truBrain

OVERVIEW

truBrain is a nootropic line that was founded by endurance athlete and CEO Chris Thompson. A neurotechnology start-up, truBrain offers a plethora of unique packages for smart drug aficionados. Thompson’s own tenacity is emblematic of the brand—Chris opened up shop in an accelerator, put together a group of neuroscientists and launched his product in five countries all in the first month of operation. One must assume that he was stacking himself at the time in order to possess such power and motivation.

Armed with venture capital and a team of UCLA scientists, Thompson set out to solve the problem he saw the energy drink industry could not—how to provide genuine focus. The resulting “think drinks” are jam-packed with amino acids to jack up the thinking process.

REPUTATION

truBrain has only been around for a minute (2013, actually), but already the nootropic community has had its say about the brand. Nootriment has extolled its legitimacy and effectiveness, while Brain Wiz raved about the pleasant taste of truBrain drinks and pointed out the individualism of the fledgling company. “They…stand out for listing the actual dosages of each ingredient in their otherwise proprietary blend,” Brain Wiz’s reviewer says, noting that many companies in the nootropic realm would be more concerned with protecting their secrets. In other words, truBrain is gifted with a transparency that is sorely lacking in the world of nutraceuticals.

One post about truBrain brags about a “great experience” with the brand. The post, submitted three years ago, around the time of truBrain’s inception, talks about their coupons, their customer service and the way that truBrain affected the poster’s mother who suffers from ADHD. She says she observed a “dramatic reduction” in her mom’s ADHD symptoms and a marked improvement in her overall mood.

Responders in the comments weren’t nearly as enthusiastic, urging me to build my own stack at a fraction of the cost of truBrain’s blend(s). Then, there was Discover Magazine who decided to run a hatchet piece on truBrain, questioning the legitimacy of Piracetam (as if the company invented that compound themselves), after truBrain dared to block one of the Discovery writer’s fellow bloggers. It is worth mentioning that this Discovery writer did not bother to divulge why truBrain may have blocked said blogger.

But where there is love, there will always be haters. Such as one guy who says truBrain’s customer service sucks, another guy on Hacker News who tells them their nootropic article sucks, then, another guy who says head injuries suck (der!) and, of course, some other guy who says life sucks. Maybe it wouldn’t suck so much if he snatched himself some truBrain…or any brain, for that matter.

Despite Internet trolls and a couple of kids who have had less than stellar experiences, the overwhelming majority of nootropic users who have come into contact with truBrain give it a three-star rating or higher.

PRODUCTS & INGREDIENTS

truBrain is unlike most anything else available on the nootropic market. Billed as “brain food with activated nootropics,” it is, quite literally, a feast for the imagination. truBrain products, which range from simple stacks in pouches to carefully-combined chemical potions (“productivity drinks”), are all custom-formulated with signature advantages.

truBrain’s “think drinks” contain the following valuable ingredients:

Each of these ingredients performs a special function when ingested. When taken together as a performance drink, they improve neural energy, boost your mood, reduce stress levels, promote vigilance, increase cognition, influence your memory, ameliorate retention and concentration, and provide the focus required to doing better work and living a better, more productive and mentally sound life.

Others among these ingredients are very common to the general public, such as Magnesium—a naturally-occurring vitamin that supports bone structure and is used to treat heart conditions, blood pressure and occluded arteries—and Carnitine, which relieves symptoms of fatigue and acts as an appetite suppressant. But some of these other active ingredients bear further examination when considering the consumption of this proprietary combo.

Uridine is said to have advantages for overall health and well-being, but it is used most often to increase RNA (Ribonucleic acid) levels that carry messages from our DNA, messages in charge of synthesizing proteins. These levels influence our ability to store memories. It is for this reason that its inclusion in truBrain makes perfect sense.

The same can be said of Centrophenoxine’s inclusion; it is a DMAE with a rep for improving cognition in senior citizens. Its mechanism of action is nebulous to some, but the experiences of many speak for themselves. Centrophenoxine is a worthy component to the rest of these active ingredients.

What’s even better is, these “think drinks” come in a delectable variety of flavors. Consumers of truBrain’s proprietary formula can choose from the following for taste: Blue Agave, Monk Fruit, Natural Cane Sugar, Nopal Cactus or Mangosteen.

Perhaps the only subject of potential controversy when it comes to truBrain is its chief ingredient being taken in tandem with so many other potent substances. On its own, Piracetam has a checkered past with several writers warning of its deleterious effects. One such blogger reported experiencing bad “brain fog” after self-administering the drug.

The side effects of Piracetam can include excitability, anxiety, weakness, agitation, tremor, depression, hyperkinesia, vomiting, insomnia, diarrhea, headache, somnolence, weight gain, irritability, rash, vertigo and more. The worst side effect that has been reported is tachycardia. It is for this reason that stacking Piracetam with a substance like Oxiracetam can be dangerous. Although it is an ideal compound for spatial and contextual learning, Oxiracetam is in the racetam family and those who consume racetams run the potentiality of suffering hypertension or heart-related distress.

When taken in conjunction with other racetams, this risk can only increase. This is why some have been skeptical of stacking in the past. That being said, there is no evidence at this time to support a theory about truBrain being dangerous or safe. No widespread experiences of side effects have been recorded, for good or ill.

In some minor cases, users have suffered from stomach distress and headaches. So far this is all that’s been reported in this area. TruBrain appears to have a strong interaction with alcohol. The effects of alcohol intensify when taken in tandem with truBrain. Users are advised to abstain from drinking alcoholic beverages while using truBrain. Users should discuss truBrain and its ingredients with their primary care physicians before beginning use.

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