Since I have tried a lot of supplements and I also love researching, I have decided to do posts on supplements every week. I will be presenting what each one is, the alleged benefits, the research done on it and my experience with it.
I really hope that these posts will be of interest to someone. They certainly are to me! As always, remember that I am not a health professional/expert. I am just doing some reading on things and showing my findings.
For this first post I will be focusing on DMAE which I used a few years ago.
DMAE: What it is, benefits and side effects
DMAE has a chemical name of, 2-dimethylaminoethanol. It is said to help the brain by increasing acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter). Because this chemical is supposed to help our brains, it is considered a nootropic.
One can find it in ready-made pills, powder, supplement stacks, beauty products and it also occurs in fatty fish. The supplementation dosage appears to range from 250-1700 mg per day.
The alleged benefits of DMAE include:
1. May have anti-aging benefits when applied to the skin.
2. May treat ADHD
3. May improve physical energy
4. May improve memory
5. May treat Alzheimer's
6. May improve focus
The side effects include:
1. Fatigue
2. Headaches
3. Anger
4. Depression
5. Worsening of bipolar symptoms
DMAE: Scientific evidence
As a lot of supplements go, the scientific evidence is not always strong. There have obviously been some positive benefits shown with it which is why it is being marketed as helping in the aforementioned areas.
When people read about it possibly treating Alzheimer's disease, they probably get really excited. The unfortunate thing is that there seems to be even less evidence that it would help for this condition than there is for the other alleged benefits.
The anti-aging benefit that is talked about seems pretty promising from the few articles I have read. They have shown that applying it to the skin can firm up the wrinkles, lines and folds you might have. It probably will not give you a face lift like result as some people in the beauty industry say that it does though.
I was not able to find many research articles regarding DMAE and it helping with cognition. Clearly there must have been some research studies done. If we are just go by the anecdotal evidence, it seems like it is really good for people's focus and mental speed for tasks.
There is also one study that I found stating that DMAE might be beneficial for improving mood. It was part of a supplement containing other things though so it is hard to say if it alone actually helps. The fact that one of the side effects can be depression is something to note if one decides to take it for this purpose.
My experience with DMAE
A few years ago I supplemented with DMAE. Anecdotally, I did experience quite a bit of mental and physical energy. This was at a pretty low dose though (350 mg a day).
When I decided to double the dosage, I then started having negative effects. This included me feeling angry and having horrible headaches. These kinds of headaches were the ones that don't respond very well to Tylenol.
The way I took DMAE was through capsules that I made. I bought the powder from Bulk Supplements ( https://www.bulksupplements.com/products/dmae-bitartrate-powder?_pos=1&_sid=8b177b7c5&_ss=r) along with geletin capsules and micro spoons ( https://www.amazon.com/Aozita-Pack-Lab-Spatula-Nickel-Stainless/dp/B075VLJQDZ/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=powder+spoons&qid=1578245839&sr=8-6). I made one capsule and took it every morning. When I was taking two doses, I would take one in the morning and one in the evening.
After a while, I decided to quit taking it. I just got sick of making the capsules everyday and did not think it was necessary to supplement with it anymore.
Will I ever take it again?
I do not have plans of supplementing with it by mouth again. When it comes to the anti-aging benefits, I will be trying it in a cream form. I found a recipe on LeafTV that I will be following ( https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-to-make-dmae-cream/).
To make the cream, I will be using the Bulk Supplement's DMAE powder, Vanicream Lite Lotion, and rosehip oil. I plan on starting this after I get daycare business income coming in. I will most likely also start using a glycolic acid serum each evening and then putting the DMAE cream on after I let it sink in.
I am not going to keep my hopes up that the DIY cream will work for me. My guess is that I will need to get fillers if I want my folds to reduce in severity. I thought that my face would recover and snap back after my fat loss but it is looking like it won't.
Have any of you taken DMAE in some form? Let me know!
Thanks for reading!
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