Seeking an edge, these brain hackers mix up risky chemical cocktails for breakfast (Stat):
“…A 31-year-old entrepreneur, Gutiérrez has thrown himself into the emerging movement of body hacking — or, more precisely, brain hacking. He’s a connoisseur of “nootropics,” a broad category that includes pharmaceutical drugs, dietary supplements, and do-it-yourself concoctions, all of them meant to turn the brain up a notch.
They haven’t been clinically proven to work, and there’s emerging evidence that some could be dangerous. But nootropics, also called smart drugs, have become popular among young type A personalities on Wall Street, in the Ivy League, and here in the frenzied startup culture of Silicon Valley…
Like all dietary supplements, nootropics are only very loosely regulated; the manufacturers don’t have to prove safety or efficacy before putting them on store shelves. By law, the Food and Drug Administration can step in to recall a product only if it’s mislabeled or causing illness or injury…
To give some idea of the popularity: The nootropics page on Reddit, which serves as an online forum for the do-it-yourself-crowd, has more than 65,000 readers.”
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