LONGECITY

Hi, 
Sorry if this gets asked a lot, but I'm quite new here. I was just wondering: are there any good stickies, threads, or reading material that can help provide a basic understanding of different nootropics, racetams etc, and what is right for an individual depending on their goals? 

I'm generally just looking for ways to improve all-round intelligence (memory, creativity, focus etc), but there seem to be so many different options, and I'm not really sure where to begin! 

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated! 

Thankyou

Piracetam, if you're looking at racetams, is a good starting point. A lot of people start with it. For the most part you'll have to figure out what works for you though, not everyone's biology is the same. A good idea is to start slowly and not immediately start taking a fist full of pills everyday. This way you'll also be able to tell which addition to your stack is causing what and if you should continue using it or not.

Rent this spot in Nootropics Topics to support Longecity (this will replace the google ad).

I'll second piracetam and a choline source as a starting point, along with maybe a basic adaptogen like bacopa or ashwagandha or something. If you're serious about this stuff, I highly recommend getting a capsule machine and buying bulk powders; it's ultimately cheaper than getting pills, and it leaves you with a lot of room to customize dosages. Here's the one I use:

http://www.amazon.co...sule machine 00

 

There are lots of more advanced stacks to experiment with, and eventually it might be worth getting into things like TULIP ("Lostfalco's Extensive Nootropic Experiments" is a very interesting thread), CILTEP, and the Happy Stack, but if you are just starting out, it is best to try things one at a time and feel out what sorts of things in general agree with you.

Thankyou both for the responses!
I'm already on Bacopa and ashwagandha (as well as other supplements like Niacin, Theamine, Omega 3, Lycopene, Astaxanthin, and green tea.....I presume there's nothing wrong with taking too many supplements like these when they're shown to be beneficial, right?). 
I've read a bit of Lostfalco's thread and I've started doing LLLT - very interesting stuff, as you say, but some of it's a bit over my head at the moment! 

I'll look into using Piracetam and a choline source. I did read a pretty concerning article on the subject though: 
http://selfhacked.com/2013/07/17/why-i-dont-supplement-with-piracetam/ 

Have either of you (or anyone else) experienced these supposed negative sides?

I've read that before, and it's good to be cautious. Piracetam works for some people, and for some people it doesn't do anything. Other people unfortunately experience brain fog. If it's because of diet, other medications, being unfit, I don't know, and I don't know how those things would exactly affect piracetam's effects on an individual.

I think that people who have some mental deficiency - either through a lack of nourishment or whatever else - or people who abused their neurochemistry - through drug abuse, for example, has the most to gain from something like piracetam because there's room for improvement.

People who are already at a mental peak won't experience such huge gains. For an example, if your IQ is 140 and you add another 10 or 20, that's a small percentage increase and not as noticeable as someone with an IQ of 90 gaining 10 to 20 IQ points.

I use piracetam with bacopa monnieri and I find that the bacopa monnieri offsets some of the negative side effects of piracetam. If I don't use bacopa monnieri, I'm irritable, I have mood swings and I get slight brain fog as the piracetam works out my system throughout the day.

In the end, these are all personal anecdotes and the only way to find out is to try it for yourself. You can watch videos of people driving cars, you can read books about driving cars, but you won't know what it's like until you actually drive a car. Same thing with piracetam.

Thankyou for the response! I think I've got my diet in check over the last few months, so hopefully I won't suffer too badly with the negative effects. I guess I'll just have to bite the bullet! 

Out of curiosity, do you really think it's possible to add such a percentage to your IQ? I didn't realise that nootropics had the potential to be so effective!

Honestly bro, don't waste money on racetams, instead I'd suggest the Mr Happy Stack (choline+DHA+Uridine) and/or CILTEP (artichoke extract + forskolin + ALCAR +B6 and personally I leave out phenylalanine).

Edited by Phoenicis, 23 June 2014 - 08:16 PM.

I don't see why it wouldn't be possible, but if you're looking at measurements, you should establish a baseline that you want to achieve.

Do you want better recall? Do you want better working memory? Do you want better focus? And how would you measure improvements and factor in different variables? Even IQ tests are affected by lack of sleep, illness, etc.

One of the first website's I found that had some good advice was The Bulletproof Executive. Check it out. There are a lot more biohackers out there who have been doing this for years, they know a lot more than I do. Longecity also has a lot of members with a lot of knowledge.

So, back to your stack. Racetams aren't the be all and end all of nootropics. Try the other stuff that everyone else finds to work (like the Mr Happy Stack Phoenicis suggested) and tweak it to what works best for you.

Hope to hear what stack you're planning soon and don't forget to report back to us!

Thankyou for the continued responses! 

I think I'll look at using the CILTEP or the Mr Happy stack first, since they seem like they would be more side-effect-free, which makes them a bit more appealing to test the waters with.
And I'll be sure to let you know how it goes, mate

IIRC you want to get a feel for noots and maybe what does what. With that in mind I'd offer Smart Drugs II. It's nice to know what others are doing but it may not be what you need to do. 

 

An Md. a chemist and a science writer put this book together to do exactly what you asked. I poked around till I found a used one cheap. But it's worth the price for all the info it contains. 

The chemist likes priacetam. As you know YMMV. Also use Wiki to learn most of the lingo. i.e. monoamine oxidase inhibitor  or m a o i, or s s r i… selective serotonin reuptake inhibiter. there a ton of these you can type most of them in to wiki and get the meaning. These chemicals and their buddies regulate the flow of nutrients to synapses and other areas of the brain. There are many more of course. Wiki is full of links that open a little window in the page you are on to explain things. These are discussed also in S D II.

 

Ron

Edited by ron45, 23 June 2014 - 11:40 PM.

Rent this spot in Nootropics Topics to support Longecity (this will replace the google ad).

Thanks, ron! 
It sounds like a good book, but if I've found the right one, it's about 20 years old - did you not find it a bit outdated? Or is the information still relevant?