The ENERGY Formula by Shawn Wells: Book Review

The ENERGY Formula by Shawn Wells is out, and it’s a perfect balance of holistic lifestyle and science-based research, with tons of supplement talk!

Followers here on the PricePlow Blog and The PricePlow Podcast need no introduction to Shawn Wells, a supplement industry mastermind who’s been on several of our episodes. For those who enjoyed those podcasts, we have some incredible news: Shawn has published a book titled The ENERGY Formula, and it’s absolutely loaded with a massive amount of knowledge!

The ENERGY Formula: The Secrets only a Biochemist, Dietitian, and Certified Sports Nutritionist Could Know

If you haven’t listened to those episodes with Shawn, allow us to introduce him. Shawn attended UNC-Chapel Hill, earning a Master’s Degree in Nutritional Biochemistry with a minor in Exercise Science. He’s a Registered Dietitian and Certified Sport Nutritionist (CISSN), and is an advisory board member of the International Society for Sports Nutrition (ISSN).

Shawn is a world-class supplement formulator who’s created several top-selling products and co-owns patents on ingredients such as Dynamine and Theacrine. Because of this, he often goes by the name of the “Ingredientologist”, and is the Chief Science Officer for novel ingredient development firm NNB Nutrition.

The ENERGY Formula spelled out

With all of that clinical knowledge and formulation experience, Shawn’s been no stranger to the “health podcast and conference circuit”, giving incredible speeches and interviews week after week. But after those speeches and podcasts were done, he never really had a one-stop-shop for new fans to learn his side of the story. Until now.

All of Shawn’s information is now distilled into ONE easy-to-read, visual book, and it’s titled The ENERGY Formula, where ENERGY stands for

• Experiment
• Nutrition
• Exercise
• Routine
• Growth
• Your Tribe

My review of The ENERGY Formula is below, but first, have a look at it yourself below on Amazon (affiliate link disclosure) and sign up for our Shawn Wells and NNB Nutrition news alerts, as more “Ingredientology” and “Formulator’s Corner” segments are definitely on the way:

The ENERGY Formula Book Review

Shawn presents his dynamic knowledge in a colorful, engaging, and interactive way. This is not some tome with wall-to-wall blocks of text. It’s as full of charts, graphs, and images as it is full of information and data, and it makes for an incredible read.

Go back into his Instagram, and you’ll see that Shawn involved his TRIBE in picking the cover of this book!

Even if you’re a health expert up to speed on the latest research, it’s tough not to learn tons from Shawn when reading this book. He clearly took the time to go further than most writers are willing to go, and spent more time paying attention to details and making it aesthetic with the visual aides.

Given all of the great podcasts speeches, articles, and social media posts Shawn’s created over the years, all I can say is that it’s about time he sat down and put it all into one place.

The basic premise behind the book is that Shawn teaches us how to reclaim our energy in a world whose food supply and constant distractions do nothing but rob us of it.

Plenty of supplement discussion

As a supplement-centric site, we need to start with Shawn’s Formulator’s Corner segments.

Most doctors and health experts shy away from supplements, especially in their written content. Maybe that’s for liability reasons, or they still think it’s “taboo”… but truth be told, it’s usually just not a clinician’s domain expertise. Yet the supplement space is exactly where Shawn excels!

So while similar books don’t talk about how we can use supplements to improve our dreadful metabolic situation, Shawn makes it a pivotal cornerstone. In each area of the book, you’ll see what supplement ingredients may help you, explaining the best forms for each.

Example Formulator’s Corner: Blood Sugar and Glycemic Control Supplements

An example Formulator’s Corner segment on blood sugar control supplements. Image courtesy Shawn Wells (edited from pages 83-84)

For example, in the Nutrition section, you’ll see a Formulator’s Corner segment titled “Blood Sugar and Glycemic Control Supplements”. Inside, Shawn makes the case for the enhanced berberine ingredient dihydroberberine (sold as GlucoVantage) and the metabolic-enhancing agent L-BAIBA (sold as MitoBurn), two ingredients we’ve covered extensively over the years, both of which are made by NNB Nutrition.

But Shawn isn’t just in it for NNB business – he also mentions other favorites in this section like cinnamon and Chromax chromium picolinate, which comes from a “competing” supplier in Nutrition21. You see similar sections throughout the book, and it really helps break things up and provide you with actionable information on what to take and what to avoid.

Shawn isn’t afraid to get into newer supplement niches either, ranging from leading-edge nootropics to hemp-based solutions and beyond (hint: stuff we would never list or advertise on this site). Again, the book goes further down these paths than you’d expect.

Actionable Nutrition Information

Shawn’s been a long-time member of various low-carb communities, which has helped him immensely with his pituitary adenoma, a type of brain tumor. While the book is low-carb slanted, it’s not of zealotry. If anything, it’s more against processed food. Remember, the first ‘E’ in ENERGY stands for Experiment. There’s only one way to know if something works for you, and that’s to try it (or in the case of processed foods… stop trying them).

What’s great is that the book gives things you can do immediately, ranging from taking smaller bites to removing refined oils (like soybean, canola, corn, cottonseed, safflower, and sunflower oils) from your diets. That advice alone will help immensely, as we’ve seen what type of damage has been collectively done to us as the use of those industrialized processed waste oils have been added to our food supply.

Remember Your Tribe

“This is one of the most comprehensive books I have seen” — Dr. Gabrielle Lyon

More than ever before, the past year has taught us the importance of human connection and community. These two things, which may have seemed like “woo woo” last decade, are now solidified as being just as critical to our overall health as a solid diet.

Shawn is unafraid to go into these areas, emphasizing the importance of building deep and meaningful connections. What’s great is that he’s able to write about it in a way that sounds… normal… and full of common sense.

That’s ultimately why this book wins – Shawn combines ancestral wisdom with modern technology, science, and supplementation, and it’s an absolutely perfect blend of both worlds. Again, these are topics that too many doctors and fitness gurus are afraid to talk about – but they’re how we get back to generating real happiness once again.

But don’t worry, if you’re not into gratitude journaling and cold showers, Shawn’s still got an incredible stack of mood-enhancing supplements to make you feel nearly as good… although there is something to be said for stepping out of an ice-cold shower.

Finally: Shawn’s path has led us to this book launch

Our favorite picture of Shawn. Have an ingredient idea? Team NNB will co-develop it with you! The process is known as Ingredientology.

As explained in our first meeting in Episode #002, Shawn went on this nutrition-oriented route after a life-changing appointment with his own doctor, who told him to follow his passion (supplements), even if there wasn’t really much of an industry at the time and he doubted he could make money doing it (imagine that!). He followed that advice, and what followed was two decades of phenomenal work – much of it put right into this very book.

Shawn is always very mindful to say that you never know who or what will change your life, and to always be open to new things. We are all young, and we can all make an impact on ourselves, our health, our families, our communities, and the world around us.

The ENERGY Formula brings the perfect amount of energy

I can go on about the book itself, but don’t want to give away the farm. The takeaway is that this is a nearly perfectly-balanced health book that should be right up the alley of most of our readers. It’s simultaneously not “too holistic” nor “too scientific” — The ENERGY Formula is the just right amount of modern health knowledge, especially for those looking to get back to the foundational roots of feeling good.

When Kris Gethin speaks, PricePlow Nation listens!

With everything Shawn’s done over the past two decades, this book was honestly long overdue. There’s simply too much info to keep locked up in his head forever.

So if it took 2020 to finally get him to slow down and get it all on paper, then consider it to be at least one great thing to come out of the year – because this book was clearly written with love and care for his ever-growing Tribe.

We’ll have Shawn on the podcast to talk about it soon, but you can also listen to Shawn talk about energy-boosting supplements with Ben Greenfield.

You can see other blog posts tagged with Shawn Wells below, sign up for notifications on related content, or see our NNB Nutrition page to check out other ingredients Shawn’s been working on.