{"id":23864,"date":"2020-11-08T23:50:11","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T05:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/?p=23864"},"modified":"2021-07-15T09:40:59","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T14:40:59","slug":"brain-boosting-supplements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2020\/11\/08\/brain-boosting-supplements","title":{"rendered":"Brain-Boosting Supplements"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In our previous two Health Tips, we discussed the most common causes of brain fog. The first of these focused on stress.<\/a> When there\u2019s so much you\u2019re anxious about, your logical thinking, mental clarity, and memory become overwhelmed to the extent that you\u2019ve added yet another stressor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs this early dementia?\u201d you may wonder. Well at least some of you seeing the election results might feel a little less stressed. Possibly you\u2019ve even noticed that you\u2019re thinking more clearly already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, there\u2019s still Covid-19 to worry us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our second Health Tip on brain fog<\/a>, I offered a list of commonly overlooked but easily treated causes, including medication side effects, vitamin deficiencies, subtle hypothyroidism, dehydration, food sensitivities, obstructive sleep apnea, and even low-level chronic brain inflammation from a person\u2019s genetic susceptibility to the toxins of certain species of common household molds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An alert reader also called my attention to toxic metals, which some people react to while others do not, but testing for them should be included as part of any diagnostic work-up for unexplained brain fog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On to smart drugs
<\/strong>This week, I\u2019m going to review a class of supplements called nootropics, also called smart drugs or cognitive enhancers. The word nootropic is a relatively new one, invented in 1972, though the term itself derives from two words from the ancient Greek, \u201cmind\u201d and \u201cturning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nootropics include any substance that aids memory and learning, protects your brain from toxins (especially free radicals and inflammation), enhances cognitive function, and is itself nontoxic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might be able to guess the most widely used nootropic on Planet Earth. Yes, it\u2019s coffee, and if you notice a subtle improvement in my writing here, I owe it to the second cup of coffee at my side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physician-prescribed nootropics
<\/strong>You also might have heard about the common physician-prescribed nootropics, mainly used for attention deficit disorder (ADD and ADHD). Adderall, Vyvanse, and Ritalin are all classified as psychostimulants and generously (though illegally) shared by college students during finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two others, Provigil and Nuvigil, are prescribed for \u201cpromoting wakefulness,\u201d one of several medical conditions invented by Big Pharma to sell a product they didn\u2019t know what to do with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company couldn\u2019t get FDA approval to prescribe these drugs for ADD, so they created conditions such as \u201cchronic daytime sleepiness\u201d and \u201cshift worker sleep disorder\u201d to get an FDA thumbs-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although none of these psychostimulants is toxic when taken correctly, they all have side effects, and often quite annoying ones. If your dose is too high, or you simply can\u2019t tolerate the med, you feel the sensation of having drunk too much coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hundreds of smart drugs from which to choose
<\/strong>When I last looked on amazon.com, there were literally hundreds of nootropic supplements, totally confusing to the general consumer who simply wouldn\u2019t know where to begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if you read the labels carefully, all contain variations of the same relatively small number of ingredients, which I\u2019ll list here. Click on the name of the substance to be linked to an article that explains its inclusion as a nootropic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALC)<\/a> <\/strong>is one of the most well-researched of the memory enhancers. It is used mainly by older adults, though it works for anyone experiencing memory issues.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phosphatidyl serine<\/strong> (PS) <\/strong><\/a>is a versatile memory enhancer that acts on the brain chemical acetylcholine, required for focus and memory.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phosphatidyl choline (PC) <\/strong><\/a>Also sold as citicholine, PC is another memory enhancer, shown to be especially effective in older adults who are showing mild cognitive decline.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vinpocetine (VP)<\/strong><\/a> is a synthesized molecule created from the periwinkle plant that has been shown to enhance memory and focus by increasing blood flow to the brain and also brain metabolism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Huperzine (HUP)<\/strong><\/a> is derived from Chinese club moss and increases levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. Small clinical trials have shown effectiveness for memory issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green Tea<\/strong><\/a> This familiar and very potent antioxidant has passed clinical trials for memory enhancement and focus. If the brain-boosting supplement you choose doesn\u2019t contain green tea, drinking one cup daily is sufficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spearmint extract (Mentha spicata) <\/strong><\/a>is a new addition to the nootropic family, shown to enhance memory and focus, especially in younger people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other nutritional products have a long history of being used as nootropics, though they have less clinical research behind them. These include gingko, gotu kola, Siberian ginseng, lion\u2019s mane mushroom, DMAE (dimethylaminoethanol), ashwagandha, glutamate, saffron, methyl B12, and B6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After looking through dozens of products for the nootropic section of our WholeHealth Chicago Apothecary, we finally settled on just three. What I suggest you do is select any one of them and use it for a month. Then switch to taking the next one for a month, and finally the last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep using them in rotation and you\u2019ll be covering all aspects of brain health and memory enhancement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–Neurotone (Douglas Labs)<\/u>  Key ingredients: ALC, PS, Gingko, DMAE, ashwagandha, Eleuthero, glutamate.
Take two tablets twice daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–Neurologix (Integrative Therapeutics)<\/u>  Key ingredients: SPEAR, PC, B6, saffron.
Take two capsules twice daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

—Cognicare (Researched Nutritionals)<\/u> Key ingredients: HUP, ALC, PS, glutamate, tyrosine, VIN, Methyl B12, B6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take two capsules twice daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be well,
David Edelberg, MD<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In our previous two Health Tips, we discussed the most common causes of brain fog. The first of these focused on stress. When there\u2019s so much you\u2019re anxious about, your logical thinking, mental clarity, and memory become overwhelmed to the extent that you\u2019ve added yet another stressor. \u201cIs this early dementia?\u201d you may wonder. Well […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2087,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[352,204,2,209,50,296,130,3,187,34,43,33],"tags":[375,1954,2207,289,36,2208],"class_list":["post-23864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aging","category-b","category-blog","category-fibromyalgia-chronic-fatigue","category-healthy-lifestyle","category-inflammation","category-integrative-medicine","category-knowledge-base","category-mens-health","category-mental-health","category-nutrition-nutritional-supplements-vitamins-herbal-remedies","category-womens-health","tag-brain","tag-brain-health","tag-brian-supplements","tag-memory","tag-stress","tag-supplements-for-brain"],"yoast_head":"\r\nBrain-Boosting Supplements | WholeHealth Chicago<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This week, I\u2019m going to review a class of supplements called 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