Though not recommended by the Food and Drug Administration for treating any disease, clinicians use citicoline as an adjunct to treat neurodegenerative diseases, particularly those associated with memory loss. It is also used to manage glaucoma due to its ability to reduce intraocular pressure. In addition, it is used as a nutraceutical to boost mental health and strengthen the nervous system's ability to resist the onset of neurological disorders.

Clinicians use it in therapy due to its neuroprotective ability, ability to aid the synthesis and release of neurotransmitters, and promotion of cell signaling.

Citicoline is a nootropic, neurotic, and neurotrophic drug. As a nootropic, it improves human thinking, learning, and memory, especially in patients with impairments in these functions. As a neurotic, it strengthens the nervous system. Its neurotrophic ability helps with the growth, differentiation, and survival of neurons.

You can take citicoline every day. In addition, as with many nutraceuticals, the best results are seen when taken daily and consistently. Alternating or skipping doses gives poor results. Moreover, clinicians with experience in its use recommend and prescribe it as a daily dosage regimen. Also, talk to your clinician to find out what dose is best for your condition before beginning therapy.

Citicoline helps people recover after a stroke by increasing neuronal plasticity, aiding neurogenesis, and improving sensorimotor function recovery. Also, it aids in the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine, thereby aiding in the further prevention and reduction of stroke and its adverse effects. Phosphatidylcholine is significantly degraded during a stroke.

In addition, it helps in stroke therapy by aiding phospholipid synthesis and suppressing the release of free fatty acids and the actions of free radicals. Furthermore, it aids in stabilizing neuronal cell membranes, thereby preventing stroke progression.

It is popularly claimed that citicoline lowers blood pressure. In support of this claim, a study on the effect of citicoline on blood pressure variability for four weeks concluded that it significantly decreased nocturnal systolic blood pressure. It also further reduced average daytime and average nighttime systolic blood pressure variabilities.

However, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2007 and 2010 concluded that, with its data, there was no positive correlation between the citicoline active molecule, choline, and blood pressure.

Similarly, Vahide Savci’s study on the effect of intravenous citicoline on blood pressure in patients with hemorrhagic shock saw an increase in blood pressure and a consequent reversal of hypotension. Vahide further postulated that this was probably due to citicoline-induced central nervous system cholinergic activation.

Hence, more research is needed to clearly define citicoline's role in blood pressure regulation.

An average person can take citicoline. It is found in significant quantities in some of our major foods. By default, everyone is already taking citicoline—examples of such foods are fish, whole grains, organ meat, and fish.

Besides, it is a supplement. However, consult with your doctor before taking it.

Patients with hypertonia of the parasympathetic nervous system should not take citicoline. Due to its cholinergic activity, citicoline will worsen the already-existing muscular contractions.

Children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding women should avoid citicoline until we know more about its safety in these sensitive groups. Also, if you’ve had an allergic reaction to any choline-containing supplement, you may want to avoid citicoline.

In addition, do not take choline with cholinergic drugs without the knowledge of your physician. This is because of the likely additive effect of increasing the levels of acetylcholine in the nervous system, thereby causing adverse cholinergic effects. Examples of cholinergic drugs are pilocarpine and donepezil.

Furthermore, patients on levodopa therapy should exercise caution due to its ability to potentiate the activity of dopamine.

Generally, citicoline is well tolerated. However, its adverse effects include gastrointestinal disturbances, hypotension, tachycardia, bradycardia, restlessness, back pain, blurred vision, and headaches. These adverse effects often resolve when it is discontinued.

Report any adverse effects that refuse to go away to your physician for prompt resolution.

There is no evidence-based clinical research that states that citicoline aids sleep. An eight-week study on its role in sleep in cocaine-dependent patients saw no disruption in sleep-wake cycles. Due to its ability to boost mental energy and health, most people believe it can help them sleep. This is not true. Citicoline only increases the efficiency of cellular mitochondria to release energy from food.

Maintaining healthy sleep hygiene is the best way to improve and maintain healthy sleep.

Yes. Citicoline improves memory. A clinical trial using citicoline in healthy older adults for 12 weeks showed that it improved overall memory performance, especially episodic memory, in those with memory impairment induced by aging.

Similarly, in another study, its memory-improving ability in the elderly with memory deficits and without dementia showed that it improves memory in free recall tasks. However, it failed to improve memory in recognition tests. Also, another test of citicoline's ability to enhance memory showed that it improved immediate and delayed logical memory.

Though citicoline begins to exert its effects immediately upon administration, it would take weeks before your condition improves. Also, you must take your medication daily to get the maximum benefits of therapy.

Research on its pharmacokinetics discovered that it was completely absorbed after oral administration with a half-life of 24 hours.

Citicoline is not an energy booster, nor does it increase blood glucose concentrations. Instead, it acts to increase mental energy. It does this by increasing neuronal energy reserves and utilization.

A study postulates that its ability to increase mental energy enables it to prevent or slow down cognitive decline. In addition, it boosts mitochondrial health by decreasing cardiolipin levels, supporting mitochondrial ATPase activity, and maintaining healthy cardiolipin levels. Cardiolipin is essential for mitochondrial electron transport.

Though the available studies are preliminary and more research is needed to elucidate citicoline’s role in anxiety, it is good for anxiety. It helps reduce anxiety, especially in people with depression. However, it is not as effective as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. It reduces anxiety, especially in patients with depression. However, it is not as effective as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. This is due to its ability to act on neurotransmitters and cause neuroprotection and neurorestoration from neuronal damage.

In addition, the Hordaland Health Study discovered that choline, an active metabolite of citicoline, decreases with high anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Citicoline is found naturally in minute quantities in meat and animal organ products. If you desire citicoline supplementation, you should talk to your doctor about a recommended citicoline supplement or increase your intake of choline-rich foods. Examples of choline-rich foods include meat, legumes, fish, poultry products, dairy products, and eggs.

Other rich sources of citicoline are shiitake mushrooms, soybeans, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, almonds, and rich potatoes.

Citicoline is the best choline supplement for the brain.

The most popular choline-related supplements available are choline bitartrate, alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine, and citicoline. Choline bitartrate is the simplest and cheapest choline supplement available. However, compared to other choline supplements, it is ineffective at crossing the blood-brain barrier.

Alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (GPC), though more effective than choline bitartrate in crossing the blood-brain barrier, has poor ability compared to that of citacoline. In addition, its use is prevalent among athletes due to its ability to enhance muscle performance.

Among choline supplements, citicoline is the best nootropic. This is because it delivers both choline and cytidine to the brain. Cytidine is a precursor to uridine, a critical factor in neuronal membrane formation and connectivity.

Citicoline is available under different brand names as each manufacturer seeks to distinguish their product. Some brand names of citicoline include Ceraxon, Cognizin, Synapsine, Cidilin, Trausan, and Cebroton.

You will also find it in combination with other nootropics and immune boosters—for example, Civance.

If you need clarification about the brand of citicoline you will use, speak to your clinician to recommend one. Also, know that most brands have different strengths of citicoline.

Their physician would determine the duration a patient suffering from stroke would take citicoline. Being a nutraceutical, patients with strokes will probably take citicoline for a greater portion of their lives, except if they choose not to. This is because stroke requires chronic therapy.

A study on its use in patients with their first-ever ischemic stroke for 12 months states it is safe. Similarly, another study in patients with acute ischemic stroke concluded that oral citicoline increased the odds of complete recovery at three months when used within 24 hours after moderate-to-severe stroke onset.

Citicoline aids neuronal recovery from a hemorrhagic stroke through various mechanisms. Some of these mechanisms are:

Citicoline occurs naturally and is made from choline through the CDP-choline pathway. In this pathway, choline is brought into the cell and acted upon by different enzymatic processes to form citicoline.

Choline reacts with adenosine triphosphate in a reaction catalyzed by choline kinase to form phosphocholine. Phosphocholine further reacts with phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase to form citicoline.

Citicoline is also produced synthetically in a series of reactions, either through the use of microorganisms (the biological method) or the chemical method.

No medicine heals or revives dead cells after a stroke. It is neuroplasticity and neurogenesis that help the brain heal. Neuroplasticity is activated by experience and by repeating tasks and skills we want to improve or gain back after an episode of stroke. In addition, neurogenesis—the ability of neurons to grow and form new connections—further helps the brain heal.

Nutraceuticals only help the neurogenesis and neuroplasticity processes become more efficient.

There are widespread claims about what acetyl-L-carnitine is good for. Unfortunately, most of these claims have yet to be backed by adequate clinical trials. In addition, the Food and Drug Administration does not approve it for any indication.

Clinicians use it to manage cerebrovascular disorders, mental function disorders, peripheral nerve disorders, diabetic neuropathy, and dementia. It is also used as a food supplement. In treating these conditions, clinicians have found it useful to aid recovery and meet treatment goals.

Acetyl-L-carnitine is believed to be a fat burner because it transports fatty acids into the mitochondria for breakdown. However, it has a modest reducing impact on body fat. Engaging in regular and consistent exercise is your best bet if you decide to burn fat. You will get better results if you combine acetyl-L-carnitine supplementation with regular exercise.

Also, acute acetyl-L-carnitine supplementation has minimal, if any, effect on muscle carnitine content. So, you are likely not to get any benefit from irregular use of it when intending to burn fat.

The best time to take acetyl-L-carnitine is one that suits you. You can take it at any time of the day. Talk to your clinician to decide which time best suits your treatment goals.

Patients with hypersensitivity reactions to acetyl-L-carnitine should not take it. Also, these groups of patients should exercise caution and seek approval from their physician when taking it:

Dangers from L-carnitine use arise when it is taken in very high doses. These dangers are adverse reactions that will arise from its use. These adverse drug reactions include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and a fishy body odor. Also, in patients with uremia, it can cause muscle weakness. In addition, L-carnitine would exacerbate seizures in patients with seizure disorders.

L-carnitine is not known to cause weight gain. Instead, it promotes weight loss. This is because it principally aids in transferring fatty acids to the mitochondria for breakdown into energy. Hence, it will not in any way promote weight gain. Talk to your doctor if you experience weight gain from using it.

L-carnitine is not proven to reduce belly fat. Exercises targeted at the abdominal muscles are the best way to reduce belly fat. L-carnitine will only aid the process by assisting in the transfer of fatty acids to the mitochondria for breakdown into energy.

The effects of L-carnitine on the body are not yet supported by clinical evidence.

Due to its mechanism of action, L-carnitine will increase your body's ability to utilize fatty acids for producing energy efficiently. Consequently, it will aid in exercise performance and recovery.

L-carnitine may help you improve brain function and prevent the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. It may also help you regulate blood sugar, reduce diabetic symptoms, and increase the body's ability to use carbohydrates.

It is good to take L-carnitine every day. Its side effects are rare and occur when L-carnitine is taken in very high doses. Its postulated ability to increase energy use, lower body fat, boost mental health, and prevent neurodegenerative diseases is worth the known risks it possesses. Taking it daily at the recommended dose(s) is good for the body both in the short and long term.

Acetyl-L-carnitine is safe for most people, and side effects are rare. However, reported side effects often result from patients taking it in high doses. These side effects include gastrointestinal disturbances, dry mouth, headache, restlessness, and a fishy odor to urine, sweat, and breath.

Report any side effects to your clinician for prompt resolution.

Acetyl-L-carnitine immediately begins to work when it is taken. However, it will take weeks or months before the effects are seen. Therefore, you will need to take it regularly for a long time to get optimal benefits from it. Do not focus on the length of therapy but on the treatment goals.

You will not suffer from any adverse effects if you take L-carnitine at recommended doses on an empty stomach. However, if you do, start taking it with food, preferably a carbohydrate-rich meal. In addition, research has shown that it is better absorbed on an empty stomach. This is because the competition with other amino acids for absorption will be significantly reduced.

Acetyl-L-carnitine can be taken either in the morning or at night. However, some clinicians advise that you take it in the morning on an empty stomach so that it will start executing its pharmacological actions on boosting brain health and ensuring efficient energy utilization immediately.

The role Acetyl-L-carnitine plays in sleep is still being determined. However, some clinicians have postulated that it will improve sleep due to its proposed ability to boost mental health, reduce inflammation, and strengthen the immune system, thereby enabling patients to have healthy sleep.

L-carnitine and acetyl-l-carnitine are different forms of carnitine.

Due to the presence of the acetyl group on the acetyl-l-carnitine molecule, it crosses the blood-brain barrier better than l-carnitine. As a result, it is more effective at improving mental health.

Conversely, l-carnitine is readily available in the peripheral regions of the body. Therefore, it is more effective in improving physical performance by making more energy available for muscular use.

L-carnitine is better for weight loss. This is because it is more readily available for muscular use than acetyl-L-carnitine. In addition, on administration, acetyl-L-carnitine accumulates in the brain, unlike L-carnitine, which has difficulty passing through the blood-brain barrier, thereby accumulating in the circulatory system.

L-carnitine availability for muscular use means that myocytes would get more fatty acids for conversion into energy. This will lead to fat loss and, consequently, weight loss.

Though more research needs to be done, L-carnitine positively affects the liver. In a study, L-carnitine supplementation increased alanine transaminase levels, aspartate transaminase levels, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase levels. An increase in these enzymes will likely improve liver function, especially in patients with liver dysfunction. Also, another study on its role in patients with non-alcoholic liver disease discovered that it could normalize or reduce liver enzyme levels and decrease the disease's incidence and severity.

L-carnitine is not known to raise blood pressure. Though more clinical trials are needed, research shows it can lower blood pressure. However, as with all medications to treat high blood pressure, some patients may not experience the hypotensive actions of L-carnitine.

Conversely, an Iranian study saw no lowering of blood pressure when oral L-carnitine was given at a dose of 1000 mg daily for twelve weeks. However, a systematic review of its blood pressure-lowering ability concluded that it reduced diastolic blood pressure without affecting systolic blood pressure levels.

Symptoms of carnitine deficiency include encephalopathy, muscle necrosis, confusion, muscle weakness, muscle pains, vomiting, excess myoglobin in urine, low blood sugar, fatty liver, and high blood levels of ammonia.

Some people with carnitine deficiency can be asymptomatic. However, an untreated deficiency often results in heart failure, liver disorders, coma, and sudden death.

The acetyl-L-carnitine supplement can reduce cholesterol. A study on L-carnitine supplements discovered that oral L-carnitine reduced oxidized low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. Both acetyl-L-carnitine and L-carnitine are different forms of the molecule carnitine.

Similarly, another study on the effects of acetyl-L-carnitine supplementation on decreased tissue carnitine levels and impaired lipid metabolism in aged rats concluded that it reduces both plasma and tissue lipid (cholesterol) levels.

Blueberry extract reduces the activity of free radicals that cause inflammation and, consequently, chronic diseases across the body's various organs. This is due to its high content of antioxidants, chiefly anthocyanins and flavonoids.

Its high antioxidant content makes it a choice supplement for reducing cognitive decline and supporting the health of the hepatic and cardiovascular systems. As a nootropic, it has been found to improve cognition in patients experiencing cognitive decline.

Clinically, physicians use it as an adjunct to treat or prevent the following conditions: diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, age-related macular degeneration, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Everyone can take blueberry when it is consumed in food amounts. However, more must be known about the safety of the amount used for medicine. Therefore, pregnant and breastfeeding women should stick to the normal amounts found in food.

Also, due to its hypoglycemic activity, patients billed for surgery and diabetics should inform their physician about their consumption of blueberries to ensure necessary caution is taken during therapy, before, during, and after surgery.

In addition, patients with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency should inform their physician before eating blueberries.

Blueberry extract is good for the skin. Its pro-retinol content helps it to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, thereby giving the skin a healthier look. In addition, its rich content of vitamins A and E helps it to reduce blemishes, e.g., hyperpigmentation and dark spots. Also, its ability to act as an exfoliating agent enables it to brighten the skin. In addition, the blueberry extract contains antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and can act as a vasoconstrictor, helping those with sensitive skin by reducing redness and other inflammatory reactions.

Additionally, it helps the body increase collagen production. Collagen is the protein that gives the skin its structure, including its elasticity.

Blueberry is safe when consumed in food amounts. Side effects commonly experienced are chiefly gastrointestinal disturbances, low blood sugar levels, and allergic reactions. Gastrointestinal disorders include nausea, diarrhea, constipation, and bloating. Discontinue the use of blueberries immediately if you experience allergic reactions from their use.

Huperzine A improves your memory and mental function. It also helps the body prevent or reduce the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, especially those that interfere with memory and thought.

On administration, huperzine A inhibits the acetylcholinesterase enzyme.

Though huperzine A pharmacokinetics have not been fully elucidated as it is currently undergoing clinical trials, you can take it every day.

As an ancient Chinese nutraceutical, herbal medical practitioners have not documented any serious adverse effects from its everyday use. Also, it is rumored to have fewer side effects than the known acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, e.g., donepezil and glutamine.

In addition, optimal therapy from huperzine A comes from consistent, chronic use. However, patients with cardiovascular disease, liver disorders, and renal dysfunction should only take huperzine A with their physician's knowledge.

Huperzine’s role in improving sleep is not clear. However, due to its acetylcholine regulatory role, it is known to increase rapid eye movement sleep and lucid dreaming. The best way to improve is by adhering to healthy sleep hygiene and avoiding caffeine or caffeine-containing drinks.

Though the duration of action of huperzine A is not clearly known, available studies show that it immediately begins to work when it is taken. However, you will only start to see results weeks after.

Li's study on its pharmacokinetics discovered that it began to appear in plasma within 5 -10 mins after administration. He also showed a biphasic half-life of about 21 minutes and 12 hours, respectively. In addition, Li's study discovered that it had a rapid distribution with a slower elimination rate.

If you do not see a change in your condition four weeks after beginning therapy, talk to your physician to see if you need to continue treatment.

Huperzine A increases dopamine. Comparative studies of huperzine A, donepezil, and rivastigmine on brain acetylcholine, dopamine, norepinephrine, and 5-hydroxytryptamine levels in freely moving rats found that huperzine A had the same potency on increasing dopamine compared to 11- and 2-fold dosages of donepezil and rivastigmine, respectively. Also, it had more lasting effects after oral dosing.

There is no best natural supplement for memory and focus. This is because people will react differently to different medicines and supplements. Some may get maximum benefit from a particular supplement. Others may get little or no help. Examples of natural supplements used to improve mental health and focus include Civance, phosphatidylserine, and Ginkgo biloba.