I'm a caffeine user, have been for years. But the most important thing I've done for my cognitive fitness is to be aware of and adapt to my changing reaction to

I'm a caffeine user, have been for years. But the most important thing I've done for my cognitive fitness is to be aware of and adapt to my changing reaction to food. As a teen, I could - and did - consume frightening quantities of sugar with few ill effects, at least intellectually (very high metabolism, about 145 lbs all through high school, A+ student, great scholarships). University wasn't too much different, though adding beer added weight. Now in my late forties, I can feel the difference between sharp days and dull days. Too little sleep is the biggest contributor, too much sugar - or, more to the point, a protein-fat-carb imbalance - the other. I know how much coffee I need, and I know how much is too much. I can feel the glucose hit and insulin rush if I have the wrong sweets at the wrong time. Sometimes I can feel my sharpness, my intellect, being just out of reach. I hate days like that, when I feel stupider. I also know that if I can skip one day of exercise after 2 or 3 days on, but not skip two. Without the squats and weights and deadlifts, I can feel myself slipping all the more. Would I take enhancing drugs? At 48? Knowing that I am on the slow decline, that I need to slowly but continuously up my dietary awareness and slowly but continuously ease off foods I've always liked? Yeah, maybe. What are the risks? And am I am objective enough to evaluate them? Dunno.