What are nootropics, really?

A nootropic is anything that functions as a cognitive enhancer—in other words, improves our brainpower.

These can be sensationalized as “smart drugs”, misrepresented excitingly in science fiction, meme-ified in the mundane (“but first, coffee”), and reframed entirely, (“exercise is the best nootropic”).

So, clearly, “nootropics” can mean a lot of different things. Let’s look at some of the main categories…

The neurochemical modulators

These are what often get called “smart drugs”. They are literally drugs (have a chemical effect on the body that isn’t found in our diet), and they affect the levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, such as by:

• Adding more of that neurotransmitter (simple enough)
• Decreasing the rate at which we lose that neurotransmitter (re-uptake inhibitors)
• Antagonizing an unhelpful neurotransmitter (doing the opposite thing to it)
• Blocking an unhelpful neurotransmitter (stopping the receptors from receiving it)

“Unhelpful” here is relative and subjective, of course. We need all the neurotransmitters that are in our brain, after all, we just don’t need all of them all the time.

Examples: modafinil, a dopamine re-uptake inhibitor (mostly prescribed for sleep disorders), reduces the rate at which our brains scrub dopamine, resulting in a gradual build-up of dopamine that we naturally produced, so we get to enjoy that dopamine for longer. This will tend to promote wakefulness, and may also help with problem-solving and language faculties—as well as giving a mood boost. In other words, all things that dopamine is used for. Mirtazaрine, an adrenoreceptor agonist (mostly prescribed as an antidepressant), increases noradrenergic neurotransmission, thus giving many other brain functions a boost.

Why it works: our brains need healthy levels of neurotransmitters, in order to function well. Those levels are normally self-regulating, but can become depleted in times of stress or fatigue, for example.

The metabolic brain boosters

These are the kind of things that get included in nootropic stacks (stack = a collection of supplements and/or drugs that complement each other and are taken together—for example, a multivitamin tablet could be described as a vitamin stack) even though they have nothing specifically relating them to brain function. Why are they included?

The brain needs so much fuel. Metabolically speaking, it’s a gas-guzzler. It’s the single most resource-intensive organ of our body, by far. So, metabolic brain boosters tend to:

• Increase blood flow
• Increase blood oxygenation
• Increase blood general health
• Improve blood pressure (this is relative and subjective, since very obviously there’s a sweet spot)

Examples: B-vitamins. Yep, it can be that simple. A less obvious example might be Co-enzyme Q10, which supports energy production on a cellular level, and good cardiovascular health.

Why it works: you can’t have a healthy brain without a healthy heart!

We are such stuff as brains are made of

Our brains are made of mostly fat, water, and protein. But, not just any old fat and protein—we’re at least a little bit special! So, brain-food foods tend to:

• Give the brain the fats and proteins it’s made of
• Give the brain the stuff to make the fats and proteins it’s made of (simpler fats, and amino acids)
• Give the brain hydration! Just having water, and electrolytes as appropriate, does this

Examples: healthy fats from nuts, seeds, and seafood; also, a lot of phytonutrients from greens and certain fruits. Long-time subscribers may remember our article “Brain Food: The Eyes Have It!” on the importance of dietary lutein in reducing Alzheimer’s risk, for example

Why it works: this is matter of structural upkeep and maintenance—our brains don’t work fabulously if deprived of the very stuff they’re made of! Especially hydration is seriously underrated as a nootropic factor, by the way. Most people are dehydrated most of the time, and the brain dehydrates quickly. Fortunately, it rehydrates quickly as well when we take hydrating liquids.

Weird things that sound like ingredients in a witch’s potion

These are too numerous and too varied in how they work to cover here, but they do appear a lot in nootropic stacks and in popular literature on the subject.

Often they work by one of the mechanisms described above; sometimes we’re not entirely sure how they work, and have only measured their effects sufficiently to know that, somehow, they do work.

Examples: panax ginseng is one of the best-studied examples that still remains quite mysterious in many aspects of its mechanism. Lion’s Mane (the mushroom, not the jellyfish or the big cat hairstyle), meanwhile, is known to contain specific compounds that stimulate healthy brain cell growth.

Why it works: as we say, it varies so much from on ingredient to another in this category, so… Watch out for our Research Review Monday features, as we’ll be covering some of these in the coming weeks!

(PS, if there’s any you’d like us to focus on, let us know! We always love to hear from you. You can hit reply to any of our emails, or use the handy feedback widget at the bottom)

Peripheral neuropathy (and what can be done about it)

Peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage, usually of the extremities. It can be caused by such things as:

• Diabetes
• Alcoholism
• Infection
• Injury

The manifestations can be different:

• In the case of diabetes, it’s also called diabetic neuropathy, and almost always affects the feet first.
• In the case of alcoholism, it is more generalized, but tends towards affecting the extremities first.
• In the case of infection, a lot depends on the nature of the infection and the body’s response.
• In the case of injury, it’ll naturally be the injured part, or a little “downstream” of the injured part.
  • This could be the case of a single traumatic injury (e.g. hand got trapped in a slammed door)

This could be the case of a repetitive injury (carpal tunnel syndrome is a kind of peripheral neuropathy, and is usually caused by consistent misalignment of the carpal tunnel, the aperture through which a bundle of nerves make their way from the forearm to the hand)

Prevention is better than cure

If you already have peripheral neuropathy, don’t worry, we’ll get to that. But, if you can, prevention is better than cure. This means:

• Diabetes: if you can, avoid. This may seem like no-brainer advice, but it’s often something people don’t think about until hitting a pre-diabetic stage. Obviously, if you are Type 1 Diabetic, you don’t have this luxury. But in any case, whatever your current status, take care of your blood sugars as best you can, so that your blood can take care of you (and your nerves) in turn. You might want to check out our previous main feature about this:
  • 10 Ways To Balance Your Blood sugars
• Alcoholism: obviously avoid, if you can. You might like this previous edition of 10almonds addressing this:
  • Rethinking Drinking: How To Reduce Or Quit Alcohol
• Infection: this is so varied that one-liner advice is really just “try to look after your immune health”.
  • We’ll do a main feature on this soon!
• Injury: obviously, try to be careful. But that goes for the more insidious version too! For example, if you spend a lot of time at your computer, consider an ergonomic mouse and keyboard.
  • There are many kinds available, so read reviews, but here’s an example product on Amazon

Writer’s note: as you might guess, I spend a lot of time at my computer, and a lot of that time, writing. I additionally spend a lot of time reading. I also have assorted old injuries from my more exciting life long ago. Because of this, it’s been an investment in my health to have:

A standing desk

A vertical ergonomic mouse

An ergonomic split keyboard

A Kindle*

*Far lighter and more ergonomic than paper books. Don’t get me wrong, I’m writing to you from a room that also contains about a thousand paper books and I dearly love those too, but more often than not, I read on my e-reader for comfort and ease.

If you already have peripheral neuropathy

Most advice popular on the Internet is just about pain management, but what if we want to treat the cause rather than the symptom?

Let’s look at the things commonly suggested: try ice, try heat, try acupuncture, try spicy rubs (from brand names like Tiger Balm, to home-made chilli ointments), try meditation, try a warm bath, try massage.

And, all of these are good options; do you see what they have in common?

It’s about blood flow. And that’s why they can help even in the case of peripheral neuropathy that’s not painful (it can also manifest as numbness, and/or tingling sensations).

By getting the blood flowing nicely through the affected body part, the blood can nourish the nerves and help them function correctly. This is, in effect, the opposite of what the causes of peripheral neuropathy do.

But also don’t forget: rest

• Put your feet up (literally! But we’re talking horizontal here, not elevated past the height of your heart)
• Rest that weary wrist that has carpal tunnel syndrome (again, resting it flat, so your hand position is aligned with your forearm, so the nerves between are not kinked)
• Use a brace if necessary to help the affected part stay aligned correctly
  • You can get made-for-purpose wrist and ankle braces—you can also get versions that are made for administering hot/cold therapy, too. That’s just an example product linked that we can recommend; by all means read reviews and choose for yourself, though. Try them and see what helps.

One more top tip

We did a feature not long back on lion’s mane mushroom, and it’s single most well-established, well-researched, well-evidenced, completely uncontested benefit is that it aids peripheral neurogenesis, that is to say, the regrowth and healing of the peripheral nervous system.

So you might want to check that out:

What Does Lion’s Mane Actually Do, Anyway?