Fun With Nootropics

Brain PillsI know I have mentioned that I have been playing with my brain, tweaking ability for creativity, memory/retention/recall, and motivation through nootropics. Nootropics are ways to increase oxygen to the brain, or influence the way that nerves grow. With as poorly as the food available is and how much damage it does to our brain (not to mention drinking!), this is something that we all might need to do someday.

Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT)

I started with Medium-Chain Triglycerides (MCT) and butter. While not actually a nootropic, MCT is a fuel for cells, and a great way to get started. I first learned about a lot of these things from The Bulletproof Exec, which is a very informative podcast, and highly recommended. This episode is an interview with a doctor who helped her husband with Alzheimer’s with coconut oil. MCT is the short and medium chains extracted from coconut oil, and because of that is really a more concentrated form. If you are going to take coconut oil, might as well just take MCT oil to get just the best parts your body needs.
http://www.bulletproofexec.com/podcast-13-how-to-take-care-of-your-brain-with-coconut-oil-ketones/
…and then butter is good, yum! http://www.bulletproofexec.com/butter-infographic/

L-Glutothione

Next I started taking Lipsomal Glutothione at 50mg/day. I am now taking 250mg per day. This stuff is awesome. When I started taking it, I took it for a week without noticing anything. I stopped taking it for a couple of days and realized I was starting to not remember names of movies/actors. It felt weird because for a week I didn’t really have any issues with recall! I have been using the pills from Sprouts, but the liquid form is supposed to be much easier for the body to absorb: http://www.bulletproofexec.com/bulletproof-upgraded-glutathione/

Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA)

I followed that by adding gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Wow! for years I have enjoyed caffeine to boost my energy, and thought more energy = more power. False! GABA has curbed that jumpiness and left the creativity alone. Now I feel just as creative and driven, but more focused, less distracted, and more intentional. A very pleasant side effect is that I sleep really easily now. I fall asleep faster, and I sleep lighter without waking feeling like all of my muscles were tensed all night. I definitely like this over Melatonin. I tried a night time combo pill, but I really prefer just straight GABA first thing in the morning, or 3 times a day, to keep that mellow focus throughout the day.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/514997-how-to-take-gaba-pills/
http://healingautismandadhd.wordpress.com/2010/06/04/gaba-the-natural-chill-pill-2/

AlphaBrain

I tried a product called AlphaBrain, whcih has a lot of positive reviews online and is very popular, but actually I never had any results from it. Since it was pretty expensive I discontinued after I finished the bottle. Feel free to check it out here: https://www.onnit.com/alphabrain/

Ciltep

My most recent foray into nootropics has been into a slightly more aggressive supplement, Ciltep. Wow! So far I am only taking one pill a day (recommended dose is 3 pills but I like to start slow). The results are pretty noticeable. Again, I am not drawing blanks as much as I usually do, similar to L-Glutothione. After taking one pill first thing after my shower on an empty stomach as suggested, within the hour I start to feel perked and am already performing at my work. On the weekends it makes it very difficult to NOT do something. I need to have a purpose, tasks, projects to work on. Sitting on the couch drove me a little crazy. This is something I am adding into my stack. Here is a really good write up on how it works and some more aggressive options for Ciltep stacks.
http://www.smarternootropics.com/2014/03/ciltep-stack-review-a-week-with-ciltep/

Am I getting high just to get high on nootropics? No, the only focus is to increase my value working. I try to cycle off on days where I just want to hang out to let my body recover and to prevent my body from getting too used to it so I can stay with lower doses (cheaper and better for my body of course). I am really doing some fun things and my career has really exploded, so the results have definitely been favorable. Since you all know me, you know that learning is my passion. I have picked up things so much faster and have a list of big projects ahead both for learning and for teaching.

I hope this finds all of you well and helps anyone interested! =]

About the Author

The world changed for me about two months into my M.B.A. program. While I have always risen quickly to management roles, learning how to truly be a part of a business and its many systems began to really excite me. While I have loved taking out-dated processes and digitizing them for cost savings, I am excited to take my project mangement experience to greater heights and really contribute to a company's growth as the head of a team excited to drive change. -Justin Velthoen

Justin Velthoen


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