Recently in Nootropics Category

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. 

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.

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 ;)