Comment · Tue, June 18, 2013 · Ceretropic
Tolerance and Nootropics: Opinions?
Original post in this thread
23423564613 · 20 points
I've noticed a lack of discussion surrounded tolerance. While reaching primary cognitive ability is of primary concern to me, it is also vitally important to avoid tolerance and adaptation.
The human body is exceptional at maintaining chemical equilibrium. Caffeine (up-regulation of adenosine receptors) is perhaps the most cited case, but it is naive to believe the body does not react similarly to unnatural levels of other chemical compounds.
For me, having to dose myself to reach a baseline, normal cognitive state--or do avoid debilitating withdrawal effects--is an serious long-term concern.
Personally, I feel like this aspect of supplementation is often brushed aside, but is perhaps the most paramount attribute--we are attempting to improve upon human physiology, and trading a long-term decrease in energy or anything else for short bursts is more hacky-reallocation and actually a net-negative.
The body is so well-optimized that one could argue against all supplementation. I do believe intelligent supplementation can be a net-positive, but only because the demands and conditions of industrialized life are very different from what our body has been optimized for.
Thoughts?
What they were answering
sudojay · 3 points
Are there any supplements that are confirmed not to cause tolerance? I'm not sure of the physiology (and there haven't been many studies on tolerance in these substances) but my own experience has been that pretty much everything under the "nootropic" umbrella causes tolerance to some degree. I can't think of a single one that hasn't eventually had diminished effects until I take a break. Is this different from what we're considering tolerance?
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic
Bacopa, Rhodiola Rosea, Saint John's Wort, etc. All those are adaptogens, and actually lead to reverse-tolerance. They get more effective over time.