Brain Power vs Vice
Abraham Lincoln once said…
“It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.”
Here at Limitless Mindset, we echo this sentiment — those who genuinely live well, consciously cultivate healthy habits, and practice discipline can afford to indulge in a few vices from time to time. How some common vices will affect your brain health…
Coffee?
While some consider coffee to be a mild vice is actually pretty good for your brain and it gives you that energy boost you so crave. The danger with coffee is getting into an addictive cycle where you pound it in the morning to wake yourself up for work, then crash mid-morning and have to drink more coffee or an energy supplement. Keep your coffee consumption at 2–4 cups per day.
The other problem with coffee is how much people like to “accessorize” it with Carmel, whip cream, mocha, etc which turns a very healthy beverage into a sugar avalanche. The ideal way to consume coffee would be to eat fresh coffee beans raw. I doubt very many people are going to do this but just keep in mind that the further you get from the natural product the more the mind power benefits decline. A biohacker is a discriminating coffee-drinker — pass on the cheap stuff — chose quality organic, toxin-free coffee, a few credible sources…
Cool Idea: Since Cacao beans (or Cacao nibs) are so awesome for your mind, add some to your cup of coffee. Enjoy the caffeine boost with the knowledge that your cup of coffee is doing long-term good for your mind.
Energy Drinks
The majority of the energy drinks that you find at the gas station are not good things to put in your body.
Energy drink alternative: You can get a good shot of energy by drinking some green tea and a piece of fruit. Not only will this give you a more sustained energy boost it is significantly less expensive than an energy drink from a gas station. I’m not totally anti-energy-drinks, my favorite is the PeakIQ Shot, The product contains a number of the Adaptogenic herbs that are some of my favorite Nootropics and 80 milligrams of caffeine which is equivalent to a strong cup of coffee.
Alcohol
Alcohol kills your brain cells outright, it also interferes with your dopamine production, dopamine is one of the essential “feel-good” chemicals of the brain. Moderate amounts of alcohol (1 drink a day for women, 2 for men), particularly resveratrol-rich red wine (Dry Farm Wines in California offers truly organic biodynamic “healthy” wine), can help improve your brain (with phytochemicals from the grapes used to make the wine) and cardiovascular health, but anything beyond a glass or two of wine daily is a recipe for reduced brain function and energy loss.
Behind red wine, saki, champagne, and clear liquors are better for you than liquors high in gluten and wheat. Despite the myriad of excellent reasons to not drink here in the western world we seem to find a reason to do it on a daily or weekly basis. So moderation is recommended, if you combine it with eating and drinking water you will diminish its damaging effects.
Also, drinks mixed with fruit juices are slightly more Limitless as the fruit juices are higher in phytochemicals, a pomegranate vodka cocktail is a good example of this. If you are a mixologist and throwing a cocktail party for your friends it would be interesting to see how creative you could get with making a mind power cocktail drink. You’re probably going to drink from time to time, and maybe go a little wild on New Years’ Eve, so do listen to Limitless Mindset podcast #24…
Smoking
No surprises here, smoking is quite simply one of the least limitless things you can do. It will cut off or restrict blood flow to the brain; this deprives the brain of oxygen and glucose. Smoking also tightens capillaries which obstructs the delivery of blood and healthy nutrients to neurotransmitters. This hurts the ability of your brain cells to interact and communicate with each other.
Nicotine itself is a “smart drug” that I’ve used for years without any discernable negative health effects. If you have a little higher risk tolerance; Nicotine solution, spray, or gum is a powerful creativity and focus booster.
If you do smoke, the good news is that switching to a Limitless diet will ease and help the quitting process. When you smoke your brain gets addicted to the chemical stimulant cycles smoking causes, eating a limitless diet will assist your brain in getting back into natural healthy chemical stimulant cycles. Check out our investigation into 7 Nootropics That Make Quitting Smoking a Breeze.
