8 replies to this topic

[vrain]

Recently took one 500mg tab of NAC on a workout day - and about an hour later felt a completely anti-depressant effect. My chronic moodiness and fog cleared up completely. Recent stressfull events from the past couple months were put into perspective.
I waited a couple days and tried again today - same result. Did not expect that at all from N-aceytl-cysteine - was using it more to combat damage done during strenous excercise.

What the hell?

[k10]

Well it increases glutathione levels in the body and glutathione has been shown to be quite effective for brain fog, as it is a major antioxidant in the brain.

Wikipedia says:
* NAC has been shown to reduce the symptoms of both schizophrenia[15] and bipolar disorder[16] in two placebo controlled trials.
* NAC is undergoing clinical trials in the United States for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.[18] It is thought to counteract the glutamate hyperactivity in OCD.

[vrain]

Well that makes sense. I tend to overuse dopamine enhancers - caffeine, tyrosine - dlpa, mucuna etc and I think I'm somewhat high dopamine to begin with. Maybe this is balancing things out somewhat - haven't felt like this in years.

[VampIyer]

Exercise vs Oral Antioxidants - http://www.imminst.o...showtopic=27399
NAC poll part 2 - http://www.imminst.o...showtopic=20287

It's great if you're feeling benefits, but I wanted to bring the above to your attention. Let's assume that you're ok with 500mg/day even with the possibly hypoxia-mimetic and PAH-promoting effects, how should you be dosing such a powerful antioxidant with regard to exercise timing?

It has been shown that exogenous antioxidants (NAC is listed as one of them) negate the benefits of the exercise-induced adaptation response, and thus many forum members are NOT taking them on designated workout days. I'm wondering if this STILL holds true for people with compromised health. Maybe some people need all the help they can get?

If you're performing BETTER with NAC, for instance, then there's some anecdotal invalidation of those studies - something that needs to be considered.

I'm personally going to avoid excessive antioxidant intake around exercise, but I'm having trouble figuring out exactly WHEN I should be taking which antioxidants.

[krillin]

Well it increases glutathione levels in the body and glutathione has been shown to be quite effective for brain fog, as it is a major antioxidant in the brain.

Wikipedia says:
* NAC has been shown to reduce the symptoms of both schizophrenia[15] and bipolar disorder[16] in two placebo controlled trials.
* NAC is undergoing clinical trials in the United States for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.[18] It is thought to counteract the glutamate hyperactivity in OCD.

For mechanistic details, look up "cystine/glutamate exchange".

I wonder if whey protein would do the same thing, without running the risk of elevating cysteine to a level that screws up signaling. What I've read indicates that whey's cysteine is sequestered in peptides until the body needs it for something, so it doesn't carry the same risk as free amino acids.

[Happy Gringo]

It seems to me that the antioxidants could improve performance on a specific workout, but stop the adaptations that make you better on the next workout?

"NAC is rapidly absorbed after oral administration and reaches a maximum plasma level in 2-3 hours, with a half-life of about 6 hours."

Personally, I take 600mg. at 7AM and workout at 3PM. I am continuing to make progress, so I don't seem to have any negative effects. Of course, there is no way to know if I would be making MORE progress without it, but last year I wasn't taking NAC, and my progress was about the same...

[vrain]

well if my results indicate anything it seems like 'glutamate hyperactivity' has obviously been an issue of mine - I wonder what other supplements are out there that deal with this issue like NAC - presumably by raising glutathione levels. But without the possible bad effects.

[yoyo]

i think the only study on depression was in manic-depression specifically.

[Cuil]

I recently added it to my stack for the claimed benefits a few days ago. I read in one study that it was safely administered @ 3600 mg's daily to people dependant on cocaine. I also read in a study that it reduces brain damage in methamphetamine abuse. With this in mind, and my tendancies to indulge in stimulants for late night papers, I decided to see what it would do. Only been taking it for 3 days, and I will say that cigarettes are more optional now than before I started, but we will have to wait and see eh?