science nutrition blog

By Robert Schinetsky

Adderall is a powerful stimulant (related to amphetamine) that is commonly prescribed to individuals with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Because of its potency and accessibility, the risk of non-prescription use as well as Adderall addiction and abuse is high.

An article in the Wall St. Journal published February 24, 2025 detailed a recent case with dire consequences.[1]

John Femenia was an eagle scout, veteran, and Wall St. broker. The pressure of 18-hour work days led him to obtain not one, but two, different Adderall prescriptions from doctors who didn’t ask too many questions. At his peak, he was taking 80mg of Adderall per day (twice the recommended dosage)!

Eventually, Femenia became more aggressive and risk-taking and ultimately engaged in insider trading when he tipped off his friends about confidential deals. His friends purchased shares of companies that would be acquired, partake of the profits when the acquisition was completed, and share a percentage of those gains with Femenia.

As you might guess, the FBI caught up with Femenia and his insider trading ring, which culminated in jail time.

Now, Femenia is warning individuals about the dangers of adderall addiction and abuse.

Disturbing Adderall Abuse Statistics

In 2020, more than 3.6 million people were prescribed Adderall.

Around 60% of people who use Adderall recreationally are between 18-25 years old.[2] These individuals typically obtain adderall (and other study drugs like Ritalin) from family and friends (or a college roommate) without a physician recommendation or prescription.

A previous meta-analysis found that between 5–35% of college students surveyed had misused prescription stimulants primarily for neurocognitive enhancement.[2]

Interestingly, emergency room visits and abuse related to Adderall have increased among young adults, although the number of prescriptions hasn't.

How Does Adderall Work?

Adderall works by increasing dopamine and norepinephrine levels in the central nervous system (CNS). Norepinephrine affects how the brain responds to events, particularly how it pays attention and the speed with which it reacts to outside stimuli. Dopamine, the body’s “feel-good” chemical, creates a rewarding effect. Although dopamine occurs naturally, drugs like Adderall produce unnaturally high levels of it. This can cause users to come back for more.

Healthy adults without ADHD may receive small to moderate cognitive benefits from prescription stimulant medication (e.g., Adderall) specifically in the areas of working memory, response inhibition, processing speed, and delayed memory.[4]

However, other research finds that healthy individuals may experience memory impairment — the exact opposite of the desired effect of Adderall use -- when taking it.[4]

Adderall Side Effects

Like many prescription medications, adderall usage brings inherent risks, including:[5]

●      Loss of appetite

●      GI upset, including nausea and constipation

●      Restlessness

●      Heart palpitations or rapid heartbeat

●      Dry mouth

●      Mood changes, including anxiety, agitation, and irritability

●      Headaches

●      Insomnia

A Natural Alternative to Adderall

AML DopaRush Cocktail is a safer alternative than amphetamines for supporting dopamine levels. It contains no banned substances or harsh stimulants -- just premium-quality, research-backed nutrients to support the body’s natural dopamine production.^†

What’s in AML DopaRush Cocktail?

L-Tyrosine

To support healthy dopamine production, we’ve hand-picked a blend of research-backed nutrients, beginning with a robust 2,000mg foundation of L-Tyrosine -- the amino acid the body uses to synthesize dopamine.^†

Research shows that tyrosine supplementation boosts mental and physical performance as well as memory.[7,8] It has also been shown to help reduce stress and improve cognitive flexibility. Higher tyrosine levels in the body are associated with better cognitive performance.[9]^†

 Other studies find that tyrosine consistently reduces individual response time without deteriorating task-performance.[10] And, unlike harsh stimulates that can stress the heart, L-Tyrosine was found to reduce heart rate and physiological arousal (an indicator of stress).[10] Essentially, tyrosine supplementation may help maintain greater cognitive performance in light of a stressful environment.^†

Caffeine Anhydrous

Caffeine needs little explanation. It’s the world’s most popular psychostimulant, consumed daily in the form of coffee, tea, energy drinks, yerba mate, and pre workout supplements, including AML PreWorkout.

It primarily works by inhibiting adenosine (which increases feelings of alertness and arousal), but it also stimulates the release of dopamine in the brain as well as  upregulates dopamine receptor availability and affinity.[11]^†

Numerous studies find that 200mg caffeine effectively boosts attention, elevates mood, and reduces fatigue.[12,13,14,15,16]^†

TeaCrine®

TeaCrine is a chemical cousin of caffeine, derived from kucha tea, that provides long-lasting energy, mood, and focus. It stimulates the release of dopamine release similar to caffeine, but slightly differently.[10] Whereas caffeine provides more “aggressive” stimulation, teacrine is more subtle and long-lasting. Combining the two provides an ideal energy, focus, and mood effect that acts quickly and has staying power.^†

Even better, TeaCrine doesn’t impact heart rate, disrupt sleep or result in tolerance/addiction -- all of which are common drawbacks of CNS stimulants.

The combination of caffeine + TeaCrine has also been studied against caffeine supplementation alone and has been found to lead to better energy and performance.[17]

Mucuna Pruriens

Mucuna has been used for centuries as an all-natural herbal tonic and aphrodisiac. It provides a natural source of L-Dopa, the immediate precursor of dopamine. Modern research suggests that L-Dopa supplementation helps support declining dopamine levels.[18,19]^†

Garcitrin™

Garcitrin is a trademarked extract containing garcinol -- the principal compound of Garcinia indica which has been used in traditional medicine for centuries for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.[20,21]

Additional studies indicate that garcinol also functions as a monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) inhibitor. MAO-B is an enzyme that metabolizes certain neurotransmitters in the body, including norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine. Inhibiting MAO-B may help to prolong the effects of dopamine in the body, improving motivation, decision-making, motor control, and feelings of reward.^†

Researchers are developing medications based on MAO-B inhibition to treat the symptoms of cognitive disorders. Being an MAO-B inhibitor, garcinol is also being researched by the scientific and medical communities.[15]^†

DopaRush Cocktail Supporting Players

Rounding out DopaRush Cocktail’s impressive facts panel are a quartet of key supporting players, including folic acid, vitamin b12, vitamin C, and BioPerine.

These ingredients work in combination with the “starting lineup” to enhance nutrient absorption, activate key enzymes, support antioxidant status, and support dopamine production.^†

Takeaway

Adderall is effective,  there’s no two ways about it. However, it comes with addiction, abuse, and serious side effects.

Improving mental and physical performance is achievable with natural ingredients, like those found in AML DopaRush Cocktail.^†

We’ve gone to great lengths to source the finest-quality ingredients, backed by research, and deliver them to you in a convenient, affordable, and delicious powder to improve mental energy, heighten focus, and boost performance in the classroom, on the field, and at the office.^†

<sup>© Published by Advanced Research Media, Inc., 2022
© Reprinted with permission from Advanced Research Media, Inc.

The above statements have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration.This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.</sup>

References

1.     https://www.wsj.com/finance/insider-trading-banker-adderall-john-femenia-wells-fargo-f606ec4a

2.     https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2016/adderall-misuse-rising-among-young-adults

3.     Weyandt L.L., Marraccini M.E., Gudmundsdottir B.G., Zavras B.M., Turcotte K.D., Munro B.A., Amoroso A.J. Misuse of prescription stimulants among college students: A review of the literature and implications for 66 morphological and cognitive effects on brain functioning. Exp. Clin. Psychopharmacol. 2013;21:385–407. doi: 10.1037/a0034013.

4.     Weyandt LL, White TL, Gudmundsdottir BG, Nitenson AZ, Rathkey ES, De Leon KA, Bjorn SA. Neurocognitive, Autonomic, and Mood Effects of Adderall: A Pilot Study of Healthy College Students. Pharmacy (Basel). 2018 Jun 27;6(3):58. doi: 10.3390/pharmacy6030058. PMID: 29954141; PMCID: PMC6165228.

5.     Lakhan SE, Kirchgessner A. Prescription stimulants in individuals with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: misuse, cognitive impact, and adverse effects. Brain Behav. 2012 Sep;2(5):661-77. doi: 10.1002/brb3.78. Epub 2012 Jul 23. PMID: 23139911; PMCID: PMC3489818.

6.     Musacchio JM (2013). "Chapter 1: Enzymes involved in the biosynthesis and degradation of catecholamines". In Iverson L (ed.). Biochemistry of Biogenic Amines. Springer. pp. 1–35. ISBN 978-1-4684-3171-1.

7.     Steenbergen, L., Sellaro, R., Hommel, B., & Colzato, L. S. (2015). Tyrosine promotes cognitive flexibility: evidence from proactive vs. reactive control during task switching performance. Neuropsychologia, 69, 50–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.01.022

8.     Jongkees, B. J., Hommel, B., Kuhn, S., & Colzato, L. S. (2015). Effect of tyrosine supplementation on clinical and healthy populations under stress or cognitive demands--A review. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 70, 50–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.08.014

9.     McCann, A., Aarsland, D., Ueland, P. M., Solvang, S.-E. H., Nordrehaug, J. E., & Giil, L. M. (2021). Serum tyrosine is associated with better cognition in Lewy body dementia. Brain Research, 1765, 147481. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2021.147481

10.  Mathar D, Erfanian Abdoust M, Marrenbach T, Tuzsus D, Peters J. The catecholamine precursor Tyrosine reduces autonomic arousal and decreases decision thresholds in reinforcement learning and temporal discounting. PLoS Comput Biol. 2022 Dec 22;18(12):e1010785. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010785. PMID: 36548401; PMCID: PMC9822114.

11.  Volkow ND, Wang G-J, Logan J, et al. Caffeine increases striatal dopamine D2/D3 receptor availability in the human brain. Translational Psychiatry. 2015;5(4):e549-. doi:10.1038/tp.2015.46.

12.  Maridakis V. et al. (2009) Sensitivity to change in cognitive performance and mood measures of energy and fatigue in response to morning caffeine alone or in combination with carbohydrate.Int J Neurosci, 119:1239-58.

13.  Spriet LL. Exercise and sport performance with low doses of caffeine. Sports Med. 2014;44 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):S175–S184. doi:10.1007/s40279-014-0257-8

14.  Lieberman, H.R., R.J.Wurtman, G.G.Emde, and I.L.G.Coviella 1987. a The effects of caffeine and aspirin on mood and performance. J. Clin. Pharmacol. 7:315–320

15.  Swift, C.G., and B.Tiplady 1988. The effects of age on the response to caffeine. Psychopharmacology 94:29–31

16.  Brunyé T.T. et al. (2010) Caffeine modulates attention network function.Brain Cogn, 72:181-8.

17.  Bello, M.L., Walker, A.J., McFadden, B.A. et al. The effects of TeaCrine® and caffeine on endurance and cognitive performance during a simulated match in high-level soccer players. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 16, 20 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-019-0287-6

18.  Lampariello LR, Cortelazzo A, Guerranti R, Sticozzi C, Valacchi G. The Magic Velvet Bean of Mucuna pruriens. Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine. 2012;2(4):331-339.

19.  Hornykiewicz O. L-DOPA. Journal of Parkinson’s Disease. 2017;7(Suppl 1):S3-S10. doi:10.3233/JPD-179004.

20.  Fuchs RA, McLaughlin RJ. Garcinol: A Magic Bullet of Amnesia for Maladaptive Memories?. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2017;42(3):581–583. doi:10.1038/npp.2016.165 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5240180/

21.  Nadia Saadat and Smiti V. Gupta, “Potential Role of Garcinol as an Anticancer Agent,” Journal of Oncology, vol. 2012, Article ID 647206, 8 pages, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/647206.

22.  Mazumder, M. K., Paul, R., Phukan, B. C., Dutta, A., Chakrabarty, J., Bhattacharya, P., & Borah, A. (2018). Garcinol, an effective monoamine oxidase-B inhibitor for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Medical Hypotheses, 117, 54–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2018.06.009