Alpha Brain vs Multivitamin vs Palcebo

Recently started experimenting with Alpha Brain which is a nootropic. I have been taking a men's multivitamin for a while now (Opti-Men) which I enjoy because it also has trace amino acids and flavonoids along with the usual vitamins and minerals. There are a couple complaints I have with my multivitamin, such as folic acid in it which is what I consider an anti-nutrient, but it's quantifiably effective and about 10c per pill. Alpha Brain is about $1 a pill if not using any discounts so I'm going to run some tests before I make the dive into a $30-$90 a month commitment for a pill and even more importantly I want to see if it's effective at all, period.

 Game Plan:

Spreading the experiments out through several days to add validity. Obviously since the test group is one person (me) it won't have the weight of a double blind controlled scientific study, I am aware of that. Will take measures that are in my power to control my diet and environment during these next couple days.

Quantifying Resources:

Heart Rate

General Mood State

Brain Work Shop Dual N-Back

Brain and Body Observations

Alpha Brain and Multivitamin:

Average Heart Rate: 64

General Mood State: Good, Relaxed, Slight knee joint ache may affect focus in a small way.

Dual N-Back:
D3B 50%
D3B 66%

D3B 50%

Observations: Can sense more eagerness to communicate and ease of sentence formation which I will attribute to Alpha Brain. Feel energized which I attribute to the amino acids in the multivitamin. Fasted for breakfast to not skew the effects with many other chemicals.

Alpha Brain:

Average Heart Rate: 60

General Mood State: Good. Alert.

Dual N-Back:
D3B60%

D3B72%
D3B73%

Observations: There is an apparent increase on the mental side, even versus the Alpha Brain + multivitamin which would need to be ran through further experiments before I would actually say the multivitamin hurts mental function.

Multivitamin:

Average Heart Rate: 53

General Mood State: Good, Relaxed, Slightly hungry body has been in ketosis.

Dual N-Back:
D3B44%
D3B53%
D3B42%

Observations: Once again fasted. Believe the fact that I performed worse with the multivitamin than the placebo is less that the multivitamin actually makes me worse and more variation.

Placebo (aka nothing, maybe I'll take some vitamin C and tell my brain It's the best ha):

Average Heart Rate: 57

General Mood State: Not bad, but can tell I'm not as...alert and lucid, you could say.

Dual N-Back:
D3B50%
D3B55%
D3b46%

Observations: No extreme observations. Not overly tired or dull or anything. Feel slightly less driven.

MCT/Coconut Oil and Why it Can Make You Better

Can honestly say without feeling like I am over exaggerating that good quality MCT oil is quite possibly not just the healthiest oil but one of the healthiest foods on this planet. MCT oil is generally concentrated coconut oil, it can also be made from palm oil (seems good) and canola oil (avoid canola for many reasons). MCT stands for Medium Chain Triglycerides also known as fatty acids. The majority of foods are either short or long chain.

Although you can find what seems like endless anecdotal evidence of benefits, especially on coconut oil, the scientific studies are spotty at best. I will list many of the possible and individual benefits then go over my own personal benefits:

• Weight loss
• Muslce/mass gain
• Belly fat "spare tire" reduced
• Increased energy
• Improved mood
• Improved brain function
• Alzheimer's prevention/cure
• Cancer prevention/cure
• Skin care
• Scar treatment
• Assisting in putting the body in ketosis (explain more on ketones late)
• Bone and dental health
• Diabetes prevention/cure
• Improving allergies
• Improving immune system
• Pneumonia cure
• Improved cholesterol levels

I know, right? That's a lot.

My personal results:

• Improved skin
• Bone and dental health
• Improving allergies
• Improving immune system
• Improved mood/energy
• Belly fat reduced
• Muscle/mass gain
• Improved brain function
• Quicker entry into ketosis

Those are the benefits I was able to quantify using things like a journal, brain exercises, physical exercises, fasting, and a Elimination diet to add validity to it being the coconut and MCT oil rather than something else I was ingesting. Also though it's flu season I have not been sick in about half a year although I work in public areas and travel semi frequently.

Dosage I was using is 2-4 tbsp daily. Using two with coffee then with dinner. Only side effect I've heard of from upping the dosage specifically on an empty stomach is GI issues such as diarrhea. I never had this issue, but I wasn't trying to cure cancer or Alzheimers. 

There's lots of ways to get MCTs. I'd recommend staying away from the cheap processed stuff and get either organic extra virgin coconut oil or good quality MCT oils derived coconut and (but not only) palm oil if you can afford it to get all the benefits.

Tooth Decay and Self Repair

This is a subject that's really close to my heart, about equally close to my brain also (because it's my teeth haa). My experience is that at one point I had ten cavities, knowing absolutely nothing (except that I didn't want mercury in my mouth) I went and got six composite fillings. I didn't have dental insurance at the time so after that I stopped and it happened to be the same time that I was experimenting with the paleo diet. End of this story is it may sound crazy (I don't believe this idea has become very "main stream") but I currently have no cavities, my enamel is quite strong compared to being very sensitive to things like cold, and not only that also some of my six fillings are coming out on their own with little remaining holes (dentists drill a large hole in your tooth before placing the filling)
Now let's go through my experiments and others so you can duplicate my results.

First thing I did was research, no matter how crazy it seemed, if it was inexpensive and I didn't think it would cause permanent damage I'd look into it. The things that I found the most effective are:

• Vitamin K (or even better K2)
• Vitamin D (I tend to not use or endorse pasteurized dairy even if it's tolerated, supplementation is best)
• Magnesium (favorite way for this is epsom salt baths, which has many benefits)
• Vitamin E (NOT from grains, I'll explain more in another post)
• Vitamin A (cod oil is great for this and also has D, EPA, DHA)
• Get as close to completely cutting grains and simply sugars as possible (if you can't live without them go back to eating as you please after the majority of cavities/decay is gone)
• Brush and swish mouth with a low grad (no higher than 3%) hydrogen peroxide (can also use fluoride if you wish to, I couldn't quantify any difference)
• Have as little processed (industrially processed that is) food and additives as possible
• As these vitamins are fat soluble make sure you're getting enough fat when taking these in supplement form (I recommend grass fed butter and grass fed beef or coconut oil. If that's not available wild caught low mercury sea food i.e. salmon or extra virgin olive oil)

That's the overview and I had a lot of success with it. Hesitate to say the doses of the supplements but to be frank to get these benefits you need supplements from good quality sources and I was taking a lot more than the "DV%". Check out Dave Aspreys article on supplements for a general idea on amounts of the above and adjust as necessary: Upgrade Your Energy Supply: Optimize Your Supplements

On my research journey I read a good article with more detail on dental practice and the theories of tooth decay: Natural Tooth Cure for Curing Cavities and Preventing Root Canals

Legal Details and Such

So to be clear I'm not a M.D and I don't practice medicine. That said I have been tweaking my diet, body mods, biohacking, etc for about 9 years now. If you want to completely change your body talk to a doctor. I'd recommend a holistic one that doesn't look at you crazy that you want to be better and not simply not sick/diseased.
Will site all sources that aren't from my personal experience,  I am not a super genius and am not seeking praise as one.
Also, I'm not trying to sell anything or go too crazy with ads. This is simply a passion of mine. If you would like to spend money I'll recommend brands I've had good experience with.
If budget isn't your main concern Dave Asprey has very high quality supplements and tech at Upgraded-Self and the line of products at onnit.com.