Neuro Clarity
Negatives
- Contains several ineffective ingredients
- Glutamine is not a nootropic, even at high doses
- St. John's Wort is an unproven anxiolytic
- No potent cholinergic
Summary
Neuro Clarity is a low quality nootropic. We have no idea why this brain supplement is still so widely-used. Neuro Clarity’s main ingredients lack any kind of cognitive enhancing properties. Glutamine is a total filler, and St. John’s Wort lacks any conclusive proof. Neuro Clarity might have been a competitive nootropic a few years ago. Not today. There are much better nootropics available right now!
Nutrition Essentials Neuro Clarity Review: Product overview
Nutrition Essentials Neuro Clarity has been around forever – as far as we can tell, it is one of the oldest nootropic stacks still on the market. But that doesn’t mean it has been forgotten; it is still one of the most popular and talked about nootropics around. It is a ‘top seller’ on Amazon. Has been for a long time.
So what is this nootropic supposed to do? Why has Nutrition Essentials Neuro Clarity remained so popular?
Like many nootropics, Nutrition Essentials Neuro Clarity claims to support the classic triad of brain function:
- Focus
- Clarity
- Memory
More specifically, Nutrition Essentials Neuro Clarity claims to support focus and energy without causing sudden drops in concentration (such as you experience with stimulants). It also claims to reduce anxiety and promote a calm mental state of clarity.
Sounds good, but is any of that true? Does Nutrition Essentials Neuro Clarity work? What kind of side effects should you look out for? Read our full Neuro Clarity review and find out!
Neuro Clarity Ingredients
Let’s cut to the chase – what is in this stack?
Here is the Neuro Clarity ingredient list as it appears on the bottle:
Here is an overview of what each ingredient is, if and how it contributes to better cognitive function, and how it works. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section at the end.
St. John’s Wort
This is a natural anxiety suppressant and stress-reliever…or so the supplement manufacturers claim anyway. While it is used around the world as a natural anti-depressant, we’re very sceptical. The research on St. John’s Wort is very shaky; we’re not convinced that it is any more effective than placebo. That said, there is an overwhelming body of anecdotal evidence backing this one up.
Glutamine
A simple amino acid found in great abundance in many commonplace foods. Pasta, bread, legumes, cheese, chicken, liver; all of these foods are full of glutamine. If you have a bowl of pasta and chicken, you are consuming several grams of glutamine. Supplementation is therefore of very limited value. Moreover, glutamine is not thought to have any nootropic properties whatsoever. Its only benefit is to promote muscle growth after exercise.
Phosphatidylserine
Phosphatidylserine is a phospholipid necessary for the construction of new brain cells – specifically, their membranes. It is also necessary for cell signalling; phosphatidylserine moving to the outside of a cell’s membrane is the signal for an immune cell to come and kill it. Having healthy phosphatidylserine levels is therefore crucial to ensure proper brain cell health and cycling. Phospholipid levels naturally decline as we age, so supplementation is often very effective.
Bacopa monnieri
This is one of our top rated natural nootropics. Few substances are as reliable and effective as Bacopa monnieri when it comes to memory enhancement. Numerous clinical trials have proven that Bacopa monnieri supplementation improves memory function as measured by various recall and memorization tests. Results are most pronounced in older people with mild cognitive impairment. Bacopa is a great addition to any nootropic stack, and a necessary part of a total brain supplement.
Acetyl-L-Carnitine
ALCAR is usually used as a sports supplement. It is thought to increase power output in athletes by making mitochondria more active or efficient. This may well be the case. However, it has never been shown to have notable effects on mental performance. Typically consumed in doses above 300mg, there is no reason to believe that the 50mg you get from Neuro Clarity is going to do a thing.
DMAE Bitartrate
DMAE bitartrate is often described as a cholinergic, although it is no such thing. DMAE is not synthesized into either choline or acetylcholine in the brain. There is actually no clear, conclusive mechanistic explanation for how DMAE is supposed to enhance cognitive function. This might be why reports from users are so contradictory. This is an unreliable focus booster – not one we are happy to recommend.
Ginkgo biloba
Ginkgo biloba works by increasing blood flow to the brain. It does this through two distinct mechanisms. One is dilating your blood vessels. Compounds in Ginkgo biloba – called glycosides – cause your blood vessels to expand, allowing more blood to pass through per second. The other is by reducing viscosity. Different compounds in Ginkgo biloba – called terpenes – reduce the ‘stickiness’ of your blood, making it more fluid. The end result is better brain cell oxygenation and nourishment.
Our take on the Neuro Clarity formula
This is not a great formula. Not by any stretch of the imagination. We didn’t expect a great deal from Nutrition Essentials Neuro Clarity, simply because it’s been on the market for so long. But we’re still disappointed.
The main ingredient – St. John’s Wort – is an unproven anxiolytic. There is no evidence that it works any better than placebo. By contrast, Ashwagandha, Rhodiola rosea, and Tyrosine all have sound scientific pedigrees. Any of these anxiolytics would have made a far superior choice.
Glutamine is abundant in food and is not effective as a supplement. Doses of 5g or more are consumed to promote muscle growth. It does not have nootropic properties.
DMAE is an ineffective focus enhancer. We are not certain of its mechanism of action, which isn’t surprising; lots of people report getting absolutely nothing out of DMAE. If you want to enhance focus and learning capacity, use a potent cholinergic like Citicoline or Alpha-GPC.
All-in-all, a poor formula full of dead weight and substandard ingredients. You can do a lot better than Nutrition Essentials Neuro Clarity!
Side Effects: Is Nutrition Essentials Neuro Clarity safe?
One thing we can say with confidence is that side effects are extremely unlikely with Nutrition Essentials Neuro Clarity.
The ingredients used in Neuro Clarity are all very common nootropics – they’re found in hundreds brain supplements and have all been used for well over a decade. There is no reason to believe that they pose significant side effect risks for the vast majority of people.
Each ingredient in Neuro Clarity has also been tested on humans in clinical conditions. We’ve read several peer-reviewed papers on each of these substances and we’ve never seen any that raised serious safety concerns.
The only substance in Neuro Clarity which regularly causes side effects is DMAE. Common side effects of this substance include:
- Headaches
- Hyperactivity
- Loss of motivation
- Lack of focus
- Jaw clenching
- Muscle cramps
These side effects occur in a minority of users, but you should still be mindful of them while using Neuro Clarity. If you do experience any of these side effects, stop using Neuro Clarity immediately and seek medical attention.
In Conclusion – Is Nutrition Essentials Neuro Clarity a good nootropic?
No, to put it bluntly.
We have a lot of experience with nootropic supplements. We’ve collectively been using them for well over two decades. To us, Nutrition Essentials Neuro Clarity looks very much of its time – old, dated, and weak.
The nootropics market has changed a lot since Nutrition Essentials Neuro Clarity was first released.
Our standards have risen considerably.
Ineffective ingredients, weak scientific proof, substandard compounds, side effect risks – today’s nootropics user doesn’t stand for these things!
In our opinion, Nutrition Essentials Neuro Clarity offers very poor value for money. The results you get from this stack will be minimal, especially when compared to the more potent stacks available today.
If you want to see a meaningful improvement in cognitive performance – in focus, clarity, memory function, and mood – invest in a modern, professional stack.
Don’t settle for yesterday’s formulas!
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Brian Johnson is a former academic researcher, psychologist, and tireless proponent of bio-hacking. Brian has dedicated all of his time since leaving academia and private practice to promoting the benefits to be obtained from the application of biotechnology and bio-hacking supplements. He has years of experience with nootropics, as well as prebiotics, probiotics, and other natural nutritional supplements. He has published scholarly research on natural nootropics; you can find his papers on his Google Scholar page.
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