Methylene blue is one of the most unusual therapeutic molecules in medicine because it behaves like a living sensor inside the body. It changes color depending on its electron state, donates and accepts electrons depending on mitochondrial demand, bypasses damaged respiratory complexes, and flows directly into the bloodstream, nervous system, and organs as a redox-active dye. While people know it turns urine blue, they rarely understand why that color appears, why the duration changes, and how those changes can reveal meaningful information about mitochondrial efficiency, liver and kidney function, and global redox tone. The truth is that the color shift is not just a cosmetic effect; it is a visible expression of the electron flow inside your cells. The speed at which urine returns to its normal yellow color becomes a rough, experiential marker of how well your body’s redox machinery is cycling. To understand this, the first step is recognizing that methylene blue exists in two major states: its oxidized form (bright blue) and its reduced form, leucomethylene blue, which is colorless. These two forms constantly convert into one another based on the availability of electrons. When methylene blue accepts electrons, it becomes colorless. When it donates electrons, it becomes blue again. This redox cycling is what makes methylene blue so therapeutically valuable it acts like a smart shuttle that smooths out problems in the electron transport chain, especially when complex I or III are underperforming. When mitochondria are stressed, over-reduced, under-fueled, oxidatively burdened, or deprived of NAD+, methylene blue helps buffer the system by accepting excess electrons or donating needed electrons. It reduces oxidative stress, stabilizes the flow of energy, and helps maintain membrane potential. But because it is also a dye, these internal dynamics show up externally, especially in urine. The moment methylene blue enters the bloodstream, the body begins metabolizing it in the liver, reducing it, cycling it, moving it into tissues, and eventually clearing it through the kidneys. The exact hue you see in the toilet depends on two things: how much of the molecule remains in its oxidized blue form versus its reduced colorless form, and how concentrated your urine is. Dark, heavily oxidized methylene blue produces a vivid blue-green color. When most of the MB is reduced and colorless, urine appears normal or lightly tinted. This is why two people taking the same dose can see dramatically different colors. The real insight emerges when you track how long the color lasts.

I’ve talked about this a few times before, but I know there are still plenty of questions around it so I wanted to take another shot at clearly explaining the reasoning behind my answer. The case against higher doses of SLU-PP-332 starts with first principles: this compound works as a signaling cue, not a substrate to be “pushed” toward saturation. In cell systems and animal models, SLU-PP-332 appears to activate the estrogen-related receptor (ERR) program with PGC-1α coactivation, shifting transcription toward fatty-acid oxidation, oxidative phosphorylation, and mitochondrial quality control. That kind of pathway is amplifier biology: a small receptor-level nudge fans out into many downstream genes and post-translational switches. In such networks, more ligand does not linearly equal more benefit; it often crosses into different biology entirely, including compensatory braking and desensitization. Think of it like tapping a conductor’s baton to set tempo versus throwing a bigger baton at the orchestra. The first coordinates; the second creates noise and reflexes you didn’t intend. A key downstream branch of the ERR/PGC-1α program is modulation of uncoupling proteins. Mild, context-appropriate uncoupling in UCP2 and UCP3 can lower electron pressure, trim reactive oxygen species, and improve metabolic flexibility under load. But pushing the axis hard increases the probability of off-site expression and activity in UCP4 and UCP5, which are enriched in neurons and glia. Excess uncoupling in those tissues risks local ATP shortfall where energy security is non-negotiable. In brain and autonomic circuits, too much leak across the inner mitochondrial membrane can force compensatory hypermetabolism to maintain voltage, distort calcium handling, and disturb neurotransmission timing. At the organism level, that looks like brain fog, dysautonomia, sleep fragmentation, and reduced stress tolerance exactly the systems you don’t want to pay for marginal fat-loss gains. Mechanistically, high-dose signaling also raises the odds of maladaptive redox and substrate partitioning. ERR/PGC-1α drive beta-oxidation and electron delivery to the respiratory chain. If you layer that on top of exercise, fasting, thyroid augmentation, or catecholamine tone, you can overshoot electron influx relative to complex-level throughput, increasing retrograde signaling and forcing the cell to dump potential as heat via uncoupling. At low dose this can be hormetic and helpful. At high dose, it can flatten the ATP/ADP ratio, trigger AMPK hard, suppress mTORC1 anabolics, and blunt hypertrophy. In muscle, that shifts toward more oxidative phenotype at the expense of contractile remodeling; in the heart, it risks energetics imbalance that the sinoatrial node and conduction system must buffer beat-to-beat.

Hi everyone, hope you’re all doing well. A special thanks to @Anthony Castore for giving us the right direction in learning and showing us exactly where to look. I’d really appreciate some feedback on my comeback cycle. It’s been a long year of severe anxiety, depression, and panic attacks after losing my sister — but thanks to God I’m finally feeling 100% again. ☺️ Stats - Weight: 96 kg - Height: 181 cm - Body fat: 15–16% - Age: 31 🎯 Goals - Lower body fat - Improve circadian rhythm - Fix hunger issues (especially nighttime cravings) - Increase muscle mass - Improve cardiac output and overall conditioning Morning Routine - Zero phone use for the first hour - Outdoor walk - Hydration: electrolytes + water + apple cider vinegar - Citicoline + nicotine 0.3 mg - No caffeine Compounds Fat loss & appetite control - Reta-Start: 0.25 mg / 0.5 mg (Weeks 1–4) 0.5 mg / 1 mg (Weeks 4–8) - L-Carnitine injection: 200–500 mg Recovery & sleep - Tesamorelin: 300/200 mcg at bedtime Metabolic health - MOTS-C: 200 mcg pre-work Diet Plan Training days - Carbs: 50% - Protein: 40% - Fat: 10% Non-training days - Protein: 50% - Fat: 40% (poly + mono saturated sources) - Carbs: 10% (complex sources) Output / Training Weeks 1–4: - HIIT: 1–2 sessions/week - LISS: 3–4 sessions/week - Hypertrophy: 3–4 sessions (minimum effective volume) Steps: 10k–12k per day Supplement Support •multi vitamins/minerlas - PQQ: 20 mg AM - Urolithin A: 500 mg AM - CoQ10: pre-workout - NMN: 500 mg pre-workout - Vitamin D3: 10,000 IU - Vitamin K2: 200 mcg - Vitamin C: 1 g - EPA: 4 g - Magnesium glycinate: 600–800 mg - Melatonin: 1 mg - Lithium (microdose) at night Cholesterol / Blood Pressure LDL is 200, so I added: - Concor 10 mg - Telmisartan 20 mg (fasted BP ~115/77) - Testosterone: 250 mg/week - Primobolan: 200 mg/week - Anastrozole: 1 tab/week Sorry for the long message — I appreciate every single helpful word and thank you all in advance. 🙏

FYI everyone @Anthony Castore is the new co-host on @Chris Duffin podcast!! This is awesome Anthony, couldn’t wait for you to be a host of or have your own.

@Anthony Castore you mentioned this in the last Q&A and I was curious if this is coming here on this platform or elsewhere because I’m very curious 🧐 to hear your input.