PDF ebook · 474 pages · includes 1 year of the Tracker by Nootrion app
Stop guessing whether your supplements work.
"Behind the Scenes of Nootropics" shows you what labels leave out, how to stop overpaying, and how to test things on yourself — honestly.
And it comes with an app, so you can put the method into practice from day one.
Get the book and the app — €29.90
Includes 1 year of the Tracker by Nootrion app. After that, renew only if you want to.
The problem isn't you. It's what sits behind the label.
You bought a supplement for focus. You took it for a month. And now you can't say whether it did anything.
That's not a lack of attention on your part. It's a market built to make it hard to know what you're actually buying.
The "mushroom" that's largely rice. Many mushroom products use mycelium grown on grain. The label says "Lion's Mane" but doesn't tell you how much of the powder is the rice the mycelium grew on.
The name that doesn't say which plant it is. "Ginseng" without its Latin name can mean several different things. Without the exact species, you don't know what you're holding.
The milligrams that aren't what they seem. 500 mg of a magnesium compound is not 500 mg of magnesium. Only part of it is elemental magnesium — and that's the part that counts.
The dose that isn't what it seems. On the fictional label the book takes apart, "1000 mg" is per 2 capsules — so a bottle of 60 capsules holds only 30 doses.
Add inflated doses, promises without evidence and influencers with discount codes. The result: money spent and no certainty at all.
After reading this book, you'll be able to decide for yourself.
This isn't a book that tells you what to take. It teaches you how to decide: with what human studies actually say, with the maths done, and with your own records.
Read any label with a checklist: Latin species name, part used, extract or plain powder, standardisation and elemental dose.
Assess any supplement in 7 steps: from what you want to achieve to the real cost, before you buy.
Do the right maths: what each dose, each month and each year really costs.
Test on yourself, methodically: record a baseline, change one thing at a time and run the pause test.
Know when it isn't worth it: with a simple decision scale, before you spend.
See what matters more than any capsule: sleep, habits and context.
What you'll find in its 474 pages
More than 100 substance profiles, without the marketing (Part IV)
Each profile brings together what human studies say, what users report and the behind-the-scenes of each supplement: what's worth knowing before you buy. And each carries a simple label for what's known: results in people, promising signs or not yet shown.
Plants: Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), Bacopa monnieri, Rhodiola rosea, Panax ginseng, Ginkgo biloba, Gotu kola (Centella asiatica), St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum), Valerian (Valeriana officinalis), green tea/matcha.
Amino acids and related compounds: L-theanine, L-tyrosine, creatine, Alpha-GPC, citicoline, phosphatidylserine, GABA.
The basics: magnesium, B vitamins, vitamin D3, omega-3, zinc, MCT oil, melatonin, curcumin, astaxanthin.
How to read a label (Part III and the Part IX guide)
A checklist to tell a well-made product from a well-packaged one, to keep at hand whenever you pick up a bottle.
It includes a line-by-line commentary on a fictional label (p. 456), and the industry's marketing tricks taken apart one by one (Chapter 18).
"Is what I'm holding similar to what was studied?"
Buying better doesn't mean buying pricier (Chapter 19 and Part VIII)
The cheapest bottle can cost more per useful dose. And the most expensive one may contain nothing extra.
You'll learn to work out the cost per elemental dose, per month and per year — before you pay.
And Part III closes with a 7-step method (Chapter 20) to assess any supplement before you pay.
The 8 beginner mistakes, and how to avoid them (Parts VII and VIII)
Taking five things at once and not knowing which one did anything is the most common mistake. It isn't the only one.
The book gives you structured paths: record a baseline (Part VIII, Chapter 1), introduce one thing at a time (Part VII, Chapter 2) and run the pause test (Part VIII, Chapter 3).
A decision scale (p. 448)
Before you buy, a simple scale to work out whether that supplement is worth it in your case.
A summary table of every profile (p. 460)
Every substance side by side: what's known, the users' rating, my own rating and the page of each profile.
Printable tools (Part IX)
The personal tracking sheet, the cost sheet, the glossary and the 20 behind-the-scenes chapters summed up as questions to ask before you buy.
The behind-the-scenes nobody explains
Tea teaches us more about extraction than you'd think: why the extraction method changes what ends up in the cup and the capsule.
Bioavailability: what actually reaches your body, and why the label isn't the whole story.
Why sleep comes before any capsule (pp. 28 and 413).
"If you sleep five hours a night, no amount of Bacopa will save your memory. […] Supplements work best, when they work at all, on top of reasonable habits."
Bonus included: 1 year of the Tracker by Nootrion app
The book teaches the method. The app makes sure you apply it — no paper, no spreadsheets.
The idea isn't "an app that boosts your brain". It's simpler and more useful: stop guessing whether something works, and measure it.
Today: tick off what you've taken with one tap, see the programme you're on and a tip from the book.
Routine: all your supplements in one place, with brand, dose, form, time of day, days of the week, standardisation, elemental dose and cycling notes.
Journal: rate focus, mental clarity, memory, energy, calm, sleep quality and motivation from 0 to 10. Plus the context: hours of sleep, coffees, alcohol, exercise, meals, side effects and notes.
Charts: see how each indicator changes over time and how it relates to your sleep.
Programmes: guided 14, 30 and 60-day programmes (baseline, test 1 supplement, pause test). The app compares the average for your goal in the 14 days before with the average during the programme. You see the difference in your own data, not in someone's advert.
Library: the book's substance profiles, filterable by category and goal. Add a substance to your routine in seconds.
Costs: a calculator for the real cost per dose, per month and per year.
Labels: the interactive 7-step guide, the red flags and an annotated label.
Report for your doctor or pharmacist: a printable summary of your supplements and records to take to your appointment. It is not a diagnosis or a prescription.
Works on phone, tablet and computer. Install it on your home screen like an app, no app store needed.
How you start
Buy the book at nootrion.com.
Create your account at tracker.nootrion.com with the same email you used to buy. Your free year activates automatically.
Start your first programme: the baseline, so you know where you stand before changing anything.
Get the book and a year of the app — €29.90
Just reading vs. reading and measuring
Just reading
Reading and measuring with the app
Knowing what the science says about each substance
Remembering what you took and when
From memory
Logged with one tap
Knowing whether anything changed
A hunch
Average before vs. during the programme
Running the pause test
On your own
Guided programme
Knowing what you spend per year
Maths by hand
Cost calculator
Talking to your doctor
A list in your head
Printable report
"If you think a supplement works, stop for a week or two (if it's safe to do so) and keep logging. If the effect disappears and comes back when you resume, that's a stronger signal."
That's exactly what the app helps you do.
Who wrote this book
I'm Gonçalo Ferreira, and I've been a programmer for more than 20 years. I started with C and Visual Basic and later moved on to interpreted languages and web development.
Curiosity led me to health and, above all, to nootropics, because I wanted to understand what can be done for cognitive abilities as the years go by.
I used to grow medicinal mushrooms such as Lion's Mane at home, until lack of time forced me to stop. Now I'm starting to grow my own food on my own land, to avoid ingesting chemicals and toxins.
I wrote this book with a programmer's mindset: read the documentation to the end, distrust what hasn't been proven and test before drawing conclusions.
Throughout the book I also share what I felt with the supplements I tried, without pretending that's proof.
I don't sell supplements, and the book doesn't recommend any brand. It teaches you to assess any of them.
Don't take my word for it. Open the book.
This book doesn't rely on promises. It relies on detail: pages, chapters and concrete examples you can check.
474 pages and more than 100 substance profiles, with what human studies say.
A label taken apart line by line (p. 456).
A decision scale to use before you buy (p. 448).
The industry's marketing tricks, dismantled (Chapter 18).
"And 'natural' doesn't mean safe either. Hemlock is natural."
"The bigger the promise, the greater the suspicion should be."
What you get for €29.90
The ebook "Behind the Scenes of Nootropics", in PDF, 474 pages.
1 year of access to the Tracker by Nootrion app, included.
Permanent access to the reader price on future renewals.
Payment: card.
And after the first year? Renew only if you want to, at the reader price: €39.90/year. Without the book, it's €69.90/year.
Renewal is by card: either a single yearly payment or an automatic subscription you can cancel whenever you like. No hidden subscription.
Prefer a bookshop? The book is also available on Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play and Barnes & Noble. In that case, activate your free year at tracker.nootrion.com/bonus with a photo or PDF of your receipt.
Buy the book — €29.90
Frequently asked questions
Is this just another book selling supplements?
No. I don't sell supplements and the book doesn't recommend any brand. It teaches you to question labels and promises — including the ones aimed at you.
I'm not a scientist. Will I understand it?
Yes. The studies are explained in plain language, and each profile carries a simple label summing up what's known — designed for people who have never read a scientific paper.
What format is the ebook?
PDF, so you can read it on your phone, tablet or computer. After buying, you also get access to the Tracker by Nootrion app with the same email you used to buy.
How do I activate the free year of the app?
If you bought at nootrion.com, create your account at tracker.nootrion.com with the same email and the year activates automatically.
If you bought from a bookshop (Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play or Barnes & Noble), go to tracker.nootrion.com/bonus and upload a photo or PDF of your receipt. The year is activated once it's validated.
Each purchase activates one account.
What happens after the first year?
Nothing, if you don't want to continue. If you do, renew at the reader price (€39.90/year instead of €69.90/year) by card: a single yearly payment or an automatic subscription you can cancel whenever you like.
Does the app work on iPhone and Android?
Yes. It's a web app: it opens in the browser on your phone, tablet or computer and installs on your home screen like an app, without an app store.
What language are the book and the app in?
Both are in English.
What about my health data?
You can export all your data and delete your account at any time, in line with the GDPR.
Does this replace my doctor?
No. The book and the app are information and organisation. The printable report exists precisely so you can take it to your doctor or pharmacist, especially if you take medication.
Can I get a refund?
The ebook is digital content delivered immediately. So when you buy, we ask you to expressly agree that you lose your 14-day right of withdrawal once the file is delivered. After delivery, the purchase is non-refundable.
Next time you pick up a bottle, you'll know how to read it.
And in a few weeks, you'll have your own data to decide whether it's worth carrying on.
Get the book and the app — €29.90
Includes 1 year of the Tracker by Nootrion app.
For information only. Not a substitute for medical advice. Talk to a healthcare professional before starting, changing or stopping any supplement, especially if you take medication or are pregnant or breastfeeding.
