Ok, been away from the thread for a while. I cycled on and off CILTEP. Generally I've been finding minimal if any impact with Artichoke, but generally more focus with Zembrin.
Anecdotal, but it's at least n=3 now. I had the same experience when using coconut cream in my coffee. I was trying to make basically a bulletproof coffee, and only had the creme. It ended up very delicious of course, but interestingly enough, for the next few days while drinking this concoction (which can be found previously in this thread) I did experence EXTREME potentiation of the CILTEP stack. To the point where I had to swear off my coffee blend because I was too energetic, too focused, and started looking into something that could deal with the increased effects, which I settled on with 250-500mg Agmatine.
Plus, Dave Asprey himself uses his Upgraded MCT Oil in his Bulletproof Coffee, which he takes spaced through the day along with a CILTEP blend. MCT is basically like high octane synthetic gasoline to Coconut Oil's crude. And he swears by the stuff.
I tried this today for the first time, doing a CILTEP stack with Coconut Milk and I cannot believe the results. The whole friggin' day I've been focused and on fire. I start the day with my stack around 6.00 am (1 cap zembrin, 8mg C-Bolic Forskolin, Super B complex, 1 cap NOW L-Phenylalanine 500mg, 800mg ALCAR, 5gr creatine). I made sure I had a breakfast high in iron (nice little Thai Beef Red Curry) and eat a slow carb diet. The only thing I didn't do that I normally do is eat eggs until this evening (for choline.)
I got to 10.30 am and couldn't believe how much I'd achieved and how much time was left in the day. I was in a meeting with my work colleagues at 4.30 and they were lackluster while I was spurting out all sorts of energy and ideas. Even now at 9.30 pm my brain is still roaring along. I've poured half a bottle of wonderful Argentinean Malbec into me to get it to slow down. In fact I'm worried now it'll take too long to shut down! I did have my first coffee at 8pm, and while I normally have coffee at that time without impacting sleep I'm wondering about it now. I do drink Yerba Mate green tea pretty much all day.
I'm thinking tomorrow I'll try the coconut milk again but see how Artichoke goes with it.
My approach for getting the most out of this mechanism lately. It's not exactly the CILTEP-stack, but I get much better results from this, and it utilizes the same mechanism.
Morning: Before breakfast:
Artichoke extract 500-1000 mg
Huperzine A 100-200 mcg
Green tea 6g (about 100-120 mg caffeine and some EGCG included)
Iron supplementation: Very low. 25-50% of RDI.
The effect is incredible. Although Huperzine makes it less sustainable for daily use, due to build-up (very long half-life), it's an exciting addition.
*Huperzine A helps me preserve working memory and verbal fluency while getting the benefits of the stack. The resultant effect is very good, without the deterioration in fluency I originally got from this stack. The effects are unlike ALCAR.
With the normal stack, I found myself mute and at a loss for words very often. Huperzine corrects this and allows you to be quicker on your feet.
*Iron supplementation. This made a very big difference for me. Either the stack increases iron-requirements, or I was simply deficient.
Iron is necessary for CYP-enzymes (drug metabolism), dopamine and neurotransmitter synthesis (Tyrosine hydroxylase has a iron-center), and other things.
Check your intake before supplementing. Only include if you're deficient.
*Don't combine tea/caffeine with forskolin. They are antagonistic and cancel each other out. It will only leave you fatigued/depressed due to adenosine-receptor interactions.
Not saying this is better or anything, but if you're curious, I'd definitely recommend you trying it out.
another dopaminergic.
Chung-pao: this is really interesting. From what I've read on the interwebs Huperzine A is generally recommended for only 2 or 3 times a week max. Are you taking it 5 days/cycling off 2? Most sources on the internet talk about it as a memory booster and REM sleep booster but generally discuss taking it before going to bed. How are you tracking with it?
Has anyone tested the hormonal effects of "chronic" ciltep supplementation yet?
It should actually have a significant effect, and subjectively it definitely makes you more assertive.
Reasons for this my curiosity:
*PDE 5 inhibitors (luteolin) have shown to have a significant positive effect on steroidogenesis.
*Forskolin is commonly used and referred to as a testosterone-booster - with good very reason.
*The stack should trigger or upregulate steroidogenic mechanisms.
Psychologically and behaviorally - this seems very much to be true.
Testing this hypothesis should be very easy. ZRT-labs allow blood testing which is cheap and convenient. (at home testing)
Just get a subject who hasn't used the stack - and test his T-values after 1 week or 5 days of regular supplementation.
@if you guys at naturalstacks.com had verified, through experiment, that (long-term) CILTEP supplementation has positive hormonal effects, it could be a major sales-argument of yours. Might also cause people to supplement more regularly.
... Just saying, "I'd buy it".
It also might broaden your market to include the meatheads.
This is interesting and I'd love to hear about any blood analysis testing as you've outlined. I'm a 40 year old male and in my last check up a couple of months ago found my testosterone levels were way below average. I did a test 18 months earlier and they were low at the time. So if forskolin (which I've been taking for probably 6 months now) is meant to boost T levels it sure as hell isn't doing it for me.
You really got me curious with Yerba Mate, maybe the small amounts of Quercetin is really synergistic with the Ciltep.
Is there other supplements you take Amby?
Last week I made Tea with Forskolin, Artichoke extract, coconut oil and stevia. I had really great effects. I have never been so motivated in my life.
But I burnt out my dopamin after 4 days, I was taking Ciltep without L-Phenylalanine as I eat around 150-180g of protein. I know amino acids compete so maybe chunks of the Phenylalanine get crossed out?
I have gotten ok results this week just taking it plain without fat, but not as good as last week. The tea was great but it`s time consuming and it ruin`s my fast :/ But the effect was incredible, so I`ll try it again tomorrow with Phenylalanine.
I also have Zembrin that I will test out with fat next week.
I have found Magnesium to be a key supplement, and slow carbs, I use the GI chart to minimize insulin release.
I`m also curious/experimenting with Ginkgo and EGCG.
I eat at least 500g of meat a day, so I think my Zinc and Iron level should be better than ok?
I`d love some thoughts on this if anyone has any. I really love this forum and it`s great minds
for those using Smart Caffeine or any caffeine/theanine combo, have you guys read studies suggesting that increased GABA levels can potentially hamper LTP effects? I'm having trouble trying to interpret some of the abstracts.
Upregulation of GABA Neurotransmission Suppresses Hippocampal Excitability and Prevents Long-Term Potentiation in Transgenic Superoxide Dismutase-Overexpressing Mice:
http://www.jneurosci.../10977.full.pdf
Today I took L-Theanine and caffeine at 4pm without taking my regular Piracetam dosage and found the effect of the stack lacking after that. Really a coincidence you posted this the same time I was thinking about this.
I guess maybe Piracetam potentiate the effects of the stack enough to blast through, or maybe its only placebo from my part.
Behold my Ciltep Tea
Edited by Anders Jonassen, 09 April 2014 - 09:18 PM.