((Noobie needing some nootropic blend feedback))

jeremylives

[font=Georgia]I am looking at taking the following supplements to increased: mental clarity, focus, cognition, memory & alertness; as well as to alleviate stress & fatigue. I am brand new to NOOTROPICS and need some advice. Is this an effective and healthy blend of supplements???? Should I alter, add, take away>? IS anything conflicting?[/font]

[font=Georgia]Citicoline (CDP-Choline) - 500mg Daily. [/font]
[font=Georgia]Rhodiola Rosea - 500 mg Daily.[/font]
[font=Georgia]Vinpocetine - 30 mg Daily. [/font]
[font=Georgia]Phosphatidylserine - 300mg Daily. [/font]
[font=Georgia]Acetylcarnitine - 500mg Daily. [/font]
[font=Georgia]Fish oil 2,200mg Daily. [/font]
[font=Georgia]Magnesium 450mg daily. [/font]
[font=Georgia]Vitamin D - 5,000mg daily. [/font]
[font=Georgia]Vitamin C - 1,500mg daily. [/font]
[font=Georgia]Probiotics - 50 billion daily. [/font]
[font=Georgia]Super B-complex daily.[/font]
[font=Georgia]Huperzine A - 50mg on a cycle as needed for tests[/font]

[font=Georgia]I am a masters student who has a lot of stress and needs to be clear headed while remembering and learning a lot of new information. I also struggle with adrenal fatigue. Any advice or feedback would be greatly helpful and appreciated. [/font]
[font=Georgia]Sincerely, -Jeremy[/font]

Neuro

Hi Jeremy, welcome to the forums! I moved your post to the stack forum.

Your stack seems good, but I've heard conflicting reports about vinpocetine. Some say it worsens their cognition. Your ALCAR dosage is a bit low, usually 1000 mg is what most people take. As for fish oil it's a hit or miss it seems, some people report worsening of brain fog, memory, mood and cognition with fish oil.

Any reason you decided not to add a racetam to your stack? The racetams specifically help with memory and learning. For the b-complex make sure it uses the active compounds, i.e. folate should be in the form of methylfolate and not folic acid. Folic acid can worsen your cognition if you have an MTHFR mutation. B12 should be in the form of methylcobalamin or adenosylcobalamin.

For Rhodiola the brand really matters. I found Life Extension's rhodiola to be fairly good.

That's a lot of choline. For some people choline can cause depression so I recommend you keep it at 250 mg of CDP-choline and add in a racetam like piracetam. Noopept is also a good choice. You can slowly up the dosage of your choline, but if you find yourself getting depressed you'll need to drop it back down.

You should list out the brands and the compounds for each nootropic, like for magnesium, there's magnesium oxide, magnesium citrate, etc. This is very important.

jeremylives

Hi Jeremy, welcome to the forums! I moved your post to the stack forum.

Your stack seems good, but I've heard conflicting reports about vinpocetine. Some say it worsens their cognition. Your ALCAR dosage is a bit low, usually 1000 mg is what most people take. As for fish oil it's a hit or miss it seems, some people report worsening of brain fog, memory, mood and cognition with fish oil.

Any reason you decided not to add a racetam to your stack? The racetams specifically help with memory and learning. For the b-complex make sure it uses the active compounds, i.e. folate should be in the form of methylfolate and not folic acid. Folic acid can worsen your cognition if you have an MTHFR mutation. B12 should be in the form of methylcobalamin or adenosylcobalamin.

For Rhodiola the brand really matters. I found Life Extension's rhodiola to be fairly good.

That's a lot of choline. For some people choline can cause depression so I recommend you keep it at 250 mg of CDP-choline and add in a racetam like piracetam. Noopept is also a good choice. You can slowly up the dosage of your choline, but if you find yourself getting depressed you'll need to drop it back down.

You should list out the brands and the compounds for each nootropic, like for magnesium, there's magnesium oxide, magnesium citrate, etc. This is very important.

Thank you so much for your most generous advice as I am starting to navigate the Nootropic world!

I will definitely get a new B complex. Do you have any you would suggest?

I decided against a racetam because I dont want to be putting chemicals in my body. I am very strict on what I put in my body (i.e. what I eat, expose myself to ect.). That is why I am trying to choose herbal supplements for the goals I have in taking supplements. If you have anything to share with me concerning this please do share any advice, information, research ect.

Heard anything about the Brand [font=Arial, sans-serif]NOW Foods Rhodiola Rhodiola?[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]I have made a branded list of all my supplements:[/font]

Supplements I take for [font=Georgia]mental clarity, focus, cognition, memory & alertness:[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif][font=Georgia][font=Arial, sans-serif]Cognizin Citicoline[/font] - 500mg Daily [/font]
[/font]
[font=Georgia][font=Arial, sans-serif]NOW Foods Rhodiola Rhodiola Rosea[/font]- 500 mg Daily.[/font]

[font=Georgia][font=Arial, sans-serif]Vinpocetine 10 mg 180 Vcaps by Nova Nutritions[/font] - 30 mg Daily. [/font]

[font=Georgia][font=Arial, sans-serif]Doctor's Best Best Phosphatidyl Serine[/font] - 300mg Daily. [/font]

[font=Georgia][font=Arial, sans-serif]NOW Foods Acetyl L-Carnitine[/font] - 500mg Daily. [/font]

[font=Georgia][font=Arial, sans-serif]Source Naturals Magnesium Malate -[/font] 450mg daily. [/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif][font=Georgia][font=Arial, sans-serif][font=Arial, sans-serif]Source Naturals Huperzine A[/font][/font] - 50mg on a cycle as needed for tests[/font][/font]

Supplements I take for reducing stress & fatigue:

[font=Georgia][font=Arial, sans-serif]NOW Foods Rhodiola Rhodiola Rosea[/font][/font][font=Georgia]- 500 mg Daily.[/font]

[font=Georgia][font=Georgia][font=Arial, sans-serif]Nature Made Super B Complex Tablets -[/font][/font][font=Georgia] daily.[/font][/font]

[font=Georgia][font=Georgia][font=Georgia][font=Arial, sans-serif]Viva Labs Omega 3 Fish Oil Supplement , 2,200mg Fish Oil/serving ([font=Arial, sans-serif]1,400mg of EPA and 480mg of DHA) -[/font][/font][/font][font=Georgia] 2,200mg Daily. [/font][/font][/font]

Supplements I take for adrenal fatigue:

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Solaray Licorice Root - 450mg daily.[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Ashwagandha 500 mg 120 Capsules by Nova Nutritions - [font=Arial, sans-serif]500 mg daily[/font][/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]
Viva Labs CoQ10 with BioPerine® for Increased Absorption[/font][font=Arial, sans-serif] - 300mg daily[/font]

[font=Georgia][font=Arial, sans-serif]Sundown Naturals Vitamin C Supplement[/font][/font][font=Georgia]- 1,500mg daily. [/font]

[font=Georgia][font=Arial, sans-serif]Nature's Bounty Vitamin D3 5000 IU [/font][/font][font=Georgia]- 5,000mg daily. [/font]

[font=Georgia][font=Georgia][font=Arial, sans-serif]NOW Foods Probiotic-10 25 Billion[/font][/font][font=Georgia] - 50 billion daily. [/font]
[/font]

Neuro

I don't recommend you take that b-complex as it uses the inactive compounds of the b-vitamins. Here's what I recommend you take: https://www.amazon.com/Doctors-Best-Complex-Nutritional-Supplement/dp/B00DWDZPBG

For ashwagandha it's best to go with a brand that uses a standardized extract. There are 2 standardized extracts that I know of, KSM-66 and Sensoril. This brand is good: https://www.amazon.com/Jarrow-Formulas-Ashwagandha-Supports-Resistance/dp/B0013OQEO8/ref=pd_lpo_121_tr_t_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=8MJC6WMKYXRQJVJGT8DS

For the Rhodiola, I'm not sure if NOW Food's is a good choice. Personally, I've had success with their rhodiola in the past (2013-2014) but in 2014 they changed their supplier and I no longer got the strong benefits that rhodiola gave me. The capsules got bigger and duller in color. Their previous capsules were red but the new ones are brown. The rose-like aroma became much weaker with the new capsules. I don't know if they went back to their old formulation but I doubt it.

Life Extension or Nature's Way are good alternatives but they're a little bit more expensive as they pack only 250 mg of rhodiola per capsule.

I understand not wanting to put chemicals in your body, it's your choice. In that case, you can try sulbutiamine, a synthetic derivative of vitamin B1 (thiamine).