NeuroQ vs Prevagen: which one of these over-the-counter brain pills is going to have a bigger and better impact on your memory, focus, and overall cognitive function? We bring them face to face to help you decide which one is the right one for you and how they compare to other nootropics on the market.
Summary:
Despite being higher priced ($69.95 vs $39.99), we’ve found NeuroQ to be a better supplement than Prevagen due to the fact that it contains more ingredients, and the ingredients themselves have more evidence behind them showing that it can boost your memory and focus. With that said, for the price that is being charged for NeuroQ, you can easily find even better nootropics on the market.
What do we recommend?
– Click to See The Current Top 3 Nootropic Supplements –
NeuroQ vs Prevagen – The Overview
NeuroQ is a dietary brain supplement by Dr. Dale Bredesen, a Neurologist and New York Times Best-Selling Author. NeuroQ contains 6 active ingredients that work to enhance your:
- Decision making
- Comprehension
- Mental processing speed
If you look over at NeuroQ’s website, you will notice that these benefits are claimed to be supported by scientific studies where people took NeuroQ.
However, supplement companies can easily fund studies nowadays, so the only true way to know how the product will work for you is by checking the ingredients in NeuroQ themselves. Are they backed by peer-reviewed, robust human evidence? We’ll find out shortly.
Before that, let’s take a look at Prevagen. It is a natural nootropic (brain supplement) produced by a Wisconsin-based company Quincy Bioscience.
Checking Prevagen’s website, the design looks a bit generic and outdated. That said, we’ll give the product the benefit of the doubt by inspecting its formula first. Disregard the fancy marketing and eye-appealing websites, it is the results that count.
According to Quincy Bioscience, Prevagen uses the key ingredient Apoaequorin. It is said to be a powerful memory enhancer, helping to support a youthful brain.
However, we’d take these promises with a grain of salt since Quincy Bioscience has been sued in the past by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) due to misleading marketing claims.
So, just like with NeuroQ, the best way to see if Prevagen will work for you is by checking the evidence behind its ingredients. Without further ado, let’s get straight to it.
NeuroQ vs Prevagen – Ingredients
NeuroQ Ingredients
Here is a look at the ingredients in NeuroQ and the product label;
- Gotu Kola aerial extract – 250mg
- Turmeric rhizome extract – 250mg
- Ginkgo Leaf Extract – 120mg
- Phosphatidylserine – 100mg
- Coffee Fruit Extract – 100mg
- Propolis extract – 75mg
First impressions: NeuroQ looks like a solid nootropic formula. Not only does it contain a few of our favorite brain health ingredients – phosphatidylserine and ginkgo biloba extract – but the dosages are fully transparent, so you know exactly how much of each ingredient you’re getting per serving. You may say, “duh, isn’t that normal that you can see the dosages?” Well, not always! Many supplement manufacturers hide ingredient doses behind proprietary blends for bigger profit margins. So whenever you see a transparent ingredient label, that is a good sign.
Back to the ingredients in NeuroQ. As we mentioned, Ginkgo is a good inclusion and a proven memory enhancer, especially in older folks. It works by boosting your blood flow which nourishes your brain cells with oxygen, allowing them to function optimally and also protecting from premature cell death.
- Phosphatidylserine (PS), on the other hand, is an essential fat found in the outer part of your brain cell membranes; it is essential for healthy nerve signaling, along many other important functions in the brain. Your phosphatidylserine levels go down as you get older, so supplementation may be helpful. PS is not an ingredient you’ll notice an obvious effect from; it’s more of a long-term brain support compound.
The rest of the ingredients in NeuroQ – propolis extract, turmeric, Gotu Kola, and Coffee Fruit Extract – are decent, but some of them don’t have enough evidence for us to recommend them as an effective brain health compounds. For example, propolis is generally healthy but in amounts that are in NeuroQ it has no effects on your brain function, so it should be replaced with a proven memory enhancer like CDP-Choline.
Overall then, NeuroQ is not a bad nootropic at all. It is also definitely far from the best, due to a lack of some core ingredients. Despite this, you should be noticing an improvement in your memory and focus if you are consistent with supplementation.
Prevagen Ingredients
Prevagen looks like a completely different formula than NeuroQ. They don’t have a single ingredient in common.
Unlike NeuroQ which uses multiple ingredients, Prevagen contains only contains two ingredients – Apoaequorin and vitamin D.
This isn’t a good start; two ingredients are rarely enough for a nootropic to be effective. The best brain supplements use multiple proven ingredients for a reason; to enhance your cognitive function from many angles.
But is Prevagen an “exception to the rule”? Let’s take a closer look at its ingredients.
Vitamin D is a nutrient most of us are familiar with. It plays an important role in a vast number of functions in your body and brain, including memory, mood, and reasoning. People who don’t get enough vitamin D – either through sunlight, supplementation, or food – sometimes get depressive symptoms.
However, Prevagen only contains 2000IU of vitamin D, which is too low of a dosage to provide a substantial boost to your blood vitamin D levels. Therefore, we don’t think it can do much here in terms of memory and mood enhancement.
For best results, studies show you’ll generally want to get at least 5000IU of vitamin D daily for a few months, unless told otherwise by your physician.
Okay, so vitamin D in Prevagen didn’t impress us – but what about Apoaequorin? What does this compound do?
Apoaequorin is a protein sourced from a glowing jellyfish. First discovered in 1962, it is shown in some animal and test tube studies to help remove calcium plaque from brain tissue, which can help with neuronal signalling and better brain cell communication.
However, there are no reputable human trials on Apoaequorin. Apart from the sponsored studies that we won’t cover, there is no evidence that Apoaequorin works any better than a placebo.
As we said, the only human study showing some benefits (namely, an improvement in memory function) is funded by Quincy Bioscience, which blows the credibility of study results out of the water for us.
The bottom line is this: Prevagen only contains 2 ingredients. One of which is a vitamin you can find for cheap at your local drug store, and the other ingredient isn’t proven to work at all. Put simply, Prevagen will need a lot more “firepower” in terms of ingredients before we can recommend it as a good option for anyone who’s serious about their brain health.
What do we recommend?
– Click to See The Current Top 3 Nootropic Supplements –
NeuroQ vs Prevagen – Side Effects
NeuroQ and Prevagen are both relatively safe supplements. Their ingredients aren’t shown in studies to cause side effects in most people. They’re also free of stimulants which further lowers the risk of negative reactions. Plus, the dosages of ingredients in both NeuroQ and Prevagen are on the lighter end.
Prevagen vs NeuroQ – Customer Reviews
In terms of customer reviews, this is where Prevagen has the edge over NeuroQ. This is mostly due to the fact that Prevagen has many more reviews on the internet than NeuroQ.
However, Quincy Bioscience – Prevagen’s maker – has invested a lot into the marketing of the supplement, which is why it is so hyped. Quincy Bioscience has a massive budget to invest in TV and online ADs, NeuroQ on the other hand is a lot smaller company. It is also worth remembering that customer testimonials can only tell you so much. More so, they can easily be faked. The best way to know if the supplement will work for you (and how it will work for you) is by checking the ingredients for yourself and comparing them against the available scientific evidence to see if it agrees with the manufacturer’s promises.
The Bottom Line
Prevagen vs NeuroQ: which one is the best brain supplement?
The better question would probably be; which is better between the two, because neither one is the best on the market.
While NeuroQ has several important ingredients missing from its formula (such as CDP-Choline, Pine Bark Extract, Lion’s Mane Mushroom, L-Tyrosine), Prevagen costs too much for just 2 ingredients – one of which is a basic vitamin, and the other ingredient isn’t even proven to work!
Between the two though, NeuroQ is the clear winner. It has a few good ingredients such as Ginkgo Biloba and Phosphatidylserine. You should notice an improvement in your memory and focus over the long term if you are consistent.
If you’re looking for the current best-reviewed nootropics of the year, see our guide here.