Nootropics and Vitamins for the Depressed Athlete

Are you sad? Do you feel less sad after a workout or a drink or junk food? Does your sadness keep ebbing and flowing?

Do the following words by Chuck Palahniuk in Fight Club resonate with you:

“I see all this potential and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables, slaves with white collars, advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of the history man, no purpose or place, we have no Great war, no Great depression, our great war is a spiritual war, our great depression is our lives, we've been all raised by television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars, but we won't and we're slowly learning that fact.”

If the answer is yes, and if you’ve not deluded yourself into believing that 100k followers on your Instagram account is success, then congratulations ?!, you’re depressed; like most of the people around you.

Many people take up exercising for extracting its mental health benefits, or they may start exercising for other reasons but end up experiencing the positive mental changes it can induce after a few weeks.

Mostly, people exercise voluntarily, but sometimes if you’re fortunate to meet a good doctor who is not fat and sedentary, and his default mode for alleviating sadness is not anti-depressants, then he may prescribe exercise as step one to enable you to climb out of the misery hole. If you have such a doctor, send him a thank you note, because he saved you from a paralyzing life-long addiction which would have altered your original easily excitable brain into a lobotomized remnant.

An addition to your exercise regimen, and an alternative to some anti-depressants are ‘nootropics’. Both, antidepressants and nootropics, work on the brain and alter your mental state, or alter it for whatever your immediate requirement may be.

Nootropics can be synthetic and natural. An example of a synthetic nootropic, which I’ve taken sometimes for being more productive is Modafinil. Think of Modafinil as a smart-drug which works like turbocharged coffee. Pop one; it’ll wake you up and dismiss the lazy inside you.

A natural, abundant (in Asia), and cheap nootropic to alleviate symptoms of sadness/depression is Bacopa Monnieri. I know that’s a fancy scientific name, but it belongs to a very common herb in India called Brahmi. Brahmi can improve memory, and even significantly reverse the amnesia which is caused from the usage of benzodiazepines (Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2008 Sep;200(1):27-37. Epub 2008 Jan 13). Win-Win!

"Bacopa Monnieri, is an indigenous plant, found throughout India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Florida, Hawaii, and some other southern states of USA. Its description in Indian scriptures dates back to 5000 BC. It has been used in Ayurveda since 500 AD as “Medhya Rasayana” for treatment of anxiety, poor memory, epilepsy, improvement of cognitive processes, comprehension, memory, and recall. Animal studies have shown that it has anxiolytic, cognition enhancing, relaxing, bronchodilatory, antioxidant, anticancer, antidepressant, immunomodulatory, and anti-inflammatory effects" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5075615/).

But do take note that Bacopa Monnieri does not work immediately like a regular anti-depressant pill, and that is why you should ideally take it for at least 8-12 weeks before reaching any conclusions about its efficacy.

As far as dosage in milligrams (mg) is concerned; 500-750 mg of Bacopa Monnieri extract could be the minimum daily dosage, ideally divided into 2/3 smaller doses per day which are taken with food. Bacopa Monnieri does not have a standard dosage since its effects on the brain differs between individuals. The 500-750 mg dosage mentioned above is not exact/standard since manufacturers may have used different parts of the herb during the manufacturing process and therefore the actual compound (bacoside) in the product may differ between brands.

Coming to vitamins now! Magnesium is known to help with mental health. I don’t want to copy paste links here, since if you Google, you can find a lot of information on how Magnesium is extremely beneficial for maintaining our bodily functions (especially the brain) and how modern diet is extremely deficient in Magnesium. But Magnesium Oxide which is commonly sold online at cheap rates is not easily absorbed by the body since its bio-availability is quite low. Therefore, Magnesium Malate/Magnesium Citrate/Magnesium Glycinate are better options since their bio-availability is higher. 

You can receive Magnesium even through food items which are rich in it. A simple food to this end would be oats (especially as breakfast). You can Google to find a whole list of Magnesium rich foods.

There are more vitamins (such as B-Complex and Zinc), herbs (such as Mucuna Pruriens and Withania Somnifera) and natural notropics (such as Rhodiola Rosea) which can be a part of your 'mental health diet', but I don't want to overload this post since Magnesium and Brahmi should alleviate your symptoms and are easily (and cheaply) available in India.

To create an anti-sadness stack (even for non-athletes), combine Brahmi extract tablets/capsules with a Magnesium supplement. Both Magnesium and Brahmi capusles/tablets are abundantly available online. I’m not linking any brands here since, for now, I just want to help and I don’t intend to commercialize/monetize this blog for whatever it’s worth/not worth, and practicing law is quite my gig....for now.

- Aman Yadav

Ashwagandha and Arjuna for increasing speed, power, VO2 max and lowering blood pressure

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) and Arjuna (Terminalia Arjuna) in their independent capacities have a very important place in Ayurveda. Ashwagandha is an adaptogenic herb and allows humans to adapt to physical and mental stresses. Arjuna on the other hand in commonly seen in use by heart patients.

This (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2996571/) year 2010 Indian study administered 500mg/per day of Ashwagandha root extract powder and 500mg/per day Arjuna tree bark extract powder, separately and together, to a control group of 40 healthy college going young adults with moderately active life style for a period of 8 weeks.

The participants were then made to perform the following physical activities, and their performances were assessed:

1.  Sprinting to find their respective maximum velocities.

2.  Vertical jumps to measure their average absolute and average relative power of the lower limbs.

3.  Balancing on a wobble board to measure changes in balancing.

4. Indoor cycling on a turbo trainer to measure their peak maximum oxygen consumption (ml/kg/min)

After 8 weeks, the researchers found that Ashwagandha increased velocity, power and VO2 max, whereas Arjuna increased VO2 max and lowered resting systolic blood pressure.

When given in combination, the improvement was seen in all parameters except balance and diastolic blood pressure.

The increases in the measured parameters (in percentage) are as follows:

S.No.	Parameter measured	Change (in %)
1	Maximum Velocity	1.3%
2	Average Absolute Power	10.17%
3	Average Relative Power	9.16%
4	Balance	NIL
5	VO2 max	6.3%
6	Systolic blood pressure	4.3%
7	Diastolic blood pressure	Almost NIL

(You may want to cross-check my maths. The figures above may not be exact, but more or less bearable)

So what do these numbers mean for a runner? The numbers suggest that even though the increase in power (absolute and relative) is astonishing at approximately 10%, for a runner it translates into only a 1.3% increase in velocity while sprinting. However, if you consider the increase in VO2 max at 6.3% and Power at about 10% and reduction in systolic blood pressure at 4.3%, an endurance athlete would see a significant increase in performance.

The icing on the cake is that both Ashwagandha and Arjuna are quite cheap to purchase (online/offline) and extremely beneficial for residents of areas with a high level of pollution, which for an Indian will be almost everywhere in India.

I’m using the Ashwagandha and Arjuna combination (500 mg powder each) for the last two months and on some fast workouts, I do feel better, but that may be attributable to a placebo effect. Maybe if I could give up my occasional but voluntary smoke inhalation, periodic junk food binges, and frequent but useless calorie laden alcohol intake, I could be faster and stronger. Till then, I’ll just use the (extremely flawed and pathetic) self-love excuse and march forward with blinders. As Socrates said, "Excuses are like assholes. Everybody has one, and they all stink".

Carpe (Excuses-Excuses) Diem.

- Aman Yadav

Reach racing weight with Apple Cider Vinegar

Lose weight, get faster and race faster.

Lose weight in the wrong way and at the wrong time; then be prepared to risk having a suppressed immune system, nutritional deficiency, brittle bones and adverse hormonal changes, which will most likely lead to a worse race.

Ergo, you were better off fatter!

Depending on the race distance, mostly training peaks at about 1-3 months before the race. Cutting food calories (at the amateur level) during the peaking phase of training is not a sane idea since the lower calorie intake combined with extra fatigue in the peaking phase will lead to the issues mentioned above. 

Moreover, cutting calories in the incorrect way may even lead to muscle loss and not just fat reduction.

An easier solution for cutting weight, and especially target fat reduction is the consumption of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV).

ACV is simply diluted Acetic Acid (AcOH). It is understood that the Acetate in ACV inhibits lipogenesis and most likely stimulates fatty acid oxidation. (lipogenesis is the process by which our bodies create fatty acids)

In a 2014 (publishing year) Japanese double blind study, researchers found that vinegar intake reduced body mass by about 5 pounds after a 12 week period of vinegar consumption, and there was localized reduction in abdominal fat. The additional advantage of ACV intake is that it reduces the risk of heart attacks. But one month after ceasing vinegar consumption the lost weight returnedin the subjects. This means that perpetual consumption of ACV is necessary to sustain its benefits. (Tomoo KONDO, Mikiya KISHI, Takashi FUSHIMI, Shinobu UGAJIN & Takayuki KAGA (2009) Vinegar Intake Reduces Body Weight, Body Fat Mass, and Serum Triglyceride Levels in Obese Japanese Subjects, Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, 73:8, 1837-1843, DOI: 10.1271/bbb.90231).

In the aforesaid study, no abnormalities of liver and kidney functions nor adverse effects were observed when 90ml of vinegar was ingested daily for 4 weeks. In fact, intake of 15 ml of vinegar per day was found to be sufficient to achieve the fat and body mass reduction, and also reduction of strokes.

But due to the taste of vinegar, and also because it is hard to ensure a disciplined daily intake – it would be prudent to schedule the intake of ACV in your training program in such a manner that you reap the maximum benefits on the race day.

Like me, if this is your normal routine then, don't waste money on ACV.

A suggested protocol would be -- 2 tablespoons of ACV per day, which is diluted in at least 250 ml of water, for 4 weeks before race day. (do not ingest ACV without diluting it; it’s basically AcOH and may cause damage)

Other than for cosmetic reasons, consuming ACV every day for its weight loss benefits would not be the best strategy to train for a race. This is because the weight loss and peak training would not coincide to deliver maximum results. Instead you would be training the entire time on your ACV based peak body weight.

A fermented apple a day, keeps the fat away?

Workout Speeds to Reduce Air Pollution Inhalation

Finally there is some much needed respite from the Delhi heat. The nip in the air, silent nights, warm embrace of a quilt and the cold yet comforting melancholy.

Delhi has adjusted its thermostat and wants to cool down. Men will unconsciously follow genetic code and grow stubbles to keep warm, and farmers will consciously burn their bumper crop stubbles to ensure our food supply. The thermal power plants continue to power our lives monthly and weaken our lungs forever. The Diwali sweets and crackers have returned from exile to rule on our waists and lungs. Real estate dust scatters yet scaffolds in courts and our lives. Capitalism has unleased festive discounts and in response we’ve unleashed our gluttony. We relish in oblivion and apathy to continue amassing wealth and material possessions and add our individual butterflies to the Butterfly Effect taking place in the climate. #CarpeDiem #YOLO #Swag #like4like

Now complex brain functions have processed an even more complicated algorithm and the nerves send the instructions to the limb – hey, we need to exercise outside with greater intensity since the running season has commenced.

The more we breathe Delhi while exercising – like a leech it clings to our insides even more.

Enough now child! It’s the peak exercise season and peak performance requires speed work, tempo, long runs, interval training etc., and we want to ensure that an unreasonable amount of Delhi is inhaled in this noble self-sacrifice? and pursuit of endurance and endorphins.

Professor Alexander Y. Bigazzi of the Department of Civil Engineering, the University of British Columbia (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308535014_Determination_of_active_travel_speed_for_minimum_air_pollution_inhalation) quite recently (late 2016/early 2017) has found the minimum dose speeds for Walking, Running and Cycling at which the amount of inhalation of pollutants is the lowest. Move faster than these speeds and you will expend dramatically more energy which in turn will increase your heart rate and respiration and therefore you will inhale exponentially higher amounts of air + pollution.

The human mind is and will always remain a mystery -- so without further ado and analysis, as per Prof. Bigazzi, the speeds at which you will get a ‘decent’ workout while not inhaling exponentially higher units of Delhi air are as follows:

Exercise Type	Speed (km/h)
Walking	3 to 8
Running	8 to 13
Cycling	12 to 20

These speed ranges are for flat surfaces. Energy expenditure and respiration increases with inclines and therefore on inclines the speeds have to be reduced. Walking/running/cycling in the aforesaid ranges will ensure the least amount of pollution inhalation. At speeds above these there is an exponential rise in effort and therefore more inhalation of pollutants.

Maybe buy an anti-pollution mask to go faster than these speeds to not miss out on the “peak season”.

- Aman Yadav

Tulsi Supplement to Adapt to Training Stress and protect from Food and Air Pollutants

Tusli/Holy Basil (Ocimum Sanctum) is an adaptogen/adaptogenic herb which sits at the top in Ayurveda.

Because of its innumerable and immense benefits it is also known as "The Incomparable One", "The Mother Medicine of Nature", and "The Queen of Herbs".

Adaptogens constitute a new class of metabolic regulators (of a natural origin) which have been shown to increase the ability of the organism to adapt to environmental factors and to avoid damage from such factors (source: http://www.scicompdf.se/rosenrot/panossian_1999.pdf). Most importantly an adapogenic herb has to be non-toxic to be classified as adaptogen.

An adaptogen can help an athlete in various ways to adapt to training stressors, especially stressors (mental and physical) which originate from endurance sports. Adaptogens are also essential in maintaining and facilitating an individual’s homeostasis.

The most important effects of an adaptogenic herb for an endurance athlete are, (i) reduction in the stress hormone Cortisol, (ii) increase in stamina (source: ibid), and (iii) increase in immunity to fight off respiratory infections.

Usually, Cortisol increase and Immunity decrease are directly proportional to increase in weekly distance/exercise intensity or a combination of both.

I have realised that management of (i) and (iii) i.e. Cortisol and Immunity are key factors in maintaining an uninterrupted training season. Number (iii) above i.e., stamina may be assisted by an adaptogen but it is more of a function of regularity- you have to exercise regularly and systematically to see progression in stamina.

Studies using forced-swimming, restraint and cold-exposure stress in laboratory animals have shown that Tulsi enhances aerobic metabolism, improves swimming time, reduces oxidative tissue damage and normalizes many physiological and biochemical parameters caused by physical stressors (source: ibid).

Modern food industry, especially processed food industry is broken and because of that people end up purchasing and consuming ungodly amounts of toxic chemicals and pesticides through food. Tulsi has been shown to significantly reduce the damage to humans from such foreign bodies.

Moreover, in a heavily polluted country like India, it can also reduce the harmful impact of air pollution. It was observed in a study that in automobile related high air pollution areas- Tulsi plants develop leaf injury symptoms and alter their metabolism and leaf architecture to acclimatize to new environment and then, quite amazingly, such plants adapt and survive well at the polluted environment sites (source: http://article.sapub.org/10.5923.j.ijmb.20170701.01.html).

Because of its anti-stress properties, regular consumption of Tulsi tea can be compared with regular practice of yoga (source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4296439/). Marc Maurice Cohen, in his research paper calls it “Liquid Yoga”.

The Queen of Herbs originated in India- North India to be specific, and therefore a very powerful adaptogen is available to all athletes in India in a very accessible manner and at an extremely cheap price.

I have recently started using Organic India Tulsi capsules, and I’m waiting for a shipment of Himalaya Tulsi to arrive. Most studies which highlight the benefits of Tulsi are based on Ocimum Sanctum (Krishna Tulsi) variety and as per a study quoted above, Krishna Tulsi (black/purple variety) has a higher phenolic content and anti-oxidant capacity than white Vana (wild) Tulsi (Ocimum Gratissimum).

What I have seen on the label on Organic India Tulsi is that it has 2/3^rds Vana Tulsi. As per the label which I’ve checked online -- Himalaya Tulsi is 100% Krishna Tulsi. On paper Himalaya Tulsi appears a better buy.

A one month supply of 60 capsules/tablets is available for less than Rs. 200.

- Aman Yadav

Vitamin C for improved workouts

I’ve recently started to focus on heavy lifting in the gym in order to look and feel better, and also so that when the time comes to intensify my running workouts for a race- I can ward off injuries through the additional bone density, musculature and joint strength which strength training is adding to my body.

My hope and understanding is that just like we buy cushioned shoes to attenuate the shock our legs receive from running- I’m building the cushioning within my legs through heavy lifting.

But this extra gym work coupled with regular running and bouts of cycling is affecting my performance at work and also making me look bloated/puffy. Yes, I look fatter by exercising more, even though I’ve dropped about half a kilogram in weight and I’m maintaining my food macros.

Ever since the heavy lifting started at a higher weekly frequency-- at work, I have lower energy; I have to focus harder on reading and analyzing documents; and I can also feel my attention span reducing. This is unacceptable in my field! Insecurities loom large and stakes are (unnecessarily) high; mistakes are not easily pardoned- a few slips and you’re out of the game.

So I’ve decided to blame Cortisol for this problem (after some research). Now that a finger has been pointed towards Cortisol, a simple solution has also been researched- Vitamin C chewable tablets. After a lot of reading up, it seems to be the key for maintaining an “intense exercise-work” balance.

Cortisol is a steroid hormone which is released when our bodies are under stress, and high intensity exercise coupled with work and family pressures translates into acute stress. Excess cortisol in the body negatively affects normal bodily functions such as protein synthesis, immune system response, metabolism/fat burning etc. It’s a vicious cycle- train more but look and feel worse, and also risk the chances of over-training.

One way to reduce Cortisol is to decrease exercise intensity, but that is blasphemy, especially for someone who is training for longer races or faster than average race times.

We tend to ignore Vitamin C by usually assuming that the citrus fruits which we consume are providing us the RDA (Required Daily Allowance). However, the current RDA of 60 mg is extremely low since research suggests that at least 1000 mg is required to make a significant dent in reducing Cortisol. Prehistoric humans tended to consume large amounts of Vitamin C in their diet, which was way higher than the 60 mg RDA.

In a 2008 study, twelve participants were given high doses of Vitamin C and the data from the study suggests that vitamin C supplementation can decrease post-exercise Cortisol in individuals performing exercise similar to that of a half-marathon or marathon in hot conditions (Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2008 Dec;3(4):516-30).

A 2001 study demonstrated a transient attenuation of Cortisol in runners who ran for prolonged times and supplemented with 1500 mg vitamin C per day when compared to < or = 500 mg per day (Int J Sports Med. 2001 Oct;22(7):537-43).

However, there are more scholarly articles to demonstrate that Vitamin C does not help in reducing Cortisol. But at Rs. 1 per 500 mg table, which is easily available at local pharmacies, it’s worth a shot.

I’ve started a 1000 mg per day dose divided into twice a day. It is advisable to not have all of it at once and rather spread the dose across a day since Vitamin C is readily absorbed and the effect in reducing cortisol is transient.

For the hippy herb preferring people, Amalaki (amla powder) capsules are available from Organic India, Himalaya and other decent brands. I’ll be trying these too soon.

Castor Oil for Athletic Injuries and Pain

Non-Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) are used by athletes all around the year to reduce incidents of inflammation, joint pain, injuries etc. The commonly used NSAIDs are either applied on the skin or ingested as tablets and in India there is a prevalence of Diclofenac based NSAIDs, especially in the form of a cream/gel/spray. A common household Diclofenac based NSAID for athletes in India is Volini.

Diclofenac based NSAIDs have significant side effects on the kidney, heart and liver amongst other organs. Remember the vulture death crisis in India a few years ago? These large scale deaths of vultures were attributed to the veterinary use of Diclofenac in the cattle which had been consumed by the vultures.

As compared to short term, the long term use of Diclofenac based medicines poses a greater risk, especially cardiovascular issues. You can read a non-technical but rather informative article on this by clicking the link below:

http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/index.jsp?curl=pages/news_and_events/news/2013/06/news_detail_001830.jsp&mid=WC0b01ac058004d5c1

An alternative to NSAIDs for an athlete is Castor Oil. Castor Oil is a vegetable oil which is obtained by pressing the seeds of the Castor Oil Plant (Ricinus Communis).

Castor Oil Plant

I’ve started applying it topically (i.e. on the skin where the pain exists) and it has provided significant relief to my knees, achilles and shin, all of which had started hurting a bit after an increase in running and cycling intensity. As compared to NSAIDs, I am less concerned about Castor Oil’s long term use and also its side effects since no study seems to suggest any major health risk from a short or long term use. It’s just a quick oil massage on the affected area.

Castor Oil contains Ricinoleic Acid (RA) and RA was shown to be extremely effective in reducing inflammation and pain when applied topically (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1781768/). In fact our ayurvedic medicine considers Castor Oil as one of the best medicines for curing arthritis.

You can buy a bottle of castor oil for less than Rs. 100 at your local pharmacy and massage it a couple of times a day on the affected area just like you would use a NSAIDs cream/gel/spray.

- Aman Yadav