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Originally posted by rickymouse
Originally posted by Covertblack
Caffeine has always worked well for me to stay focused and sharp. If you don't want to take it in liquid form buy it in pill form. Just don't go Jessie Spano.
Along with that I have honestly had a lot of success with Animal Paks. Always made me energetic and alert.
Are you talking about coffee or caffeinated beverages? Coffee has b-carbolines in it that help a person to think properly, caffeine being an adjuvant,
A branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) is an amino acid having aliphatic side-chains with a branch (a carbon atom bound to more than two other carbon atoms). Among the proteinogenic amino acids, there are three BCAAs: leucine, isoleucine and valine.[1]
A chemical structure diagram of leucine
Leucine
A chemical structure diagram of isoleucine
Isoleucine
A chemical structure diagram of valine
Valine
The BCAAs are among the nine essential amino acids for humans, accounting for 35% of the essential amino acids in muscle proteins and 40% of the preformed amino acids required by mammals.[2]
Wiki info
Certain studies suggested a link between sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, specifically in athletes, and a diet enriched with BCAAs.[10] BCAAs, a common dietary supplement among athletes, cause cell hyper-excitability resembling that usually observed in ALS patients. The proposed underlying mechanism is that cell hyper-excitability results in increased calcium absorption by the cell and thus brings about cell death, specifically of neuronal cells which have particularly low calcium buffering capabilities.[10]
Originally posted by Bleeeeep
reply to post by MDDoxs
arm chair warriors spouting questionable information here.
Memory needs to be trained to specific abilities.
If you want a thinkers mind you need to practice imagination and problem solving. You can use mathematics, logic puzzles and riddles, function coding in programming languages, etc. Anything to make you really think.
If you want an intuitive speakers mind, you need to practice learning body language, memory recall, and free style speaking, in the mirror, on the subjects you need to speak about. You can watch and imitate public speakers, as well as using a good flash card system, like anki, with the material you need to regurgitate, and if you can find one, a flash card system of body language. It would not hurt to brush up on the dialect of whomever you are speaking to either.
And there's probably mind hacks out there that you can use to cheat for better performance. I watched a video of some guy who could recall an enormous amount of information by converting the information to rooms in his house and furniture in the rooms with things sitting on the furniture.
As far as supplements for the brain goes... I'm not sure. I would say more sleep, a positive outlook, and maybe some electrolytes, just to have a guess at it. (Apart from caffeine, nicotine, and the alike) No chemicals will give you better help than just practicing, though.
arm chair warriors spouting questionable information here.
Memory needs to be trained to specific abilities.
If you want a thinkers mind you need to practice imagination and problem solving. You can use mathematics, logic puzzles and riddles, function coding in programming languages, etc. Anything to make you really think.
And there's probably mind hacks out there that you can use to cheat for better performance. I watched a video of some guy who could recall an enormous amount of information by converting the information to rooms in his house and furniture in the rooms with things sitting on the furniture.
As far as supplements for the brain goes... I'm not sure. I would say more sleep, a positive outlook, and maybe some electrolytes, just to have a guess at it. (Apart from caffeine, nicotine, and the alike) No chemicals will give you better help than just practicing, though.
Originally posted by MDDoxs
reply to post by rickymouse
Hey Ricky, thanks for the detailed response.
I think taking a multivitamin is so common place these days it almost goes hand in hand with health maintenance.
I have an exceedingly clean diet, which does not include alcohol or high sugar/fructose anything. I typically get any sugar from the 2 pieces of grape fruit i consume daily.
Just to make mention of a supplement i currently take that I have noticed have an impact on cognitive function is my intra-workout supplement of BCAA's. When consumed throughout my workout, my mental focus is quite noticeable and assist with pushing even harder for that last rep or maintaining form. I have even been told my a friend that it is great for work and could be a replacement for coffee if you someone is overly sensitive to caffeine.
ETA: Sorry for those who dont know what BCAA's are
A branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) is an amino acid having aliphatic side-chains with a branch (a carbon atom bound to more than two other carbon atoms). Among the proteinogenic amino acids, there are three BCAAs: leucine, isoleucine and valine.[1]
A chemical structure diagram of leucine
Leucine
A chemical structure diagram of isoleucine
Isoleucine
A chemical structure diagram of valine
Valine
The BCAAs are among the nine essential amino acids for humans, accounting for 35% of the essential amino acids in muscle proteins and 40% of the preformed amino acids required by mammals.[2]
Wiki info
Certain studies suggested a link between sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, specifically in athletes, and a diet enriched with BCAAs.[10] BCAAs, a common dietary supplement among athletes, cause cell hyper-excitability resembling that usually observed in ALS patients. The proposed underlying mechanism is that cell hyper-excitability results in increased calcium absorption by the cell and thus brings about cell death, specifically of neuronal cells which have particularly low calcium buffering capabilities.[10]
edit on 7-5-2013 by MDDoxs because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by crankyoldman
The OP's motivation not withstanding, there is a seldom addressed issue on the subject that needs to be included. Never before has the human body/brain been subject to the horrors it is being exposed to: EMF's, ELF's, dust-chemical-grown food, GMO's, fluoride in ALL water, chlorimines, chlorine, and in some cases pharma drugs in water. Not to mention vaccines, pollutants in the air, toxic chemicals in the building materials, mercury in the mouth and everywhere else. Estrogen producing packaging. Add to that the horrific reality of the planet wide radiation situation. I'm not even going to go into the reality of the "education" system on the brains pathways and its ability to express consciousness.
Every aspect of the vehicle we use to express our consciousness is being bombarded with an unholy mix of ingredients to dumb us down. To suggest that supplementing to combat this nightmare is in some way foolish, or less then perfect, is rather naive. People really are not looking for an "edge" but simply trying to keep one's head above water in the reality that is our world. Even if you grew your own heirloom food to eat, you'd still be feeding those plants with fluoride ridden water. Our bodies are fighting a battle they cannot really win, a battle to express our true consciousness through it while it is being attacked.
To add iodine here, or glucosomine there, or filtered water here, or a nootropic there is simply working to get to a level where the system is not fighting so damn hard to express the true nature of one's consciousness.
Consider: What would your consciousness expression be like without the toxic cocktail of ingredients bashing you day and night? What is the new baseline of consciousness expression in a body?
Originally posted by MDDoxs
reply to post by crankyoldman
Hello Crankoldman, I appreciate your perspective and insight on the matters you have highlighted, regardless if I agree with them or not.
I am concerned at how pessimistic your outlook on our planet and our being (mental and/or physical) is and to claim naivety on my part is a bit reckless in my opinion. I do consider all the toxic effects in our world today, but to continually worry about them to be would be to encourage further self destruction.
Surely if you are concerned/aware of external effects of toxins, you must be aware that internal toxins of our own creation (e.g. pessimism, depression, negativity), is equally as harmful.
We are getting a bit intangible here for the focus of this thread.
I am sure you would agree that a positive outlook and trying to promote both physical and mental health to the best you can is far more advantageous that simply doing nothing....edit on 7-5-2013 by MDDoxs because: (no reason given)