CDP Choline VS Alpha GPC in Nootropics

CDP Choline VS Alpha GPC – which one is better?

The ages old debate between choline sources. One of the most commonly asked questions in the nootropics industry: CDP Choline or Alpha GPC? Which is the better choline source to use?

The answer is: it depends. The TLDR is: they do different things, and you want to choose which one to use based on your “target” for the stack (see nootropics usage methodology, God Course).

Yes – they will both allow you to build more usable brain acetylcholine. Yes, they’re both pretty bio-available. And yes, dosed correctly, they should both help you to function better cognitively.

But breaking down what each of them actually do once ingested, yields the data you need to select which one to use with a particular stack.

CDP Choline

CDP Choline, Citicoline, or Cytidine 5′-diphosphocholine (all the same thing) is not only a building block to brain acetylcholine, but it also will elevate brain concentrations of the catecholamines (dopamine, noradrenaline, adrenaline). That usually translates to a more energized, stimulated effect, in ADDITION to the effect of having more usable acetylcholine (which produces memory, focus, and verbal fluency).

Using it in a stack makes sense when your (again) TARGET is: stimulation, mental energy, AND the usable acetylcholine. For example, if you had a stack like this:

  1. 500MG Aniracetam
  2. 50MG Theobromine
  3. 40MG Bromantane
  4. 50MG L-Theanine…

You’d want your choline source to be CDP Choline. CDP aligns with the rest of that stack, particularly the stimulation that Aniracetam brings into the picture, and the dopamine centered energy and motivation that comes from Bromantane. So – a logical synergistic choline source with those chemicals would be CDP Choline, again, because it’s aligning with the rest of the stack in terms of catecholamine release and quantity. Side note: CDP Choline’s absorbability is almost absolute, and has a longer half life than Alpha GPC. So, factor that in, as well.

ALPHA GPC

GPC, though an impressive nootropic compound, is really only doing 1 major thing as it relates to neurotransmitters, and that is: building more brain usable acetylcholine. I believe there’s some research on it impacting growth hormone to some marginal degree as well, but that’s mostly irrelevant. It just builds more usable choline.

So it: won’t be as stimulating, won’t be as energy producing, and is more tailored toward giving you mental processing without any extra stimulation. Which is FINE. Some stacks are really awesome that end up doing just that. Increasing processing capacity.

So if you had a stack like this:

  1. 100MG Modafinil
  2. 400MG Oxiracetam
  3. 400MG Mucuna (15% L-Dopa)

And your TARGET was brain energy with a particular focus on processing speed, power, and general cognitive endurance, Alpha GPC would be a fitting choline source in this stack. You’ve already got Modafinil working on the dopamine release side of things.. Oxiracetam forcing acetylcholine release.. Mucuna actually making MORE usable dopamine for the releasable pool (or reservoir).. so all you really need is more brain usable acetylcholine, which you can achieve with Alpha GPC.

Make sense?

Nootropic Targets

But what does all of this assume? It assumes you have a target, and every formulation of a nootropic stack in your regimen, should have a target. An ideal state that you want to be in, and you situate the chemicals in your stack around that.

You can’t hit what you can’t see, when formulating nootropic stacks. You need to understand WHAT brain state you’re trying to enter. There has to be just a little bit of strategy and thought that goes into your stack formulation for you to get really targeted results.

Most people are walking around aimlessly, randomly, and haphazardly dosing nootropics without a real target, hoping that “this combination of nootropics will light me up.” Bad strategy, brother.

There has to be a target. An objective. An ideal brain state, and then looking at the choline sources you have available to you, selecting one that fits the state and type of processing you’ll need, to execute the tasks at hand.

CDP Choline or Alpha GPC? Now we’ve learned: it depends. Select wisely, and happy hunting.

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