What do you guys think about Nootropics?

Wow, this is a big post with some nuggets of truth and a lot of bullshit. Let me go through this slowly, please read the whole post before you kneejerk downvote and write an angry post calling me a dickhead.

Generally my iron has been low (I donate plasma), so I do take a supplement for that

Since you donate plasma, you're probably doing the right thing here. However, getting iron from whole foods is extremely easy. Most people actually get too much iron.

3 mg melatonin when I need to sleep immediately

3mg is quite a lot, I'd lower that to 1mg or just not use it at all. Melatonin is a hormone and while approved by the FDA, I doubt the long-term safety of melatonin use.

L-Theanine

Creatine Monohydrate

These are safe and generally beneficial.

Green Tea Extract

I doubt effects of this.

Alpha Lipoic Acid ("ALA") (625 mg bv)

People with mercury issues can seriously harm themselves with inappropriate use of ALA. ALA is very strong at pulling toxic metals (mercury) out of the brain, however, it is equally strong at putting mercury INTO the brain. The chemical itself has no sense of direction or knowledge of where it is in your body. It attaches to mercury and arsenic, but also releases them after about 3 hours. So, unless you take another ALA pill then, toxic metals will simply reallocate. Take care with this.

Sunifiram

Basically stronger piracetam. I don't believe there is enough research on piracetam. Judging by various testimonials, the results are way too varied. Be careful.

Phenethylamine

Copypasted from wikipedia. "It is sold as a dietary supplement for purported mood and weight loss-related therapeutic benefits; however, orally ingested phenethylamine experiences extensive first-pass metabolism by monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B), which turns it into phenylacetic acid. This prevents significant concentrations from reaching the brain when taken in low doses." Sounds like a waste of money.

Phenylpiracetam

Analog of piracetam. See thoughts on sunifiram.

Adrafinil

Similar to modafinil. Known adverse reactions and an unsatisfactory risk to benefit ratio.

Yohimbine HCL

Seems good as a workout booster. Alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonist, reported to protect hypoxic myocardium. Has several other activities, including 5-HT receptor antagonism, at the concentrations at which protection was found. The range between an effective dose and a dangerous dose is very narrow, this seems to be a good supplement but dangerous if taken with a too large dose or too often.


Ok, now that we've finished with your big list of dangerous supplements, let's move onto your other comments.

2 major servings of green leafy veg a day (usually kale, broccoli, collard greens or mustard greens).

Ok, that's good. Leafy vegetables are high in vitamins&minerals.

fish a minimum of 4 times per week, usually every day. I get it frozen and on sale. It's very cheap meat per serving.

You don't need to eat that much fish but it certainly won't be harmful.

Protein at every meal, normally a small portion of a fatty meat; I render off the fat, but leave enough that it never tastes dry. My top 3 are: salmon, chicken thigh fillets (no bone + no skin), and bacon ends (I render the fat off these and use it for cooking, in combination with other oils- usually coconut, canola, and olive).

Consuming carbohydrate with protein together is generally beneficial rather than consuming each separately, good job.

Eggs. I buy these in bulk, and boil them typically 4-6 at a time so I have easy protein available at all times. I like mine soft boiled, so that the yolk is about the consistency of melted brie cheese- with a timer and a bit of practice, it's pretty easy to get this.

Ok.

Carb replacements or smarter options. Where most people have rice, bread, pasta or potatoes, I use cabbage, lentils, black beans, or cauliflower.

You make it sound like rice or potatoes are bad? They're not, rice is just starch which is fine if you want just carbohydrates, however, on the other hand, potatoes are very nutrient rich. Look up the nutrients of potatoes, even white potatoes, and you'll see they're high in many.

"Useful" herbs and spices: Oregano stimulates the immune system- great for colds. Cinnamon helps regulate blood sugar and insulin response (not well enough to replace insulin for diabetics- but well enough that it has been examined by the FDA to determine whether it could be; it can't, but it's still a useful tool). Garlic is extremely useful for cardiovascular health- and also for fat loss. Also, even if all of those effects are bullshit, herbs and spices make food taste good, which lets you eat better without suffering.

I doubt effects of herbs and spices for health but they're probably not harmful unless you're overdoing it.

Pickles. These are a useful tool for ensuring healthy gut flora; my favorite is napa cabbage Japanese kimuchi, but the korean stuff is also good, and I I try new kinds regularly. A recent discovery is the Vietnamese "fast pickled" carrots, which most people outside Vietnam know as a topping on Bahn Mi sandwiches.

Too much fermented food can be harmful due to high lactic acid, it's quite hard on the liver to be hit with a fuck ton of lactic acid at once.


I avoid dairy, because the insulin response is between 3-6 times as high for any dairy food as for any similar non-dairy food. Remember, mammals evolved milk because having it let their young grow as faster; it makes sense that there should be adaptations in it that both make you want more and which cause you to extract more out of it. aged cheeses are probably the worst offenders; things like unsweetened live culture yoghurts are probably the best if you must have it.

Not a problem my friend. Dairy offers multiple metabolic benefits, you're exaggerating the insulin response problem.

Sugars, even fruits. My ancestors somehow survived long winters without imported fresh oranges from Walmart. So did yours. You do need vitamin C- but it's in just about everything, and the best source I know of is probably chili peppers, rose hips, and green leafy vegetables- including the less-green ones, like cabbage and cauliflower. As far as needing carbohydrates for energy- there is WAY more than enough for that in everything I've described eating (above). Further, complex carbohydrates digest over a longer period of time, so you get more sustained energy; this is why oatmeal is more healthy than processed cereal (and why black beans are better than oatmeal).

Oh boy, where to begin with this paragraph of insanity. "Complex carbohydrates" such as starches DO NOT take longer to digest than "simple carbohydrates" like sugar. If you feed a rat starch, then wait a few minutes, cut open the rat, you will find no traces of starch in the stomach or intestine. That just goes how to show how fast these "complex carbohydrates" are digested. Furthermore, the time to digest doesn't really matter. Energy is energy, what's important is making the glycogen storage capabilities of your liver higher. This can helped, not hindered by sugar.

There is no doubt that paleolithic humans ate fruits, a lot of them if they could get their hands on them. Humans have been hunted for honey for thousands, upon thousands of years. There are cave drawings showing a man hunting honey.

artificial sweeteners. I'm a total diet coke whore, so this is the only painful sacrifice- but it's worth it. you can't process asphartame into energy, but the bacteria in your intestines can, and they'll get messed up if you let them. Also, the sweetness creates an insulin response- and insulin stores fat. The data is that drinking diet sodas makes you gain 5X more than drinking even fruit juice. So this is a no-no.

I suggest avoiding all artificial sweeteners, just use sugar.


Wow, that was a lot. I'll shoot you a PM with recommendations of what actually to do. For now, I recommend cutting out all this dangerous stuff you're supplementing with apart l-theanine, creatine and maybe yohimbine. Please, please, please don't listen to /r/nootropics. They are always happy to tell you about the great, great effects of their "nootropics", yet fail to mention how the vast majority of nootropics are untested and dangerous.

/r/nutrition Thread