Criteria for Choosing Best Nootropics

Posted by SharonEvans on May 10th, 2014

 A Nootropic or smart food for brain is a substance that enhances cognitive function. It can improve memory, alertness, recall and learning process. Having known the benefits of these drugs from various sources, the next step for an individual is to find the criteria involved while choosing the best nootropics for personal use. Checking for ingredients could serve as one of the parameters and the other could entail investigating the background of the manufacturer. Researchers have come up with different criteria these substances need to satisfy before qualifying as smart drugs.          

The term Nootropic was coined in the year 1972 by Dr. Corneliu Giurega, a Romanian scientist while synthesizing the first nootropic Piracetam, which remains the most popular smart drug till date. Dr. Giurega devised a set of criteria a substance had to meet to qualify as best nootropics, the foremost amongst which was that the substance should be able to enhance memory and learning ability. In addition, it should not have sedative effect and should also be bereft of toxic impact. Nootropics should protect the brain from physical and chemical injury and enable it to function under disruptive conditions such as lack of sufficient supply of oxygen.

Under this definition of nootropics the general use of most cognitive enhancers namely life caffeine could be ruled out. This is because caffeine acts as a stimulant when taken in higher doses and tends to enhance cognitive function for a certain period of time when taken in small doses. This called for further classification of the term Nootropic. Another researcher Dr. Skondia attempted to further classify best nootropics. According to his criteria, the substance should not possess any vasodilation activity, must cross the blood-brain barrier, must be natural and also vegetarian. It could also be free of gluten or caffeine.

The biggest difference between these two researchers’ criteria was that Dr.Giurega believed the   drug to be a memory and learning enhancer whereas Dr. Skondia stressed on improvement in general metabolic activity of the brain and the body. As such there are no best nootropics in practice but only those which prove to be effective in your required condition. As long as the nootropic effects the firing mechanism in the cortical and sub cortical regions of the brain it is fit to be considered and is sure to qualify against all criteria. Try out a 30-capsule dosage of a nootropic to check if it works for you.

So it can be said that all nootropics can be cognitive enhancers but all cognitive enhancers might not be nootropics. To come to a common ground on nootropic definition, the best nootropics should enhance memory and learning ability and at the same time prevent physical and chemical injury to the brain and should have little or no side effects. This becomes possible only when the compounds are used in varying combinations to formulate these drugs to satisfy specific needs of the individuals from different walks of life. This leads to a conclusion that nootropics are only to their best till they are backed by proper research, development and authorization.

If you wish to be aware of the criteria for identifying and choosing nootropic, going through yardsticks set by several scientists is in order. Ultimately the best nootropics are the ones that satisfy the basic requirements and are appropriate for the individual's specific needs too.