Summary
Dave Asprey makes the case for microdosing nicotine at 1-2mg daily, citing Dr. Newhouse's Alzheimer's research and his own 15+ years of use for focus, energy, and neuroprotection.
Key Points
- Biohacking for optimization
- Technology and biology combined
- Practical implementation
Key Moments
In 1986, Vanderbilt researchers found pharmaceutical nicotine reversed Alzheimer's symptoms
Dr. Newhouse at Vanderbilt published the first study showing pharmaceutical nicotine (not tobacco) reversed Alzheimer's symptoms. Asprey started using 1mg/day of nicotine at the dawn of the biohacking movement based on this research.
"Here's the deal: nicotine has gotten a bad rap. In 1986, Dr. Newhouse. Newhouse from Vanderbilt University published the first groundbreaking study that said pharmaceutical nicotine, not smoking, not chewing tobacco, but pharmaceutical nicotine reversed Alzheimer's disease in patients. And since then, we've all confused tobacco, which is bad for you, with nicotine, which at low doses has profound beneficial health effects. Because of this research, I started using nicotine at the very beginning of starting the biohacking movement. One milligram per day. Now, a cigarette has 12 to 20 milligrams per day. This is a tiny microdose, a little mint. And the difference in my brain function, my focus was profound. And for five years, I used one milligram a day. And then I said, I really like this. And the research is getting better and better. So I'm going to use two. And today I recommend a little bit more than that. And there are profound benefits to nicotine that have nothing to do with smoking. They are not pro-cancer."
The nicotine inverted U-curve: a little improves working memory, too much erases the benefit
Meta-analyses show nicotine improves working memory in a dose-dependent inverted U-curve. No nicotine means poor performance, a small dose improves it, but more does not mean better. The Goldilocks zone is key.
"It can improve your working memory. And they say really acute, like short-term improvements. And this is a meta-analysis of many different studies. They can be small to moderate. It's dependent on the type of task. And this is really important. It is a U curve that's inverted. What that means is that if you have no nicotine, you don't perform very well. You have a little bit, you perform better. You get more, you don't get the improvements. So you want to be at the Goldilocks zone."
