To continue our nootropics journey we have more "natural" stuff - but all you junkies don't worry, we'll run out of natural things soon enough, and will have to dive into "synthetic" stuff :) And yeah, some vitamin supplements we take are man-made - but 100% modeled after the real deal. There are a couple of Vitamins that are interesting from life hacking perspective including Vitamin B and D complexes and vitamin E.

Vitamin D is important because if it's lacking - you may develop depression. It's also important for proper bone formation. So it's not that taking more than "usual" Vitamin D can improve your mental or bone health - but having too little can degrade your mood and weaken your bones. Researchers are also beginning to link vitamin D to cancer suppression but further research is needed to draw valid conclusions.

Similar to Vitamin B that most of us know is actually a vitamin complex - it's a group of chemicals including D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5 of which D2 (ergocalciferol) and D3 (cholecalciferol) are psychophysical relevant to humans. When only vitamin D is mentioned (without subscription) - it's usually referring to both D2 and D3.

Vitamin D3 is produced in the skin on exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) light - either from sun or artificial source. That's why daily exposure to sunlight is important. But note that excessive exposure is not recommended, first because too much of it is linked to skin cancer - and second because after about 15 to 20 minutes (for light skinned individuals, or 3 to 6 times more is needed for pigmented skin) your skin produced all the D3 it can. After that any further D3 vitamin that's produced is degraded soon after.

It is also found in a small range of foods including: fatty fish (Catfish, Salmon, Mackerel, Sardines, Tuna, Eel), whole egg, beef liver and the only vegan source are mushrooms - and only after they have been exposed to UVB (sunlight or artificial) exposure.

Many (produced) foods such as milk, yogurt, margarine, cereals, bread and similar - are fortified with vitamins D2 and/or D3.

Then there's the Vitamin B we all think to know. It was once thought to be a single vitamin, like Vitamin A or C - but scientist latter discovered that there are several chemically distinct vitamins that usually coexist in the same foods. When someone mentions Vitamin B complex - such as in case of supplements - they are referring to the eight B vitamins: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9 and B12.

The "gaps" (B4, B8 ...etc.) are missing because they initially placed some chemicals/compounds under those names - latter to discover those shouldn't be placed there :)  

From nootropic and life hacking point of view, B Vitamins are interesting because of their effect in cognitive function -  in particular scientific studies have been able to link brain function improvements to B1, B9 and B12. While not all B vitamins play a role in improving brain function, others help in the synthesis of chemicals or other body functions - and we cover them all here since the lack of some can seriously impair your psychophysical performance and health. 

Aids nerve cell function and helps the body convert food, specifically carbohydrates, into glucose. Glucose is the brains primary energy source (second one being ketamines, which are made from proteins when we run out of glucose), making it important need of the brain. Foods containing vitamin B1 include whole grains, rice, wheat germ, bran and organ meats. 

Deficiency of B1 causes beriberi. Symptoms of this disease of the nervous system include weight loss, emotional disturbances, impaired sensory perception, weakness and pain in the limbs, periods of irregular heartbeat, and swelling of bodily tissues. Heart failure and death may occur in very advanced cases. Chronic thiamine deficiency can also cause Korsakoff's syndrome, an irreversible psychosis characterized by amnesia and confabulation.

There is no upper limit on the supplementation amount - since there is no known toxicity from oral intake.

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)

Deficiency can cause ariboflavinosis. Symptoms may include cracks in the lips, high sensitivity to sunlight, angular cheilitis, inflammation of the tongue, seborrheic dermatitis or pseudo-syphilis, pharyngitis, hyperemia, and edema of the pharyngeal and oral mucosa.

No upper limit and no known toxicity.

Vitamin B3 (niacin)

Deficiency, along with a deficiency of tryptophan causes pellagra. Symptoms include aggression, dermatitis, insomnia, weakness, mental confusion, and diarrhea. In advanced cases, pellagra may lead to dementia and death.

Upper limit is 35 mg/day from supplements, drugs or fortified food. Hyper-vitaminosis effects are flushing (redness of the skin, often accompanied by itching or a mild burning sensation). Associated with nausea, vomiting, and signs and symptoms of liver toxicity. 

Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)

Deficiency can result in acne and paresthesia (sensation of tingling, pricking, or numbness of a person's skin with no apparent long-term physical effect), although it is uncommon.

No upper limit - and no known toxicity.

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)

Deficiency may lead to microcytic anemia (small red blood cells), depression, dermatitis, high blood pressure, water retention, and elevated levels of homocysteine.

Upper limit is 100 mg/day from supplements, drugs or fortified food. Effects are sensory neuropathy (damage to nerves) and dermatological lesions.

Vitamin B7 (biotin)

Deficiency does not typically cause symptoms in adults but may lead to impaired growth and neurological disorders in infants. Multiple carboxylase deficiency, an inborn error of metabolism, can lead to biotin deficiency even when dietary biotin intake is normal.

No upper limit - and no known toxicity.

Vitamin B9 (folic acid)

Deficiency results in a macrocytic anemia, and elevated levels of homocysteine. Deficiency in pregnant women can lead to birth defects. Supplementation is often recommended during pregnancy. Researchers have shown that folic acid could also slow the aging of the brain.

Low amounts of vitamin B12 with normal folate (B9) have been shown to cause cognitive impairment and anemia, while high amounts of folate and normal vitamin B12 have been shown to improve cognitive function. 

Upper limit is 1 mg/day. Taking too much masks B12 deficiency, which can lead to permanent neurological damage.

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin - cyanocobalamin)

It's used to make neurotransmitters. Another (primary) functions is the formation of blood cells. They also maintain the nervous system by helping to metabolize fatty acids, which are essential for the maintenance of myelin that surrounds nerves. B12 is originally synthesized by bacteria only. There are no dietary plant sources for it. In addition to including vitamin B in one's diet, there are factors that can play a role in the uptake and use of vitamin B.

Deficiency results in a macrocytic anemia, elevated homocysteine, peripheral neuropathy, memory loss and other cognitive deficits. It is most likely to occur among elderly people, as absorption through the gut declines with age; the autoimmune disease pernicious anemia is another common cause. It can also cause symptoms of mania and psychosis. In rare extreme cases - paralysis can result.

No upper limit - and no known toxicity.

Other related chemicals/compounds

Homocysteine (amino acid) and folic acid (B9) each affect how various B vitamins are metabolized. Homocysteine is a byproduct of the body's metabolism of methionine, one of the essential amino acids. Methionine is used to breakdown fats, which is crucial, since the brain needs certain fats to function properly. But getting rid of byproducts is also very important - especially homocysteine - and in order for body to get rid of it, it needs B vitamins (specifically B6, B9 and B12). With them it can convert it to Cysteine.

Cysteine helps to detoxify harmful substances in the body and can also help to increase levels of the antioxidant glutathione, a substance which helps to stop compounds in the body that alter cell membranes, tamper with DNA, or cause cell death. 

In one of the studies young mice genetically predisposed to atherosclerosis were fed one of four diets for 8 weeks, which differed in B vitamin and methionine contents. Psychomotor, memory, spatial and learning tests were done, and researchers reported brain dysfunction in those with low vitamin B intake.

Conclusion and Authors experience

While I like to provide all the info and let you draw your own conclusions - this seems to be a no-brainer to me. Taking vitamin supplements is the way to go. They offer optimal amounts of vitamins, and even if you eat really healthy diet on top of that, it's next to impossible to run into problems with having too much of vitamins - as long as you don't overdo the vitamin supplements.

I've been taking a multivitamin supplement complex that has every vitamin from A to E, including all important B and D variants and Betacaroteen, Calcium, Chroom, Fosfor, Iron, Jodium, Kalium, Magnesium, Mangan, Selenium and Zink. I can't say I noticed much improvements, but my diet was already relatively good to begin with.

What is your experience with vitamins and supplementation?

We'll start our journey into nootropics with something everybody is mostly familiar with: omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. There are many things involved in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, and the contraindicating statements just confuse the people even more - we tried to boil it down to the basics that are easy to understand. 

The most important thing that many people don't know, is the ratio between them. It's important because omega 3 and 6 "compete" for the same metabolic enzymes when our cells are producing Eicosanoids - a form of signal transmitters in the body.

You can check out the Wikipedia entry on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eicosanoid for full details but basically our bodies can't differentiate between the two omegas, and use whichever is at hand. But end products/results are very much different. The omega 6 eicosanoids are generally pro-inflammatory; omega 3 are much less so. The amounts and balance of these fats in a person's diet will affect the body's eicosanoid-controlled functions, with effects on cardiovascular disease, triglycerides, blood pressure, and arthritis.

If you are interested about the details, Wikipedia is again a great source with loads of links towards science experiments and findings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_3, I'll just give you the juice here.

There are quite a few forms of omega 3 acids - but 3 basic nutritionally important forms
are: ALA (α-linolenic acid), EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).

Our bodies can't synthesize them on their own from scratch, but they can create longer chains (EPA and DHA) from shorter ALA, though efficiency is low - about 5% for men, and somewhat more for woman.

Sources of omega 3 include chicken meat and eggs, beef, lamb, milk and cheese - but only organically produced ones (grass fed and free range instead of grain fed) provide good ratio of omega 3 to omega 6. But even those, while much better, don't have an ideal 1:1 ratio.

Fish is the best source - especially the cold water oily fish such as salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies and sardines. Again organic being preferred to farmed one. Oils from these fish have a profile of around seven times as much n−3 as n−6. And as eating fresh organic fish every day is out of reach for the most of us - the next best thing is to take omega 3 supplement.

The praised Flaxseed oil, while being rich in omega 3 oils, is mostly containing short form ALA, which as we already covered doesn't convert that well to longer forms. So it not great, but doesn't hurt either.

The best thing that you can do to get enough omega 3 that's usable (EPA and DHA) is to get it from fish oil supplements. Recommended dose is 2 to 3 grams per day.

Benefits and risks of omega 3

What we are targeting from nootropics point is anti-depression, pro-focus and overall brain health. Omega 3 oils have been related to help with prevention and improvement with ADD/ADHD and overall brain health, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, immune system, depression, and general anti-inflammatory.

There were some expressed concerns about supplements possibly being contaminated with heavy metals - but the reality is different.

First thing is that heavy metals bind with proteins in the flesh of the fish rather than accumulate in the oil (hence another reason for supplementation rather than eating bunch of industry produced fish).

Second, filtration during fish oil production is excellent. And in 2006 an independent test of fish oils available on the US market found that all of the products passed safety standards for potential contaminants.

There is only one thing to watch out - "too much of a good thing" plays here as well. Taking more than 3 grams of fish oil each day may lead to adverse levels of blood thinning, and special care should be taken if you are already on some blood related drugs.

Thin blood is obviously bad if you get a cut or other injury and it can also lead to a specific type of stroke caused by too thin blood.

So sticking to less than 3 grams per day seems like a good idea. It's much better and healthier to lower your omega 6 consumption by eating a healthier diet.

Authors experience

Share with us your experiences with omega 3 and specifically fish oil supplementation.

While there are many ways to hack your life and body, and we'll cover those on this blog, there is one thing that's an length ahead of others because it promises instant effect. 

What if I told you there is a pill that can if not instantly, then very quickly - make you smarter, faster, happier - make you better in one way or another?

You might think that's nothing new, drugs have been around for a long time. In the last few years and even decades news are full of stories about sportsmen that take them to break the records, students that take them so they do better at school and even housewives that need some extra juice to take care of the house and all the kids.  

And we were all taught that drugs are bad since they all have side effects and shouldn't be taken unless we really need them to cure some disease. Drug abuse deteriorates your health and makes you addicted to them, we were taught, right? But is that always true?  

What if I told you there are drugs/foods/substances that a "healthy" person can take, that would make that person smarter, faster or happier - simply put better than without drugs, and there were no bad side effects and no addiction (in the life threatening, sweating and hearth beating, sell your mother for a quick fix - if you skip your dose - way)?

What if I told you, that you already used some of them without even knowing?

You don't smoke? Cool me neither - I can't stand tobacco. You never had energy drinks or coffee? Not even tea? Never took Aspirin after hard workout so you don't end up with sore muscles the day after? Never took alcohol to loosen you up (and have more fun during the party)? You don't take any vitamin/mineral/amino-acid supplement?

If you haven't done any of these - then you should take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. 

If you did at least one of those then you should take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes - though you get to choose how deep you want to go ;)