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Bacopa Monnieri Benefits Those with Anxiety

Bacopa Monnieri is a nootropic herb that is known for its benefits as an anxiolytic. It is highly ranked in Ayurvedic remedies, and is incredibly powerful when it comes to combating anxiety.

Bacopa Monnieri extract has even been shown to work better than traditional approaches to reducing anxiety because it increases cognition and alertness rather than reducing it [1]. Bacopa benefits people across a wide age range, and has been shown to increase memory as well as improve mood.

How Does Bacopa Monnieri Work?

The anti-anxiety effects of Bacopa are still being researched, but can be attributed to a combination of saponins in the herb and its ability to increase serotonin. Saponins are chemical compounds that are part of a plant’s immune system. When they are consumed by humans, they can have effects like anxiety reduction and improved mood [2]. The supplement helps to improve neural communication by helping nerve cells send out signals. Basically, it helps your brain to have better control over its reactions, which helps to manage stress and anxiety faster.

Because Bacopa also causes an increase in serotonin production, it results in a surge of “feel-good” hormones that aid in anxiety reduction. Bacopa Monnieri is a great option as an anxiolytic nootropic, and a powerful one at that, because it affects the mental condition and can improve not only mood, but memory and performance as well.

Bacopa Monnieri Benefits

Finding the correct Bacopa Monnieri dosage benefits those suffering from anxiety — This supplement can help relieve anxiety.

While Bacopa Monnieri is powerful as an anxiolytic, it truly is most effective because it is neither a stimulant nor a depressant. While other supplements for anxiety may cause drowsiness or overstimulation, Bacopa does neither of these.

It will improve cognitive function rather than impairing it for the sake of reducing stress. While Bacopa can act as a mental sedative, it won’t cause tiredness and will instead focus the mind.

Bacopa Monnieri is also an antioxidant, protecting cells from damage and preventing their breakdown. This is just an added perk to the supplement that can effectively reduce anxiety without causing other negative mental side effects.

Bacopa Monnieri Dosage

Dosage will largely depend on the extract of Bacosides. For example, a formulation of 20% Bacosides will call for 750mg once per day. Dosage will also depend on the individual’s levels of stress an anxiety. The supplement can be taken at any time since it won’t cause drowsiness or overstimulation meaning it won’t interfere with your sleep cycle.

The Bacopa supplement is best taken with food, and can be easily worked into a daily routine by having it with a meal. In a very short time, adding this supplement every day can help reduce anxiety as well as provide more mental focus and an improved memory.

Sources

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23195757
http://phoenixhealth.me/Botanical%20medicine/Bacopa%20for%20the%20Brain.pdf

Using St. John’s Wort to Boost Mood

Depression affects 121 Million people worldwide. In its severe forms, it leads to 850,000 deaths each year. [1]

There are many kinds of medication that can be prescribed by doctors to treat this condition. St. John’s Wort, on the other hand, is an herbal remedy avialable over the counter for mood.

What is St.John’s Wort?

St. John’s Wort belongs to the plant species Hypericum perforatum, and is also known as Tipton’s weed, rosin rose, goatweed, chase-devil, or Klamath weed. There are many species worldwide and they can mostly be found in North America, Europe, Turkey, Middle East, India, China and Brazil. [2] Australia is the world’s top producer of the plant.

Its name was given because it blooms around June 24, the birthday of John the Baptist. “Wort” is an old English word for plant. It is used for multiple problems such as for chronic fatigue syndrome, exhaustion, migraines, and muscle pain. An oil extract from the plant can also be used for easing scrapes, bruises and other inflammations. [3]

How does it Work?

What If I Can’t Take SJW?

Some individuals cannot take St. John’s Wort, such as those who take contraceptive pills. It also interacts negatively with a variety of other medications, so be sure to discuss it with your doctor first. Some alternative anxioltyic supplements include:

Rhodiola Rosea Supplement
Ashwagandha Powder
Theanine Supplement

Scientists do not yet fully understand how St. John’s Wort works in relation to mood. Its effect is generally attributed to its content of hypericin, hyperflorin, and flavonoids which help elevate dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. [4]

Dopamine is a stimulant that produces good mood. In elevated levels, it makes the user more focused, confident and interested in what he’s are doing. Norepinephrine is similar to dopamine and produces alertness and motivation. Serotonin on the other hand manages mood, appetite, and sleep. With low levels of Serotonin, one will become anxious, irritable, and have trouble sleeping. [5]

During a six week trial involving patients with mood issues, a hypericum extract of 300 mg or 600 mg was given to one group while the other group used Paroxetine in 20 mg capsules. After six weeks, it was discovered that hypericum extract is as effective as paroxetine for patients with moderate or severe mood issues.[7]

Dosage

St. John’s Wort is available in both liquid and pill form. For regular use, a dose of 300 mg taken 3 times a day with meals. [8] The effects of the supplement may be seen in 3-4 weeks and it is recommended that you don’t stop taking it before that. [6]

Sources

1. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110725202240.htm
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_John’s_wort
3. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/329.html
4. http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/herbal-remedies/question468.htm
5. http://thedea.org/yourbrain.html
6. http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/st-johns-wort
7. http://www.bmj.com/content/330/7490/503
8. http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/st-johns-wort

Nootropics: Willpower and Determination

Today’s the day that you skip grabbing your usual bag of chips and finally get that diet kickstarted. Really. This time you’re serious. Well, maybe you’re actually staring at the empty bag crumpled on your couch, wondering how you finished the whole thing that fast (and resolving that tomorrow is the day you’ll really start).

It’s a lesson you’ll encounter again and again when you try to start a new habit or kick an old one: willpower is a tricky beast, and it isn’t always as easy as firmly making a decision and sticking to it. So what is it then, exactly? Why are people so bad at making a decision and sticking to it? Read on for some insights on how to get motivated, and an overview of key nootropics for motivation.

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Offsetting the Adverse Effects of Common Nootropics

nootropic stacks — Nootropics can help with cognition and memory.

Thanks to your recent foray into nootropics, your memory is better than ever. You commit new information to memory with relative ease, recall old memories in a flash, and are able to work your way through even the densest academic material. Smart drugs are great for increasing cognitive functions in a variety of ways. Better yet, only rarely do smart drugs have toxic thresholds or the potential for harmful overdose. Now, that doesn’t mean that they’re entirely without undesirable side-effects.

It turns out that, with certain compounds, your boosted brainpower comes with a price. Whether it is blunted emotions or wired edginess, there’s a chance that your empowered cognition is costing you something. But fear not! With careful and intelligent supplementations, you can balance out negative effects with synergistic nootropics, allowing you to reduce or erase negative effects while keeping your benefits. Here’s a look at a few of the most common “social costs” of popular nootropics and how to counteract the negative effects.
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ALCAR/ALA Stack: Benefits and Side Effects

ALCAR and ALA can help combat the effects of aging on the brain.

When studying nootropics, you will discover that these supplements have several nuances. You can educate yourself thoroughly on the exact mechanisms of pretty much every available compound, trial them individually, and still barely scratch the surface of smart drug supplementation.

The reason?

Nootropic stacks, or cross-nootropic potentiation. Basically, combine any two or more substances, and you’re going to see effects that go above and beyond what you’d simply expect from one or the other.

Nootropics are complex substances, and the brain is a complex piece of biological machinery. The more compounds you’re ingesting at the same time, the better the chances that you’re going to trigger some unexpected effect.

ALCAR/ALA Benefits

This combination is the concept behind recent trials which suggest that combining ALCAR (acetyl l-carnitine powder) and ALA (alpha lipoic acid) could have dramatically boosted benefits for health and cognition. Continue reading “ALCAR/ALA Stack: Benefits and Side Effects”

How to Make Your Own Chill Pill

When aniracetam is the main active component of a stack, it’s safe to assume relaxation and improved mood are in store (and that a choline supplement is going to be included as well).

As difficult as stress is to avoid on a day to day basis, it isn’t impossible to greatly reduce its impact on your life, and improve your well being as a result, and that’s just what The Chill Pill Stack will assist you in doing.

To paraphrase a very wise man, people aren’t stressed by things, they are stressed by their perception of those things (Epictetus, if you’re wondering). This is why there seem to be as many different causes of stress as there are people on the planet.

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Ashwagandha Rhodiola and other Anxiety Relief Supplements

What Is Anxiety?

Many supplements including Rhodiola are great for anxiety relief — Anxiety can affect you in many ways

Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress and at times can prove beneficial. Unfortunately, there are people who experience an excess of this response, and no matter how unnecessary they may understand the anxiety to be, there is nothing they can do about it because it is not something that can be controlled logically.

From PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) to social anxiety, all the way on to OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), disorders featuring anxiety are the most common mental issues experienced by Americans.
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Modafinil Alternatives

What is Modafinil?

Modafinil has received a lot of press recently. From Silicon Valley to college campuses, Modafinil is often regarded as a real-life version of the drug NZT-48 that Bradley Cooper’s character takes in the movie Limitless.

However, like the drug in Limitless, modafinil comes with its own set of drawbacks. Luckily, there are a few natural alternatives to modafinil that could give you the mental boost you need without the nasty side-effects.
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Need Stress Relief? Try Theanine and Rhodiola

Do you use coffee to propel your day? If so, there’s also a good chance that you’re under a lot of stress. Did you know that, despite providing caffeine for energy, coffee boosts levels of stress hormones in your body?

These hormones can make you feel more strained than you did before and leave you feeling wired and worn out after you wrap up the day. Thankfully, just because you’re under stress doesn’t mean you have to drop your coffee.

In fact, you can still get all the benefits of caffeine and a dose of relaxation as well by adding either L-theanine supplement or rhodiola rosea powder into your daily routine.

L-theanine and rhodiola rosea can take you to the next level by giving you a boost in focus and energy while smoothing over stress and helping you relax.
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The Winter Blues: Stop Colds in Their Tracks with Vitamin C

Vitamin C, known as L-Ascorbic Acid or Ascorbate, is an essential nutrient to the human body that can only be obtained through food consumption or supplementation. It is a water-soluble nutrient that supports normal growth and development as well as aiding your body in the absorption of iron.

With cold and flu season around the corner, you are sure to see a plethora of ads for Vitamin C, but can it really help you avoid colds? What other benefits does Vitamin C afford you? Read on to discover common sources of Vitamin C and how it can boost your health in many ways.
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