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Do Nootropics Count As Grinding?
Hoi!
I'm new here!
Anyway, I was just wondering what you guys think of nootropics. I ask this, because even they aren't implants etc, they are indeed one of the best ways (if not the best way, considering current technology) to enhance your thinking/memory, or your IQ, mood and motivation. Nootropics are kind of my area of expertise, so if you guys have any questions, don't hesitate!
Do you guys mind posting your stacks? And explaining them?
Mine: I call this poor man's stack, because you can get a 6 month supply of this stack for less than 100 bucks, but still should greatly enhance intelligence
Brain/Health:
Caffeine (Stimulant: Regardless of what the media says, one of the best, if not the best supplements, if used properly. Improves wakefulness, concentration, and motivation (by far the hardest thing to work on). Should be cycled, I do weekdays on/weekends off, and take breaks on every holiday (When I'm out of uni) prevents tolerance and addiction from building, as well as the long-term affects of using caffeine. I have been looking for something to cycle with even further though (An other stimulant), as of right now, modafinil seems like the best option, but it is quite expensive. Another problem with caffeine is the edginess/shakiness and twitching caused by it, thus comes the next Taurine.)
Taurine (relaxant: pretty much takes all the caffeine edginess/shakiness and twitching. Helps focus on Caffeine too).
ALCAR (choline source, + has some positive effects on mood. Very oxidative at high doses, so R-ALA or ALA should be taken with it if you plan on mega-dosing long-term).
Choline Citrate (Choline source, has great synergy with ALCAR, the ALCAR provides the Acetyl part of Acetyl-choline, and the Choline Citrate the Choline part).
Piracetam - needs no explanation...
Creatine Monohydrate + Dextrose (helps produce, carry, and protect ATP, which is basically energy).
DMAE - Another Acetyl-Choline source, but experiences say it synergises well with Choline and Piracetam. (not sure about this one, what do you think?)
Inositol - Synergises great Choline
Somethings I've been considering, and need some advice on.
DL-Phenylalanine pretty cheap, although not as much as the others, and seems to help brain function.
R-ALA, it would go with the ALCAR.
Phenibut, kind of cheap, if you think about how often you would use it, how long do you think 100g would last you?
Phosphatidyl Serine, pretty cheap if you think about dosage, I think doses are around 350mg to 500mg?
R-ALA, it would go with the ALCAR.
Phenibut, kind of cheap, if you think about how often you would use it, how long do you think 100g would last you?
Phosphatidyl Serine, pretty cheap if you think about dosage, I think doses are around 350mg to 500mg?
Comments
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Welcome Roumanos! We have a discussion about our stacks here:
http://discuss.biohack.me/discussion/48/nootropics/p1 -
Thanks for letting me know, I'll just paste this post there.
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Something I want to mention about your post is about the ALA. R-lipoic acid is definitely safer to ingest as the S part in the natural form of alpha-lipoic-acid can actually cause damage over time. There's an issue with straight-up R-lipoic acid, however; it's highly unstable. What you should look for is a stabilised form of it, either Na-R-LA (using sodium) or K-R-LA (using potassium). I got an inexpensive supply of CoA-backed Na-R-LA from Nutraplanet. Speaking of whom, if you're looking for CoA-backed Creapure creatine monohydrate (trustworthy producer and a CoA to boot), then Nutraplanet is your ticket (can't promise their creatine is the cheapest, but after I run out of my current BodyTech supply that I got a while back, I'll do a price comparison).
From your list, I take caffeine (only natural sources such as raw cocoa solids and soon coffee at this time, though, since I don't really need it badly enough to get a supplement), taurine (eating a primarily vegetarian diet, I lack this amino acid from the food I eat; also, I take beta alanine (also due to vegetarian tendencies), which more rapidly depletes taurine levels), acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR), Na-R-LA, choline citrate, inositol (to increase absorption and efficacy of choline as you touched upon), and creatine monohydrate. I have not tried PS, phenibut, DMAE, piracetam, or phneylalanine.
I've tried pramiracetam, but I'm not sure what to think of it. Even up to 250 mg, it doesn't seem to have much noticeable effect on me. I guess I'm just not one of the lucky responders. Unlike piracetam, it's supposed to be short-term; not something with a subtle effect that builds up over weeks or months of daily application. I have looked into piracetam, but I'm instead going to try noopept first (my supply should get here one of these days...).
I've gotta say, I never thought of lacing the creatine monohydrate with dextrose. I knew simple sugars were found to aid in uptake of creatine monohydrate into muscle cells, but I didn't see much about the same being true regarding uptake into nerve cells. Furthermore, I've been hesitant to lace anything with extra sugar due to the terrors of glycation. I do take green coffee bean extract and green tea extract (phytosome form at the moment, but will shift to just the extract for cost reasons), so I'm not extremely concerned about the dextrose causing an insulin spike since those two should be helping to keep insulin regulated nicely, but I'd still be concerned about glycation, at least until I get my hands on a supply of benfotiamine or pyridoxal-5-phosphate. (actually, come to think of it, my taurine pills, which I'm phasing out and will switch to the powder form I got, contains pyridoxine hydrochloride, so I guess I have been protecting myself a bit from glycation without realising it!) I just generally take the creatine monohydrate along with beta alanine, taurine, and some of my other post-meal supplement powders together with water after a meal that contains carbohydrates. -
Oh, forgot in that list of caffeine sources green tea. I used to drink it a lot, but have since run out of supply. Once I get more, I'll drink several cups of that each day again. You should consider drinking green tea, by the way, for much more benefit than just a bit of caffeine. Green tea has both caffeine and theanine, which synergise to improve focus and calmness. You can actually pick up supplies of L-theanine and take it with your caffeine. I tried L-theanine pills along with cocoa and tea, and I remember the first experience being rather noticeable, and I felt more adapted to the effect with subsequent doses. The only issue I have is my supply of L-theanine wasn't cheap, and it doesn't seem to provide long-term health benefits, so I'm not restocking on it at this time.
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@cypanI only found out about the synergy between Theanine and Caffeine after I made this post, and it really looks awesome, there should be great synergy between those two and Taurine. I've decided to take off the DMAE off the stack, since it just seems to be a shitty choline source. And now that I've read your post, I'm thinking about removing the piracetam too, as I have to order it off a separate source than all the other noots. I would replace it with Theanine (for reasons already covered), 5-HTP, to help with sleep, since it's so cheap (doses are inbetween 100mg to 200 mg, and 20 grams costs about 10 bucks), apparently helps a lot with the caffeine comedown. And I might add L-Arginine, for one to increase my sperm count, which would be awesome, and two, it has nootropic effects too (something to do with nitrous oxide).What would you do?
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The more I read about Phenibut the more it sounds like a borderline recreational drug to me... I keep reading that it's something pickup artists use to get rid of approach anxiety...I think Phenibut gets extra street cred with Sci-fi geeks (like myself) because soviet cosmonauts used to take it!
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