Microdosing The "Stamets Stack"
In this video I’m going to be talking about microdosing the “Stamets stack.” The “Stamets stack” is a microdosing formula, you could call it, that was developed by the dude Paul Stamets. Now if you don’t know who Paul Stamets is I’ll just tell you for now that he is the guy, the fuckin legend when it comes to the fungi kingdom. He’s one of the top mycologists in the world and his formula that I’m referring to as the “Stamets Stack” is a nootropic stack or a combination of cognitive enhancers that includes psilocybin, lion’s mane and niacin. If you’re fortunate enough to come across a high quality formulation of the “Stamets Stack” let me tell you that it is as advertised most definitely a cognitive enhancer. So let’s get into what’s in the stack and why.
So i’ll be discussing the three ingredients that make up the stack as well as Stamets recommended amount of each ingredient to be ingested in the form of mg per serving. As you’ll find out he lists like a spread of mg per serving for each ingredient. This variance in mg of each ingredient depends on how much you take. The amount you should take depends on factors such as your body weight or sensitivity and will require experimenting to find the right dose for you. The entire spread of the mg doses listed all encompass a “microdose”. But start at the lower end of the spectrum of the recommended dose guidelines and work your way up until you find a dose you like.
Firstly, 1-10 mg per serving of psilocybin. Psilocybin is the active ingredient in psychedelic or “magic mushrooms” that causes the hallucinating effect or the mystical experience effect but let me be ultra clear we’re talking about microdosing. Microdosing means taking such a small amount of psilocybin that there’s no intoxicating, hallucinating, tripping effects at all. On a microdose you’re completely sober - you’re receiving the benefits of the psilocybin without any intoxicating effects. Ok so the reason for microdosing is because multiple research studies have shown that psilocybin creates new neurological pathways in the brain. In these studies we’re seeing that these new neurological pathways lead to enhanced creativity, courage, productivity, positivity, focus, energy, and empathy among others. Studies are continuously coming out on how beneficial psilocybin is for treating PTSD, coping with inevitable death, curbing addictions and anxiety, etc, etc.. Do your own research on though!
The second component of the Stamets stack is lions mane (50-200mg per serving). Lions mane, super amazing medicinal mushroom that has a lot of great research backing because well since it’s never been illegal its been allowed to be studied all of these years whereas the psilocybin mushroom research has been very suppressed in the past. Studies show that lion's mane mushroom supports brain health, alleviates the symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, and boosts your mood and focus. The benefits of lion's mane come from its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
The final component of the stack is niacin AKA vitamin B3 in an amount of 101-200mg per serving. Niacin has been shown as important to the maintenance of healthy brain cells. It's a potent antioxidant and plays a role in the signaling between nerve cells which in turn can help with mental agility. Niacin may even help improve the brain's memory function. Although that’s all great that’s not the main reason why niacin is included in the Stamets stack. I’ll get to that in a second.
So tying all of this together: The attraction of combining psilocybin and lion’s mane is for its duel capacity to both create new neurons and neural pathways, and also to repair existing neurological damage. Niacin is in the stack for deliverability. Niacin works as a flushing agent, which helps with the distribution of the mushroom molecules throughout the body.
I don’t want to speak for Paul Stamets but I believe his intention with this formula is to hopefully see it soon widely available as a vitamin to the masses. Being able to buy this nootropic stack wherever you buy vitamins or online or whatever. A question that could be raised is can’t this be abused? If this was available for anyone and everyone to buy what would stop someone from ingesting the whole bottle and having a full fledged psychedelic trip? Ahhh that’s where Mr. Stamets genius really comes in, you see adding the niacin to the stack ensures this won’t happen. Niacin is harmless, but taking too much niacin induces uncomfortable skin flushing (sweating). Ingesting a bit more than the serving size of the Stamets stack would be a waste, as the niacin dose increases the more the benefits offered by the mushrooms will be flushed away and out of your system, therefore preventing the potential of abuse.
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