There are a few things that you can do that are good for your mind before considering supplementation. These are really basic but most people do not follow them. I didn't till a few months ago.
Do you get enough water? About 2L a day is good for most people but is something to be modulated by your activity levels. Dehydration drastically degrades physical and mental performance (stamina, ability to focus, encode memory etc). As you get older you get less able to notice that you are thirsty.
Do you get enough sleep? It seems almost a matter of pride these days to boast about how little sleep one gets. But sleep continues to be important. There is evidence to believe that sleep aids in mental maintenance and the encoding + consolidation of memories - moving them from the lower level hippocampus to the higher level neocortex. Akin to transferring bits from high speed, throughput RAM to longer lasting but slower long term storage. If you are not getting enough sleep then you are impairing your ability to learn higher level abstractions and patterns.
Exercise - Everyone knows exercises is good for you. In addition to all the other cardiovascular benefits it is also good for your mood (opiates - yes opiates as in opium - such as endorphins get released) and memory. Exercise has been linked to neuron growth in the hippocampus and new nerve cell survival rates. As well as benefits to spatial reasoning and memory (makes sense).
Diet
This one is involved. But the greatest offenders are high Glycemic Index foods such as Refined grains and sugary food/drinks and hydrogenated fats. Other than the fact that providing nutrients to your body in a suboptimal way will reduce the performance of your mind and body and wanting to maintain a health weight, such foods have further negative effects. The brain does not store energy so low GI food that provide a more smooth delivery insure that your brain will have access to energy across the day. In addition, sugar spikes will result in a release of insulin to manage the glucose, antagonising further use by say your brain and thus making you feel tired and unable to focus. Constant Insulin and glucose spikes are no good in general though e.g. increased diabetes risk. Furthermore chronic high levels of blood sugar has been linked to memory, mood and attention disorders as well as nueroinflamation.
Adequate Choline intake? Choline is often not sourced at adequate levels despite being an important nutrient. It is also a precursor to acetylcholine which is involved in arousal, reward, attention and synaptic plasticity (in particular to do with learning).
Other minerals such as Magnesium, iodine and selenium have been shown to have a positive effect on mental health but are not sourced well enough in modern diets. Also indicated for energy and mental function are B Vitamins.
Other considerations
Think More - your brain is not some static rock. See nueroplasticity. Using your brain increases survival rates of new neurons. This stacks well with exercise, meditation and calorie restriction.
Did you know that your foods contain drugs (they obviously must if they are nueroactive). Eating foods that are high in precursors to certain monoamines - e.g. high in tryptophan or tyrosine etc. such as turkey, eggs, parmesan cheese may or may not have an effect - at the least they increase the bioavailabity of chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine. Also consider foods that interact with the GABA pathway for anxiolytic effects (various teas ++green) and a healthier way to achieve the so called Ballmer peak.
Reduced Calorie Intake - There is aging related benefits to this. But there is also evidence that it is neuroprotective as well as inducing nueron growth. This tricking the body to releasing stress proteins is well studied. You must come to your own conclusions.
Did you notice I sourced nothing here? This is because I don't want you to blindly follow my writing. I am not a medical expert and so I prefer you to search, do your own research and come to your own conclusions. I did leave search able key phrases interleaved through out.
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I don't take what people typically mean by drugs. But before going on I will ask you, do you know what you or I mean by drugs? When I say drugs I mean the stuff that is neurotoxic or prone to tolerance and or addiction (ethyl-alchohol, Tobacco: MAOIs in herbs + nicotine is culprit of addiction, MDMA, amphetamines, cocaine,heroin,opium, etc). I also have never taken the less harmful stuff like LSD or marijuana because they are illegal and hence not regulated. But more importantly I don't want to aggravate my chances of getting arrested by dealing with the people who typically deal such things. I also do not take marijuana beacause although it has been shown to be neuroprotective and anticarcinogenic it is also indicated in short term memory damage. And short term memory is strongly correlated to IQ.
When you say drugs you probably mean stuff that the government has deemed illegal and waging war on for whatever arbitrary reasons without thinking about what the term actually means. For me anything that is psychoactive is a drugs. So I am amused by the contradictions of people who say they don't take drugs while drinking beer or coffee, eating chocolate, eggs, meat or eating foods that are high in sugar (nueroactive by serotonin pathway amongst others).
I once tried giving up alcohol, and I found it was suddenly a lot more difficult hanging around friends who were drinking.
I've also been through stages in my life where I used other less legal substances, and looking back it was one of the most fun and happy times of my life.
To me, chemicals have provided variety, fun and different and unusual states of mind. Fortunately I never got into anything that affected my health in a significant way, although I have a constant back-of-the-mind concern about my alcohol intake, given how poisonous and ever-present it is.
> opiates - yes opiates as in opium - such as endorphins get released
Small correction: endorphines are opioids, not opiates. Opioids are chemicals that bind to opioid receptors, whereas opiates are opioids derived from the opium poppy.
Thanks. You're right. I realized that I'd made that mistake when I was no longer at my computer. I do still readily conflate the terms but not the meanings.
Try and get some non-fluoridated water too, sodium fluoride is neurotoxic - move to Europe or http://findaspring.com.
"Drinking fluoridated water is linked with reduced cognitive ability in children. There are also over 30 animal studies showing that fluoride is a neurotoxin which reduces learning and memory. Essentially, fluoride makes you a bit less intelligent."
"Nationwide, pharmaceutical manufacturers routinely pay medical professionals..State-employed doctors and researchers are generally no exception, though they are supposed to comply with their individual institutions' conflict-of-interest policies."
"Beginning in March, federal law will require drug and device companies to report and disclose all of their payments to medical professionals and researchers; by September, the data is supposed to be displayed in a searchable online government database."
I think he's intentionally seeing how far he can take his readers before they call BS. That article is possibly his greatest work in the genre, thanks for posting it.
Unfortunately the article you linked doesn't read in a very balanced way. For instance:
"If you were to injest a mere 2-5 grams of sodium fluoride (a common ingredient in toothpaste), you would probably die. The amount of fluoride in a typical tube of fluoride toothpaste is sufficient to kill a small child if it were consumed all at once."
To ingest 'a mere' 2 grams at the WHO's guideline water fluoridation rate of 1.5mg/L would require drinking over 1300L of water (nearly two years' worth at 2L/day), and many other substances that are beneficial to (or even required by) the human body are toxic in large doses. As for toothpaste - well, it usually says clearly on the packaging that you shouldn't swallow it, and certainly not an entire tube at once. Likewise mouthwash, soap, etc.
Well the point is really this: the evidence you're citing to suggest that fluoridation 'messes with your pineal gland' is dubious at best; consider the possibility that you may be mistaken.
re: everything adding up - the human body is actually pretty efficient at disposing of toxins generally, so no, not everything adds up. I don't know whether or not this applies to fluorides though - are you aware of any research there?
Dan - I'd prefer that you go and research if fluoride is healthy or not, the burden of proof that it is good/bad for you and in what amounts, is on you. I am happy with my decisions.
The question is not if you are happy with your decisions. The question is about the ethics of spreading misinformation.
In this circumstance, you are simply wrong about the dangers of fluoridated water. Your claims suggest an ignorance about fundamental tenets of pharmacology, and the importance of dose. It is not everyday knowledge, and everyone is ignorant about many things; I don't mean it as an insult. It does mean, though, that you should be careful about giving others advice.
"The question is about the ethics of spreading misinformation."
Are you sure your sources on sodium fluoride being safe is not misinformation, and that rather I'm the one spreading misinformation? Have you researched opposing points of view?
Beyond research, is it common sense to ingest a known neuro and bone toxin at any level for any length of time? Have you tried spring water for any length of time, how does it make you feel?
Oh hold on, I'm wrong about fluoridated water, and now my health is at risk for not having it.
I'm a physician, and I read quite a bit of primary literature. I also know that there are great sources of info on the Internet, but many of them are not so great. I read this article, and a few linked from it, in the Journal of Public Health Dentistry, before I responded.
Your argument, "is it common sense to ingest a known neuro and bone toxin at any level for any length of time?" continues to expose your ignorance. Anything, even water, is toxic at the right concentrations. All substances can be poisons, but some at the right dose can be medicine.
It is faulty to say that "if a lot is bad, then even a little is bad," just as much as it's wrong to say "if a little is good a lot must be great" like the vitamin mega-dose proponents say.
Well, I have read about Nazis putting fluoride in their death camp water on numerous occasions. Do you think they did that for the betterment of health and improving lives?
I've also read about many countries banning its use. I've also read about it accumulating in the pineal gland.
Do you think you can trust dentists for accurate information on fluoride after they put mercury into people's mouths, calling it silver amalgam?
> Well, I have read about Nazis putting fluoride in their death camp water on numerous occasions. Do you think they did that for the betterment of health and improving lives?
The Nazis were also interested in getting rid of parasites on their prisoners and stopping epidemics.
Wait - are you saying public health efforts aimed at stopping communicable diseases are Nazi-approved?! I can't believe I approved of Nazis! Quick, tell the anti-vaxxers!
From the Wikipedia article on choline: Unfortunately, dietary recommendations have discouraged people from eating high choline foods, such as egg and fatty meats. The 2005 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey stated that only 2% of postmenopausal women consume the recommended intake for choline.
There are a few things that you can do that are good for your mind before considering supplementation. These are really basic but most people do not follow them. I didn't till a few months ago.
Do you get enough water? About 2L a day is good for most people but is something to be modulated by your activity levels. Dehydration drastically degrades physical and mental performance (stamina, ability to focus, encode memory etc). As you get older you get less able to notice that you are thirsty.
Do you get enough sleep? It seems almost a matter of pride these days to boast about how little sleep one gets. But sleep continues to be important. There is evidence to believe that sleep aids in mental maintenance and the encoding + consolidation of memories - moving them from the lower level hippocampus to the higher level neocortex. Akin to transferring bits from high speed, throughput RAM to longer lasting but slower long term storage. If you are not getting enough sleep then you are impairing your ability to learn higher level abstractions and patterns.
Exercise - Everyone knows exercises is good for you. In addition to all the other cardiovascular benefits it is also good for your mood (opiates - yes opiates as in opium - such as endorphins get released) and memory. Exercise has been linked to neuron growth in the hippocampus and new nerve cell survival rates. As well as benefits to spatial reasoning and memory (makes sense).
Diet
This one is involved. But the greatest offenders are high Glycemic Index foods such as Refined grains and sugary food/drinks and hydrogenated fats. Other than the fact that providing nutrients to your body in a suboptimal way will reduce the performance of your mind and body and wanting to maintain a health weight, such foods have further negative effects. The brain does not store energy so low GI food that provide a more smooth delivery insure that your brain will have access to energy across the day. In addition, sugar spikes will result in a release of insulin to manage the glucose, antagonising further use by say your brain and thus making you feel tired and unable to focus. Constant Insulin and glucose spikes are no good in general though e.g. increased diabetes risk. Furthermore chronic high levels of blood sugar has been linked to memory, mood and attention disorders as well as nueroinflamation.
Do you know if your fatty acids balance is optimal? DHA in omega 3 is important for optimal brain function. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-3_fatty_acid#The_n.E2.88....
Adequate Choline intake? Choline is often not sourced at adequate levels despite being an important nutrient. It is also a precursor to acetylcholine which is involved in arousal, reward, attention and synaptic plasticity (in particular to do with learning).
Other minerals such as Magnesium, iodine and selenium have been shown to have a positive effect on mental health but are not sourced well enough in modern diets. Also indicated for energy and mental function are B Vitamins.
Other considerations
Think More - your brain is not some static rock. See nueroplasticity. Using your brain increases survival rates of new neurons. This stacks well with exercise, meditation and calorie restriction.
Did you know that your foods contain drugs (they obviously must if they are nueroactive). Eating foods that are high in precursors to certain monoamines - e.g. high in tryptophan or tyrosine etc. such as turkey, eggs, parmesan cheese may or may not have an effect - at the least they increase the bioavailabity of chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine. Also consider foods that interact with the GABA pathway for anxiolytic effects (various teas ++green) and a healthier way to achieve the so called Ballmer peak.
Reduced Calorie Intake - There is aging related benefits to this. But there is also evidence that it is neuroprotective as well as inducing nueron growth. This tricking the body to releasing stress proteins is well studied. You must come to your own conclusions.
Did you notice I sourced nothing here? This is because I don't want you to blindly follow my writing. I am not a medical expert and so I prefer you to search, do your own research and come to your own conclusions. I did leave search able key phrases interleaved through out.
==================================
I don't take what people typically mean by drugs. But before going on I will ask you, do you know what you or I mean by drugs? When I say drugs I mean the stuff that is neurotoxic or prone to tolerance and or addiction (ethyl-alchohol, Tobacco: MAOIs in herbs + nicotine is culprit of addiction, MDMA, amphetamines, cocaine,heroin,opium, etc). I also have never taken the less harmful stuff like LSD or marijuana because they are illegal and hence not regulated. But more importantly I don't want to aggravate my chances of getting arrested by dealing with the people who typically deal such things. I also do not take marijuana beacause although it has been shown to be neuroprotective and anticarcinogenic it is also indicated in short term memory damage. And short term memory is strongly correlated to IQ.
When you say drugs you probably mean stuff that the government has deemed illegal and waging war on for whatever arbitrary reasons without thinking about what the term actually means. For me anything that is psychoactive is a drugs. So I am amused by the contradictions of people who say they don't take drugs while drinking beer or coffee, eating chocolate, eggs, meat or eating foods that are high in sugar (nueroactive by serotonin pathway amongst others).