Brain Health Supplements - Yea or Nay?
Well you know the boomers have arrived! I have seen a few commercials for brain health vitamins and supplements on TV. I really start to get concerned when I hear the limited amount of information about the effectiveness of these products. I live brain health everyday and I have researched all kinds of approaches to keeping your brain young and sharp. My concern is that these marketing techniques make you believe that this is the magic pill that will solve all of your brain aging/brain health problems. And, what is more dangerous is the belief that there is no differentiation between brain aging problems and actual brain disease situations. People will grasp at anything when they are afraid.
How does a brain health supplement differ from a pharmaceutical? There is a great deal of differences between the two. Pharmaceuticals go through rigorous testing and must be approved by the FDA before they are brought to market. It is a very expensive protocol to bring a drug to market. The chemistry of pharmaceuticals must be deemed effective to work for the outcomes of the conditions for which it was developed. Side effects are scrutinized and much data is collected to prove effectiveness. Even after much research, if the drug isn’t performing as expected or there are too many serious side-effects the clinical study is stopped.
Supplements are different in the production to market process. They are designed to provide the body with natural nutrients or assist in natural processes. Because these ingredients are natural, little or no side effects are expected. The supplement industry does not go through the rigorous research process on the way to market. They do not go through the FDA approval process. However, as I was researching brain supplements I found a letter from the FDA challenging one particular company’s ingredients. The FDA believed a particular ingredient was synthetically made. It was good to see some oversight by the FDA.
I reviewed eleven of the top brain health supplements for 2015. These supplements must be considered as nutritional supplements. The ingredients are very similar throughout the group. The brain is very specific in its needs. The nutritionals selected have been verified as being beneficial to brain health. So far – so good. A good supplement will make the scientific data available. Most of this group had that information accessible. Coming from a research perspective – I really have a problem not seeing any data on how effective the supplement really is. The supplement industry uses testimonials in conjunction with the individual science of the ingredients to support the effectiveness of the product. There is no way to measure the effectiveness because I couldn’t find any research to support true effectiveness in people. The studies indicate what the ingredients are supposed to do and they indicate how they are supposed to work. The data supporting this action is not available. Supplement companies are not required to go through this type of analytical process. But for most products you have to do your own research to find any types of side effects or contraindications associated with that product.
So now we have marketing communicating that this brain supplement will make your brain agile and young again. But there is no indication if there are side effects or if they truly work. You have to believe the anecdotal testimonials of the product. One other criticism posted in reviews was that with proprietary formulas there is no assurance that particular components are strong enough. The ingredients will be listed but the manner that they are blended in the formula might not provide enough amount of the herb or protein or vitamin to be effective or give you maximum results. What you see might not be what you get.
I am a clinical aromatherapist. I have walked down this road of natural products. However, I had to learn how the oils worked, what the contraindications were and what possible side-effects they might produce. I had concentrated education on the chemistry, pharmacology of the oils, as well as, the anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology of the human body. Natural is not always indicated for everyone and you need to understand when and if it will work for a particular group of people. Although these supplements shouldn’t be harmful, there is still the question of how effective they are. Brain health is a synergistic process of physical exercise, mental stimulation, nutrition, socialization, stress reduction, and sleep. Supplements fall into the nutrition group but if people don’t understand the whole dynamic of protecting your brain there could be some serious consequences.
These supplements do provide ingredients that are beneficial for the brain. If you want to integrate them into your lifestyle you may see some benefit. Here are some guidelines for evaluating the different supplements.
Overall strength
Customer service
Ingredient quality
Money back guarantee
Speed of results
Long-term results
Safety
Overall value
There will be more supplements coming available to satisfy the boomers. Do your due diligence in researching the products you might be interested in. Remember that this is just part of the brain health solution. And always check with your doctor if you have questions, concerns, chronic diseases or memory problems to make sure this is the right solution for you. This is an exciting time for the evolution of brain health. We just need to be knowledgeable about what we are buying.
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