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[gizmobrain]

After trialing dozens (hundreds?) of herbs/supplements/increasingly shady nootropics/etc, I have surprisingly found around 1 gram of N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine (once a day on an empty stomach) to have vastly profound effects on my mental stamina, mood, motivation, focus. Taking less does not seem to help. Other dopaminergic substances have been unwieldy in producing such a consistent and seemingly side-effect-free result.

Does anyone know of any physical risks of taking in that much daily?

 

If the risks are small, such as depletion of other nutrients, I'd like to know what to supplement to offset the risk. 

 

 

 

 

Background:

 

I originally started taking this much because I was trying to see if I could affect brain levels of KYNA, based off this study:

 

 

Amino acids inhibit kynurenic acid formation via suppression of kynurenine uptake or kynurenic acid synthesis in rat brain in vitro

Ten out of 19 amino acids (specifically, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, methionine, tyrosine, alanine, cysteine, glutamine, glutamate, and aspartate) significantly reduced KYNA formation at 1 mmol/L. These amino acids showed inhibitory effects in a dose-dependent manner, and partially inhibited KYNA production at physiological concentrations. Leucine, isoleucine, methionine, phenylalanine, and tyrosine, all LAT substrates, also reduced tissue KYN concentrations in a dose-dependent manner, with their inhibitory rates for KYN uptake significantly correlated with KYNA formation.

 

More information about my results: 

 

By far the most shocking impact is that 1g of NALT has been effective at wiping out the sleepiness on my morning drive to work before coffee, and boosting motivation, energy, and mood for what seems to be most of the day (though it could be prolonged by the other substances for sure). I generally take 200mg of NALT merely for maintenance purposes, having taken up to 500mg in one dose before without much of a noticeable effect. I've also taken 350mg twice a day without any effects. Apparently some magic happens around the 1 gram dosage level for me. With a dose that high of an n-acetyl version, I worry about possible side effects of daily usage, so I definitely need to elucidate why this is working and how optimize it.

Also, I normally require melatonin to sleep, but the 3 days I've taken this, I have essentially "passed out" around 11PM (barely remember getting in bed) and have slept very soundly.

Motivation, energy, and mood have all been fairly substantially raised from my usual baseline. Not as high as my 5mg forskolin/2mg D-Amp ER/500mg Artichoke extract stack, but that's always an unnaturally high level of motivation. I know most folks would look at this and say "you got that dopamine deficiency, bro" but I've taken plenty of different dopaminergics before without this kind of well-balanced result.

 

[StephCThomp]

I'm not yet knowledgeable about the acetyl form, but Tyrosine is the raw material from which the body manufactures 'happy and motivated' neurochemicals like noradrenaline and dopamine.  It's a wonderful antidepressant that energises and brightens the mind - vastly more effectively and naturally, in my multi-anecdotal experience (I'm a shrink), than most pharmaceutical concoctions.

 

The problem, IMV, is that dopaminergic (and similar) drugs merely force the mechanism without supplying the essential raw materials.  No amount of drug will do much good if the raw material is lacking.  It's like pressing your foot harder on the pedal of a beautifully engineered vehicle with no fuel in it - not much is going to happen, and rightly so.