Food as a Nootropic?

#1 ocsrazor

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Location:Atlanta, GA

Posted 26 April 2004 - 08:46 PM

Hi Gang,

I'm looking for some information concerning the use of food as a nootropic. By this I mean the probable effects of certain foods on energy level, mood, focus, awareness, etc. Is there anything in the forum already on this?

Best,
Peter

PS - Its always been my position that food is the largest by volume 'drug' we ingest so we should be very aware of the effects of particular foods on our physiology. I'm trying to justify this statement for the nervous system.

#2

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Posted 27 April 2004 - 09:42 AM

Generally speaking foods aren't nootropics, although they might contain nutrients which are good for the brain. A healthy diet rich with various B vitamins combined with a 8 hours of nightime sleep as a routine in itself will probably improve/maintain overall brain health. Foods rich in anti-oxidants will help maintain your brain into old age since the brain is one of the most sensitive areas of the body when it comes to cumulative free radical damage. I believe lots of green vegetables are rich in anti-oxidants so you might want to start there. Sugar as many of you know gives you a relatively short boost of mental energy, although it's not really conducive to have too much as a part of a regular diet.

Many of the nootropic supplements are extracts of herbs or analogues of certain naturally occuring compounds. I do not have enough personal experience to state whether the synergy between a few well chosen nootropics at fair doses will have a significant effect on the brain but I imagine it would. Prescription ADHD medication can be abused to recieve a short period (2-12 hours) increasing concentration and focus but generally nootropics are safer, and their effects are cumulative over the long term. Abusing some ADHD medication can have some serious negative side effects and serves no positive long term purpose aside from those who need it to function better as a result of ADHD.

Starting with your diet will lay a good foundation for any nootropic stack you decide to take concurrently with a brain healthy diet. Poor diet and nootropics based on common sense probably don't achieve as good results.

#3 JonesGuy

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Posted 27 April 2004 - 07:25 PM

Hmmmn, I don't remember where I saw it, but chewing gum increases reflexes and memory by a statistically significant amount - I'm not sure how much, but some. Any way, what's funny is that much research into nootropics is showing that 'designer drugs' usually don't offer much more than caffeine and gum chewing.

So, let's chew our gum and drink our coffee, and work on better nootropics!

#4

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Posted 28 April 2004 - 03:47 AM

Caffeine is a stimulant, it offers increased mental performance in the short term and it's effects are not cumulative. Whereas nootropic effects can be cumulative, long lasting, and significant in the form of a good nootropic stack. Caffeine and gum chewing can help but they don't replace nootropics, stimulants in general can seem to give a nootropic effect but in reality a stimulant is not a nootropic. I'm looking into Modafinil and Adrafinil as a good brain stimulant, I imagine that they might help my concentration and memory in the short term but I'm not under the misconception that they are nootropics.

I do agree though, we need to create better nootropics and make them more readily available. Pramiracetam and Aniracetam seem like some of the most potent nootropics but the latter is just now available in bulk powder, and the previous is hard to source even directly from asian manfacturers. However, I think we can get substantial gains using today's available safer stimulants, nootropics, and brain nutrients.

#5 shpongled

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Posted 29 April 2004 - 11:27 PM

Any way, what's funny is that much research into nootropics is showing that 'designer drugs' usually don't offer much more than caffeine and gum chewing.

It depends on what you are measuring. Caffeine is probably equal or superior in terms of combatting sleep deprivation and improving attention, at least with short-term use. The differences in nootropics lie in the improved functional state of the brain, effectiveness with chronic use, anxiety-reducing effects, and many others.

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#1 ocsrazor

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