Among brain supplements, Prevagen is one of the most popular on the market today. But what are its ingredients?
Are they effective? What do studies say about their safety? These are just some of the questions we’ll be answering to help you decide whether Prevagen contains the right ingredients for you and if there are any better options available.
Table of Contents
About Prevagen
Prevagen is a brain supplement by the company Quincy Bioscience. It is claimed to help you with the following:
- Increasing focus
- Clearer thinking and sharper mind
- Memory improvement
- Supporting overall healthy brain function
Prevagen comes in a capsule form, with 30 of them per container, enough to provide you with 30 servings. The supplement is highly praised by its manufacturer, but today we’re going to find out if there is a solid reason for that by checking out the ingredients inside.
Ingredient Formula in Prevagen
Here are the ingredients in Prevagen. Each serving (1 capsule) provides you with:
- Vitamin D – 50mcg
- Apoaequorin – 20mg
Let’s see what these ingredients can do!
Vitamin D
Vitamin D, because it’s synthesized by our skin when exposed to the sun, is often called the sunshine vitamin. It is necessary for human existence. Vitamin D supports healthy bones, teeth, and muscles, and can be taken to alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression.
Vitamin D is found in foods like fish, eggs, or milk.
How can Vitamin D benefit brain health? According to studies, this vitamin is essential to maintain skeleton integrity and neurodevelopment and can prevent many mental problems and diseases.
Does Vitamin D have any side effects?
As we previously mentioned, Vitamin D is crucial for survival. However, according to Examine.com, doses higher than approximately 4000 IU (100mcg) daily for longer periods of time are considered unsafe and can lead to excess calcium levels in the blood, weakness, and nausea.
What is the recommended Vitamin D daily dosage?
Recommended daily Vitamin D intake is 400-800 IU (10-20mcg). Although, for the purpose of boosting brain function, doses up to 3,000IU per day long term are shown to be safe and effective.
Apoaequorin
The main ingredient for brain health in Prevagen is Apoaequorin. This is a protein from a glowing jellyfish, and according to some questionable studies, it is claimed to help improve cognition and verbal learning.
Why do we consider these studies questionable? That is because Prevagen has been charged by the FTC and New York State AG with making false claims that the supplement boosts cognition, improves memory, and is “clinically shown” to provide those benefits.
Another research has shown that oral apoaequorin ingestion has provided no improvement in verbal learning compared to the placebo group.
So, will Prevagen provide a significant difference in brain health and function? We don’t think so. Even if these ingredients did work substantially, it would still be far from the best nootropic on the market due to a lack of core ingredients.
Anything Missing?
As you can see, there are only two ingredients inside Prevagen’s formula. That is not enough to call Prevagen a comprehensive brain supplement. Some of the ingredients that are missing from the formula are Phosphatidylserine, Rhodiola Rosea, and Bacopa Monnieri. Let’s get into some details about these ingredients.
Phosphatidylserine
Phosphatidylserine is often taken to prevent mental decline and memory loss associated with aging. According to NCBI, phosphatidylserine can improve memory, make learning and solving problems easier, and support locomotor functions.
Rhodiola Rosea
Rhodiola is a herb found in Europe and Asia and has been used in traditional medicine for a long time to alleviate stress, reduce depression and improve brain function. Studies confirm that Rhodiola Rosea can improve memory and learning.
Bacopa Monnieri
Bacopa Monnieri is a herb commonly used to alleviate stress and depression, improve memory, and cognitive function. According to Examine.com, Bacopa can improve memory function to some degree, but as for the antidepressant effects, more research is required to confirm these claims.
Conclusion
Prevagen doesn’t use very promising ingredients for overall brain health and function. Unfortunately, it also lacks core nutrients, some of which we stated above.
If these were included in Prevagen, it would be a far better brain supplement. It is a safe supplement but how much does that help if it doesn’t work at all? Considering the charges brought by the FTC against Prevagen and its misleading marketing claims, we don’t think Prevagen is worth it if you’re serious about brain health improvement.
Further Reading:
- Focus Factor vs Prevagen
