Transcript for:
L-Tyrosine as a Nootropic

i'm david thomann author of entropics expert in this video i'm going to share with you what i know about l-tyrosine as a nootropic i'll cover what l-tyrosine is how it works in your brain and why we use it how it works with adhd stimulants like real and adderall how much you need to use it to for it to be effective and how many times per day and potential side effects of l-tyrosine in the best type of l-tyrosine to buy [Music] your brain converts cell tyrosine to l-dopa which then produces dopamine the unused dopamine is then further converted to norepinephrine and epinephrine or adrenaline this triad of neurotransmitters are collectively referred to as catecholamines tyrosine is derived from the greek word tyros meaning cheese it was first discovered by german chemist justice vaughn lyberg in 1846 in the protein casing found in cheese tyrosine is considered a non-essential amino acid because it's synthesized in your body from phenylalanine which is found in many high protein foods such as poultry fish dairy nuts soy products lima beans avocados and bananas l tyrosine enhances working memory and cut executive function in the prefrontal cortex it helps with creative flow states is fuel for inspiration cognitive flexibility and the kind of convergent thinking you do in multiple choice exams l-tyrosine also assists in the production of thyroid hormones t3 and t4 which are crucial in maintaining both overall physical and cognitive health next we're going to look at the difference between l-tyrosine and n-acetyl-l-tyrosine are null and what's the difference an acetylene tyrosine or null is the amino acid l-tyrosine with an acetyl group added when you take nalt as a supplement breaks down in your kidneys back into l-tyrosine so in theory the two supplements offer the same benefits now there is some debate in the nootropics community on which one is more effective nalter plain l-tyrosine nalt is more soluble form of l-tyrosine so it should be more bio-available to your body however some studies report that in some cases a sizable percentage of the supplemental el nault is excreted in urine before it's converted to l-tyrosine now my own experience i haven't had any issues using nult as a source of l-tyrosine it gives me a dopamine and adrenal boost that you'd expect from supplementing with the dopamine precursor but when i haven't got any knult around i successfully switched to l-tyrosine although at a slightly higher dose when dealing with add or adhd l-tyrosine is particularly effective when stacked with alkar and sita choline alcar and cytocholine easily cross a blood-brain barrier for boosting acetylcholine levels and it seems to positively influence serotonin levels and al tyrosine provides my brain with the dopamine it needs to mitigate the symptoms of adult add now i find that l-tyrosine stacked with 20 milligrams of ritalin twice a day works particularly well clearly this brain is not getting enough dopamine on its own and needs the boost that comes from supplementing with l-tyrosine so like all nootropics your mileage may vary always take into account how each nootropic works synergistically with others in your stack and how they work with any meds you need to take now this is as much of an art as it is a science and experimenting experimentation is key for optimal cognition next we'll look at how l-tyrosine works in your brain l-tyrosine boosts brain health and function in several ways but two in particular stand out first the all-tyrosine improves memory and cognition under acute stress acute stress is defined as short-term stressors that affect cognition examples are extreme heat or cold things like cold showers extreme sports car accidents relationship problems intense movies business deals gone awry exams and war zones in one study done at the university of bedfordshire and the uk the effect of l-tyrosine on cognitive performance was measured before an exercise task researchers can recruited eight soccer players and they had them complete a 90-minute soccer simulation performance test in an environmental chamber set at 77 degrees fahrenheit the soccer players were given either l-tyrosine before exercise or a placebo cognitive performance was measured before the exercise task and then again at half time following half time and following the entire simulation the cognitive performance task assessed dual task and vigilance the outcome revealed that cognitive vigilance and reaction time among soccer players significantly improved following administration of l-tyrosine the results showed that in warm weather conditions l-tyrosine could enhance cognitive function and prevent cognitive impairment during exposure to exercise heat stress now the second way it helps works in your brain l-tyrosine boosts neurotransmitters l-tyrosine taken as a supplement converts to dopamine dopamine helps control movement in your body is fundamental to memory attention and problem solving the unused dopamine can then convert into norepinephrine and epinephrine or adrenaline norepinephrine is important for attentiveness emotions sleeping dreaming and learning epinephrine or adrenaline drives your fight-or-flight response it's what prompts your reaction to dangerous circumstances emergency situations or in stressful situations or environments in one study done in the netherlands researchers determine if l-tyrosine would boost cognitive resources associated and with cognitive control they performed tests designed to measure working memory using the n-back test study participants were assigned to engage in a one-back condition of easy difficulty and then a two-back condition of tougher difficulty those that used l-tyrosine demonstrated superior performance in the two-back tests but not in the one-back test the study authors suggested that l-tyrosine provides greater cognitive enhancement when cognitive demand increases so the bottom line supplementing with l-tyrosine may help you increase your iq score due to maximizing catecholamine reserves next we'll take a look at the all of the benefits that l-tyrosine provides l-tyrosine can boost levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine norepinephrine and epinephrine and it contributes to the production of thyroid hormones t4 and t3 tyrosine can help boost cognition especially in stressful situations it helps improve a decision-making flow state and creativity cognitive flexibility and working memory l-tyrosine converts into l-dopa to produce dopamine l-dopa is also used to make melanin in your body this conversion process helps in the removal of neurotoxic quinones and chelates heavy metals like mercury and lead which can accumulate in and damaged neurons the dopamine that is not used by your brain is available to produce norepinephrine which is important for attentiveness emotions sleeping dreaming and learning l-tyrosine can be an effective nootropic when stacked with adhd and add meds like ritalin or adderall it helps supply extracellular dopamine needed to improve the effectiveness of stimulants used to boost the uptake of dopamine in your brain next we're going to talk about how does it feel when you take it as a supplement keep in mind that l-tyrosine is a precursor to catecholamines so if you're not low in dopamine norepinephrine or epinephrine you may not feel anything now many neurohackers report a lift in mood better focus concentration increased energy and an overall sense of well-being l-tyrosine can help you readjust your motivation levels it can help lower anxiety levels especially social anxiety supplementing with l-tyrosine can help bring your blood pressure down if it's elevated from a stressful situation or environment take it before a stressful event if you can help tyrosine helps buffer the effects of stimulants like caffeine or amphetamines it helps potentiate and prolong the effects of ritalin or adderall and reduces the crash if you're into athletics or do you manual work you'll find that supplementing with ultaracing before a workout or a construction job for example will leave you feeling great afterwards it helps mitigate many of the effects of acute stressors caused by short-term stressors and l-tyrosine helps your body produce melanin so you might find it easier to get a tan while at the beach next we're going to talk briefly about the clinical research behind l-tyrosine l-tyrosine clinical research l-tyrosine used to treat adhd now there's been several studies that have investigated using l-tyrosine for the treatment of adhd one informal study published in the 1980s determined that l-tyrosine resulted in short-term relief from adhd symptoms but the subjects eventually reached tolerance and a diminished effect now this is important for you to keep in mind it seems that l-tyrosine on its own can benefit some more than others regardless if you're treating adhd or are perfectly cognitively healthy now i've seen more than one report of neurotropic users experiencing tolerance after just a week of supplementing with l-tyrosine but most peer-reviewed published studies show positive results there was one study published in neuroscience psychiatric disease and treatment in 2011 and it looked at using amino acid precursors for the treatment of adhd including l-tyrosine for dopamine and 5-htp for serotonin the study used 85 young people aged 4 to 18 years old all with a clinical diagnosis of adhd they were treated for an initial period of 8 to 10 weeks urinary samples determined serotonin and dopamine levels were collected within the first four weeks now if they didn't reach adequate levels subjects were moved to a higher dosing level in levels two and then three until they got relief from symptoms the researchers found that the dopamine and serotonin precursors yielded similar results to stratera and ritalin and the amino acid protocol may be equal in efficacy to potent pharmaceutical adhd medications i've got another study where l-tyrosine reduces blood pressure under under stress now this study is particularly interesting for nootropic applications commonly understood that blood pressure rises when we're under stress the source of stress really doesn't matter stress up equals blood pressure up now a study in amsterdam showed that l-tyrosine administration decreased blood pressure in about 15 minutes after they took the supplement this study involved assessing task performance following acute stress acute stress is usually short term and can be caused by driving fighting athletics martial arts training war combat training crossfit cold showers loud music intense movies loud noises business deals relationships schools exams and more the point is this this study is applicable to every one of us the study found that l-tyrosine reduced diastolic blood pressure within 15 minutes of taking the supplement and blood pressure normalized within one hour this study tells us that l-tyrosine may promote a decrease in blood pressure caused by stress and could be used to mitigate the effects of stressful situations if taken prior to the stressful event and in another study l-tyrosine promotes cognitive flexibility cognitive flexibility applies to those who can adjust their thinking quickly to adapt in novel situations and stimuli a high degree of cognitive flexibility is associated with increased fluid intelligence superior reading and comprehension and a healthier brain now research done in 2015 supports the idea that l-tyrosine promotes cognitive flexibility in this trial researchers recruited 22 adults and set up a double-blind placebo-controlled study all subjects were assigned a task switching procedure to measure their flexibility the results showed that receiving all tyrosine supplementation increased cognitive flexibility compared to the placebo group the researchers determined that l-tyrosine can facilitate cognitive flexibility by repleting cognitive resources the team observed that increased cognitive flexibility was likely due to a boost in dopamine concentrations they noted that l-tyrosine enhanced usage of various cognitive resources and one way to increase your cognitive flexibility would be to start supplementing with l-tyrosine it stands to reason that people who are close-minded set in their ways are resistant to change and can't cope with unexpected stimuli or situations have cognitive rigidity and it's likely due to sub-optimal dopamine levels next we're going to talk about how much l-tyrosine to use and how many times per day l-tyrosine suggested dosage for cognitive benefit is 500 milligrams to 2 grams per day now you may find that your body responds to smaller doses or even more if you're stacking with stimulus like adhd meds i personally use 500 milligrams in the morning another 500 milligrams at noon and another 500 milligrams around 4 o'clock in the afternoon and it prevents the stimulant grass from ritalin so listen to your body and see how you react if you find that you do not experience the full benefit from male tyrosine then try using it an hour before or two hours after a meal because l-tyrosine taken as a supplement may compete with other amino acids and food for transport into your system now i personally again stack all tyrosine with my riddle and dose twice it three times a day twice each time with ritalin and then a final dose of l-tyrosine late in the afternoon to prevent a stimulant crash now you should note that long-term use of l-tyrosine can suppress serotonin the symptoms include depression fatigue or severe anxiety feeling much like a panic attack you can easily counter this by supporting serotonin with 250 to 500 milligrams of l-tryptophan about 60 minutes before bed next we'll talk about side effects l-tyrosine is considered non-toxic and very safe most neurohackers don't have any negative side effects from using l-tyrosine at higher doses there are reports of stomach issues and migraines migraine problems usually happen to those who already suffer from migraines now this may be an indication that your neurotransmitter levels are already optimal and you don't need to supplement with l-tyrosine l-tyrosine can increase your thyroid hormones so if you're hypothyroid you should use caution when supplementing with l-tyrosine because it can change the way your thyroid meds work and if you're taking prescription maois you should not use alteracy meowi's working your brain by blocking the enzyme monoamine oxidase this enzyme normally blocks excess dopamine but when you block the enzyme more dopamine is released so using l-tyrosine in combination with maois could raise dopamine levels too much resulting in a rapid rise in blood pressure in a hypertensive crisis causing severe headache nausea and sweating severe anxiety rapid heartbeat chest pain vision changes shortness of breath and confusion a severe increase in blood pressure from this combo can lead to a stroke or a heart attack next we'll talk about what type of tyrosine to buy l-tyrosine is available to buy in powder capsule and tablet form capsules and tablets are usually 300 to 500 milligrams each now some pre-made nootropic stacks and workout stacks also include l-tyrosine as part of their formula and acetylene tyrosine or null is an alternative to plain tyrosine nalt has an acetyl group added to l-tyrosine in an attempt to make it more bioavailable for example minelab pro 4.0 contains 11 brain-enhancing nootropic compounds including an acetylenotyrosine now i recommend minelab probe because it addresses all aspects of anxiety resistance memory and cognitive enhancement stabilizes mood brain repair and maintenance this premium neotropic stacks is designed to affect neurotransmitters cognitive energy brain waves neuro protection and regeneration see my video on that i did recently for a mine lab pro 4.0 review for a detailed report now ensure that you read your labels carefully and stick with manufacturers who follow good manufacturing practices and are gmp certified and do your best to avoid supplements that have toxic other ingredients which are usually listed at the bottom of the supplement facts label so my tropics expert recommendation for l-tyrosine is usually 500 milligrams two or three times per day so that's my report on l-tyrosine you'll find the full transcript of this video on nootropicsexpert.com the link to it is down below this video i invite you to explore and read about dozens of all the most used and well-known nootropics over on my nootropics expert website if you have any questions or you want to share your experience using l-tyrosine please use the comment section below this video or at the bottom of my l-tyrosine review on nootropics expert i try my best to respond to comments and questions as quickly as i can if you haven't already download your free copy of secrets of the optimized brain it's nearly a hundred pages did i mention it's free and contains details of 92 of the most popular tropics used today link below this video and consider getting a copy of my book head first the complete guide to healing and optimizing your brain with nootropic supplements headfirst is nearly 600 pages in the best guide on the planet for fixing and optimizing your brain and if you could use some personal help with choosing the right nootropics or figuring out how to deal with your own brain health issues you might want to consider booking a personal consultation with me you'll find a link to my calendar below this video if you want to see more videos and all the best nootropics used today subscribe to this channel before you go i'll be putting up new videos on the tropics and optimizing your brain every week i'm david thoman author of nootropics expert