If you could only have 3 nootropics?

There are dozens of substances that people take for a nootropic effect. I am curious what you people would pick if you could only have three. I know everyone reacts differently and everyone has preferences, but from my months of lurkng on many nootropic boards that the most popular 3 would be some sort of choline, racetam, and possibly a vasodilator. I am limited personal experience with nootropics myself. I have tried Aniracetam, Pyritinol, Vinopocetine, Huperzine A, Chocamine, Rhodiola Rosea , Picamilon, Alpha GPC and gingko. If I had to pick 3 right now it would probably be

1. Vinopocetine
2. Pyritinol
3. Chocamine

I have failed to see hardly any effect of anything else other than these, but I have only been taking nootropics 1 month and know it takes a while for results to show. Feel free to chip in nootropic vets.

1. Aniracetam
2. Acetyl-l-carnitine
3. L-Tyrosine

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Funny thing is I still have no ranking.... lol. I take so much right now, I still have not exactly with total certainty figured out what is doing what.

Ummm... If I had to do it today.
In no particular order it is:
1. Piracetam--the coca-cola classic
2. Deprenyl--Yeah I complained about the side effects, but you get over it. My mood seems brighter, more energy, and it is a powerful aphrodesiac (not that I need that).
3. GPC-choline--you cannot have a cetam without a choline. It got rid of my headache.

There is still no substitute, for the natural stuff like exercise, diet, sleep, vitamins, sobriety, and not working too hard stressing out your brain killing brain cells and yoga. Exercise is timely and effective.

I am glad you posted chocomine. I would love to try that chocomine. I love chocolate so much. There must be something in there.

All I can say is my list will change. I have been doing this for 2 months.

Pinballwizard

I have used a vast array of smart drugs and would have to say that the following three have provided the most consistent and noticeable mental effect:
(1) CDP-Choline
(2) Aniracetam -- I could not live without this drug.
(3) Rhodiola Rosea

I too am interested in using chocomine. Can this substance be combined with a SSRI?

RE: chocamine,

If you want the benefits of chocolate why not just do what I've started doing:

unsweeteneed cocoa powder + pinch stevia + water=great chocolate tasting water.

Scottl: what is stevia?

A natural sweetener.

use google. an herbal calorieless sugar. Sorry--pressed for time now.

I am not sure that I could actually recommend three nootropics if I did not know what your budget is. What I would recommend would largely be contingent on your budget and your brain's biochemical composition.

Think about it for moment, what kind of practical use does the result of the inquiry "if you could only have 3 nootropics" have?

A far better result (and further, far more helpful to this community) would come from the inquiry, "if I had only $XX per month what should I get?"

And once again, I must emphasize that everybody is looking for different results from their stacks, so to generalize may even be counter-productive. But as the helpful insight from new member todd_lee contends, I sound like a kid, thus my comments should be disregarded.

1. Piracetam
2. Aniracetam
3. Acetyl-l-carnitine

Think about it for moment, what kind of practical use does the result of the inquiry "if you could only have 3 nootropics" have?

And once again, I must emphasize that everybody is looking for different results from their stacks, so to generalize may even be counter-productive.

Did YOU think about it? Haven't you noticed general questions like the one that opened this thread bring about discussion about one's reasons for their choices? Discussion and thought about the most important smart pills to each individual... exchange of information and experiences which lead to learning about nootropics and decisions on which to experiment with... of course. One of the forever churning themes of this forum. Obviously.

I have used a vast array of smart drugs and would have to say that the following three have provided the most consistent and noticeable mental effect:
(1) CDP-Choline
(2) Aniracetam -- I could not live without this drug.
(3) Rhodiola Rosea

I too am interested in using chocomine.  Can this substance be combined with a SSRI?

Sure, chocomine is not very effective in my opinion. It has a mild effect, at best, but is surely a worthwhile addition to any stack.

If you have no tolerance to stimulants Chocamine is VERY effective!

If you drink coffee every day or are otherwise dependent on psychostimulants (caffeine, Modafinil, Ephedra, Amphetamines, etc), chocamine will be very mild...

I am a little surprised how few posts are here. Maybe that is just me. Don't people have favorite nootropics?

My favourites are: Amphetamine, Piracetam, Tyrosine

Amphetamine

NOOTROPIC Q&A
What are nootropics?

My definition of nootropics are natural or synthetic compounds that have a positive effect on 2 or more processes of cognitive functioning or mental performance. I do not consider essential nutrients (B-Vitamins and Omega 3 Fatty Acids) to be nootropics, although they can be helpful. They must not be addictive or toxic and they should be free of most side effects. The most common side effects can be: nausea, headaches, and over stimulation, although these are usually transient. Most of them positively affect 2 or more of the following: Blood flow, Glucose Utilization (Cerebral Energy), and Neurotransmitter’s (Brain chemicals).

I haven't posted because I'm still discovering what works for me. For now I'll cheat and say neurostim

Scottl, check out my post under the new alzheimers treatment post. Beware of Neurostim!

NOOTROPIC Q&A
What are nootropics?

My definition of nootropics are natural or synthetic compounds that have a positive effect on 2 or more processes of cognitive functioning or mental performance. I do not consider essential nutrients (B-Vitamins and Omega 3 Fatty Acids) to be nootropics, although they can be helpful. They must not be addictive or toxic and they should be free of most side effects. The most common side effects can be: nausea, headaches, and over stimulation, although these are usually transient. Most of them positively affect 2 or more of the following: Blood flow, Glucose Utilization (Cerebral Energy), and Neurotransmitter’s (Brain chemicals).

Oops; sorry.

1. Theanine
2. Tyrosine
3. Piracetam

... 4. ALCAR

Alolpho,

You will need a choline source with the piracetam since racetams result in choline being used up faster.

Oh and you'll need R-ALA as a mitochondrial anti-oxidant to accompany the acetyl carnitine which increases mitochondrial fre radicals.


Regarding the neurostim comment above: I dislike aspartame, and wish neurostim did not have it. However I don't worry about the aspartame in neurostim for the few times/week I use it (and I consume no other aspartame).

True, but those were merely my top 3, of course.. I'm currently getting a little PhosCholine (~2g) from Greens+ every morning, and I had been supplementing a gram of AlphaGPC until I read about long term downregulation.. I may switch to Choline Bitartrate or just settle for the Choline I get from food..
As for the ALCAR I know, I've been reading about these oxidant effects recently and I'm glad because although I have been taking ALA since I started taking ALCAR, I didn't know how important it was. (Oh and I have R-ALA, I'm just finishing up my bottle of ALA before I start R-ALA.)

Piracetam
Hydergine
Alpha GPC

Aldofo,

"Oh and you'll need R-ALA as a mitochondrial anti-oxidant to accompany the acetyl carnitine which increases mitochondrial fre radicals"

The idea being that without the r-ala you will have increased free radical generation in mitochondria and age faster then normal.

1) Chocamine
2) Fish oil
3) Lecithin granules

I'm glad somebody mentioned fish oil. Close to 4 grams of the EPA per day does me wonders.

1. Fish Oil
2. Brewer's Yeast
3. Nicotine?

Ah, the brewer's yeast is a source of many B vitamins and trace elements and astaxanthin. The B vitamins have been found helpful for healthy brain functioning. Astaxanthin is suggested as protecting brain cells from free radicals besides muscle cells in general. Brewer's yeast also makes my pea rather neat looking, bright yellow.

Nicotine, bah, very mixed blessing that is still in my life. I recall that there may have been some research suggesting that it was somewhat of an intelligence drug. Maybe that was just industry propaganda. Once I was given a baggie of organically grown and cured tobacco that I found most pleasant, requiring less consumption and noticeably less side effects than commercial products. I've also been tainted with knowing some individuals who were obviously fairly smart who smoked regularly, anecdotal for sure.

Speaking about smoking, a friend of mine once gave me some marijuana that was quite heady, intellectually stimulating, stating that if I smoked it first thing each morning for a number of days it would facilitate visions. It did. Could of been just from his suggestion. I've witnessed the same later with strains that have at least at one time been referred to as Cannibas indica instead of sativa. The sativa strains seemed to be more physically debilitating, referred to as a body high instead of a head trip. One has to have decent exercise and diet, plenty of B vitamins, to get "high" without an eventual crash from marijuana. Otherwise you can experience what has been referred to as being burnt out. Of course any hot smoke taken into the lungs causes damage. I currently own a volatizer but don't use it as I haven't had the stuff around for quite a while. It's both expensive and a risk due to its illegality. Though for extended periods, years at times, I've kept myself imbibed with the THC, I've never experienced any withdrawal symptoms upon stopping its consumption.

BTW, good idea for a thread. Helps narrow my search for what I may want to incorporate into my regimen.

Chip,

There is a wicki which has just started on the avant forum. I've put in an outline of nootropic stuff. You might find it helpful also:

http://www.avantlabs...tal_functioning

Chip, thanks for the heads up on brewer's yeast!

Chip can you tell me what is the real name of "brewer's yeast" you use is (not brand).

I found two studies, one using Phaffia rhodozyma (red yeast) and Candida utilis (food yeast). I'm assuming it's Candida utilis?

I'm worried if I take Phaffia rhodozyma, I might have the sudden urge to swim upstream.....

1: Biochim Biophys Acta. 1999 Jan 4;1426(1):119-25. Related Articles, Links

Effect of astaxanthin rich red yeast (Phaffia rhodozyma) on oxidative stress in rainbow trout.

Nakano T, Kanmuri T, Sato M, Takeuchi M.

Marine Biochemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Tohoku University, Aoba-ku, Sendai 981-8555, Japan. nakanot@bios.tohoku.ac.jp

The antioxidative biological effect of dietary red yeast, Phaffia rhodozyma, which is rich in astaxanthin, on rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, was examined. The levels of serum transaminase (glutamic-pyruvic transaminase and glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase) activities and of lipid peroxides (LPO) of fish fed oxidized oil were significantly higher than those of the control fish fed non-oxidized oil. However, the supply of red yeast considerably decreased both enzyme activities and LPO level. Furthermore, the serum lipid (triglycerides, total cholesterol and phospholipids) concentrations were also significantly decreased. Especially, the serum triglyceride level of fish fed the red yeast was as low as that of the control. It was also observed that there were no significant differences in muscle LPO levels between the fish fed red yeast and the control. The present results suggest for the first time that dietary red yeast may effectively suppress the LPO generation of tissue and normalize liver function as well as improving muscle pigmentation of trout. Thus, red yeast should have a reducing effect on oxidized oil-induced oxidative stress in fish.

PMID: 9878705 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


1: Appl Environ Microbiol. 1998 Apr;64(4):1226-9. Related Articles, Links
Click here to read
Production of the carotenoids lycopene, beta-carotene, and astaxanthin in the food yeast Candida utilis.

Miura Y, Kondo K, Saito T, Shimada H, Fraser PD, Misawa N.

Central Laboratories for Key Technology, Kirin Brewery Co., Ltd., Kanagawa, Japan. yu-miura@kirin.co.jp

The food-grade yeast Candida utilis has been engineered to confer a novel biosynthetic pathway for the production of carotenoids such as lycopene, beta-carotene, and astaxanthin. The exogenous carotenoid biosynthesis genes were derived from the epiphytic bacterium Erwinia uredovora and the marine bacterium Agrobacterium aurantiacum. The carotenoid biosynthesis genes were individually modified based on the codon usage of the C. utilis glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene and expressed in C. utilis under the control of the constitutive promotes and terminators derived from C. utilis. The resultant yeast strains accumulated lycopene, beta-carotene, and astaxanthin in the cells at 1.1, 0.4, and 0.4 mg per g (dry weight) of cells, respectively. This was considered to be a result of the carbon flow into ergosterol biosynthesis being partially redirected to the nonendogenous pathway for carotenoid production.

PMID: 9546156 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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