Alpha BRAIN Review: Does It Really Work?

About Alpha BRAIN

• Manufactured by Onnit, Alpha BRAIN is an “Earth Grown” nootropic stack designed to support of memory and focus with its all-natural, caffeine-free formula.
• Alpha BRAIN possesses a unique extract of Cat’s Claw, an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory herb with decent neuroprotective potential.
• Unfortunately, Alpha BRAIN hides most of its individual ingredient dosages beneath proprietary blends, which is BS.
• If you want to get more bang for you buck, I’d recommend opting for Alpha BRAIN Instant, the powder version of this nootropic supplement.

Serving Size: 2 Capsules
Servings Per Container: 45 or 15
Other Ingredients: Vegetarian Capsule (Cellulose, Water), Silica
Directions: To help support enhanced mental performance, take a serving of 2 capsules in the morning or early afternoon, preferably with a light meal. To help support an enhanced dream state, take a serving of 2 capsules 4-6 hours prior to sleep. Do not exceed 3 capsules in a 24 hour period.

While Alpha BRAIN’s ingredients look good (for the most part), those proprietary blends do not, as they obscure the individual ingredient dosages. Nonetheless, let’s take a look at Alpha BRAIN’s ingredient profile:

Alpha BRAIN Review: Ingredients

Vitamin B6 (as Pyridoxine HCl) – Decent dosage of a qualified mood booster, yet I’d prefer to see the bio-active P-5-P form over Pyridoxine HCl. More on Vitamin B6.

Cat’s Claw Extract – Sort of the X-factor herbal ingredient here, Cat’s Claw is a unique antioxidant, anti-inflammatory herb with major neuroprotective promise. You don’t often — or ever — see this ingredient in other nootropic supplements.

Onnit Flow Blend, 650mg

L-Tyrosine – During conditions of stress, Tyrosine levels burn. Supplementing L-Tyrosine may help boost focus during stressful conditions. I take this virtually everyday with my morning coffee. More on L-Tyrosine.

L-Theanine – This has to be partially responsible for Alpha BRAIN’s name. L-Theanine is a well-known nootropic for its alpha brainwave boosting benefits, which promote meditative mental states of relaxed concentration. More on L-Theanine.

Oatstraw Extract – Similar to L-Theanine, Oatstraw is believed to promote alpha brainwaves. However, the evidence is weaker for this nootropic, which seems to enhance circulation more than anything. More on Oat Straw.

Phosphatidylserine – PS is largely concentrated in the brain, supporting brain cell membranes, releasing toxins from neurons, & enhancing neuronal synapses for better memory & focus. More on Phosphatidylserine.

Onnit Focus Blend, 240mg

Alpha-GPC – Of all the choline sources, Alpha-GPC possesses the highest concentration of choline that’s able to cross the blood-brain barrier. Choline is vurry good for the brain, being a precursor to acetylcholine & phosphatidylcholine and all. More on Alpha GPC.

Bacopa Extract – This Ayurveda adaptogen is one of the best natural memory booster, although it requires long-term supplementation to reach peak effect. More on Bacopa.

Huperzia Extract – Smart addition in this stack, preserving Alpha BRAIN’s increased acetylcholine levels by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme that deactivates acetylcholine. More on Huperzine A.

Onnit Fuel Blend, 60mg

L-Leucine – Not too sure what this is doing here. I’m thinking Onnit is thinking this amino will operate as extra protein energy for the brain. I haven’t seen anything to suggest this is true — and even if it is, this 60mg dosage is too weak sauce to work, for both L-leucine and the next ingredient.

Pterostilbene – Being 4x more bioavailable than Resveratrol, Pterostilbene appears to be a more premium from of everyone’s favorite antioxidant. More on Pterostilbene.

Related: Best Nootropics for Memory

Alpha BRAIN Review: Flow, Focus, & Fuel

Don’t get me wrong: Alpha BRAIN is a decent nootropic supplement. Aside from its “Alpha Male” association, thanks to its appeal to the Joe Rogan crowd, Alpha BRAIN does supply an impressive mix of well-research nootropics that, I can personally attest, do work at boosting mental performance.

However, as many have noted, Alpha BRAIN doesn’t work too well, with many claiming to notice no effects whatsoever.

Though many products wrongfully (and even illegally) claim to be “clinically studied” or “backed by clinical research,” Alpha BRAIN can actually boast being clinically studied. Personally, I’m not all that convinced by the study, but it’s there and it does seem to suggest that Onnit believes in their formula enough to put in the money for the research… Granted, this money spent is virtually indistinguishable from money spent on marketing, given the obvious appeal of a bona fide “clinically studied” label. But I’ll let you decide how skeptical you want to be here.

The best case scenario with Alpha BRAIN in my experience: the L-theanine, oat straw, and L-tyrosine do seem to work well enough at minimizing the side effects of caffeine while supporting mood and focus. I’ve taken L-theanine and tyrosine enough times to know what they feel like, and you do feel them here.

However, I don’t feel that’s enough to warrant buying Alpha BRAIN.

You can get the same benefits with this formula by buying several of these ingredients in bulk at a much cheaper cost (at least in the long term).

But all the same: Alpha BRAIN isn’t a totally bad formula. It does work to a degree, in terms of promoting “calm focus”… but I do warn against buying into the hype beyond this single noticeable benefit.

Related: Best Nootropics for Exercise

The Pros

• Creative brainflow & healthy neurons are the two primary Pros of this non-caffeinated, stimulant-free formula.
• Alpha BRAIN is the only formula to carry this Cat’s Claw extract. If this actually does have a significant effect on brain health, Alpha BRAIN has a major edge on the market.
• Onnit is a reputable supplement manufacturer backed by a number of positive customer reviews. Their first entry into nootropics is solid and even improved upon by Alpha BRAIN Instant.

The Cons

• I get why supplements use proprietary blends, yet I still don’t like to see them.
• Some ingredients could use a bump in the quality department.
• I’m not entirely sure what the deal is with L-Leucine. Granted, it’s the only questionable ingredient in this formula, but still a potential waste of capsule space.

Pricing

Alpha BRAIN 30 count

• $34.95 for 30 capsules, a 15-day supply
• $2.33 per serving

Alpha BRAIN 90 count

• $79.95 for 90 capsules, a 45-day supply
• $1.78 per serving

Given how few servings you get at a much higher price per serving cost with the smaller option (30 ct), the 90 count option is the no-brainer choice here. Especially considering how nootropics such as, say, Bacopa monnieri require long-term supplementation to reach peak effect, you won’t get much out of the 15 daily servings of the 30 count bottle.

But also you’re having to dish over $80 for the full option. So all around, I find the pricing of Alpha BRAIN to be pretty annoying.

Who Takes Alpha BRAIN?

Though Alpha BRAIN works as a general brain health and performance enhancement supplement, the association with Joe Rogan and Aubrey Marcus (via Onnit) makes this nootropic seem like more of a sporty athletic stack. Alpha BRAIN may work as a decent healthy complement

Where to Buy It

Alpha BRAIN users can buy the stack directly through Onnit, as well as on Amazon and GNC.

Conclusion: Does Alpha BRAIN Work?

Alpha BRAIN kind of works. Alpha BRAIN Instant works better.

Plus, Alpha BRAIN Instant supplies more nootropics at a cheaper price per serving… so there’s not much reason to buy standard Alpha BRAIN over the yummy powder version.

Nonetheless, you can certainly do much worse than Alpha BRAIN. Aside from the proprietary blend BS, this is a relatively honest supplement that supplies a smart mix of ingredients, even if just a couple don’t quite make sense.

Final Rating