Huperzine A: A Natural Nootropic
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Huperzine A: A Natural Nootropic
Huperzine A is a compound, specifically a naturally occurring sesquiterpene alkaloid, that functions as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. If that seems like a bunch of big words, don’t worry, we’ll translate in a moment.
First, a nod to its origins: it is found in certain kinds of firmoss, especially the “toothed clubmoss”, Huperzia serrata, which grows in many Asian countries.
What’s an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor?
Let’s do this step-by-step:
- An acetylcholinesterase inhibitor is a compound that inhibits acetylcholinesterase.
- Acetylcholinesterase is an enzyme that catalyzes (speeds up) the breakdown of acetylcholine.
- Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter; it’s an ester of acetic acid and choline.
- This is the main neurotransmitter of the parasympathetic nervous system, and is also heavily involved in cognitive functions including memory and creative thinking.
What this means: if you take an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor like huperzine A, it will inhibit acetylcholinesterase, meaning you will have more acetylcholine to work with. That’s good.
What can I expect from it?
Huperzine A has been well-studied for a while, mostly for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease:
- New insights into huperzine A for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease
- Huperzine A: Is it an Effective Disease-Modifying Drug for Alzheimer’s Disease?
- Huperzine A and Its Neuroprotective Molecular Signaling in Alzheimer’s Disease
However, research has suggested that huperzine A is much better as a prevention than a treatment:
❝A central event in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the accumulation of senile plaques composed of aggregated amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides.
Ex vivo electrophysiological experiments showed that 10 μM of Aβ1-40 significantly decreased the effect of the AChE inhibitor huperzine A on the synaptic potential parameters. ❞
~ Dr. Irina Zueva
In other words: the answer to the titular question is “Yes, yes it can”
And, to translate Dr. Zueva’s words into simple English:
- People with Alzheimer’s have amyloid-β plaque in their brains
- That plaque reduces the effectiveness of huperzine A
So, what if we take it in advance? That works much better:
❝Pre-treatment with [huperzine A] at concentrations of 50, 100, and 150 µg/mL completely inhibited the secretion of PGE2, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β compared to post-treatment with [huperzine A].
This suggests that prophylactic treatment is better than post-inflammation treatment. ❞
~ Dr. Thu Kim Dang
Source: Anti-neuroinflammatory effects of alkaloid-enriched extract from Huperzia serrata
As you may know, neuroinflammation is a big part of Alzheimer’s pathology, so we want to keep that down. The above research suggests we should do that sooner rather than later.
Aside from holding off dementia, can it improve memory now, too?
There’s been a lot less research done into this (medicine is generally more concerned with preventing/treating disease, than improving the health of healthy people), but there is some:
^This is a small (n=68) old (1999) study for which the full paper has mysteriously disappeared and we only get to see the abstract. It gave favorable results, though.
The effects of huperzine A and IDRA 21 on visual recognition memory in young macaques
^This, like most non-dementia research into HupA, is an animal study. But we chose to spotlight this one because, unlike most of the studies, it did not chemically lobotomize the animals first; they were and remained healthy. That said, huperzine A improved the memory scores most for the monkeys that performed worst without it initially.
Where can I get it?
As ever, we don’t sell it, but here’s an example product on Amazon for your convenience
Enjoy!
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The Collagen Cure – by Dr. James DiNicolantonio
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Collagen is vital for, well, most of our bodies, really. Where me most tend to feel its deficiency is in our joints and skin, but it’s critical for bones and many other tissues too.
You may be wondering: why a 572-page book to say what surely must amount to “take collagen, duh”?
Dr. DiNicolantonio has a lot more of value to offer us than that. In this book, we learn about not just collagen synthesis and usage, different types of collagen, the metabolism of it in our diet (if we get it—vegans and vegetarians won’t). We also learn about the building blocks of collagen (vegans and vegetarians do get these, assuming a healthy balanced diet), with a special focus on glycine, the smallest amino acid which makes up about a third of the mass of collagen (a protein).
Not stopping there, we also learn about the interplay of other nutrients with our metabolism of glycine and, if applicable, collagen. Vitamin C and copper are star features, but there’s a lot more going on with other nutrients too, down to the level of “So take this 75 minutes before this but after that and/but definitely not with the other”, etc.
The style is incredibly clear and readable for something that’s also quite scientifically dense (over 1000 references and many diagrams).
Bottom line: if you’re serious about maintaining your body as you get older, and you’d like a book about collagen that’s a lot more helpful than “take collagen, duh”, then this is the book for you.
Click here to check out The Collagen Cure, and take care of yours!
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Reduce Your Skin Tag Risk
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It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!
Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!
In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!
As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!
So, no question/request too big or small
❝As I get older, I seem to be increasingly prone to skin tags, which appear, seemingly out of nowhere, on my face, chest and back. My dermatologist happily burns them off – but is there anything I can do to prevent them?!❞
Not a lot! But, potentially something.
The main risk factor for skin tags is genetic, and you can’t change that in any easy way.
The other main risk factors are connected to each other:
Skin folds, and chafing
Skin tags mostly appear where chafing happens. This can be, for example:
- Inside joint articulations (especially groin and armpits)
- Between fat rolls (if you have them)
So, if you have fat rolls, then losing weight will also reduce the risk of skin tags.
Additionally, obesity and some often-related problems such as diabetes, hypertension, and an atherogenic lipid profile also increase the risk of skin tags (amongst other more serious things):
See: Association of Skin Tag with Metabolic Syndrome and its Components
As for the chafing, this can be reduced in various ways, including:
- losing weight if (and only if) you are carrying excess weight
- dressing against chafing (consider your underwear choices, for example)
- keeping hair in the armpits and groin (it’s part of what it’s there for)
See also: Simply The Pits: These Underarm Myths!
Take care!
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Beetroot vs Cucumber – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing beetroot to cucumber, we picked the beetroot.
Why?
While they’re both mostly-water vegetables that can go in salads, soups, and sauces, they have some notable differences:
In terms of macros, beetroot has nearly 3x the carbs and/but also nearly 6x the fiber, so we say beetroot wins this category.
On the vitamins front, beetroot has more of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B7, B9, C, and E, while cucumber has more of vitamins A, B5, and K. In short, a clear win for beetroot.
In the category of minerals, beetroot has more copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while cucumber is not richer in any minerals.
When it comes to beneficial phytochemicals, both have good things to offer, though we say beetroot has more. Notably, cucumber extract beats glucosamine and chondroitin for reducing joint inflammation, at 1/135th of the dose. On the other hand, beetroot’s phytochemical benefits are so numerous we’ll not list them here, and just recommend checking out the link below!
In short, a win in all categories for beetroot, but cucumbers are great too, so by all means enjoy either or both!
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
Beetroot For More Than Just Your Blood Pressure
Enjoy!
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Insomnia? High blood pressure? Try these!
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Your Questions, Our Answers!
Q: Recipes for insomnia and high blood pressure and good foods to eat for these conditions?
A: Insomnia can be caused by many things, and consequently can often require a very multi-vector approach to fixing it. But, we’ll start by answering the question you asked (and probably address the rest of dealing with insomnia in another day’s edition!):
- First, you want food that’s easy to digest. Broadly speaking, this means plant-based. If not plant-based, fish (unless you have an allergy, obviously) is generally good and certainly better than white meat, which is better than red meat. In the category of dairy, it depends so much on what it is, that we’re not going to try to break it down here. If in doubt, skip it.
- You also don’t want blood sugar spikes, so it’s good to lay off the added sugar and white flour (or white flour derivatives, like white pasta), especially in your last meal of the day.
- Magnesium supports healthy sleep. A fine option would be our shchi recipe, but using collard greens rather than cabbage. Cabbage is a wonderful food, but collard greens are much higher in magnesium. Remember to add plenty of mushrooms (unless you don’t like them), as they’re typically high in magnesium too.
As for blood pressure, last month we gave tips (and a book recommendation) for heart health. The book, Dr. Monique Tello’s “Healthy Habits for Your Heart: 100 Simple, Effective Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure and Maintain Your Heart’s Health”, also has recipes!
Here’s one from the “mains” section:
Secret Ingredient Baltimore-Style Salmon Patties with Not-Oily Aioli
❝This is a family favorite, and no one knows that it features puréed pumpkin! Most salmon cake recipes all for eggs and bread crumbs as binders, but puréed pumpkin and grated carrot work just as well, lend a beautiful color, and add plenty of fiber and plant nutrients. Canned salmon is way cheaper than fresh and has just as much omega-3 PUFAs and calcium. Serve this alongside a salad (the Summer Corn, Tomato, Spinach, and Basil Salad would go perfectly) for a well-rounded meal.❞
Serves 4 (1 large patty each)
Secret Ingredient Baltimore-Style Salmon Patties:
- 1 (15-oz) can pink salmon, no salt added
- ½ cup puréed pumpkin
- ½ cup grated carrot (I use a handheld box grater)
- 2 tablespoons minced chives (Don’t have chives? Minced green onions or any onions will do)
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ large lemon, sliced, for serving
Not-Oily Aioli:
- ½ cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
- Juice and zest from ½ large lemon
- 1 clove garlic, crushed and minced fine
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- For the patties: mix all the ingredients for the salmon patties together in a medium bowl
- Form patties with your hands and set on a plate or tray (you should have 4 burger-sized patties)
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Set patties in a skillet and brown for 4 minutes, then carefully flip.
- Brown the other side, then serve hot.
- For the Aioli: mix all the ingredients for the aioli together in a small bowl.
- Plop a dollop alongside or on top of each salmon patty and serve with a spice of lemon.
Per serving: Calories: 367 | Fat: 13.6g | Saturated Fat: 4.4g | Protein: 46g | Sodium: 519mg | Carbohydrates: 13.2g | Fiber: 1.3g | Sugars: 9g | Calcium: 505mg | Iron: 1mg | Potassium 696mg
Notes from the 10almond team:
- If you want to make it plant-based, substitute cooked red lentils (no salt added) for the tinned salmon, and plant-based yogurt for the Greek yogurt
- We recommend adding more garlic. Seriously, who uses 1 clove of garlic for anything, let alone divided between four portions?
- The salads mentioned are given as recipes elsewhere in the same book. We strongly recommend getting her book, if you’re interested in heart health!
Do you have a question you’d like to see answered here? Hit reply or use the feedback widget at the bottom; we’d love to hear from you!
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The Fiber Fueled Cookbook – by Dr. Will Bulsiewicz
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We’ve previously reviewed Dr. Bulsiewicz’s book “Fiber Fuelled” (which is great), but this one is more than just a cookbook with the previous book in mind. Indeed, this is even a great stand-alone book by itself, since it explains the core principles well enough already, and then adds to it.
It’s also about a lot more than just “please eat more fiber”, though. It looks at FODMAPs, purine, histamine intolerance, celiac disease, altered gallbladder function, acid reflux, and more.
He offers a five-part strategy:
Genesis (what is the etiology of your problem)
- Restrict (cut things out to address that first)
- Observe (keep a food/symptom diary)
- Work things back in (re-add potential triggers one by one, see how it goes)
- Train your gut (your microbiome does not exist in a vacuum, and communication is two-way)
- Holistic healing (beyond the gut itself, looking at other relevant factors and aiming for synergistic support)
As for the recipes themselves, there are more than a hundred of them and they are good, so no more “how can I possibly cook [favorite dish] without [removed ingredient]?”
Bottom line: if you’d like better gut health, this book is a top-tier option for fixing existing complaints, and enjoying plain-sailing henceforth.
Click here to check out The Fiber Fueled Cookbook; your gut will thank you later!
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Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It – by Gary Taubes
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We’ve previously reviewed Taubes’ “The Case Against Sugar“. What does this one bring differently?
Mostly, it’s a different focus. Unsurprisingly, Taubes’ underlying argument is the same: sugar is the biggest dietary health hazard we face. However, this book looks at it specifically through the lens of weight loss, or avoiding weight gain.
Taubes argues for low-carb in general; he doesn’t frame it specifically as the ketogenic diet here, but that is what he is advocating. However, he also acknowledges that not all carbs are created equal, and looks at several categories that are relatively better or worse for our insulin response, and thus, fat management.
If the book has a fault it’s that it does argue a bit too much for eating large quantities of meat, based on Weston Price’s outdated and poorly-conducted research. However, if one chooses to disregard that, the arguments for a low-carb diet for weight management remain strong.
Bottom line: if you’d like to cut some fat without eating less (or exercising more), this book offers a good, well-explained guide for doing so.
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