Most Votes
- By the end of 2026, how useful do you think agentic/multi-agent AI systems will actually be in your daily work or personal projects? Posted on March 11th, 2026 | 25559 votes
Most Comments
- By the end of 2026, how useful do you think agentic/multi-agent AI systems will actually be in your daily work or personal projects? Posted on March 11th, 2026 | 40 comments
Supplements are mostly snake oil (Score:5, Insightful)
There are several problems with supplements:
1. They are refined. In other words, they are extracted in some kind of purified form, from the foods from which them come. This IS the biggest problem with "processed foods." By extracting them into "pure" form, much of the incidental benefits are lost. These incidental benefits are not trivial.
2. Most of us already get enough of most of the nutrients we need.
3. Too much of a good thing, is not a good thing.
Sure, some people need specific supplements for specific reasons. But it's far better to improve your diet to be more diverse and more rich in fruits and vegetables, than to take supplements to fill a supposed void.
Re: (Score:2)
It is not possible to get optimum levels of nutrients from any diet, no matter how good that diet is. In particular, it is impossible to get optimum levels of coenzyme Q10 from food.
As people age, nutrient absorption declines. Old people need supplements more than young people do.
Re: (Score:3)
Precisely! [scientificamerican.com]
"A Kushi Institute analysis of nutrient data from 1975 to 1997 found that average calcium levels in 12 fresh vegetables dropped 27 percent; iron levels 37 percent; vitamin A levels 21 percent, and vitamin C levels 30 percent. A similar study of British nutrient data from 1930 to 1980, published in the British Food Journal,found that in 20 vegetables the average calcium content had declined 19 percent; iron 22 percent; and potassium 14 percent."
"Yet another study concluded that one would have to ea
Re: (Score:2)
If you're trying to get Vitamin A from oranges, you're doing it wrong.
I'm curious if fortified food is as useless as vitamin pills have turned out to be, though.
Declining nutrients is entirely expected... (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
This is a product of our industrialized farming practices. Years of extracting nutrients from the same plots of land while doing nothing but applying NPK chemical fertilizers is bound to reduce the amount of available micronutrients available in the soil over time.
That may well be part of it. But the environment is also probably somewhat to blame. Because CO2 levels result in plants growing faster, this apparently also results in them having less time to absorb nutrients, thus producing fruits and vegetables with fewer nutrients relative to their mass [forbes.com].
Also, most fruit these days gets picked earlier because so much of it gets transported a long distance. It would be surprising if that didn't also result in lower nutritional value.
Re: (Score:2)
Sure, oranges provide vitamin C... but A is two better!
Re: Supplements are mostly snake oil (Score:2)
Re:Supplements are mostly snake oil (Score:4, Insightful)
Sorry, but this is a fairly ignorant response, especially to claim "snake oil" - clearly you've never picked up any scientific publication or even read the countless scientific studies on the numerous effects of various supplements. Not to mention the depletion of essential nutrients in our food and soil, such as massive lack of Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratio in general population, which causes inflammation [bmj.com] and possibly even a precursor to tumour / cancer [nature.com]; and severe lack of magnesium due to over-use of pesticides and aggressive farming practices.
(Magnesium is essential to try if you have anxiety or frequent migraines [nih.gov]).
If you get regular ear infection or flu, it would be worth trying zinc with Vitamin D3 to combat it before it ever begins. Otherwise, Vitamin C is one of the most potent anti-oxidant supplements which combats bacterial infections quicker and safer than most antibiotics. Intravenous ascorbic acid was shown by 2-times Nobel laureate Linus Pauling (apparently one of the greatest scientists of all times [archive.org]) to combat certain types of cancers.
If you indulge in sugary stuff or vegetable-oil based food (restaurant food), then Omega 3 (esp EPA) is essential to combat inflammation caused by too much Omega 6 [bmj.com]. (Turmeric (curcumin) is also a potent anti-inflammatory in high-doses [liebertpub.com], such as to combat arthritis, and general joint aches/pains).
Sadly we don't know why, but even oily fish such as wild-caught salmon has been declining in Omega 3.
If you stay indoors for too long, then Vitamin D (esp cholecalciferol) is essential for numerous reasons, not only being anti-cancer [harvard.edu], but required by our skin/hair and essential to combat infections/flu.
If you suffer from anxiety / depression, numerous clinical studies have shown St Johns Wart to be effective, otherwise, even more potent is CBD from cannabis.
All these supplements are concentrated, such that a healthy diet will not be enough - except perhaps in the case of folic acid, zinc, vit d, and certain other minerals.
As supplements and vitamins are a huge threat to the pharmaceutical industry, they also pay for counter studies to disprove the effects of various supplements - some great examples are: -
* the tobacco industry;
* the aspartame poison;
* non-stick coating chemical PFOA [wikipedia.org] and even PTFE, which is a toxic carcinogenic chemical shown to be in the blood of 98% of population thanks to DuPont / Teflon;
* and more recently, Monsanto / Bayer's RoundUp.
And of course, there are certain supplements in which we should be careful due to dose-response relationship and how it can quickly build up in the body such that it may become poisonous, especially Green Tea and Iron.
Re: (Score:2)
How about being on the fence. Nutritional supplements are a great idea and should be used to make up for poor quality diets whether those diets are poor by choice or poverty and also when people make greater use of those various trace elements, when ill or young or old or due to genetic nature are not the most efficient user of trace elements.
Now as to whether or not any currently on the market are any good, I reserve judgement until independent government studies are done and because obviously no profit i
Re: (Score:2)
How about being on the fence
Or how about learning Science and recognizing that everything is a chemical compound whether naturally occurring or synthesized in a lab? Just because it didn't come from Pfizer or Merck doesn't mean it's automatically worse or doesn't work. Only the scientific method can truly determine that.
Re: Supplements are mostly snake oil (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Snake oil (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Prescription stuff is very effective.
Re: (Score:2)
Are there prescription nootropics? I've never heard of one, and I'd be surprised if such a thing exists.
Re: (Score:1)
Adderall , Ritalin, etc
Re: (Score:2)
Fair enough; my ignorance is definitely showing. That makes all the sense in the world.
Thanks.
Re: Snake oil (Score:2)
I donâ(TM)t think stimulants are not true nootropics, in normal people they create euphoria that changes self assessment (makes them feel like genius) but lowers ability to learn and impairs cognition. The typical example is the meth head who decides he is going to build cars out of scrap, with no cost assessment for thousands and of hours of his own labor. Best learning of math for instance happens in very relaxed state, though once math knowledge is acquired, stimulants can boost creative output, so
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Prescription stuff is very effective.
You mean like prednisone packs? A lot of pharmaceuticals have worse side effects than what they claim to help with. The best thing to do is research everything. Never trust anyone to tell you what the truth is. Always question everything.
Anyone that drinks coffee or tea does (Score:5, Insightful)
Caffeine is a nootropic
Re: (Score:2)
Alcohol, no so much,
Re: Anyone that drinks coffee or tea does (Score:1)
Taurine? Why?
Re: (Score:2)
I wish they had to put the caffeine content of coffee on the label. Some are definitely stronger than others and the only way to tell right now is to try it and see if you get a headache or start vibrating through walls.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
You need to build up your tolerance then. If you drink high-test every day as your daily coffee, then at worst you find other coffee not working as well and you need another cup or six.
I probably pee more caffeine out after my morning coffee than I get in most other coffees. That makes my only issue with other people's coffee (besides taste) whether or not they have enough of it.
Re: (Score:2)
I read "take" as "as a specific supplement", since it is a wellness fad, which I'd wager is the general interpretation of the question. Fair enough it doesn't specifically ask that.
Re: (Score:2)
Indeed, and that's why I voted 'yes' (after finding out wat nootropics are). While I do not drink coffee, I do somewhat regularly (a couple of times a week) drink carbonated caffeinated beverages... sometimes with the express idea to keep me awake during a 'later in the work day my eyes want to close' situation. And it's not only the caffeine, but could be sugars as well, and other stuff if it's not a regular coke.
The approximately two cups of tea per day I drink are not significant IMHO. You need to drink
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah that's why I said yes. Probably just poorly worded question but sounds like par for the course on /.
Re: (Score:1)
Caffeine is a nootropic
I was surprised to learn that 85% of Slashdot poll respondents don't consume any caffeine.
Re: Anyone that drinks coffee or tea does (Score:2)
I consider it an essential chemical, like oxygen.
Re: (Score:2)
Caffeine is a nootropic
I was surprised to learn that 85% of Slashdot poll respondents don't consume any caffeine.
"Drinking a cup of coffee" isn't "taking", especially if you only drink one cup of coffee at breakfast and never during the day.
"Taking" conjures up images of absorbing supplements in other forms than consuming normal foodstuff from a cup or glass.
Re: Anyone that drinks coffee or tea does (Score:2)
So if it's not in pill form or an extract then it's not pharmalogic?
If a crush up baby asprin into my oatmeal is that just seasoning?
Re: (Score:2)
It's a very confusingly worded poll for judging intentions. Take me. I drink water for nearly all of my liquid consumption. Once a week I sometimes indulge by consuming one of those pre-packaged Starbucks Mocha Frappuccinos. Does that count? Do I "take nootropics?"
I voted no because I don't consume them often, I consume them for the taste (I love a hint of coffee taste, but I loathe straight coffee) and not for the effect of caffeine, and I certainly don't take any of them in supplement form.
Usually wh
Re: (Score:2)
Googled the phrase, "Caffeine is a nootropic" and the first link was 'Why Caffeine Isn’t a “Smart Drug.”' Not trying to be contrary or argumentative, I just thought it was funny. Until today, I had no awareness of the word nootropic.
Re: (Score:2)
Googled the phrase, "Caffeine is a nootropic" and the first link was 'Why Caffeine Isnâ(TM)t a âoeSmart Drug.â
Wikipedia disagrees [wikipedia.org].
Re: (Score:2)
No it isn't. Coffee drinkers feel invigorated when they get their coffee because their brain level reverts to the healthy state of what a non-coffee drinker feels like in the morning. So at the end of the day we just do it to get over the low.
Nootropics, and I had to google that, seem to be snake-oil that people sell to help you done thunk better.
Personally? I do use brain boosters in that, after my coffee, I sometimes actually still read a book. :)
Re: (Score:2)
Bad (Score:4, Funny)
Drugs are bad, m’kay.?
Result: people don't know what nootropics are (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, I'll fess up. I voted "no" without considering the copious amounts of coffee I consume each day, (usually a 9-cup pot; sometimes by myself, sometimes my wife will drink a cup or two.)
That being said, I believe the spirit of the question was specifically asking if people are taking a supplement, so I'm comfortable with my answer.
Re: (Score:2)
I think I changed my vote by going back and doing it again. Or is the first vote binding?
Re: (Score:2)
Given the state of the /code base, I wouldn't be surprised if they were additive.
Re: Result: people don't know what nootropics are (Score:2)
The "cups" on my coffee pot are 5 oz. I drink 4 "cups" of coffee a day, which is about the same amount of soda someone might drink. And I add substantially less sugar to my coffee than is in coke.
Re: (Score:2)
So results clearly show people don't drink coffee, tea or jolt or red bull etc... Or people just don't know what nootropics are :)
Coffee and tea are against my religion. Red Bull tastes nasty and has too high a concentration of caffeine for me to handle (I also get jitters from Pepsi Max). If I get the afternoon lag, I grab a cola and some trail mix.
Re: (Score:1)
You should pray to your god for energy.
Re: (Score:2)
You should pray to your god for energy.
My sect teaches that "the glory of God is intelligence" so I choose to do my part to get the results I want. A little sugar, caffeine, and protein in the afternoon gets me through to dinner. No reason was given why coffee and tea were singled out. The same revelation also encourages eating whole grains and getting enough exercise. This revelation was received in 1833. In the spirit of the revelation I avoid energy drinks. Protein helps regulate the sugar entering in my bloodstream so I don't get a high or l
Re: Result: people don't know what nootropics are (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Or we reject the association. Making up a new word for "coffee, tea, energy drinks, and off-label Ritalin bought on the dark web" doesn't actually make them the same thing.
(See also: "microdosing". You're taking LSD. Which ought to be legal as long as you're a responsible adult about it, but please stop pretending it's something entirely different because you're a 30-something manager at Google instead of a teenage arts student.)
Re: (Score:2)
Correct, I do not.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I certainly picked no because I have no idea.
And looking at the comments apparently I do if caffeine is a nootropic. I drink coffee. I wonder if beer is a nootropic too.
I should Google nootropic
Nootropics ...(colloquial: smart drugs and cognitive enhancers) are drugs, supplements, and other substances that may improve cognitive function, particularly executive functions, memory, creativity, or motivation, in healthy individuals [wikipedia.org]
Okay, I think it's safe to say beer is not a nootropic.
And there's a whole sect
Re: Result: people don't know what nootropics are (Score:1)
Re: people don't know what nootropics are (Score:1)
Nootropics? (Score:4, Informative)
I had to find out what nootropic [wikipedia.org] is as I'd never heard the term. I don't take nootropic supplements, but I drink caffeinated soda from time to time (I don't drink coffee for religious reasons). I also enjoy guarana for the taste.
I had a water conditioning system (think water softener plus filters) installed last week. I bought the system to improve the taste of my tap water. The salesperson told me that we are finding more and more supplements and prescription drugs in our water system because our bodies only absorb a fraction of what we take.
Re: Nootropics? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
I thought this was odd too, since I always thought caffeine and coffee go hand in hand for religious reasons. But it seems that, as with many religions, these things are open to interpretation.
Take Mormons, for example. The official stance of Mormons is that they aren't allowed to drink "hot drinks". This has been interpreted as coffee/tea since those were allegedly the only hot drinks available when that text was written. So, some Mormons follow it strictly as written and avoid hot coffee and hot tea,
Re: (Score:2)
The salesperson literally regurgitated what everyone from gradeschool+ knows. The excess is pissed away. Not all, mind you. There are some that can be *very* toxic to you in large doses, so don't just assume you'll piss it all away.
Get educated, and for god sakes, don't trust salespeople!!!
Coffee (Score:2)
I voted "yes" considering a drink a cup of coffee every morning.
Say what? (Score:3)
Until I started reading the comments, I thought this was about some new photo thing -- nootro pics. So I voted "no".
Not that I know of? (Score:2)
That was my theory, too. Now it seems I have to change my answer since I sometimes drink coffee or other sources of caffeine.
Re: (Score:2)
Coffee (Score:1)
Piracetam (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Piracetam is prescription medicine for cognitive decline in much of Eastern Europe. It is given practically to everyone who had brain stroke, but it also used in ADD situation, vertigo and myoclonus cortical. Also it is being prescribed for dyslexic children.
Obligatory CN Post... (Score:1)
CowboyNeal is my nootropic!
LSD microdosing (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I’d never heard the word before; but thank you Wikipedia!
”Nootropics, also known as smart drugs and cognitive enhancers, are drugs, supplements, and other substances that purport to improve cognitive function, particularly executive functions, memory, creativity, or motivation, in healthy individuals.”
I see the word âoenootropicsâ... (Score:1)
... and I immediately start thinking about penguins. How come?
Need a better dinfination that everyone understand (Score:1)
I prefer... (Score:1)
Define "take" (Score:2)
I read "take" as taking pills of them. Like most people my age (I remember the 1st moon landing) around here, I do not. I take medicines my doctor prescribes for me and, because I live in a civilised country, do not have to pay for most and the remainder are not too expensive, I get most of what I need from eating nice food. If I am low in something, I can make changes to what I eat.
Someone else referred to such dietary supplements as Snake Oil. They are real, just unnecessary for the huge majority of
Slashvertisement (Score:2)
Is this an ad for the latest fad? I looked it up, and found a variety of things that could improve my brain function. Are any of them "from jellyfish?"
Yes, I consume them. I drink coffee. Next?
Yes but (Score:2)
only occasionally as Piracetam creates a two week boom-bust cycle in brain chemistry and they don't make Vasopressin anymore. Biggest piece of advice is to make sure you know how whatever you're dosing interacts with your internal chemistry and any other foods or drugs you are intaking.
1. Take nootropics
2. ???
3. Profit!
Mind you (Score:1)
What is it? (Score:2)
What is a no-op tropic? Something something that doesnt do anything and says so right on the box??
Is Slashdot? (Score:2)
Responders not understanding the question? (Score:2)
Considering that caffeine and nicotine are both nootropics, I find it difficult to believe that, of the 4149 votes, 85% of responders do not at least drink tea or coffee or smoke cigarettes.
Also Omega-3 works... (Score:2)
naturally (Score:2)
Bad idea. (Score:2)
All the people I know that took nootropics purchased over the internet have suffered from serious cognitive declines. 3 people, 3 declines.
Re: (Score:1)
All the people I know that took nootropics purchased over the internet have suffered from serious cognitive declines. 3 people, 3 declines.
What kind of nootropics did they take?