Last Updated on August 25, 2022 by James Matthews
It has become quite popular to take supplements as part of a daily routine. Understandably so considering how much food and diet and even activity has changed throughout the years. Our bodies simply need additional support in many ways and various supplements can offer that.
One of the supplement trends is brain performance supplements. These are designed to help with focus, brain function, memory, and even cognitive function. But how can you possibly know which brand is better than the other, when they all make claims to be the best?
Two popular options often pitted against each other are Prevagen and Neuriva Plus. In this guide, we will walk you through a complete comparison of Prevagen Vs. Neuriva Plus so you can see the full picture of both of them together.
We will cover these by first providing a comprehensive review of each supplement separately and then we will summarize the differences and share our pick in the end.
Let’s take a look!
Prevagen
Let’s start with Prevagen. Prevagen has an official website that is pretty informative. They boast that they are the #1 pharmacist recommended brand for memory support in 2020-2021. But are they?
About Prevagen
Prevagen first came to market in 2007. The supplement is currently available in more than 50,000 stores across the country, including places like Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, HEB, Fred Meyer, HyVee, and more.
This supplement was created by Quincy Bioscience, which is a facility-based out of Madison, Wisconsin. Their goal was to support cognitive function as well as some other health support capabilities, like memory loss. We don’t really get any kind of back story from them, which is not necessarily unusual.
Prevagen Ingredients
One of the most vital things to take a look at is the formula. Do you want to know if the ingredients really have a benefit for what they say they do? A lot of brain supplement formulas are similar but the question remains whether they are beneficial.
So here is what Prevagen has on their ingredient list. The active ingredients listed are 50 mcg of Vitamin D plus 20 mg of Apoaequorin. These are the primary ingredients and what will really do the work for your brain.
Vitamin D supports your immune system and can support things like testosterone production as well. It’s a quality ingredient to have here.
Apoaequorin is a well-chosen ingredient. It has a lot of mental benefits. If you’re not familiar with this particular item, it’s a protein that comes directly from jellyfish. It’s not yet fully backed by science. Theories suggest that this protein enhances both memory and sleep.
The problem is, studies on this particular ingredient don’t support that the protein improves mental function. So, the question is, how can this be the #1 recommended pharmacist product for brain health?
From there, you can look at other ingredients and see things like cellulose, vegetable capsule, 2% or less of sugar, corn starch, lactose, magnesium stearate, vegetable oil, salt, soy, and phosphate.
We’re not a huge fan of the other ingredients either. They are most likely for the purpose of creating the capsule but they’re mostly mindless fillers and not healthy ones at that. However, they are minimal so not that substantial.
Prevagen Research and Customer Data
Prevagen is open about research and trials and they share some studies on their website. The studies basically share the results of the use of Prevagen in a controlled study and had relatively good results. Most of the studies share a focus on safety rather than on results from the supplement.
Unfortunately, there are few studies that substantiate the ingredients and only one study that shows successful results from the use of Prevagen.
We also feel it is vital to point out here that Prevagen’s parent company has actually been sued by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) for making false claims about the capabilities of their supplements. On average, customer reviews rate Prevagen with about 3.5 stars out of 5.
Prevagen Side Effects & Dosage
Prevagen is easy to take and has a simple dosage to follow. You simply take one capsule per day with water. Each dose contains Vitamin D and about 10 mg of Apoaequorin. It’s hard to tell whether this is a good dosage or not with the limited amount of information available.
Thankfully, there are no real side effects to be concerned about when it comes to using Prevagen. The possible side effects include things like headaches, dizziness, and nausea. There have been some uncommon reports of memory issues, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping, which is the opposite of what this supplement is supposed to do.
Costs and Where to Buy
Let us remind you that Prevagen is available at a number of locations. You can find them at traditional pharmacies and drugstores like CVS or Walgreens, as well as a number of other locations.
In addition, you can purchase Prevagen directly from their website or even off of Amazon. On their website, it comes in several different options from capsules to chewables and they also have regular or extra strength available.
Neuriva Plus
Neuriva has both an original formula and a plus and we are looking specifically at Neuriva Plus for this comparison review. It too was designed for focus, memory, learning, and mental recall support. Neuriva Plus specifically lists more mental function support as their strong suit.
About Neuriva Plus
Neuriva Plus was designed under Schiff Vitamins. They are the official source but you can find them in a lot of drug stores as well. They built Neuriva Plus using two ingredients that were neuroscientist-approved as beneficial for multiple mental functionalities.
If you look at Schiff, this is the best place to get all of the details about Neuriva and its processes. They designed this formula with a focus on six brain performance indicators. Those 6 things are memory, focus, learning, accuracy, concentration, and reasoning. The ingredients were chosen for their benefits in these areas specifically.
This supplement went through a detailed scientific process, using natural sources to create benefits. They focus on the brain-derived neurotrophic factor, leading them to enhanced results when it comes to supporting brain health sufficiently.
You don’t see any claims about being the best or most popular, just simple information that describes what this supplement is for and how it was designed. Everything is straightforward and informative.
Neuriva Plus Ingredients
Let’s talk about those ingredients now. Much like Prevagen, there are two primary ingredients in the formula. However, the ingredients in Neuriva Plus have far more scientific backing and known benefits straight away.
Their focus is around the two most substantial ingredients but there are actually 5 primary ingredients on the label. The top ingredients included are Vitamin B6 (1.7 mg), Vitamin B12 (2.4 mcg), and Folate (680 mcg).
In addition, they have coffee fruit extract (200 mg) and Phosphatidylserine (100 mg). These last two ingredients are the two that truly do the work. We already know B Vitamins have a lot of their own health benefits and those really aren’t the spotlight of this supplement. Their benefits are directly related to brain health and general health.
Phosphatidylserine (also known as PS) is a nutrient specifically designed for the brain and it is absolutely vital. It creates brain cell membranes. Those membranes then work to communicate between neurons so you see right away how this ingredient really takes a hold of brain function. PS is commonly known for reducing brain fog and improving focus.
The coffee fruit extract is used to strengthen the connection between brain cells so the two ingredients work together to create results.
Compared to Prevagen’s formula, we feel like this is a step in the right direction. It’s not perfect and there could be more to it but it’s a suitable option. There are some other ingredients included here also. It’s a pretty short list. It consists of the capsule, microcrystalline cellulose, rice bran, silicon dioxide, and magnesium stearate.
Neuriva Plus Research and Customer Data
There are far more studies on the active ingredients of Neuriva Plus and the results are indicative of what we are seeing here. Phosphatidylserine has been used in some cases for the treatment of Alzheimer’s as well as muscle soreness and stress. More information needs to be concluded but the studies of this particular ingredient do look promising and there are actually studies to be found.
There are also studies to be found on coffee fruit extract and those studies point to stimulation of the BDNF, which is a brain-derived neurotrophic factor. In the studies, there is a significant increase related to this particular ingredient. However, most of those studies are focused around a concentrate powder form and Neuriva uses only the skin and rinds so it’s unclear how relevant that information is to this supplement.
The study information available and the choice of ingredients is positive, even though there are still unknowns and limited ingredients. We do feel like this could be a really great formula if they added a little more.
When you check out what customers are saying, the average review lands Neuriva Plus with a 3.8 out of 5 stars, which is only slightly higher than the ratings for Prevagen. Customer feedback is important because it’s the tried and true details.
Neuriva Plus Dosage and Side Effects
Neuriva Plus is simple as far as dosage also. You simply take one capsule per day and they recommend taking it at bedtime. This is probably when it is working.
There are really no known side effects of the use of Neuriva. The most possible side effects are drowsiness, headaches, and nausea. This is perhaps some of the reason they recommend taking your dose at bedtime.
Costs & Where to Buy
You can order Neuriva Plus directly from the Schiff website. Much like Prevagen, it’s also available at a lot of various drugstores like CVS, Walgreens, and more. Neuriva Plus is also available at participating Walmart stores.
And, finally, you can also purchase Neuriva Plus on Amazon as well. Again, just be sure that you are careful with this as there could be copycat versions out there. The cost to purchase is about $32 for a month’s supply.
Prevagen Vs. Neuriva Plus – Who is the Winner?
While neither of these is perfect and potentially not even our top choices on the market, there is a clear difference in overall quality between the two brands.
If we were to choose one of these, we would recommend Neuriva Plus as the winner. While it can be improved upon, it has a lot more standing overall with studies to back the ingredients rather than just a whole lot of unknown.
As a whole, these two supplements are fairly similar in cost and customer ratings. However, the ingredient list is more impressive for Neuriva Plus. That is ultimately where our decision comes from in determining a winner.
Always be sure to do your research and understand what you are taking and why. A supplement should have a purpose and do what it promises to do.
