:00] to happen in the first place as well. Like you’re saying. And so maybe I use this as an example because my family’s going through a crazy lawsuit right now and it’s been like 18 months. So maybe there’s a circumstance like what my family’s going through.

Right. Where. There is something that will not change and you have to go through the course or you have a divorce happening. You have someone that just passed away and you’re grieving. You have some event in your life. It’s not like you can run away from these events. These are things that we’ve been.

It’s like an initiation that we’re going through for a period of time in our lives. And there’s always going to be different ones, right? And those are circumstances. That we are going to work through and that we’re blessed to have experiences that’ll make us stronger in these things. And saffron is an incredible tool while you’re going through this.

Or maybe it’s like you have a headache, you’re taking it, or your child has ADHD [00:31:00] and it can be all sorts of emotional things. And during that. time period or during their school years, they’re on saffron, right? And so that’s awesome. But yes, like what’s going on at home, maybe you’re in a living situation that’s going to last for a while.

That’s part of what’s like exacerbating these symptoms. You have this as your tool and you use it and it helps you for all of these different things that helps it. But what? Acknowledge what it is and then like figure out the, the protocol that’s going to help you. But like everything has layers. And so we don’t want to ignore that.

Saffron’s like, um, going to help you get to a place of calmness and focus and like relaxation so that you can do that work. And that’s what’s exciting

Leigh Ann: Yes. 100%. It’s like, we bring in the soothers, and I think, thankfully, a lot of us in [00:32:00] this more holistic world, alternative world, we’ve, we’ve created a library of soothers that are non toxic, right? Because there’s soothers that are quite toxic, alcohol, smoking, so many other things. The list goes on and on and on.

Um, so it’s wonderful that we have soothers like meditation, like saffron, like breathwork, all the things that can soothe us. But again, it’s like, yes, we’re not just soothing to soothe. We have to soothe so that we can solve. And it’s so funny. I love that you’re bringing this up because to your point, I think you’re making such a good point, which is, and I really, really believe this there, there’s going to be turbulence.

Nikki Bostwick: Oh yeah.

Leigh Ann: It’s, it’s not if it’s when there’s going to be turbulence. And so to have that kind of like list of resources that you’ve used in the past, that when those turbulent times hit, you can go great, I’m in a time of turbulence. Like, let’s bring all these things in. I know I might not need all these [00:33:00] things in this capacity forever, but for these next few months, I might need this extra support.

And I think that’s so profound to kind of have that, that list. It’s so funny when it comes to supplements. There’s only one that I’ve actually recommended so far. And I know, you know, Shervin from Symbiotica and his adrenal support is kind of like a mainstay for me in times of stress. And so I feel like his, his with your saffron might be like a really great one to hit.

Nikki Bostwick: Yes. It’s such a good idea. I need to do it together. That’s awesome. I love, he’s like family to me.

Leigh Ann: Oh, I love that. I love that. And like this whole amazing, what an amazing local, like

Nikki Bostwick: Yes. Yeah.

Leigh Ann: kind of community we’ve got

Nikki Bostwick: I

Leigh Ann: on out here.

Nikki Bostwick: feel like it just makes sense because, um, you know, the coastal community and OC, I just love it so much and it aligns with like this sort of lifestyle to me.

Leigh Ann: Yeah, a hundred percent.

Nikki Bostwick: to the like [00:34:00] things that you might need to do and, um, in LA, cause there are so many resources there, but then just having that sense of like being a farther away from a bigger city and having the ocean, it’s like, feels a lot cleaner.

Right. Um, it just feels nice.

Leigh Ann: Mm hmm. Yep. Yep. I’m always like, I’m so grateful to be on this side of all the freeways. So all that freeway toxin, unfortunately, um, is getting blown inland. Not to me. Yes. I do want to talk a little bit about saffron compared to pharmaceuticals. Um, cause you actually had a whole page of information on this.

So I will definitely direct people to that as well to really kind of read through it at their pace and learn more. But I think this is really profound because there are many people on any number of pharmaceuticals for anxiety, for depression, maybe even for grief and different things, and I just want to go into that a little bit more about kind of how they compare and you even already started speaking to [00:35:00] this.

Um,

Nikki Bostwick: I’m happy to share. So in the research, this was like the first study I came across, and that was just like blown away. They did a double blind placebo study of 30 milligrams of saffron against 20 milligrams of Prozac, which is fluoxetine, which the generic form of Prozac is fluoxetine. And they found that it was just as effective and it worked more quickly as well.

So patients, uh, started seeing the results more quickly. Whereas I was saying it takes like about six weeks for Prozac to kick in. And so it was really powerful information for someone to be like, okay, when you’re going on, let’s say you’re just getting on an antidepressant and you’re like waiting for it to work.

You want something, you’re like, oh my God, I need something sooner. This is. [00:36:00] So desperate to get on this. I need relief. It’s so nice to know that there is that dosage comparison to, uh, the 20 verse 30, so 30 milligrams, saffron, 20 milligrams of floccidine. So it just depends, obviously. Like we, we have this research on our website and we share this so that people can take this to their physicians.

Cause we can’t tell anyone necessarily what dosage to take if that’s a Where what they’re looking for specifically or if they were on a medication looking to get on one But it’s a really wonderful comparison for physicians that are open I mean, I I’m impressed with how many people have said they have worked with their physicians

Leigh Ann: Oh, that’s amazing. I also think you guys are really, it sounds like, really empowering people to do that. And by giving them those resources, to your point, you can’t, you can’t do that for them, but you can give them the resources that foster and empower them to do that for themselves.

Nikki Bostwick: Yeah. [00:37:00] And there are so many side effects to these pharmaceuticals, right? So, not only have they found that it’s just as effective, they did find it has, like, barely any side effects. If any, I mean, they’re essentially the only population that’s, Not supposed to be taking it is, um, pregnant women and that’s like for a specific period of time because saffron is really, really wonderful for labor prep.

And so late stage pregnancy, like after 37 weeks, it’s a really good time to start incorporating it for prepping, um, for labor and also for pain management. During labor, a natural alternative because I had a home birth, so I like downed saffron. That was great. And I mean, I, I also had an epidural birth with my first, and I was like, I have both experiences to kind of base it off of.

And I, I mean, I had also energetic healing during my home birth. So I felt like I had zero pain at [00:38:00] all. Whereas it’s like my first, I had an epidural and I was like, I feel every little thing. This is not working. Um, So, yeah, I just, I think that the fact that it works really quickly in most people. So for our products, we did a survey and 83 percent of people felt a difference within one hour.

Leigh Ann: Oh my gosh, that’s huge. It’s so huge. I’m thinking of a family member actually who years ago was going through a very, very tragic experience and same thing, I mean, truly suicidal in the depths of despair. And to your point exactly, it’s, okay, I’m on these antidepressants now and I still need to wait three plus weeks to feel anything and oh my gosh, it’s just like, it’s so gut wrenching

Nikki Bostwick: Yeah.

Leigh Ann: to think about that.

Nikki Bostwick: And you can use this alongside the. medication as well. If someone’s like more comfortable going on, you know, something that’s pharmaceutical, it helps with the, uh, [00:39:00] the, um, what’s it called?

Leigh Ann: effects?

Nikki Bostwick: It helps with the side effects. So saffron is an aphrodisiac. So most people have low libido when they get off of, get on a pharmaceutical.

So you can take saffron to help with that. Um, you can take it to have maybe a lower dose of something that you were going to get on. You can take it so that yeah. You don’t feel that dullness that comes along with taking something like that. So it just kind of gives you this sense of like feeling alive again.

Leigh Ann: Yeah, vibrancy. And to your point, it sounds like there’s multiple ways it can be used. One, it could be Maybe I want to avoid pharmaceuticals, so I try something like this first. I, I’m taking pharmaceuticals, but I want to mitigate the downsides. Or, I’ve been on pharmaceuticals, I want to maybe consider getting off of them, bringing this in.

Nikki Bostwick: yeah, exactly. And some people, um, I have a customer who’s been on Adderall and he takes it after basically he has this like time [00:40:00] period where he is, gets into really intense mood swings when he’s coming off of his medication.

Leigh Ann: Um,

Nikki Bostwick: So that’s when he starts taking it, he takes it in the afternoon and he doesn’t feel any mood swings. It’s so interesting.

Leigh Ann: Yeah. You already went to my next question, which is some of maybe your favorite like client or customer testimonials that you’re like at liberty to share.

Nikki Bostwick: Well, we have, you know, the reviews on our website and we email them out to sometimes when we’re just like amazed, but I’ve had, um, I had this like chance meeting with this woman. I was telling someone else about the product. She overheard it. And she told her 13 year old daughter got off, got off of, um, not just like antidepressants, but also the Adderall.

And she was just like, I am like, my daughter’s not on anything. All she takes is kind of thoughts. And you basically saved her because she’s like my daughter again. It’s so crazy. Um, some people talk about it for [00:41:00] COVID hair loss, like even just. Supporting. Yeah, we girls in hair. Um, I mean, we have a lot of people starting to take it for a mood and working with their physicians, which is like, to me, the most exciting just because I just feel like the research is so there that it’s like, there’s no excuse anymore.

You should try it. You know, it doesn’t mean that this is going to work 100 percent of the time, but just try it. Um, yeah. What else? I just like, I love all of them. People, I mean, people love the taste, which is exciting for me. I formulated it myself.

Leigh Ann: Yeah. So tell us about, and also just so the audience knows you said kinder thoughts. That’s the name of the supplement, right? Like the capsules. Yep.

Nikki Bostwick: Yeah. And then

Leigh Ann: people know, because I don’t think we had actually shared the actual

Nikki Bostwick: yes. So warm feelings is the name of the latte. You can, it’s caffeine free and it just has four ingredients. It’s saffron, cardamom, coconut milk powder, coconut water powder. So there’s [00:42:00] no sweetener in it. The sweetness comes naturally from the coconut. Um, the, the four ingredient like powder is what I formulated.

That was the first product I formulated. I went to culinary school for plant based foods. So I learned how to formulate and that’s how I ended up doing the formulation. Um, and it’s just, it’s. It’s really fun because it’s like the best way to describe the taste we say is like a warm floral hug. Because with like turmeric, a lot of people are familiar with that taste.

To me, that’s more pungent. So it’s more similar to like ginger, but saffron is more floral. So it tastes more like rose and cardamom and it goes along with those flavors really well. And it’s just softer on the palate. So when it’s, It’s not, it’s not like overly sweet by any means. It’s like this light hint of sweetness from the coconut that just makes it.

So tasty. And you can mix it with a hot [00:43:00] water, just the powder and the hot water. And it makes like a really yummy, um, somewhat creamy tea, like consistency. Or if you do it like with a steamed milk of choice, then it’s more of like a, like latte alternative, like a matcha latte, but no, right. Some people mix it with their matcha and that tastes really good.

I started doing that or with their chai.

Leigh Ann: I was gonna say, I mean, it sounds like, so I’ve been on a chai kick lately. I’m a, there’s this brand called OneStripe that I got that the Ecology Center sells. You probably know the Ecology Center. So I’ve been obsessed with making my, this chai every morning. And it’s like what I look forward to. But, I love making chai.

For me, my nervous system that gets frazzled so often,

Nikki Bostwick: Yeah.

Leigh Ann: the warmth, like something warm is so soothing to my nervous system, particularly beverages. I just find myself wanting beverages when I’m stressed. And so to have the caffeine free one for the evenings, like end of day, you get home from work. Oh my gosh.

Yes. But I was even [00:44:00] thinking, honestly, you probably could just, like, let’s say you make your little espresso in the morning and,

Nikki Bostwick: Oh yeah.

Leigh Ann: there. It’s like a, it’s like a dirty,

Nikki Bostwick: Oh yeah.

Leigh Ann: Yeah,

Nikki Bostwick: it up. And yeah, you could do it as like a nightcap, because that’s another benefit. Saffron’s really great for sleep. And it, um, actually there are studies that it helps people with insomnia, because it helps you get a deeper, more restful sleep, because it’s calming down your nervous system.

We’re like, how does it help with sleep and with focus and anxiety and

Leigh Ann: right. Right. It sounds counterintuitive.

Nikki Bostwick: the same imbalance though, you know, and it’s just coming out in a different way. And when you’re calm, you can focus. And then when you’re calm, you wind down easier and you can like, just, you know, You know, remove those racing thoughts and just actually have a really restful sleep.

So it’s great as a nightcap. And that’s why with our happy habits bundle, [00:45:00] we have the latte and the capsules in it. Because basically let’s say you have your drink a choice in the morning and you don’t add the powder into it. You could do the drink a choice with the capsule and your day with the caffeine free latte or vice versa.

You use it in the morning as your beverage. And then before, you know, you go to bed, you just pop a capsule.

Leigh Ann: Yeah. Okay, you were answering one of my questions, which is what is kind of recommended dosage or frequency? Like, are you having two, you know, two beverages a day of this? Although the beverages is pretty, it’s pretty high potent. Yeah.

Nikki Bostwick: you can do just one capsule or one, um, latte and you’re good to go. But if you’re someone who’s like, I’m going to like do this protocol and I want to like give it my all because I have this thing that I really want to work on and you can do twice a day and it’d be really great to like have it working throughout all 24 hours basically.

Leigh Ann: hmm. Oh, I love that. [00:46:00] Already, I’m like, every single person I know and work with needs to be taking it.

Nikki Bostwick: That’s how I am. I’m like, Oh, and then I’ve like turned a bunch of people onto it. Cause you just, you know, it can, it just, you know, people, some people are the type where they’re like, I need my wine and it’s just like a replacement basically. the wine makes you feel.

Leigh Ann: Yes. And again, to the point we made earlier, it’s not, everyone needs to be on this for the rest of their life. Although, you know, in terms of business, that’d be awesome.

Nikki Bostwick: Yeah. Yeah.

Leigh Ann: for those periods of time, most of the people I work with, and this is what I love about Evox and what I do is it’s very concentrated.

It’s, we’re working together for two months, three months through an issue. And then those changes are happening so quickly. And so to be able to go, and I’m also going to bring in this product, For a couple months as I’m working through this deep, deep thing. Amazing.

Nikki Bostwick: I think that’s great. And I love working with practitioners like [00:47:00] you, because I feel like, you know what that person needs and you know, you could be that the people really trust. Like if a practitioner tells them to do something versus just me trying to sell my product, it’s like, you might give it to, Two thirds of the people and you might give someone else something else.

You’re not necessarily giving it to every single person and to the people you are, you can be that resource for them to like check in with too.

Leigh Ann: hmm. Oh, 100%. Oh, I love it so much. I feel like we, I’m just checking on my questions. Make sure we hit on all the big, um, big things. Yeah. Like some of the main. Customer testimonials. We got some of those. I’m so excited. I wanted to wait to have this conversation, but I want to try all the things.

Nikki Bostwick: I’m going to send you like a whole kit. So you have

Leigh Ann: oh my God.

Oh, you’re so sweet.

Nikki Bostwick: I’ll take you to the bath too.

Leigh Ann: Oh my gosh. Well, that was the thing. I was like,

Nikki Bostwick: Yeah. I know. We have to get one of those, like, filters, um, for your, [00:48:00] the bottom spout, basically. And hop right in.

Leigh Ann: Yep. I love it. Anything else that you feel like is really pertinent that we haven’t covered?

Nikki Bostwick: I’m, no, I just loved having this conversation and I appreciate you having me on and letting me share about Zafron with people.

Leigh Ann: It’s so fun. I will make sure in the show notes, you know, your Instagram, the website, all the things are listed, but just so people can hear it here as well. Where can they find you? Where can they learn more?

Nikki Bostwick: So you can find our company, the fullest co on Instagram at, well, the company’s the fullest, but on Instagram where the fullest co, and then we are like prematurely now on Tik TOK, which I don’t manage. Cause I like literally can’t, I don’t do any of it, I guess for the company, but I do have my own Instagram account and it’s Nikki Bostwick two K’s.

And um, so if you have any questions, just message me directly because that’s where I’ll see it. [00:49:00] And yeah, we online the fullest. com and you can find us like if you’re in OC, um, hopefully, you know, we’ll be working with you. But in the meantime, where, uh, if you like, are go to rye goods, they have it on their menu.

So you can just like go order the latte.

Leigh Ann: way! Oh my gosh, I love that!

Nikki Bostwick: Drink. I get it iced in the summer and it’s so good. Roots Beauty sells, um, both of the products, the capsules and the latte, um, trust apothecary in Newport beach sells it as well. And I mean, we have a few different retailers down here in Los Angeles as well.

There’s, um, farm shop, you can go order it on their menu, which is always exciting. That’s in Brentwood and moon juice as well. So yeah,

Leigh Ann: Oh my gosh, I love it. That’s so exciting. But of course, everything online. And then did you say you have a podcast? So, so people can go find

Nikki Bostwick: Yes. Nikki Bostwick [00:50:00] unfiltered. It used to be the fullest podcast. Now it’s called Nikki Bostwick unfiltered because it’s my own. Um,

Leigh Ann: out. Things that we maybe don’t say for the brand. Yeah.

Nikki Bostwick: know, we have a lot of people like we, I used to host a lot of people on there. So, um, all those interviews are still there, the like false interviews, but it’s called Nikki Bostwick unfiltered.

And I have people on like a couple of times a month, basically.

Leigh Ann: I love it. Oh my gosh, I’m gonna go look at that for sure. I can’t wait. Well, this was so lovely. You, I’m like, I feel so warm.

Nikki Bostwick: Um,

Leigh Ann: This was such a joy.

Nikki Bostwick: and, um, and yeah, let me know how it goes and we’ll just have to keep in touch.

Leigh Ann: 100%