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Super Speedy Summary Review

What I know is this isn’t going to transform you into a high IQ superhero with enhanced senses. Given the amount of beer and lifestyle abuse I give my body what I can tell you is there is a good range of scientific evidence in this blog to suggest that at least some of the ingredients in this ‘orange brain slap‘ give your body and brain what it needs to put you at the best you can be all day. Combined with a few other BioHacks I can see this becoming another tool in my Superhero Utility belt to be ‘Normal Man’ rather than just ‘Tired and Brain Fuzzy Man’.

PURCHASE $49

You could do a lot worse with $2 every morning than this. Give it a go.

Full In Depth Review

I’m dubious about a large number of ‘health products’ and supplements on the market, but as an endurance runner I’ve found a number of interesting ‘Bio-Hacks’ on my longest Trail records to stay awake, alert and able to function well mentally to navigate and make decisions. When I recently saw the adverts for TruBrain online it peaked my interest so I reached out to see what they were all about.

On the 345 mile Leatherman Loop Fastest Known Time I used small amounts of nicotine gum to stave off tiredness late at night and On the 625 Mile Monarchs Way Fastest Known Time in the UK I got rather ‘dependent’ on Lucozade which contains an insane amount of sugar and caffeine.

The TruBrain Drinks contain a carefully selected range of products that are likely to increase your alertness, energy levels and calm. As a Molecular Biology Graduate also studying for a Masters and an endurance runner I’m in a unique position to take a scientific look at their claims. I’m often exhausted from being at University until 9pm and have famously fallen asleep on trail more times than I can hazily remember.

The TruBrain drink is a ‘Scattergun Brain Carpetbomb’ of a large number of positive and researched backed chemicals with the view that at least some will hit the target no matter who drinks it.

Before I go any further I think we all need to just check our expectations here and not start ordering a Super Hero suit on Amazon or applying to attend Yale University. The realm of Nootropics is an area I’ve become increasingly interested in, but my conclusions from 2 years of dabbling and research is this…. Nootropics have the ability to make you the best YOU that you can be. They do not increase your IQ by 45 points or allow you to stay awake for a week. That kind of stuff is either science fiction or likely bought on the Dark Net with Bitcoin.

What is a Nootropic?

Nootropics are drugs, supplements, and other substances that may improve cognitive function, particularly executive functions, memory, creativity, or motivation, in healthy individuals.

In ‘normal speak’ it means that Nootropics are those things that are likely to help you stay alert, calm and with the ability for your brain to work at its absolute best for long periods of time.

What is in the TruBrain Drink?

The drinks are small 1oz shots of liquid containing their mixture.

It tastes like an orange fruity concentrated drink shot. It isn’t super artificial flavor tasting like many sports and nutrition drinks and its only 25 calories per drink. There is also a caffeine free version. As far as I can see this product is also suitable for vegetarians.

I took a deeper dive into the individual ingredients to see how each part holds up to scrutiny. Before you panic I won’t bore you with the in depth science, but the following list reads like a character cast mash up of Star Wars and Game of Thrones so I will steer you through the best fight scenes with none of the political or love scene stuff.

Noopept – The New Pep on the Block

There is not a lot of research on Noopept which is a relatively new substance (1996). Its actual scientific name looks like a cat walked across my keyboard for ten minutes. There are suggestions that it works in a similar way to Piracetam which has shown some benefits in some types of people.

Acetyl-L-Carnitine – Your Hybrid Fuel On/Off Switch

Although Carnitine can be made by your body by ingesting it in this dose level you prioritise your body to metabolise Fatty Acids over Glucose. As well as potentially helping you to lose weight by burning fat there is some research to suggest that it also plays a role in protecting your brain from Dementia.

N-Acetyl- Tyrosine – Your Personal ‘Brain Trainer/Coach

What is interesting here is the research that points towards it helping you lift you back to normal when under a lot of stress. Military personnel showed lifted mood and motivation when using Tyrosine when under temperature or altitude stress.

This substance acts like a personal trainer standing within shouting distance and keeping you motivated. Whilst I doubt it makes you smarter I suspect it is good at ‘bringing you back from the dead’ on days when you need to perform at your best.

Centrophenoxine – Brain Boost and Immortality (nearly)

This is a well studied and effective Nootropic. Online articles suggest it boosts memory, cognitive function (Thinkyness) and research suggests it increases the lifespan of mice too.

L-Theanine – An Invigorating Brain Massage

Found in Green Tea this substance is able to calm and soothe you and boost alertness at the same time. It also has gives Umami flavor. Now before you go totally nuts and think I’m endorsing licking quartz and hugging trees the Umami flavor phenomenon is the effect that glutamine ( very similar to Theanine) has to enhance the taste of food. Soy Sauce is chock full of Monosodium Glutamate and makes EVERYTHING taste great and Theanine has a similar result. It may go a long way to why the drink tastes SO DAMN GOOD.

Uridine – Cheat Notes for Your Brain

Not a moon of Venus but a magic substance that makes gerbils smarter. There are a number of research papers online that point to Uridine playing an important role in memory and learning. If it makes gerbils get through mazes quicker its not a far cry to imagine it might help us concentrate for those last few hours of the working day.

Caffeine – Your Dependable Jitter

We all know that caffeine in Tea of Coffee ‘perks you up’. The 80mg dosage in the drink is enough to give you a kick like a cup or two of coffee. The caffeine is also there as research for some of the other ingredients shows a ‘synergy’ or improvement when caffeine is also used at the same time.

Magnesium – The Organic Chill Pill

There seems to be a link between Magnesium and depression/stress. I found a number of articles that demonstrated that a deficiency in Magnesium can be responsible for higher stress and increased depression.

Vitamin C – The Dementia Buster

There is 300mg of Vitamin C included as well which surprised me. Online I found a systematic review that drew links between Vitamin C plasma levels and brain function. There is no proof that Vitamin C stops a cold, but it certainly seems to play a role in keeping your brain at its best.

Packaging

In a world where we are trying to not use plastics its great to see TruBrain using a cardboard based packaging rather than plastic. The bright orange packaging means I’m more likely to find it in a brain haze fumble in the morning.

Sooooooooo….What Happened When I Drank TruBrain Boost ?

This is the subjective bit. I hate being subjective, I’m opinionated and polarized when it comes to gear reviews. You want me to tell you that I wrote 11 blogs in a day, gained 22 IQ points and avoided my afternoon nap. You are also worried that the chemicals turned me into an Orange Hulk and I smashed walls like a Jekyll and Hyde Nootropic Nightmare from a Marvel Universe Film.

What this drink did for me has only a small bearing on what it may do for you. If you think about my initial point, that this is a scattergun of potentially beneficial nootropics you should expect to see some improvement. I am at different levels of tiredness to you, genetics, workload and stress so the affects will always differ. Whilst I can conclusively say I think the Ultimate Direction Fastpack 25 is the greatest backpack of all time for all people (it is) it would be arrogant and unfair of me to tell you this drink makes you a superhero in a 1oz slurp.

Did I feel a change ? Possibly yes. It could be a placebo but I did do more work than usual today and cleaned the car and sat attentively through a boring 90 minute meeting and went to bed feeling like I had had a very productive day. I also didn’t feel agitated like I would on caffeine or modafinil. I wasn’t shit…… and frankly at the age of 42 ‘not shit‘ is the best I hope for most days.

Cost

Bought in bulk this drink works out at just over $2 per day. When you think about the amount I spend on Beer (which does the opposite of TruBrain in every respect) its good to know that for less than a beer a day I can lay my hands on an ‘Anti-Beer’ to reinvigorate some of those abused brain cells.

Is TruBrain Drink Boost Legal ?

During testing and writing this article the Feds did not kick down my door. All of the ingredients are legal in the form they are delivered to you. Some of the ingredients may not be approved by the Food and Drug People in the USA but that doesn’t mean they are bad. They simply don’t come under their remit in the same way that listening to the music from Rocky when running up stairs doesn’t.

Gripes

I like to travel fast and light on trail so I would love to see a powder version of this that I can take with me that takes up very little weight or space. It may be that some of the ingredients are better in liquid suspension though so this might not be possible. I’d also like to see a 3 pack available for a lower cost so that people can try a few and see what they think. A pill option would also be useful.

Everyone is Different

Let me make something very clear. We are all different. It’s known for example that we all use caffeine in carious amounts to ‘get us going’ in the morning when in fact only about 20% of us genetically can respond effectively to caffeine. What I’m getting at is whilst some things may work great for some of us it may do nothing for others. Normally in a gear review you would see me point out the features of a backpack and explain that the harness works in a certain way ( but would work for all). With my things I test its preference not genetics that is the deciding factor.

With this in mind and with some areas of Nootropics still in the scientific infancy I think TruBrain have done the right thing. Their drink is a ‘Scattergun Brain Carpetbomb‘ of a large number of positive chemicals with the view that at least some will hit the target no matter who drinks it.

Verdict

In one of the most meta things I’ve done on this site I wrote this review having drunk a TruBrain Drink. Its up to you to decide if this review is any use at all or the dribbling ramblings of a maniac.

What I know is this isn’t going to transform you into a high IQ superhero with enhanced senses. Given the amount of beer and lifestyle abuse I give my body (I run 2500 miles per year) what I can tell you is there is a good range of scientific evidence to suggest that at least some of the ingredients in this ‘orange brain slap‘ give your body and brain what it needs to put you at the best you can be all day. Combined with a few other BioHacks I can see this becoming another tool in my Superhero Utility Belt to be ‘Normal Man’ rather than just ‘Tired and Brain Fuzzy Man’.

You could do a lot worse with $2 every morning than this.

PURCHASE $49

About TruBrain

Perhaps the best way to tell you who they are, is tell you who they aren’t. They’re not magicians. They’re not going to turn you into a rocket scientist. Unless you’re already a rocket scientist. They’re not Big Pharma. Their products are nutrition that provide a natural nudge to what you already have inside you. They made them to increase your verbal fluency, avoid distractions, and boost your output.

• The top brand in Nootropics for over 5 years
• Launched Ketones in 2018 with the best performing product on the market to support Keto diet
• Featured in Bloomberg, CNBC, CBS News, Forbes, Futurism, and more.
• Created by PhD Neuroscientists from UCLA (Dr. Andrew Hill, Dr. Aida Attar, Alyssa Warth and more)
• Backed by a syndicate led by Sherpa Ventures, Blueberry Ventures, Brightstone VC, and 500 Startups.