Speaker: [00:00:00] What are the four things most likely to kill you? One of them is Alzheimer's. Well, if you don't want Alzheimer's, [00:00:05] microdosing nicotine might be a great way to feel better now, have more energy, more [00:00:10] focus, to lose weight and to not get Alzheimer's. Misusing nicotine can be bad for you and not [00:00:15] using nicotine can be bad for you.
I consider nicotine to be as important as caffeine [00:00:20] and ketosis. If you really want to have a brain that's going to last for more than a [00:00:25] hundred years and you want to feel like you love your life, it's that big of a difference. If you want to [00:00:30] stay sharp with creativity, nicotine improves reaction time and vigilance.
It makes it [00:00:35] easier to pay attention. Now, what's the difference between smoking and [00:00:40] taking a pharmaceutical nicotine product? You're listening [00:00:45] to The Human Upgrade with Dave Asprey.[00:00:50]
Hey guys, quick reminder. If you're listening to [00:00:55] this on your favorite audio podcast app and you haven't been over to my YouTube channel, check it [00:01:00] out. Just search for the human upgrade or find me under Dave Asprey BPR. I post full [00:01:05] video versions of every episode and a bunch of other cool content outside the pod.
It's a great way to go [00:01:10] deeper into the content and connect with other biohackers like you. So leave a comment for me. [00:01:15] Yeah, I'm actually going to read them. And poke around while you're there, there is a lot of stuff specifically for you. [00:01:20] It really helps, and it means a lot to me. Here's the deal. [00:01:25] Nicotine has gotten a bad rap.
In 1986, Dr. Newhouse from [00:01:30] Vanderbilt University published the first groundbreaking study that said pharmaceutical [00:01:35] nicotine, not smoking, not chewing tobacco, but pharmaceutical nicotine [00:01:40] reversed Alzheimer's disease in patients. And since then, we've all [00:01:45] confused tobacco, which is bad for you, with nicotine, which at low doses [00:01:50] has profound beneficial health effects.
Because of this research, I started using nicotine [00:01:55] at the very beginning of starting the biohacking movement. One. milligram per day. [00:02:00] Now a cigarette has 12 to 20 milligrams per day. This is a tiny microdose, a little mint. [00:02:05] And the difference in my brain function, my focus was profound. And for five [00:02:10] years, I used one milligram a day.
And then I said, I really like this. And the research is getting [00:02:15] better and better. So I'm going to use two and today I recommend a little bit more than that [00:02:20] and there are profound Benefits to nicotine that have nothing to do [00:02:25] with smoking. They are not pro cancer. They are anti alzheimer's They're pro metabolic and I [00:02:30] want you to understand this because misusing nicotine Can be bad for you and not [00:02:35] using nicotine can be bad for you.
I consider nicotine to be as important as [00:02:40] caffeine and ketosis. If you really wanna have a brain that's gonna last for more than a [00:02:45] hundred years and you want to feel like you love your life, it's that big of a difference. [00:02:50] It's just very different from the world of addiction that you're probably thinking about right now.[00:02:55]
And here's the deal. I am an unlicensed biohacker [00:03:00] author of multiple New York Times' bestselling science books, and I've changed the way we talk about health. with [00:03:05] the biohacking movement, but I'm not a doctor and nicotine is addictive [00:03:10] especially if you do it above the levels I'm going to talk about in this episode.
It'll raise your heart [00:03:15] rate and your blood pressure. Don't use it if you're pregnant. Don't use it if you're a kid. Don't [00:03:20] use it if you have any contraindicated condition, especially if you know you have [00:03:25] cancer. At that point, if you're following western cancer treatments, nicotine might not be good for you.
[00:03:30] If you're following alternative treatments, there's an argument for it. And this entire episode is about [00:03:35] nicotine. Not smoking, not chewing, not snuff, nothing. It's not tobacco, [00:03:40] it's nicotine. Here's what we're going to learn in today's episode. [00:03:45] Talk a little bit about the history of nicotine, because it has just played an [00:03:50] incredibly important role in the evolution of consciousness, really.
And we're going to talk about [00:03:55] the mechanisms, so you understand receptors, what your dopamine does and doesn't do with [00:04:00] nicotine, and the anti inflammatory effect of nicotine. We'll talk about human [00:04:05] data, risks of nicotine and who should avoid it, how to get it, delivery methods [00:04:10] that are not going to cause more problems than the benefits.
And we'll talk about [00:04:15] personalization, stacks, and what synergizes with nicotine. And how to avoid [00:04:20] tolerance or dependence, and what to do if you do have dependence. And I'll teach [00:04:25] you the protocols for microdosing, for deep work, and for tapering. And then I'll summarize it [00:04:30] all for you at the end, because, well, I am a good teacher, at least I like to think so.
So, With [00:04:35] no further ado, let's talk about nicotine, and let's not talk about smoking. [00:04:40] Nicotine is a plant alkaloid, and it is a [00:04:45] defense chemical, just like caffeine, just like polyphenols. Like, most of the beneficial [00:04:50] medical effects from plants are plants designing themselves to not be over consumed by [00:04:55] insects, fungus, bacteria, or other animals.
So the right chemical at the [00:05:00] right dose made by a plant can have profound beneficial or negative effects on you depending on [00:05:05] the dose, depending on the plant, depending on the chemical. And what nicotine does is it binds to the [00:05:10] nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. These are ghost switches for attention, arousal, [00:05:15] and learning in the brain.
You've probably heard of acetylcholine because it's a [00:05:20] stimulatory neurotransmitter. And even the nootropics that I designed that are there for cognitive enhancement, [00:05:25] they increase acetylcholine levels just a little bit. And that's what nicotine is doing by [00:05:30] binding to those receptors and activating them.
Now, nicotine is just not [00:05:35] smoking. The disease burden from tobacco largely comes from [00:05:40] combustion products, not pharmaceutical grade nicotine. It's also worth noting [00:05:45] that most tobacco plants have high amounts of cadmium in them from the soil, [00:05:50] but nicotine, when it's purified, doesn't have that. Nicotine is not risk free, [00:05:55] much like life, but it is addictive, also much like life.
[00:06:00] But nicotine is not classified as a human carcinogen by [00:06:05] itself. Combustion is the problem, along with some of the other things that come from [00:06:10] combustion, like tar. Think about it like this. Acetylcholine is your brain's [00:06:15] laser pointer for attention, and these acetylcholine receptors are the light switches, [00:06:20] so small amounts of nicotine flip a switch so it's a bit brighter.[00:06:25]
Can we talk about the history of nicotine? It has a beautiful [00:06:30] ritual use. You might have heard of ayahuasqueros, or shamans who [00:06:35] use ayahuasca, and I've interviewed many on the show. But there's another [00:06:40] type called a tobacco nero. These are people who use, in the [00:06:45] jungle, ancient forms of tobacco with far more nicotine than what we [00:06:50] normally expect in the West.
And they take it until they hallucinate and they go to the same places that [00:06:55] we go with these ayahuasca journeys, like very, very deep work. And it has [00:07:00] been revered for its ability to help us get into the spiritual world, [00:07:05] especially in North American shamanistic practices. And we've used smoking [00:07:10] as a way to connect with others for a long time.
I don't recommend smoking and I'm [00:07:15] actually trained by a medicine person to administer hoppe, which is a powdered form of [00:07:20] tobacco. I wouldn't do that very often, but I don't mind doing that if I'm sitting around a fire and we're connecting [00:07:25] with our ancestors, that's how you do it. And there is nothing wrong with that.
I actually [00:07:30] have a practice to honor the spirit of tobacco, which actually still wants to help us, even [00:07:35] with all the mean things we've done to tobacco over the years. Okay. That's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about the [00:07:40] extract of tobacco, nicotine. Why would we call it nicotine? Because in 1560, [00:07:45] Jean Nicot, Nicot, Nicotine, [00:07:50] brought tobacco to French court and they named it nicotine because of him.
[00:07:55] In 1828, another couple of these French and now German people, this is [00:08:00] Poussuit Nicotine. and Reimann isolated pure nicotine from tobacco, [00:08:05] 1800s, a very long time ago, and it was a colorless oil and very [00:08:10] potent. And then Jean Stas in 1850 developed the first [00:08:15] forensic nicotine detection, so we could actually figure out whether it's in something.
And it [00:08:20] wasn't until the 20th century That we started making industrial [00:08:25] cigarettes until then you'd roll your own or have a Cigar or you just chew on it or you'd [00:08:30] use snuff and the problem was when we started making industrial cigarettes We started [00:08:35] getting tar and benzopyrenes and modern cigarettes have [00:08:40] hundreds of added ingredients Some of which radically increased the addictiveness of smoking [00:08:45] versus nicotine the washout period for nicotine is three days for a [00:08:50] physiological addiction, same as caffeine.
You quit caffeine and you're gonna have headaches for three days and then it gets better. [00:08:55] If you're taking low dose pharmaceutical nicotine and you stop taking it, [00:09:00] your washout period is three days. If you do high dose pharmaceutical nicotine, it's a little bit more complex. [00:09:05] Where we are today is we have these nicotine replacement products, things like gum, [00:09:10] although most gum has bad sweeteners in it and even one sweetener that's particularly addictive.
We have [00:09:15] patches with nothing addictive but nicotine itself. But you don't really feel the kick as [00:09:20] hard, and we have sprays, and we have these little microplastic [00:09:25] packets that go up in your gum, things like Xen. So I don't recommend those, [00:09:30] but in a pinch, maybe. So it's time, as biohackers and as people interested [00:09:35] in longevity, to that we take a serious look at nicotine as a nootropic and a [00:09:40] longevity anti aging drug.
And this is particularly important if you read Superhuman, my [00:09:45] big longevity book. Well, what are the four things most likely to kill you? One of them is [00:09:50] Alzheimer's. Well, if you don't want Alzheimer's, microdosing nicotine might be a great way to [00:09:55] feel better now, have more energy, more focus, to lose weight, [00:10:00] and to not get Alzheimer's.
Let's get a little bit [00:10:05] science y about how nicotine works. So, there are different [00:10:10] subtypes of acetylcholine receptors. There's alpha 4, beta 2, high affinity, [00:10:15] and alpha 7, which are fast calcium ion permeable. [00:10:20] And these are important for cognition. If you want your brain to work, you have to hit those receptor [00:10:25] subtypes.
Why do we need to do that? Because in your prefrontal cortex, where your conscious thinking really [00:10:30] happens, your ability to regulate your emotions, and to a certain extent in your thalamus, you can [00:10:35] get a better signal to noise. You feel locked in, but not buzzed. [00:10:40] And if you chronically use nicotine, people who just are constantly taking [00:10:45] it all day long at high doses, you get desensitized.
And when that [00:10:50] happens. You get up regulation in days, so then you kind of get dependence. [00:10:55] So, a quick tap on a key would improve typing. Holding it down [00:11:00] until it sticks doesn't work. That's what desensitization is. And if your [00:11:05] brain adds more keys, you get up regulation of your receptors. One of the most [00:11:10] pleasurable parts about nicotine, even low dose, is that it excites these [00:11:15] cholinergic inputs to your mid brain dopamine neurons.
Why would you [00:11:20] care about that? Because if you turn up dopamine in the midbrain, you like your life. A [00:11:25] modest bump in that will increase your motivation, and [00:11:30] it makes it easier to stay on track. It is not like an amphetamine or a [00:11:35] sledgehammer. It is subtle at low dose, but It's just like, wow, everything just got easier [00:11:40] and that reward assist does contribute to habit formation because we [00:11:45] like it when things just feel like they have less effort required for them.
So this is about [00:11:50] dopamine, but those alpha seven receptors in your brain are also on your immune [00:11:55] cells. in the brain and everywhere else. And when you activate those with low dose [00:12:00] pharmaceutical nicotine, it's like a brake pedal on inflammation, which lowers [00:12:05] something called TNF alpha, which is a primary inflammatory cytokine.[00:12:10]
And if you've read my books or heard other episodes of the show, you know that inflammation is [00:12:15] expressed in different types of cytokines, and you might remember that TNF alpha is a [00:12:20] primary cause of inflammation, especially with autoimmunity and with aging. So, [00:12:25] lower TNF alpha is one reason that nicotine likely contributes to longevity [00:12:30] and certainly is anti Alzheimer's.
And guess what other part of your body uses that pathway? [00:12:35] The vagus nerve. This is something that controls whole body inflammation. I've [00:12:40] done probably six or seven episodes on vagus nerve simulation with Dr. [00:12:45] Steven Porges. Who's a leader in the field on that. And we just talked recently about how [00:12:50] there's 200, 000 different parts of the vagus nerve.
And I've talked about [00:12:55] Zenbud, the new ultrasonic vagus nerve simulator. All of these are about controlling the vagus [00:13:00] nerve. But nicotine, well, because it uses this alpha 7 receptor, it affects the [00:13:05] vagus nerve for less inflammation on the thing that controls the whole body. [00:13:10] And tiny doses can actually, surprisingly, make you feel calmer and you can feel [00:13:15] much less muscle and body ache from low dose.
Conversely, [00:13:20] if you take a high dose, you will barf. Many, many years ago, my first [00:13:25] podcast producer, she heard about nicotine on the first episode. So she took a 25 milligram [00:13:30] patch and she stuck it on and an hour later calls me and goes, This is the best day of my entire adult [00:13:35] life. I love everything. And she called me an hour later and said, My face is green and I'm barfing.
There you go. Don't [00:13:40] overdose. Now, let's talk about something called pharmacokinetics, which is [00:13:45] something that you should learn about for any supplement or any medication you're using. Go to your favorite [00:13:50] AI that you trust. It may not be Chow Chi Pity anymore because it's a lying bastard. And [00:13:55] look at that.
That tells you how a medication is metabolized in your body [00:14:00] and how long it's going to last. What that'll tell you is that nicotine has a half life of about [00:14:05] two hours. And if they were going to test you to see if you'd had nicotine, cotinine is the [00:14:10] main breakdown product. It lasts for about 16 hours.
And there are some that last for about [00:14:15] 60 days. So if you're going for a life insurance or something, you're going to have to go cold turkey for a while. [00:14:20] And The speed of how nicotine hits you really affects how you feel. [00:14:25] And the lungs are the fastest route. The oral route is pretty fast, but moderate, and the patch [00:14:30] is slow and steady.
So if you want to get the metabolic benefits, but not really the cognitive benefits, [00:14:35] go for the patch. If you want to get pretty good benefits, go for a spray, which [00:14:40] is not available in the US, unfortunately. Or use something like a little mint that just goes [00:14:45] up inside your lip.[00:14:50]
So what is it going to do in scientific research? Nicotine can [00:14:55] increase your attention, it can improve your working memory, and they say [00:15:00] really acute, like short term improvements, and this is a meta analysis of many different [00:15:05] studies. They can be small to moderate, it's dependent on the type of task, and [00:15:10] this is really important, it is a you based study.
curve that's inverted. What that [00:15:15] 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, [00:15:20] you don't get the improvements. So you want to be at the Goldilocks zone. And if you're dealing with [00:15:25] something called mild cognitive impairment, which is a huge number of people as we [00:15:30] age, and a lot of people who just maybe got exposed to something against their will over the past five [00:15:35] years.
I can't imagine what that would be. But if you're one of those people, there's research showing [00:15:40] that for non smokers, 15 milligrams a day in a patch, which is moderate [00:15:45] dose, for six months, improved working memory, improved attention, [00:15:50] and it doesn't cure things, but it's a credible signal that it's helping with mild cognitive [00:15:55] impairment, so you don't feel impaired.
And this is really cool. If you want to stay sharp with creativity, [00:16:00] nicotine improves reaction time and vigilance. It makes it easier to pay attention. [00:16:05] And that anti inflammatory signaling is my favorite effect [00:16:10] because it's not going to give you Full self treatment of disease, but if you have a [00:16:15] chronic low grade inflammation signal like I did with a background of autoimmunity and weighing 300 [00:16:20] pounds before I got on top of it, I feel better on low dose nicotine.
I've gone off for months at a time. My [00:16:25] life is better with low dose nicotine in every way I can measure. So, of course, I'm going to use it. [00:16:30] So, here are the risks of nicotine. Again, not the risks of [00:16:35] smoking. We're not talking about smoking in this episode. You could get addicted. And you [00:16:40] will see receptor changes and dopamine reinforcement.
And if you withdraw, [00:16:45] it peaks around days two to three and it fades in two to four weeks. And [00:16:50] you can have irritability, low focus, problems sleeping. You'd have cravings for nicotine. [00:16:55] But there's a problem with this. If you're on high dose oral nicotine, the [00:17:00] withdrawal can also cause whole body muscle tension and you get stuck that way for a long time, which [00:17:05] is why If you made the mistake of using 6 mg zins every 5 minutes, [00:17:10] well, you're going to have problems when you start doing it.
So you gently, gently, gently [00:17:15] taper off, ideally using patches. Do not go cold turkey. If you're [00:17:20] on very high doses of nicotine, you will have muscle tension like you've never experienced in your life. [00:17:25] Yes, please. I've tried it. There's also, from excessive nicotine, cardiovascular strain. Your heart rate, [00:17:30] blood pressure goes up.
Never been an issue for me. I have low blood pressure. That's because I'm a biohacker. [00:17:35] So basically, if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure, you have had a recent heart [00:17:40] attack, or you're having arrhythmias, you might want to avoid all stimulants, including nicotine. [00:17:45] And if you do have uncontrolled high blood pressure, that is caused ultimately by [00:17:50] insulin resistance.
And nicotine may help with that, but do not do things that's going to increase [00:17:55] your blood pressure to unsafe levels. And if you take nicotine in the [00:18:00] afternoon, and especially before bed, and you're not used to it, it can fragment your sleep, [00:18:05] lower your dream or REM sleep. And most people who aren't used to [00:18:10] nicotine, if you do an overnight patch, you can expect really vivid dreaming.
And this is [00:18:15] where it gets really interesting. We talk about metabolism. So many of the studies [00:18:20] in the, in the, the head of the paper, they [00:18:25] completely talk about smoking and nicotine as if they're the same thing, even though smoking has a [00:18:30] thousand compounds. And you'll see studies out there that say smoking causes [00:18:35] insulin resistance, and they'll say therefore nicotine does, which is not scientific.
[00:18:40] Smoking causes insulin resistance because the smoking byproducts are bad for your mitochondria, and we know [00:18:45] that. You could just also breathe, I don't know, forest fire smoke and have the same problems with [00:18:50] your mitochondria and therefore your insulin. So nicotine alone could [00:18:55] impair receptor sensitivity, and if you're diabetic or insulin resistant, You [00:19:00] can look what happens with the continuous glucose monitor.
I haven't seen problems with it. And [00:19:05] low dose, not high dose, nicotine theoretically should [00:19:10] help with insulin resistance. But if you start pounding it all the time, it's going to raise your stress hormone levels, which is [00:19:15] going to move your insulin in the wrong direction. If you are pregnant, do [00:19:20] not do this.
It crosses the placenta. Nicotine can alter development. [00:19:25] And if you're a teen, for God's sake, like, Nicotine is not for your [00:19:30] brain. It needs to finish baking before you do that. And I know so many teenagers [00:19:35] who've gotten into trouble, especially with vaping. Vaping is worse than smoking. Don't do that.
[00:19:40] There's so many other ways to experience pleasure than that. A friend of mine who [00:19:45] hadn't tried much nicotine took a spray and suddenly just started barfing from one [00:19:50] milligram. She was pregnant. Her body gave her a hard no on that. And using nicotine once, [00:19:55] if you're pregnant, isn't the end of the world, not by a long shot.
It's just your body saying, don't [00:20:00] put that in me anymore. And if you are pregnant and smoking, you must stop. [00:20:05] Earlier I mentioned, nicotine is not a carcinogen, but it can stimulate [00:20:10] signaling for angiogenesis. And angiogenesis is when the body builds [00:20:15] more blood vessels. Now, angiogenesis is beneficial throughout the body.
You want more blood flow in [00:20:20] the brain. You want to grow new blood vessels. Especially if you have some blocking of the arteries in your [00:20:25] heart because of plaque or because you had COVID or something like that, which causes damage to your [00:20:30] arteries. So, angiogenesis is good, but if you have cancer, cancer will also [00:20:35] want angiogenesis to fuel tumor growth.
So, It's not a good idea [00:20:40] to be on nicotine if you have cancer, especially if you're [00:20:45] undergoing a cancer treatment that cuts off angiogenesis or creation of new blood vessels. [00:20:50] However, if you're doing a metabolic treatment for your cancer, you should work with your cancer specialist. But if I had a [00:20:55] tumor, I wouldn't do nicotine out of an abundance of caution.
And most of the studies are on [00:21:00] high dose, not low dose. And this really is important. If [00:21:05] you have delicious little mints, don't put them out where kids can get them. It can be [00:21:10] poisoning. In fact, nicotine is ultimately there to keep insects from eating tobacco. [00:21:15] And it does this because when you stimulate those acetylcholine receptors a little bit, it feels good.
If [00:21:20] you've ever seen a cockroach sprayed with poison and it starts like seizing up and twitching, [00:21:25] that comes from excess acetylcholine. So nicotine can kill adults and children and [00:21:30] pets. So keep it away from them. Now, what's the difference [00:21:35] between smoking and taking a pharmaceutical nicotine [00:21:40] product?
Cigarettes are way more addictive because smoke has something called an MAO [00:21:45] inhibitor in them. It's actually something that's a part of ayahuasca as well. And that can [00:21:50] amplify your dopamine. You don't have MAO inhibitors in pharmaceutical nicotine.[00:21:55]
Okay, [00:22:00] so now you know you should probably quit smoking. Try this if you want these types of benefits, [00:22:05] but I haven't told you exactly the right dose yet. And I'm going to talk first, [00:22:10] instead of dose, about how it gets in there, because the speed that it gets in affects the dose. [00:22:15] And here's the rule. The faster it hits you, the better it feels, and the more [00:22:20] habit forming it is.
Slower in is smoother and steadier. It's less grabby, [00:22:25] but it also may be less focusing. If you can do a gum [00:22:30] of two to four milligrams, I recommend do the two milligram. You're going to feel it in [00:22:35] 15, maybe 30 minutes. It's important that you chew on it and then [00:22:40] park it. Three chews and just let it sit right up in here.
Do not just keep chewing it, because number [00:22:45] one, you'll look like a cow. And you'll probably sound like one too, but more importantly, you'll get all the [00:22:50] dose in, it'll go down into your stomach, and then you might get nauseous from it. And [00:22:55] most nicotine gum, like Nicorette, is full of crappy ingredients that I would never put in my [00:23:00] body.
The only safe gum that I know of is from a company called Lucy Gum, and full [00:23:05] disclosure, many years ago I wrote a very small check to be an investor and advisor in Lucy, because I [00:23:10] believe in the power of nicotine. So I'm not trying to sell you on it here, Just to mention that that is one [00:23:15] of the brands that doesn't use bad sweeteners in some of their products, but sadly some of them do have it.
[00:23:20] You can also use a lozenge or a pouch. I do not recommend pouches right now [00:23:25] because all of them, as far as I know of, have microplastics and you don't need a pouch, plus you [00:23:30] have to spit it somewhere. You can get a similar effect from a lozenge, and lozenges [00:23:35] offer, deliver slightly more than gum, and pouches vary by branding.
[00:23:40] And the best lozenges, you just park them up here, and they go away. My very [00:23:45] favorite feel good way to get it is an oral spray. Nicorette [00:23:50] makes the only oral spray I've seen. It is approved in every country on the planet except the U. S., and [00:23:55] I don't know why. I've bought it in Mexico, I've bought it in Norway, I've bought [00:24:00] it in Amsterdam, I've bought it in Dubai, and certainly in Canada, [00:24:05] but not here.
You can just find it on eBay. Someone will buy it and import it [00:24:10] and then sell it to you. Uh, if you're at the FDA and you're listening to this, guys, this is better than [00:24:15] smoking. Now there's a patch. Patches come in 7, 14, or 21 milligrams, [00:24:20] and they say in big letters, Do not cut this patch! The reason they don't want [00:24:25] you to cut the patch is that it's bad for their profits.
If you want 7 [00:24:30] milligrams, buy a 21 milligram patch, and cut it into [00:24:35] 3 pieces, because 3 times 7 is 21. You just open it up, take a pair of scissors, and you stick it [00:24:40] on your arm. And this gives you slow, steady release. They say for 24 [00:24:45] hours, probably closer to 16. It could disturb your sleep, it could give you better [00:24:50] dreams, and some people just stick it on in the morning and take it off in the middle of the afternoon, and you just feel [00:24:55] great.
This is the least likely to be addictive with some metabolic benefits. Now, [00:25:00] if you were to smoke your nicotine, which is going to be vaping, if we're not talking about [00:25:05] smoking tobacco here, which we're not, that's the highest dependence, the highest the [00:25:10] highest reduction of organ size. Increases in cancer and all the bad [00:25:15] stuff.
So just never vape. It's not worth it There's another form [00:25:20] that I would do long before I would vape that you don't see in the u. s But you'll see it in europe and it's called [00:25:25] heated tobacco And it turns out if you have a little bit of tobacco and you heat it electrically to a certain [00:25:30] temperature You get nicotine and you get a little taste but you don't get all the bad stuff from [00:25:35] burning and it uses less tobacco If you wanted to do that, it's [00:25:40] typically something you'd find in europe You And it technically is tobacco, and I don't know that I have [00:25:45] enough information to tell you that it's better than these other ways.
I know it's better than smoking. [00:25:50] Here's some basic technique notes from 10 plus years of using nicotine for [00:25:55] longevity and cognitive function. Do not swallow the gum and lozenge. Don't swallow [00:26:00] the spit. And it wastes your dose, and it just causes nausea. [00:26:05] And if you have an acidic drink when you're dosing it, it doesn't work as well.
You can take [00:26:10] half a piece of gum, just bite it once and park half the gum here, that'll give you like 0. [00:26:15] 5 to 1 milligram. Remember, a cigarette's like 12 to 20 milligrams, so you're talking [00:26:20] about a small dose. And there's nothing wrong with cutting [00:26:25] patches. Unless it's a reservoir patch, and most of them are just a matrix, you don't have to [00:26:30] worry about it.
So, you can cut most of them, and that's the trick. [00:26:35] So there you go. Now you have your intro, and in part two, [00:26:40] I'm going to go deeper on personalization, genetics, longevity use, metabolism testing, [00:26:45] timing, and if you're saying, I got to know right now, keep it under five milligrams a day, [00:26:50] every day, and your risks are lower, but I'll give you all the reasons, all the methods, all the other stuff you need to know in part [00:26:55] two.
See you next time on the Human Upgrade [00:27:00] podcast.