Should I Take My Nootropic On An Empty or Full Stomach?

A very common question beginner have is whether they should be taking their nootropic on an empty stomach or a full stomach. My advice would be to first check the package or bottle. However, many times the answer to this question isn’t on the packaging. Luckily, there is a very easy way to determine which way to take your nootropic.

It all boils down to solubility.

Solubility refers to the state of matter which a drug best dissolves in. There are two kinds of solubility we need to know about, fat-soluble and water-soluble. Instead of asking whether you should take a nootropic on a full or empty stomach, you should ask whether a nootropic is fat-soluble or water-soluble.

Water-soluble supplements should be taken on an empty stomach. They dissolve best in liquid. If you were to eat a large meal and then take a water-soluble drug, it could end up mixed in with the food. And if that happened, it wouldn’t be able to dissolve. You wouldn’t get the effects from it until all your food was digested, and it finally reached your stomach acid.

Fat-soluble supplements should be taken on a full stomach. They dissolve best surrounded by solids. If you take a fat-soluble drug on an empty stomach, it won’t dissolve well because it will do directly into your stomach acid. Furthermore, many people experience upset stomachs and intense nausea when they take a fat-soluble drug on an empty stomach. That last thing you want to do is throw up the supplement you just took.

Chances are, you will be able to determine if your nootropic is water or fat soluble by searching this site. Below I’ve listed the solubility of some common racetam nootropics since they differ in solubility.

• Piracetam and Oxiracetam are water-soluble.
• Aniracetam, Noopept, and Pramiracetam are fat-soluble