Nootropics ? Has anyone used them?

[RuffDay]

I was browsing through various topics on reddit and found an interesting one, nootropics. I noticed that a lot of college students and other successful people take as supplements to improve their brain function, such as memory, focus, creativity, and their mood.

What are your opinions on nootropics? Is it deemed as wrong-doing if one takes them? For example, someone using nootropics to ace their exam or improve their interaction with people. I am pretty sure these nootropics are not as strong as prescription drugs like SSRI or any with amphetamine.

Or would you say that since anyone can purchase nootropics, then everyone is in the same battle field.

For those who takes any, which ones do you use?

I just find this topic very interesting, but I am not sure if I am willing to try any.

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[Lucca]

I think they are classified as "supplements" and are therefore not regulated in any meaningful way. Consequently, I don't touch the stuff. I wouldn't touch the stuff either way out of intrinsic skepticism for anything that claims to act on your brain but "only does good things and there are no bad things!".

I could say more but I'll be short: I think they are either bunk or harmful and I think people that take them are idiots.

 

[WedgeDawg]

I just wikipedia'd these because I had never heard of them and apparently it's a super broad category that includes things from caffeine to amphetamines to ginseng.

Exercise and dietary improvements will make your mental processing power stronger and healthier than taking any of these.

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

dietary improvements

So consume purely nootropics?

 

[nRomaleos]

I was browsing through various topics on reddit and found an interesting one, nootropics. I noticed that a lot of college students and other successful people take as supplements to improve their brain function, such as memory, focus, creativity, and their mood.

What are your opinions on nootropics? Is it deemed as wrong-doing if one takes them? For example, someone using nootropics to ace their exam or improve their interaction with people. I am pretty sure these nootropics are not as strong as prescription drugs like SSRI or any with amphetamine.
Or would you say that since anyone can purchase nootropics, then everyone is in the same battle field.
For those who takes any, which ones do you use?
I just find this topic very interesting, but I am not sure if I am willing to try any.

do you have any particular examples?

I tend to approach "nutritional supplements" with much skepticism.

 

[IlDestriero]

Sounds like a good way to get more vitamin and nutrient break down products into your urine and stool.

 

[pageantry]

There's evidence that psilocybin increases neural activity/interconnectivity and alertness and supports neural generation/elevated mood (correlated activities), especially in cases of depression.

I believe, based off of data and anecdote, that it works although dosing is very personal because for obvious reasons the science has not been happening there until very recently. The process can easily backfire, although usually not with any worse side effects than a day spent distracted by the pretty colors.

If you ace an exam that way, I say more power to you and thanks for your service, Space Ranger.

 

[Mr. Beefy Lion]

Try acetyl l carnitine, I find it wakes me up in the morning a different way than caffeine. I rarely take it tho, if I do it's usually 1 gram in the morning and maybe another gram in the evening before studying if I'm tired and don't want to be up all night after drinking coffee. It may be placebo but I feel very strongly about this supplement, additionally a year supply is like $20. Hope this helps

 

[Gurby]

I could say more but I'll be short: I think they are either bunk or harmful and I think people that take them are idiots.

I think that's painting with a pretty broad brush. There is plenty of science showing safety and efficacy of caffeine and creatine - just do a pubmed search. I'm sure there is plenty of snake oil out there, but I don't think it's fair to write off the whole concept.

 

[NotYou20]

I take sugar pills, and highly recommend them to everyone

 

[ChillDawg]

Piracetam is the original nootropic and the posterboy for the 'movement'.
It actually has some evidence backing it up, and with essentially no side effects. (Wrote a paper on it)

 

[nRomaleos]

I think that's painting with a pretty broad brush. There is plenty of science showing safety and efficacy of caffeine and creatine - just do a pubmed search. I'm sure there is plenty of snake oil out there, but I don't think it's fair to write off the whole concept.

true dat.

then again, creatine and caffeine (especially) are some of the most studied supplements outside of vitamins.

 

[Planes2Doc]

I think people are searching for NZT-48 from the movie Limitless. Unfortunately, it doesn't exist in real life.

You can try racetams of course and other supplements and see if they work. But don't forget, some may have side effects too and even negatively impact your cognitive performance.

The best thing you can do is eat well, get plenty of sleep, and try to exercise! There is no better nootropic than that.

 

[The Buff OP]

Since I bodybuild and take supplements (vitamins, fish oil, joint support, etc) I bought into the nootropics BS, tbh it's like a placebo effect.

 

[Mr. Beefy Lion]

Since I bodybuild and take supplements (vitamins, fish oil, joint support, etc) I bought in to the nootropics BS, tbh it's like a placebo effect.

How much you squat bro

 

[The Buff OP]

How much you squat bro

225-315lbs There is no need for me to do more, I actually grow more from high volume.

 

[The Buff OP]

Mind recommending some things you take? The world of supplements seems so big and I want to take some (I found out I have a Vitamin D deficiency for starters) but there's so much out there that it's a bit overwhelming. I heard multivitamins are ineffective.

My vitamin D has been low too, doc told me to take 2000 IU of vitamin D. There is no need to spend a ton of money on name brand stuff or fancy labels, just read the things that they provide and dosages. I'm not a fan of the gummy vitamins, though. A lot of companies will put on their label BS to catch ppl's attention, a regular multi vitamin is fine, but if you need the extra selective vitamin, then buy just that. I have my multivitamin and my vitamin D only pills.

If you are a female, I do recommend getting a women's vitamin bottle, because they tend to have extra stuff that woman need, like iron (menstrual cycles) and a chill pill (hahaha jk).

Things that you mostly need:

• Multivitamin.
• Omega-3

Things I take:

• Multivitamin
• Omega-3
• Animal Flex (joint support)
• Vitamind D alone
• Pre-workout
• Branch chain amino acids.
• Whey Isolate protein powder.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/univ/flex.html

 

[OSUkid]

I was browsing through various topics on reddit and found an interesting one, nootropics. I noticed that a lot of college students and other successful people take as supplements to improve their brain function, such as memory, focus, creativity, and their mood.

What are your opinions on nootropics? Is it deemed as wrong-doing if one takes them? For example, someone using nootropics to ace their exam or improve their interaction with people. I am pretty sure these nootropics are not as strong as prescription drugs like SSRI or any with amphetamine.

Or would you say that since anyone can purchase nootropics, then everyone is in the same battle field.

For those who takes any, which ones do you use?

I just find this topic very interesting, but I am not sure if I am willing to try any.

what are you doing here you fat fluffy dog

 

[StudyLater]

Ok bro here's what you do.

First, you're gonna get some creatine, some L-glutamine, some superpump250, some caffeine pills, some ritalin, some jack3d, some syntha-6, some whey, some casein, some omega 3 AND 6's (holy f*cking **** do NOT forget the omega 6's!!!! Lacking that cis DB will forreal make you go catabolic), some multivitamins, and then some celltech. We're only going with the essentials here, bro. Basic stack for newb gains, you feel me? K next, you put a scoop of everything in a blender, add 8lbs horse meat + 1gal WHOLE milk (needs to be WHOLE!!!!) + 2 whole avocados (got dat good fat) + PB (flavoring + more fat). Blend it up. At this point you should have your basic brainbuilding drink. You need to make this @ minimum (I'm talking if you're serious but if you're not serious whatever) AT MINIMUM every 2.56hrs for optimal gains or your brain bro, your brain will go straight catabolic. That's just if you're actually serious bro. But seriously though, I can see you need to get your brain weight up. So hopefully this helps bro. Peace. If you need any more supps for your basic stack, visit my website at http://www.broscience.com/brouneedthissh*tbuyitnow

 

[The Buff OP]

Thanks for the great reply! You are a gentleman and a scholar.

Yeah, gonna go back to being a nutritional science major. lol

 

[The Buff OP]

Ok bro here's what you do.

First, you're gonna get some creatine, some L-glutamine, some superpump250, some caffeine pills, some ritalin, some jack3d, some syntha-6, some whey, some casein, some omega 3 AND 6's (holy f*cking **** do NOT forget the omega 6's!!!! Lacking that cis DB will forreal make you go catabolic), some multivitamins, and then some celltech. We're only going with the essentials here, bro. Basic stack for newb gains, you feel me? K next, you put a scoop of everything in a blender, add 8lbs horse meat + 1gal WHOLE milk (needs to be WHOLE!!!!) + 2 whole avocados (got dat good fat) + PB (flavoring + more fat). Blend it up. At this point you should have your basic brainbuilding drink. You need to make this @ minimum (I'm talking if you're serious but if you're not serious whatever) AT MINIMUM every 2.56hrs for optimal gains or your brain bro, your brain will go straight catabolic. That's just if you're actually serious bro. But seriously though, I can see you need to get your brain weight up. So hopefully this helps bro. Peace. If you need any more supps for your basic stack, visit my website at http://www.broscience.com/brouneedthissh*tbuyitnow

Or you can just drink water.

 

[RuffDay]

do you have any particular examples?
.

Some examples I saw online were noopept, adrafinil, racetam, and a choline source to combine with one of the three aforementioned.

I heard these increase alertness, focus, and cognitive function. After reading through all these comments, it still seems like a gray topic. There are some people supporting with scientific evidences and others are experimenting themselves but noticed little results.

Thanks for the replies everyone! I just wanted to know people's perspective on nootropics. It seems that a lot of students are not as familiar with them as I thought they would be.

 

[RuffDay]

what are you doing here you fat fluffy dog

Haha. I am surprised you found me here! Occasionally, I would drop by the pre-med forums because the members and admission committees are really active here. There are a lot of interesting topics here too! The pornhub scholarship would be a good example. LOL

 

[LizzyM]

I take sugar pills, and highly recommend them to everyone

Just watch out for the side effects:

http://www.theonion.com/article/fda-approves-sale-of-prescription-placebo-1606

 

[Mr. Beefy Lion]

225-315lbs There is no need for me to do more, I actually grow more from high volume.

I find the opposite to be true for me...I feel my legs grow best with heavy triples on squats

 

[Mr. Beefy Lion]

Ok bro here's what you do.

First, you're gonna get some creatine, some L-glutamine, some superpump250, some caffeine pills, some ritalin, some jack3d, some syntha-6, some whey, some casein, some omega 3 AND 6's (holy f*cking **** do NOT forget the omega 6's!!!! Lacking that cis DB will forreal make you go catabolic), some multivitamins, and then some celltech. We're only going with the essentials here, bro. Basic stack for newb gains, you feel me? K next, you put a scoop of everything in a blender, add 8lbs horse meat + 1gal WHOLE milk (needs to be WHOLE!!!!) + 2 whole avocados (got dat good fat) + PB (flavoring + more fat). Blend it up. At this point you should have your basic brainbuilding drink. You need to make this @ minimum (I'm talking if you're serious but if you're not serious whatever) AT MINIMUM every 2.56hrs for optimal gains or your brain bro, your brain will go straight catabolic. That's just if you're actually serious bro. But seriously though, I can see you need to get your brain weight up. So hopefully this helps bro. Peace. If you need any more supps for your basic stack, visit my website at http://www.broscience.com/brouneedthissh*tbuyitnow

Miscer spotted.

 

[StudyLater]

Miscer spotted.

Actually not even. I was a lurker over there a while back.

 

[StudyLater]

Or you can just drink water.

Well OP, there you have it. The real answer to your question.

 

[Mad Jack]

I think they are classified as "supplements" and are therefore not regulated in any meaningful way. Consequently, I don't touch the stuff. I wouldn't touch the stuff either way out of intrinsic skepticism for anything that claims to act on your brain but "only does good things and there are no bad things!".

I could say more but I'll be short: I think they are either bunk or harmful and I think people that take them are idiots.

Actually, many were created prior to the FDA, and are thus in a class of unregulated substances that you can buy but cannot be marketed for consumption, but are also not illegal to consume. As to their effectiveness...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7301036

There is a good deal of research that shows a statistically significant effect on memory retention with some of them. They won't turn you into some super genius, but they might give you a slight edge.

Given my history of epilepsy, I prefer to not mess with my brain chemistry. If not for that, I'd definitely give them a shot.

 

[The Buff OP]

I find the opposite to be true for me...I feel my legs grow best with heavy triples on squats

I found this out when I wanted to make the transition to a men's physique body, I did lower weight and my back grew more. FML!

 

[WingedOx]

it's a great album:

 

[mordac21]

it's a great album:

Certainly have some great bands coming out of Baltimore.

 

[WingedOx]

Certainly have some great bands coming out of Baltimore.

FINALLY saw Future Islands this summer. SOOO good live.

 

[Mr. Beefy Lion]

Actually not even. I was a lurker over there a while back.

Hahah that place is ridiculous

 

[StudyLater]

I found this out when I wanted to make the transition to a men's physique body, I did lower weight and my back grew more. FML!

Also hate when my back grows to biblical proportions during a bulk. Had to take some d-bol recently to slim down.

But no jk I'm all natty (srs).

 

[The Buff OP]

Also hate when my back grows to biblical proportions during a bulk. Had to take some d-bol recently to slim down.

But no jk I'm all natty (srs).

Natty is the best way to go, trust me.

 

[nRomaleos]

Some examples I saw online were noopept, adrafinil, racetam, and a choline source to combine with one of the three aforementioned.

I heard these increase alertness, focus, and cognitive function. After reading through all these comments, it still seems like a gray topic. There are some people supporting with scientific evidences and others are experimenting themselves but noticed little results.

Thanks for the replies everyone! I just wanted to know people's perspective on nootropics. It seems that a lot of students are not as familiar with them as I thought they would be.

on this topic...i recently heard a round table discussion on "nootropics" on public radio.
supposedly, the new biggest thing is daily use of modafinil a.k.a provigil. it is a prescription drug, but it is often used to treat shift work sleep disorder.

no long term side effects so far according to the Georgetown neurologist who was on the radio.

 

[mordac21]

FINALLY saw Future Islands this summer. SOOO good live.

One of my friends does freelance photography and got some pretty good pictures of Sam Herring singing w/ that intense face of his

 

[breezy16]

Try acetyl l carnitine, I find it wakes me up in the morning a different way than caffeine. I rarely take it tho, if I do it's usually 1 gram in the morning and maybe another gram in the evening before studying if I'm tired and don't want to be up all night after drinking coffee. It may be placebo but I feel very strongly about this supplement, additionally a year supply is like $20. Hope this helps

ALCAR had a huge meta study disprove it's effects. Minimal differences, I don't even think it was statistical, we're seen at 3-5 GRAMS daily. Most supps add in the milligram ranges; how can you substantiate efficacy if you're using 1000% less than what this study saw minimal benefits from ?

Food for thought and general theme of the supplement industry.

 

[Mr. Beefy Lion]

ALCAR had a huge meta study disprove it's effects. Minimal differences, I don't even think it was statistical, we're seen at 3-5 GRAMS daily. Most supps add in the milligram ranges; how can you substantiate efficacy if you're using 1000% less than what this study saw minimal benefits from ?

Food for thought and general theme of the supplement industry.

Not aware of this study, could you please link it?

 

[breezy16]

http://juvenon.com/pdfs/AC_Meta-analysis_paper1.pdf
This is one of them; I have a folder on my work PC that I do not have VPN access to, so I will PM you the specific one I was thinking about. This one does use 1.5g-3.0g of ALCAR, however and only sees "mild benefits in AD/D individuals"
The problem with the majority of these studies is linking disease state populations to healthy populations. For instance, if ALCAR had a particular mechanism, whats to say it doesn't act upon a process only seen in those of disease state? This is a problem the FDA/FTC is cracking down on major companies about; we cannot substantiate these claims with disease state populations, we must have healthy population studies to keep particular claims.

for 130~/month, you get 1.5g daily here.
Our lovely friends at Procera just got slammed in a court case about their in-house studies not being sufficient to make the claims they do; not sure on the penalties they're facing atm. They have a proprietary blend of 1.5g per 3 capsules , so who knows how much of ALCAR/HupA is in there after botanicals and excipients are added.

I think my moral is if you're going to take these supps, just mix em yourself at the appropriate dosages. The industry rips people off and preys on fear/weakness of the communities in tough spots.

As I've seen many of the peeps around here say, exercise and proper diet is all you need.
Some caffeine helps, too

 

[Mr. Beefy Lion]

http://juvenon.com/pdfs/AC_Meta-analysis_paper1.pdf
This is one of them; I have a folder on my work PC that I do not have VPN access to, so I will PM you the specific one I was thinking about. This one does use 1.5g-3.0g of ALCAR, however and only sees "mild benefits in AD/D individuals"
The problem with the majority of these studies is linking disease state populations to healthy populations. For instance, if ALCAR had a particular mechanism, whats to say it doesn't act upon a process only seen in those of disease state? This is a problem the FDA/FTC is cracking down on major companies about; we cannot substantiate these claims with disease state populations, we must have healthy population studies to keep particular claims.

for 130~/month, you get 1.5g daily here.
Our lovely friends at Procera just got slammed in a court case about their in-house studies not being sufficient to make the claims they do; not sure on the penalties they're facing atm. They have a proprietary blend of 1.5g per 3 capsules , so who knows how much of ALCAR/HupA is in there after botanicals and excipients are added.

I think my moral is if you're going to take these supps, just mix em yourself at the appropriate dosages. The industry rips people off and preys on fear/weakness of the communities in tough spots.

As I've seen many of the peeps around here say, exercise and proper diet is all you need.
Some caffeine helps, too

That's for posting the link, I do find it disgusting that some supplement companies use studies done on ill patients to support their claims on the supplements effect in healthy individuals. Primaforce sells 250grams of ALCAR for $20, quite a better deal than the label listed above. Are you aware of any studies done on a combination of ALCAR and a choline source in healthy individuals? I think this would be intetestedjng but I haven't been able to find any data on it