credit: u/melljo2013

Very satisfying and effective combinations of what I’m going to call over-the-counter stimulants and energy supporting stacks can achieve a lot of the results of ‘proper-stimulants’, but contrary to a lot of online literature, can never match or replace them. The ones I listed (Theacrine, Zynamite, EnXtra, Primavie, GS15-4 and plain old caffeine) stand out personally. There are endless potential combinations but I will put an examplar stack here as a guide, note that this would be an elite stack and using just several of these will produce a good result. The below should provide very high levels of motivation, energy and focus for 6 hours

Zynamite 300mg, Theacrine 300mg, Caffeine 50mg, GS15-4 100mg, Alpha-GPC 300mg, CDP-Choline 150mg, ALCAR 1g, Magnesium (ATA-Mg is worth the money IMO but L-theronate is very good, I’m also very impressed with bio-optimisers blend of 7. Doses will vary but tend to the high to very high,. Rhodiola Rosea (preferably in 5-2 but 3-1 is fine) in 250-500mg. B-vitamin stack (again doses vary, worth adding in modified b-vitamins IMO, sulbutiamine, emoxypine, benfotiamine). NALT 500mg, DL-Phenylaline 250mg, L-Phenylaline 250mg, EnXtra 300mg, Primavie 200mg, L-Tryptophan 300mg, Trans-Reservatrol 250mg, NMN 500mg, L-theanine 400mg. I could go on, but this is a good example; some of these you might want to take twice or even three times, but you will have to do the research yourself I am afraid. I have referenced branded or patented ingredients here; I don’t take a particular view on branded vs non-branded. Look at it case by case, in many cases (e.g Theacrine and CDP-Choline) you can get an identical product with the same effects at a lesser price. In other cases, e.g Zynamite and Primavie, the patented form offers genuine and worthwhile benefits.

I will address this in other posts, but since I have offered a stack I will quickly address it. Most of the time preformulated stacks are useless and a complete waste of money. For example, I came across this energy product from Motion Nutrition promising 12hr energy when the very well formulated and high dosed stack I just offered would, by my estimation, offer 6hrs of peak energy and a further 2-3 petering out. https://motionnutrition.com/products/power-up. Rip off! Qualia products are an exception, they are very well formulated but it is cheaper to copy their stacks–buy the ingredients in bulk and DIY–but I will talk about this another time.

The best approach is a long-term approach to your body’s own energy and mitochondrial capacity, which I will briefly turn to in my First Priorities Section.

H) Phenibut and it’s other forms. Phenibut stands alone in its effects and its medical-grade anti-anxiety potency. For writers or creatives it is a must. I will write a separate article because using phenibut properly is so powerful, hence it’s inclusion on the list, but very difficult to achieve.

I) Practices - Most powerful practices with intelligence enhancing benefits are Dual-N-Back for fluid intelligence, and CWM and meditation for a variety of reasons.

2. Powerful Nootropics To Avoid.

A) Sunifram, Unifram and (Controversially) Nooept. I will be brief here, the ‘frams’ are exceedingly powerful to be sure, they are cheap and provide a good output-to-price ratio. I am sure some people respond very well to them, and I have from time to time caught that very valuable ‘flow-state’ these substances can provide. A lot of the time though I just don’t see it; I feel uninformed about them, and tolerance is a huge problem as well as, again, the risk-output ratio. Its study by DARPA is a good indication to me. But IMO, with the frams, I just don’t see it. Similarly for nooept, it is great value for money in terms of potential output. It clearly does have potent neurogenic effects across multiple pathways and it has the potential for good application in analytical, logical or otherwise cognitively rigid tasks. Most of the time though I just don’t see it; it can have strange effects on personality, can dampen creativity and produces similarly strange effects on short-term memory. Complex working memory is, for me, a cornerstone of higher order intelligence, anything that jeopardises CWM should be approached with great caution.

B) PRL-8-53, IDRA-21, NSI-189, J147, Memantine, Kratom, Tianeptine, DMHA. I don’t think there’s anything there, I haven’t seen many credible reports that there is. I grouped all these together because they all belong to a similar family of at times hyped nootropics with big promises that I have personally found to work very sporadically, or not at all. Or I fear they could be seriously damaging. (IDRA-21 just does not work; I seriously cannot make out any difference or see changes in any cognitive metric at all. It’s as if it is pharmacologically inert). NSI-189 dosed low at maybe 20mg might have some promise, and I’ve seen hints of potentially great benefits, but the emotional and attentional side effects you encounter–especially when dosed at the standard 40mg/day–concern me given the behavioural reinforcement that neurogenics can establish. I am not completely writing these off, actually, I will write off IDRA-21. It is useless, but these are only for the psychonauts to explore, or those obsessed/fascinated with exploring nootropics.

C) Unstable or otherwise difficult to manufacture peptides. Although the peptides I am talking about here show potential, and in my experiences have been in the rarified league of Dihexa, the difficulty and complexity in producing the genuine article of these nootropics means you are very unlikely to be getting a reliable or accurate product. I have been able to get these in what I believe to be genuine form very few times and at great expense. With the demise of science.bio, the dubious status of cymnootropics, and in the EU Suaway, the creation of a truly professional and reputable nootropic industry still seems some way off. Hence, I advise against: Adamax, P21, HA-FGL and GSB-106 alongside any other very complex peptides.

3. Priorities. Although I have listed some very powerful individual nootropics, I will briefly discuss something I will write a seperate post about. The two foundational priorities you should IMO focus on first: Brain Structure and Health and Energy Production.

Brain Structure. This is a loose catch-all term for all the different aspects of brain physiology we can influence. Membrane fluidity, blood flow, neurogenesis etc. This is the core of all aspects of intelligence and long-term cognitive health, I won’t look at it in depth, but a quick list of essentials per day might look like this:

DHA 600mg, Phosphatidylserine 300mg, Uridine 250mg, Bacopa Moneri 450mg, Gotu Kola 900mg, SAM-e 400mg, Vinpocetine 30mg, B-Vitamin stack

Energy. Well-functioning energy creation, in particular mitochondrial function, is increasingly seen as integral to all aspects of cognitive function. Very briefly you might consider:

PQQ 20mg, COQ10 100mg, R-ALA 100mg, ALCAR 1000mg, Creatine 5g, Methylene Blue, L-Carnosine, Reservatrol, Psterobilene, NMN, NADH, NAC or NACET.