Comment · Wed, December 31, 2014 · Ceretropic
Anyone else take L-theanine every day?
Original post in this thread
TrumpilyBumpily · 30 points
So, since discovering theanine a couple months ago, I've turned a couple friends onto it and use it a lot myself. Sometimes with caffeine, sometimes before bed, especially if I've been drinking, and sometimes just to chill. But that all adds up to me taking 200-400 mg about every day. I don't use any prescription drugs or many pills at all except for things like pepto-bismol and ibuprofen.
I know theanine is new and all, and there isn't too much research on the subject, so I'll settle for anecdotal evidence for now. Does anyone else take theanine every day, and have you discovered a tolerance or other side effects?
Thanks!
What they were answering
lodro · 5 points
Really? You're equating the history of human use of alcohol, caffeine, and L-theanine?
L-theanine has a long history of human use in low dosage as a component of tea, and an extremely short history of human use in higher doses as an isolated supplement.
Alcohol has a long history of human use across the entire usable dosage range, and a fairly long history of use in the most concentrated forms that are commonly available.
The date of the patent on L-theanine is only tangentially relevant; it does nothing to establish a history of use at specific dosages. The fact that it's an amino acid does not alone establish safety of any particular daily dose.
...
Although many things are dangerous at a high enough dose, substances differ markedly in the ratio between an effective dose and a dangerous one. Low doses of arsenic, lead, mercury, and so on are safe and well tolerated - yet these substances are not equivalent to water in their safety profile, and neither is L-theanine.
Come on.
MisterYouAreSoDumb's post is a compelling argument for ignoring redditors who dismiss important questions about supplement safety.
That his post is heavily upvoted, and the only objection yet posted is heavily downvoted strongly suggests that /r/nootropics is a bad place to ask advice about nootropics...
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic
You've done a great job missing the point entirely. I was responding to the following comment:
You could say the same for most drugs.
You can't say the same for most drugs, as they have not been used by humans for as long as things like alcohol, caffeine, and L-theanine. That was not a comment about the safety of large dosages. It was a comment about the length of time humans have used the substances. He did not ask about the possible side effects of large dosages, nor the amount it would take to be considered a large dose. It was a silly attempt to equate the risks of L-theanine to the risks of "most drugs."
MisterYouAreSoDumb's post is a compelling argument for ignoring redditors who dismiss important questions about supplement safety.
Please point me to the question /u/zpkmook asked. I am having a hard time finding it in his three statements trying to equivocate L-theanine with most drugs. I have no idea why people are down-voting him so heavily, though; and certainly do not condone it. So get off your high horse a bit.