Biohacking for Optimal Living | The Nootropic Guy

Hello. Hello. Welcome back to the show. Today's guest is Nootropics Guy. Newt bro, otherwise known as is an anonymous Twitter writer who has exploded onto the scene talking about all things peak performance, biohacking supplements, neutropics pharmacology. He is followed by some of the greatest health optimization scientists of our time. Guys like Andrew Huberman. Tropics Guy is a special follow, so I highly recommend you guys follow him on Twitter. He is a wealth of wisdom, so it was such a blast to learn from him today. This is a quite dense episode in terms of the fact that there's a lot of different supplements and. just certain things thrown at you quickly. So with that said, I'm going to be breaking it down on Twitter and putting a full thread of all the stuff that Newt Bro talks about in this episode. So you guys can check that out at Ryan J. Ayala at Twitter. Now onto the episode yeah, so I mean, I heard your conversation with Noah and I wanna get into a bit of your origin story. You don't have to go into it as in detail, just to give some people some context of, uh, how you got into this world. Yeah. So, um, my, my story kind of started like 10 years ago. I was in high school at the time, had been, you know, lived a normal life for. The first, like 15 years or so of my life, and then kind of one day it all started to really, uh, go downhill. Started having like really bad anxiety, really bad O c d um, you know, I was basically tortured all day by my thoughts and, um, you know, when I was in college it got to a point where, you know, considered suicide and, um, kind of spiraled outta control. So eventually I was placed on. A number of psychiatric drugs. First an Ss, SS r i. Then kind of, uh, Adderall then, um, you know, a number of other psychiatric drugs. Pretty much every class of psychiatric drugs that you could imagine. Anti-psychotics, antique convulsants, um, benzodiazepines, um, tricyclic antidepressants. Did Ketamine, um, kind of like in experimental, you know, when it was like kind of still in its experimental phase for depression. Um, so I've tried pretty much everything and, um, you know, thankfully I, I've been able to get to a point over the last couple years where I've been able to get everything under control. Um, you know, not only with the medications, um, but like with more natural, uh, alternatives and, and lifestyle approaches and. I've been able to get off, uh, those medications. Um, so I'm, I'm really blessed and, but it, it's been a really, you know, hectic and, and long journey. But, uh, I'm, I'm happy to, uh, to be here. I mean, just so much respect for you to be able to overcome those things. So many people are stuck in that place nowadays of. Really bad anxiety, really bad O C D, and they fall into that rabbit hole of big pharma and they're taking the S S R I and all these different things like you explained. Yeah. Let's, let's start for that person who is experiencing what you were experiencing some O C d bad anxiety, if they're in that place right now, what, what do you think the biggest levers are to help someone get outta that position? Yeah, so looking back on it at the time I was kind of concerned because I'm like, well, I don't know if I'm ever gonna be able to get past this and, you know, I don't want to deal with this for the rest of my life. Um, so that was a very troubling feeling, looking back and, and, you know, based on what I know now, it probably could have, the problems I was facing could have been solved very easily. Um, So I, I want people to know that, that, you know, it is pretty easy, um, to solve some of these psychiatric problems, especially anxiety and O C D. So for, for those types of problems, obviously, you know, go, go see a doctor, go see a therapist. You know, I'm not medical advice, but for those types of problems, I would probably start with things like, uh, magnesium. Magnesium gets a lot of hype on Twitter. Um, I. For a while, I kind of thought it was a lot of, uh, bs and you know, when I started to go down the rabbit hole and actually started taking higher doses of magnesium, it was a complete game changer. And that's probably because magnesium is, well first of all, let's just say that magnesium is involved in like 40% of all enzymes in the body, over 3000 biological processes. A t p energy, uh, production and, and utilization. So it's fundamental there. There's no like skipping magnesium. If you're magnesium deficient, you're not healthy and you're not gonna be operating yet. Performance. That said, it also has, you know, kind of potent anti-anxiety effects because of its, you know, role regulating glutamate transmission, and also, uh, boosting GABA levels via, primarily via the, uh, the g a D enzyme, which converts glutamate into gaba. Uh, magnesium is needed for that. So ma magnesium's kind of the first thing. Um, I would, I would start with five to 10 milligrams of elemental magnesium per day. That's kind of the optimal range. I'd probably start, you know, with lower doses first and then work your way up. But, you know, having a solid foundation with magnesium, it, you know, something that's in your body, your body needs it. It's fundamental is important, rather than going to like stronger alternatives, which I'll mention. A second. So I'd start with magnesium then, you know, depending on the problem, there's a, you know, a whole host of agents that you could use. For example, Anatol is a, you know, something that could be used in, in higher dosages, like 12 to 18, uh, grams a day, or a couple t uh, tablespoons under the tongue, uh, like four to six tablespoons under the tongue every day. That's something that has a potent. Anti-anxiety effect, potent antidepressant effect. Um, it might not work, uh, immediately, but some people do notice a little bit immediately. And that's something if, if an ss ss r i is effective for, you know, whatever you're dealing with, anxiety, O c d, depression, an anatol will also be, uh, effective for it. Just given the way that it works. It's a little bit complicated, uh, not something I really want to go into now, but, uh, it does work for, you know, Almost all of the same disorders that oc, uh, that SSRIs work for. So first you have magnesium, then acetol. I'd also look into, uh, N A C particularly for, for O C D. Um, it's a glu glutamate modulator. It's gonna kind of stabilize overactive. Glutamate transmission in certain brain regions. And you know, it, it's been proven like acetol to, to really move the needle in O C D and it pro. Uh, probably be helpful for other disorders as well. Um, you know, especially if you're dealing with a addiction or, or something along those lines. So you have magnesium, an acetol, N A c. I'd also look into kind of altheine, you know, really safe. You know, you can't really go wrong there. Um, you, you can probably take up to a gram a day, although I wouldn't take it all at once. And it, it's gonna have kind of a calming effect, an anti-anxiety effect, and really, uh, minimal to no side effects. Um, you know, some other things that you can look into. Magnolia bark is one of my favorites. It's pretty potent, so I wouldn't start with this, but it, it could be used kind of on top of these layer agents. To, to really boost that anti-anxiety effect and, and really get you into a place where you're not really having any anxiety. Um, you know, the crazy thing is with, with some of these agents, you can really solve your problems rather quickly. Um, you know, magnesium's gonna work quickly. N a c is gonna work quickly. Anatol may or may not work quickly, but it, it is gonna work and it's not gonna cause the same side effects as SSRIs. Other than magnolia bark. I also like lemon balm, apigenin val Valerian root. Um, a lot of those GABAergic herbs can be used, uh, really with great effect for, for anxiety and O C d. When it comes to depression, I'd say the, the biggest needle mover and anyone who who's followed me for a while knows this is tine, uh, tine kind of works similar to, to ketamine. It's an N N M D A antagonist and kind of downstream from that, you get a, a rapid antidepressant effect and it, it's kind of been looked at for those purposes. Although I, you know, I, I doubt that it will be used clinically given that it is kind of, you know, found naturally it's already in your body right now. You, you already have there. So it, it does have like a biological role. Neuromodulatory role. So that's something I would really look into. If you're struggling with depression, Anatol will also be very helpful for depression and magnesium may also help as well. So I kind of start with those, uh, that that's kind of a lot, but when you have kind of, when you're working with those, uh, you're gonna be doing a lot better than if you're not taking anything at all. It's so crazy how. Many of these things are so simple, like magnesium, for example. And through my conversation I had a, a conversation with Grim Hood the other day and we were talking about how the importance of ga, the GABA glutamate balance Yeah. And how fundamental that is for particularly the mental health issues. Is that why a lot of these work is because they, um, are GABAergic. Yeah. So, uh, I wouldn't necessarily call all of these, uh, GABAergic. And, and by the way, I love Grim Hood, and I've been following him for a few years now, and he's really been, uh, such a game changer in my own life. Uh, he's opened my eyes in, in so many different ways, so he, he really is a, a gem on Twitter and really changed the lives of so many people. But, um, you know, when it comes to the antidepressant effect, I think the main thing there is. The, the, the common root that all of these antidepressant drugs, no matter if it's S S R I or you know, tine is really gonna be the bd n f and you know, that that's what's gonna cause the antidepressant that's gonna, you know, support neurogenesis, neuroplasticity, your ability to kind of change your mind and be cognitively flexible. Um, So, so that's the key thing when it comes to depression, when it comes to anxiety and O C D and, you know, even depression to some, some extent. You know, the GABA glutamate balance is super important. And, you know, if you're, if you balance gout, gaba, and glutamate either by, you know, using GABAergic compounds or using compounds that kind of stabilize glutamate, like, you know, N A C for example, or even magnesium, which. Has an effect at and, and d receptors. Um, you know, once you stabilize that, you're not really gonna have, be having, uh, anxiety or o c d. It's, it really is that simple. And it's crazy that, you know, people go their whole lives or, or they spend years looking for solutions. And sometimes the, those solutions are, are really right in front of them. And, you know, for example, magnesium. So simple. But should not be overlooked. It really is so crazy that these things aren't discussed enough. Do you think that, like if there was, if you had to put the entire world on a supplement stack, you could throw some peptides in there, what would that stack be like? What are some things that are low risk, high reward that fundamentally humans are tending to miss in their diet? Yeah, so I, I would look at compounds first and and foremost that are already in your body, that your body needs and that people are probably deficient. And so, you know, when you look at those variables, magnesium is something that comes to mind. Um, I, I'm sure people have heard magnesium a hundred times by now, and, uh, many of the listeners are probably already taking it, but if you're not, you really should be taking it. Um, particularly if you're not getting enough through your diet and it's really hard to get enough through your diet these days just given the soil depletion and, and all the environmental factors and, and. Lifestyle factors that are, are causing you to deplete magnesium, like, you know, stimulant, stimulant use and, and MF and, and things like that. So I would say magnesium just given how fundamental, you know, 40% of all enzymes, 3000 plus biological rules, a T p energy, a t p is everything. If, if you're not producing a t p or, or utilize properly utilizing that, you know it. Y you're not, you're, you're not gonna be living, um, a, a good life. So I'd start with that and, you know, considering that many people are struggling with anxiety and depression, uh, magnesium will, will also be helpful to an extent there. Um, you know, a, as far as other supplements and peptides, I, I don't really like to prescribe, you know, one thing, uh, for everyone because everyone's. Biologically unique. Everyone has unique needs and, and, and, and so forth. Um, when it comes to peptides, peptides are, are really, you know, usually highly specific in their, in their mechanism of action and really should be used for specific purposes. Like, for example, BBC 1 5 7 and TB 500 could be used for healing, um, of all sorts. You know, IPA Teal could be used for growth hormone. Um, and, and so on. So, so I don't really like to to prescribe peptides for, you know, everyone to take. But I, I think if you have a certain health goal or a certain, um, you know, health need, then, you know, peptides could be extremely helpful and so can kind of strategic supplementation. You know, I, I, I just don't want to throw everything at someone. Um, yeah. You know, for, for, for example, for specific purposes, uh, I, I'd be more than happy to, to kind of go into that. Everyone has those unique needs. It's important. And one of those specific things like you just talked about is what a friend Noah Ryan just asked for the uh, uh, libido stack. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you want me to go into that? Yeah, let's do it. Yeah. So, so there's a ton of things you could take there. There's some peptides that you could take. Um, there's a, a ton of supplements that you could take as well. I think for supplements, I would probably start with, you know, assuming that you're manu, you're gonna wanna max out your testosterone levels. Um, you know, a lot of these testosterone boosting supplements aren't, they're not the same as t r t. They're not gonna like, you know, Usually, you know, maybe there's exceptions, but they're not gonna like three x, four x or testosterone if you're at the bottom of the range already. But that said, I, I don't think they're useless. So I, I would start with, you know, TGA Ali, that's a really good one. But I would also pay attention. This is gonna be a theme for every supplement that you take. You really wanna pay attention to the standardization of these supplements. For example, Tonga Ali, I prefer to use a product that's standardized to 10%. Uri Coone, which is the key bioactive in Tonga Ali that's gonna provide the testosterone boosting benefits. You could take Tonga Ali, that's not standardized, but it's probably not gonna work as well. And I found that, you know, when you're using these standardized s extracts, you're gonna get a much better effect than if you're just taking, you know, some random T Tonga Ali that you see, you know, the first option on Amazon. So that's something, you know, start with the testosterone boosters. So Dunga Ali Fedia is, is generally pretty good. Um, Ana cyclist Pyrethrum. Um, also known as aca, aka is it good? I really like Sigge. It's might mildly boost testosterone, but I, I think it, you know, it's such a godsend for, for energy and it also, you know, seems to have a, an effect on follicle stimulating hormone. So it will. Boost, uh, libido and, you know, you just wanna make sure that you're getting it from a good source that's not has, uh, that doesn't have heavy metals and mycotoxins, et cetera. So I'd start with those. Then there's like a couple other, uh, ones that, that I would also consider using. So Horing goat weeded is a really good one, but not really for testosterone. It might have kind of a modest effect. But because of a, uh, an active constituent called icar, it seems to really boost, uh, blood flow. So it, you could think of horny goat weeded, you know, that's standardized to a lot of ICAR as something, you know, like an herbal Cialis or an herbal Viagra. It's probably not gonna be as potent, but it probably will be helpful in that regard. If you also wanted to add more blood flow, um, You, you could look at something like El Citruline or, you know, some of those kind of workout supplements. Augmentin probably will be helpful as well. Um, as far as kind of like the more mental aspect of libido. So we, you know, we wanna be focusing on increasing dopamine. Um, KATU abbo bark is really underrated for that aspect. It's actually a dopamine re-uptake inhibitor, but it also seems to mildly boost dopamine release as well. Um, so that could be, you know, it, it's been used for centuries as a libido booster and it doesn't really seem to have really a huge effect on testosterone. It does, uh, infect increase libido, and it, it, it does have an effect on blood flow as well. So we'll be helpful in that regard as far as kind of like more stronger options that you can look into. Uh, PT 1 41 is kind of, it's, it, it's actually an FDA approved drug for, for this purpose. Um, and it is a peptide, so if you can get your hands on that. Obviously, um, ideally under the care of a doctor, um, that, that will be helpful. You want to use it properly because there, there can be side effects involved there, but that one is probably the go-to peptide for this purpose. So, you know, I'd focus on testosterone, I'd focus, focus on blood flow, I focus on, uh, dopamine and then, you know, you can throw in peptides, uh, if you want. And then, you know, there's a couple other more nuanced pathways, but I think. That's kind of a solid start. So for Tonga Ali, obviously it's so talks about nowadays and I think a lot of people are taking it, not really understanding too much about it. So let's say like you do get a good source, you get something like Momentous or Thorn, or if you have another company you recommend. But if you're getting it from a good source, like what are some of the potential side effects? Especially for somebody like in their twenties who maybe they are looking to raise their testosterone, but they don't essentially need to. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And, and I'm glad you brought this up because recently, uh, tonic, uh, which is one of my favorite brands, they have, they have great products and, you know, they're usually very potent products. Uh, they, they released a, a TGA Ali that was standardized to. To 2% reone, but it, it was like a large dose. Um, so it ended up being very, uh, very potent and some people were kind of experiencing side effects. I, I never really noticed much, but, uh, you know, something to look out for with, uh, TGA Ali is, is nausea. Um, it, it can induce nausea, um, kind of across the board no matter kind of what, what. Product you're taking. So I really would be careful of that. Um, so I would probably take it with food. You can also add in things like ginger, which is a, uh, five h t three antagonist and, and that, uh, serotonin three receptor is really involved in, in vomiting and, and nausea. So you can throw that in. Obviously you don't wanna be throwing things in, you know that now we're kind of getting into polypharmacy where you're taking things to offset the side effects of other things, but, It is an option. Uh, I would take it with food and probably start with a lower dose. Um, I also like Nootropics Depot and that's what I'm taking right now. It's standardized to 10% Uri Coone, which is the highest on the market. And you know, uh, I actually use that in 20, that product in the 2020 to, I don't know if I doubled my free testosterone, but it was a really, really significant increase and that was the only thing I changed. So it definitely works. I notice sometimes when I take it acutely that I, you know, I feel more energy, I feel more, uh, libido. So I, I would look into that one as well. Um, as far as other side effects, you know, I think nausea's, the big one, I, I would also probably pay attention to liver markers. If you're taking. Taking it for long term. Um, you know, you could look at like a L T A S T. You can also use things like tga, which are, you know, very liver protective and will lower those enzymes. You could also use things like N a C to kind of offset that, but that's really not a concern unless you're taking, you know, high dosages for a long term. Ideally, I think you do wanna cycle it. You do want to take some time off. So if you're taking it for like a period of, of two to three months, you know, obviously it's gonna vary person to person and I would really try to monitor blood work if possible. But I, I would take, you know, at least a few weeks off, uh, every few months just to be on the safe side. But it, it, it isn't really something that I'm super concerned about there. And I think. Experts in that, in this space would probably agree, but always best just to cycle really anything honestly. Yeah, you brought up blood work there, and I think that that's something I've been super into lately is exploring these like in-depth lab testing to just be more targeted in like this biohacking approach and maybe trying to get at the root cause of. Of certain things. Have you looked into like the more in depth lab tests, are you a fan of that? Have you messed around with it at all? Yeah, I've gotten LA Lab work done for probably like the past, like four years. Pretty extensively. Initially, I got into it because I thought I had, I. Some kind of major problem, you know, chronic illness or, or something that was really contributing to it to my mental problems initially. So that's when I started doing it. I've been doing, doing it since just to, to monitor hormones and, and everything like that. Um, you know, as far as like blood work, you can get so much done, right? If we're talking about testosterone, I would probably get. Total testosterone. I would want to be above like, you know, 600 nanograms per deciliter. Then like free testosterone should be, you know, about 2% of that. I'd also, you know, do a complete metabolic panel. Just make sure everything's looking good there. You know, probably a lipid panel as well. Um, you know, I'd also look at P S A T S H free T three. E two, um, which is, you know, an estrodiol marker, it's gonna look at estrogen. Um, I'd also probably look at prolactin, uh, C-reactive protein and D H E A, um, you know, complete blood count hemoglobin, things like that. You know, I could go on and on, but I think, you know, the ones that I just mentioned are, are best if you're just trying to do like kind of a, a broad overall look. And you also want to keep an eye on your, your. Uh, hormone markers you, you know, for like more chronic illnesses or if you're experiencing a serious problem. There are like panels that I would recommend I'd look into. Um, you know, Genova has a lot of good ones. Like, for example, they have something called GI effects, so that's gonna really take a good look at your gut health. You know, as we know, gut health is pretty much everything. If your gut is not in good shape, you, you're not gonna be living at your full potential. You're gonna, it, it really is a cause for so many other problems, including mental illness. So I would really prioritize gut health and, and do that panel if you know, you think there could be a problem. There's also heavy metal panels you can do great. Planes has a good one. You know, there's mycotoxin. Panels. Grape Plains also has one for that. Then there's something called, uh, the SpectraCell Micronutrient panel, and that's gonna look at all of your micronutrients. Make sure you're not deficient in one. And if you are, then you, you know what to supplement so you're not kind of supplementing blindly. So I like that one, um, just to have a good idea of what you may or may not be deficient in. But, um, so it, you know, it really depends on, on what you're looking to do, if you're dealing with chronic health issues or if you're just kind, kind of trying to do a checkup. And if you're trying to do a checkup, I would just focus on kind of the first few that I mentioned, obviously. If any, if there are problems there, you can go down the route of going into really a more comprehensive thyroid panel or, you know, a more comprehensive hormone panel. You could also look at like D H T and things like that. But I, I'd probably just start with those, that chronic health issues that we're experiencing and like, It's almost to the point where it's outta hand. I think the, the statistic is like one in two people have some sort of chronic illness. Yeah. For those people. What, what do you recommend, like what things would work best for those type of people? Those people who are dealing with that, like chronic inflammation and just chronic issues? Yeah, so it really depends on what exactly the issue is and sometimes. Oftentimes there's more than one issue. I'd say that the main factors involved that I've seen and, and that I'm kind of thinking about when I, when I hear chronic illness are, you know, you have some kind of gut problem. So you either have like leaky gut, which is basically you have things in your intestinal tract that are getting into your bloodstream and causing an autoimmune response, uh, because the intestinal barrier is not. In good shape, so you know that it is, it is what it sounds like. It's leaky gut, so you know, that could be an issue. There's also, you know, staying on gut health topic, that you could also have kind of a small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or sibo. You could also have a candida overgrowth. You could also have parasites too, although it's probably a little more rare, but probably not as rare as people think. So you could have all of those types of issues. Also, when I'm thinking about chronic illness, I think mold is really a huge issue and, and not really talked about a lot. And, um, people are never really testing for it. So if you have chronic fatigue or, um, you know, similar issues, I would definitely do some kind of mold panel and also look at, uh, you know, mycotoxins, uh, you know, just on that topic. For mold. I think something that works really well, and this is supported by scientific evidence is, is something called vasoactive, intestinal peptide, AK v i p. And that could be, I think it usually is, uh, taken intranasally and that seems to really, uh, you know, be helpful in cases of mold. I won't go too far down that rabbit hole, but uh, you know, that is something to look into. As far as other problems, you know, the, we're really being attacked at every angle and, you know, there could really be so many issues going on. I think heavy metals is also a big issue. So I would definitely look into doing a panel there. And, you know, once you de decide, once you figure out what exactly the issue is, you can use certain supplements to, to kind of bind those metals and get them out of your body. In combination with things like, you know, sauna use or other, uh, modalities. Um, I think those are, are, are the main things. I think also just like people's lifestyle is not. Optimal or, or really even close to optimal? I think, you know, getting sunlight daily, um, making sure you're, you're outside in the morning, and then also kind of at sunset to really align that circadian rhythm. Um, avoiding blue light exposure using like blue light blockers, things like that. Extremely helpful and super underrated. Definitely makes a difference. Um, And then, yeah, like diet, diet, diet and gut, gut health go hand in hand. For example, gluten. You know, when I've cut that out, I, I feel so much better. And I think that's largely because of gluten's impact on the intestinal barrier, um, and kind of wrecks havoc there. So I, I would say, um, heavy metals, mold, gut, gut issues of, of various kinds. And then just making sure your lifestyle is, is in good shape. After that, if you're still having issues, then I would really, you know, ideally from the start, you should be working with a healthcare provider or someone who really knows what they're doing. But after that, I would definitely see someone who's a specialist in this. I'm glad you brought up Leaky Gut because I did like this deep dive a few years back when I was less informed about all these topics and, uh, when it comes to leaky gut in particular, There's so much like nonsense, I wanna say on the topic and so many people saying all this different stuff. What do you think the biggest movers are in terms of healing leaky gut and preventing it from happening again? Yeah, that's, that's a good point. And I think, you know, leaky gut gets a lot of criticism from, you know, the so-called experts or the scientific community. But I do believe it. It is a serious issue. And I guess we'll start with prevention because that's really the most important thing. You can take all the supplements in the world, but if you're not living a lifestyle that's conducive to, to healing your gut or really just being healthy in general, then you know what's the point? You know, you can, all the supplements in the world aren't gonna fix it. So I, you know, if you're dealing with this issue, I'd really. Think about gluten, uh, gluten can really, uh, wreck havoc there, uh, via soin. Um, I'd also look at alcohol consumption, you know, especially binge drinking. Um, I've had my fair share of binge drinking. I've been there and it really wrecks havoc on the gut and the intestinal barrier. Um, I'd say those are like really the two biggest needle movers. Obviously, if, if you look at like my gut repair thread, I, I've talked about some of the other. Dietary factors that can be involved and, and really just what you should ideally be eating for a good, healthy barrier and a healthy microbiome. As far as healing leaky gut, I would say that there are so many things that you can do, but if I had to pick only a few, I would look at first. Zinc Carnasine has been shown to really improve leaky gut. There's something called pep, uh, I think it's called like Pepin GI or something on, um, I think it's from Doctor's. Best. You can get that on the Amazon. That's good. I'd probably take it with food. That will be a big needle mover. You can also look at niacin, which, uh, you know, binds to a certain receptor and it improves leaky gut through that way. You can also look at BPC 1 57 taken orally. Is a godsend for leaky gut. I really believe that it's, it's helped me a lot and it seems to help a lot of other people, you know, assuming that you're getting it from a good source. So I would definitely look at BPC 1 57. I should add a note that it does seem to dampen dopaminergic function to a certain extent. Um, I wouldn't go as far to say that it causes anhedonia, but there are some, you know, reports of that. You know, whether it's, whether that's kind of. Uh, you know, placebo or not? I don't know. I'll let, I'll let other people decide, but, uh, B P P B, PC 1 5 7 is definitely helpful in that regard. Um, as far as other things like, you know, colostrum can, can sometimes be helpful. Uh, l-glutamine is really huge for leaky gut. You're gonna wanna take like 10 to 20 grams, uh, per day, and you, you'll wanna, Not do that indefinitely because you can run into ammonia issues. But, uh, l-glutamine I would definitely consider. And similarly, I'd also look at bone broth. Uh, you know, just have a, one of those a day, um, from, I think it's like called like pot and kettle or something, the brand, the, the main brand there. Um, you know, that, that has l gloo in it already and it has some other things that will also be helpful. I'd probably start there and, and focus on the, those issues. Of course, I. If you have a si cy issue or a candida issue, that can also be contributing to, to leaky gut, in my opinion. So you'll wanna solve that. Um, those are a little more complicated to, to solve, but uh, I would definitely, you know, if you're not solving those, then you're still gonna have issues. And we obviously know how big of a role gut health plays in mental health and in particularly just like clear headedness and focus. But I wanna dive into some of the more. Nuance things when it comes to brain performance. We talked about this a little before we hit record, but particularly interested when it comes to communication selfishly because of podcasting. Yeah. What do you think some of the things are to boost the ability to communicate and just to get that optimal brain performance? Yeah. I've, I've got a good stack for this, so, Let's break it down. Yeah. So I'm, I'm glad you asked this question. I think one of the main things first that we can focus on is acetylcholine, um, which is a main trans transmitter, uh, neurotransmitter involved in, in memory and learning to some extent, and really, uh, a big needle mover in terms of mental acuity, mental sharpness, verbal acuity, um, things like that. So I would. Let's break it down. I'll start with a precursor to acetylcholine. I think the be best one for that is CTIC choline. It's also, there's a brand called Cognizant that's kind of the trademarked version. Um, it's also called c d P Choline. And basically that is gonna serve as your main precursor for acetylcholine and, and just, you know, make sure that you have enough of the building blocks to actually synthesize, uh, acetylcholine in the brain. Once it, you know, once the choline is joined with an acetyl group and, um, you know, similarly you could use al car, um, I, I don't think it's a huge part of this stack, but you could use Al car to kind of, um, enhance that further, you know, because it's gonna provide an acetyl group. Um, I would also look at Alpha G P C and some people are probably surprised. I didn't mention that as the best precursor, but I think Alpha G P C actually goes beyond. Just being a precursor. It's a great pre precursor, don't get me wrong, but it also seems to cause the release of acetylcholine stores in the, the brain. So I would use Citi choline and Alpha G P C in conjunction honestly, just to, you know, prevent any kind of, uh, deplete, uh, acetylcholine depletion. Um, if you're just using alpha G P C, uh, acutely, but alpha G P C will have an acute effect. It will work quickly. You will notice a difference. I may or may not be on it right now, and I think, mm-hmm. That, so those two are, are, are good starters for this stack. I would also look at, uh, razin. Razin A is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, which basically prevents the metabolism or breakdown of acetylcholine in the brain. So it, it's gonna, you know, once you're synthesizing more, uh, acetylcholine and, and releasing it, now you're gonna prevent it from being broken down. So it's gonna increase. Uh, cholinergic function even further. Um, they actually use, you know, this type of, uh, drug called, uh, donepezil in Alzheimer's to enhance cognitive function and, and try to slow down the, the, the progression of Alzheimer's disease. It's basically risine on steroids. It's hard to get a prescription for this and, and can have some side effects. So I'd probably just go with like 200 micrograms of Hoopa that, you know, When using in this stack, I don't, I don't think you're really gonna need much else. Um, there are a couple other things, uridine monophosphate, I personally don't use it, but some people seem to like it. It seems to have a co cholinergic effect. Might have somewhat of a dopaminergic effect. Might also influence neurogenesis to some extent. Um, and then you know it so that those are kind of your key cholinergics in my opinion. You could also use nicotine. Um, but it, you know, nicotine is addictive. Uh, it is an addictive cognitive enhance. So if you can control the addiction, then I'd say use it. Um, but don't use more than four milligrams in my opinion, because it is kind of a U-shaped curve when it comes to. Effectiveness of, of nicotine. If, if you're using too much it, it may actually worsen cognitive function. So I'd probably stick with like a three milligram zi and I wouldn't use that more than like twice a day. Otherwise you're just gonna, you know, run into addiction issues and I'd probably take some time off. Um, so aside from the cholinergics, which we just discussed, And by the way, nicotine, just so everyone knows, it does bind to, uh, nicotinic, cholinergic receptors similar to acetylcholine. So it's kind of like a acidic acetylcholine, but it is gonna, it's, you know, obviously an exogenous substance. It's gonna bind to, you know, alpha seven, uh, cholinergic receptor, alpha four, beta two cholinergic cholinergic receptor, similar to acetylcholine, but. It's just a little bit more, uh, you know, it's a little bit extra boost there. Um, I would also look into Piracetam. So Piracetam is kind of, it was kind of the first nootropic and it seems to be famous for that. It seems to be kind of the quintessential nootropic. I think, you know, if you take it by itself, you, you know, it's not gonna change the game. I think, uh, it is a valuable part of the stack and there's so many different raam that you can choose from, and some people prefer others, you know, promi, raam, uh, Colu, RAAM, yl, piracetam, and they all have slightly different mechanisms of action. But, uh, I think Piracetam is probably the most studied and the one that I trust the most, and that, that I would recommend. Um, it, it, it does seem to influence cholinergic function. It also binds to the A M P A receptors, uh, two subunits there. So it's gonna, that's kind of like a new mechanism here. And M p a, uh, modulation, I think is one of the most effective. Cognitive enhancing mechanisms other than, you know, cholinergic function. It's not really, it's not gonna slow you down. It's not gonna speed you up like you're taking Adderall, but it is, it, you know, it, I, I think it's really an underrated, uh, mechanism for, for cognitive enhancement. There is a kind of a research chemical called tac, uh, 6 5 3, I think. And it's kind of similar to, to, um, Raam in this regard, but it's, it's stronger and it's more selective and uh, it seems to be safe based on the human trials so far. So, uh, that is something to look, look into. Um, it will probably be better than rassam, but again, it is kind of a research chemical. Um, so I, I think those are the main ones to focus on. Sorry, I was talking for like, you know, 10 minutes there, but No, no, no worries. I love it. I love it. And so, Would you, how often would you recommend, like if I was gonna podcast five days per week, would you recommend that stack of acetylcholine, c d p, choline, alpha, d, p c, Cetin, and then which one? I feel like I'm missing one here. Um, yeah, you could also throw in like uridine monophosphate al car, uh, things like that. But I think, you know, CDP Choline and Alpha G P C, RAAM and razin are the big needle movers. I probably wouldn't use Alpha G P C and INE every single day. You probably can get away with it, but Razin kind of has, seems to have a long half life. Um, and Alpha G P C, you know, as I mentioned, can kind of potentially deplete acetylcholine stores. So I'd probably break those, but you can definitely take CDP choline every day. And I, you know, all the other ones I would probably maybe take like, you know, three to five times a week. And where does your, your stack fit into this? I have yet to been able to get my hands on it. I've had a conversation with Za Doha where he was, where he brought it up, saying how amazing it is and how it rivals Any nootropic blend he's at, he's had Where, where would you fit in like your stack? So I didn't wanna shill it too much, but I think so, you know, that stack that we just discussed is going to boost cholinergic function. It's going to boost, uh, a M P A. Um, my stack is more of a dopaminergic, so it's gonna increase motivation and, and focus to some extent. Um, you know, it has things like oxy, which is a, a dopamine reuptake inhibitor. One of the only natural, uh, You know, compounds to do that. And dopamine re-uptake inhibition is kind of one of the key mechanisms involved in A D H D drugs. Um, you know, it's not gonna be as strong as those, but it does, uh, seem to have an effect, um, in, in most people. Uh, and then it, it has some other ingredients in there. I'm actually coming out with a V two in probably the next couple of months, so V two will be even stronger. Um, and, and bigger and better. But, uh, I would say mine is like kind of a more of a dopaminergic function stack rather than, you know, a cholinergic stack. Awesome. And, um, I want to obviously be cognizant of your time here, but what do you think's fundamental that we haven't talked about today? What do you think some key movers are that haven't been discussed? Is there anything else that, that you wanted to discuss? I think I got like 10 minutes left, so. I'm curious if you don't, I'm curious on your thoughts of getting certain, um, vitamins and minerals through, uh, supplementation versus Whole Foods, and when would you run into a problem in terms of taking something like a high quality multivitamin? Like do you see any dangers with with stuff like that? Yeah, so I, I don't take a multivitamin. I just try to get it all through food. I think you're, uh, that's really the best option. Ideally getting it all through Whole Foods, ideally, you know, organic foods, um, you know, grass fed beets and, and wild caught fish, um, and things like that. So if you can really optimize your diet, you're gonna go further than, you know, if you were just taking a multivitamin and, and eating like crap. Um, I definitely wouldn't. You know, take a multivitamin just so that you can eat anything. And probably most of the people aren't who are listening, aren't doing that. But I think the main problem where you run in, uh, that you run into with multivitamins is, you know, so many of them have, have really just like poor quality or even the wrong forms of certain ingredients. You know, for example, uh, You know, vitamin B six, um, you know, a lot of them have something called Paridine, h e l. Uh, the, the best form that you want to be optimizing for is something called P five P. Um, you know, again, you know, they'll have like thymine, h e l, which isn't really gonna have a huge effect unless you're taking massive dosages. Dosages. So I prefer things like, you know, Ben Benfotiamine and, and, um, T T F D. Um, but you know, we're kind of getting into nuance here. Um, I think in terms of like, you know, companies that have good vitamins that have taken in the past, I think Thorne has a, has a really good selection of most of these and, and most of the forms of the ingredients, you know, pretty much all of them are gonna be spot on. And, um, so, you know, I think if you wanted to. It's a supplement or you know, that you're deficient in, in certain of these ingredients, then I would probably go with something like that. But I wouldn't necessarily take one just for the sake of taking one. Um, and I would really just try to work on food first. I think you're gonna absorb things, uh, a lot better. And, and you know, just another important point, like for example, like vitamin D three, like taking a vitamin D three supplement. Is, first of all, it's, it's not gonna be utilized in the body as the same way, uh, in the same way that Vitamin D three from sunlight is gonna be utilized. So you're not, you know, exactly getting the same thing. Plus, there's so many other benefits from, from sunlight, you know, for mitochondrial function and you know, all the effect that it has on, uh, hormone production and neurotransmitter production, um, and B D N F that you're just not gonna get from. Taking a vitamin D three supplement. So I think whenever possible, you, you really do wanna be, um, you know, getting it through lifestyle rather than supplements unless you know you're deficient or you're taking, you know, a medication or something that, that is known to deplete certain vitamins. I think, uh, one other point on that is, you know, certain vitamins can be mega doses. For certain effects. I'd obviously do this with someone who knows what they're doing. But you know, for example, I tweeted the other day, like T T F D, which is, you know, a highly bioavailable form of Vitamin B one can be used in in Parkinson's. And honestly, uh, thymine HCL l can also be used in mega doses, but I think T T F D is better. Um, you can, you know, niacin can also be helpful in schizophrenia. Um, You know, B 12 and, and, and some of these other supplements can be, can be used strategically for certain purposes. So that's just something else to consider if you have one of these, uh, problems. So, uh, I think vitamins are underrated. I, I get them from food, but they can be used strategically as well. And you, you've, you've thrown a lot of wisdom at us tonight and, uh, I really appreciate you taking the time. But for that person who's listening to this today, And they heard a lot of things and they feel slightly overwhelmed in terms of how they should approach all of this. Do you have any advice for that person? Yeah, I mean, it's tough, right? Um, it, it's hard to learn everything overnight. I think you really do have to start with the basics before getting super involved. And obviously I like to get super involved. I love all the supplements. I'm always talking about them, but I think. Getting the lifestyle down first is, is just super important and shouldn't be overlooked. And I'm not gonna go in exactly what to do because I think most people already know it. I think getting that, um, I think previously I, I've recommended like Boundless by Ben Greenfield. I think it's a good book for beginners. I don't agree with everything that's in it, but I think, uh, I think it, it is a really good, uh, resource just to have on hand, you know, especially if you're, you're working through the kinks, I think. Also, you know, some other good websites are. Self hacked.com has really good information on kind of the signs behind certain supplements and whether they're effective for certain things. examine.com is, is likewise very good for that. I like, uh, another website called my biohack.com has really good information, um, on, on some of like the herbs and stuff. Uh, for peptides, I would definitely look to Jay Campbell. He has a book on this. He al his website is also like a really, really good resource with lots of good, you know, blog type information with all the science laid out behind all of the, the key peptides there. And then honestly, Twitter, uh, I would follow, um, you know, a lot of these key people like, like grim hood, for example, and just search through his. Um, bio like it, it is just such a wealth of information and I, I think honestly, like his Twitter and his Patreon is gonna get you so much further than like, a lot of these books or, uh, even, you know, most of the websites as well. Um, so I think following the right people on Twitter, looking through their, their profiles. A good start. And one last thing I would say also is, If you really want to take it to the next level. And so let's say like you're dealing with a particular health issue, um, and you want answers, maybe you haven't been able to find them on Twitter or, you know, through conventional means. You can go to Google Scholar and let's say like, you know, I was depressed and I wanted to see some, some options for depression. Go into Google Scholar and just type like depression, like, like nutraceuticals or like natural treatments for depression. And then you can, you can kind of see all the studies and you could see exactly like, you know, what, what is effective, what's not. If you toggle to reviews, you can see kind of, you know, they might lay out like 15 different supplements or all the studies for a particular supplement. And you can go into those and get a ton of really good information, especially in the discussion section, which I'm gonna give you a major key here, but you just go into the discussion section and then copy and paste that into chat sheet G P T, and then just, you know, summarize it and or, you know, explain it in a really easy way. And that's like kind of a major life hack that I've used. Um, and one of the key, uh, point. One other tool that you could use, you know, for looking at studies is something called S Hub. If you copy and paste the u r L of a particular study that you're interested in reading, but maybe the full thing isn't available, it's behind a paywall, you can copy and paste it into S Hub and you'll be able to read the whole thing. So I think with those combinations, Twitter, you know, certain websites, books, Uh, and then especially the studies, if you're really wanting to take, take it to the next level, I think you're really in really good hands and obviously, you know, grim hood, um, and, and some of these other people, they, they have coaching and, and, and certain things that you can do with them if, if you're really struggling. So I'd start there. Nope. I so appreciate you taking the time today. I think that this conversation was incredibly beneficial, and I just, I have so much respect for your ability to overcome those obstacles that were put in front of you and to take that, those lessons and help a lot people with it. So, dude, thank you for doing this today. Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I'm, I'm honored and I think it was a good, uh, conversation. So, uh, look, looking forward to staying in touch.