Another reason (among many) to avoid stress, which shortens life and makes it unpleasant.
Stress elevates cortisol.
If you've got chronically elevated cortisol, however, piracetam's the least of your worries: here's some of the major consequences:
• Impaired cognitive performance
• Suppressed thyroid function
• Blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycemia
• Decreased bone density
• Decrease in muscle tissue
• Higher blood pressure
• Lowered immunity and inflammatory responses in the body, slowed wound healing, and other health consequences
• Increased abdominal fat, which is associated with a greater amount of health problems than fat deposited in other areas of the body. Some of the health problems associated with increased stomach fat are heart attacks, strokes, the development of , higher levels of “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and lower levels of “good” cholesterol (HDL), which can lead to other health problems!
So sit back, relax and de-stress
And while you're at it, quit the caffeine: not only does it directly induce stress, but also
elevates cortisol:
"High levels of cortisol, which unfortunately can stay elevated as long as 18 hours after a cup of coffee, will compromise your immune system and interfere with your body's ability to fight off pathogens."
We're living in a society of total caffeine users, and people are wondering why piracetam's not working so well? Ironically, piracetam is a total caffeine replacement, but only if caffeine is given up entirely - else the addiction cycle won't be broken. Caffeine decreases the effectiveness of piracetam by its elevation of cortisol. All reports of 'crashes' when using piracetam are by those also taking caffeine.
Caffeine also
chronically exhausts the adrenals, and as a person gets older they just fall into total decrepitude, further killing piracetam's functionality: as previously mentioned and well-researched, piracetam's effects are dependant on functional, healthy adrenals.
Alcohol also increases cortisol:
"In response to alcohol, the levels of cortisol - the chief glucocorticoid hormone in humans - can be substantial and even surpass the levels typically seen in response to various stressful circumstances."
And we're also living in a society of alcohol users. Interesting, no?
Finally, drug #3:
nicotine...
"Cigarette smoking is associated acutely with elevated cortisol levels."
"In the first study, we collected saliva samples from 196 middle-aged men and women on working and weekend days repeatedly through the day. On both working and weekend days, cortisol levels were significantly higher in smokers after adjustment for age, gender and grade of employment."
Piracetam's also a replacement for both the stimulant and memory-enhancing properties of nicotine, also coincidentally
Maybe the reason a substantial portion of people who try piracetam get no good effect or bad effects is they are overmedicated with these other poisons.
Edited by Isochroma, 22 October 2009 - 01:13 AM.