Beyond the screen, Tait’s passion project revolves around helping people take control of their lifestyles through his successful podcast, Pirate Life Radio, and Caveman Coffee, a company specializing in extremely high-quality, single-estate coffees, along with MCT oil and other supplementary products.

We sat down with Tait to talk about mental performance, nutrition, nootropics, and what it means to Pirate your lifestyle.

Tell us a little about how Caveman Coffee came about?

It goes way back. Whenever I get into something, I talk about it a lot. I find stuff out, and I pass it along, and that turns me on to new things. Back in my days as a professional fighter, I was always really nervous about diet, because I had to cut weight AND come in in appropriate condition. I had to preserve the strength and endurance to operate well.

That didn’t allow a lot of variance in my diet. That career ended, but now I’m a professional actor and stuntman, so my body is still a professional tool, and I still want to keep moving beautifully as well as long as I can.

That all led to curiosity to explore a lot of different diets: ketogenic, let’s try that out and be disciplined about it for six months. What does a Paleo diet look like? What effect does insulin suppression have on my body and my emotions?

You were biohacking!

Definitely. I always joke, all you biohackers, understand we see your WHOLE life. You see a lot of these guys talk about a strict ketogenic diet, then they’ll have 15 beers over the weekend! For me, I have to be all in, find out what the result is, and then go from there. I went deep into it, I go into the blood work as well. If I’m feeling great and my outsides are great, maybe there’s something to adjust there. And a lot of folks are asking me about my routine and what I’m doing. That leads to a lot of conversations that are meaty, not just blabber. I got to speak with all these beautiful people who were dialing things in and working to get a handle on it.

I became interested in coffee, interested in mycotoxins, different strains of mold, the ways coffee is procured. I realized a lot of major chains tasted the same, whether I was in South Africa or Boston. And I started learning that’s because the coffee is all burnt to the same degree! They’re not having one roaster, they’re procuring beans that are years old some times, and they just shuffle them together to make blends. That allows them to work the commodity market of coffee greatly.

If you really want to get high quality nutritious coffee, see, I’d never thought about coffee as nutritious before. Coffee is a fruit that’s roasted into a bean, and there are different parts of the roast that affect that. The darker the roast, the more robust the flavor, but a lot of the caffeine and antioxidants are going to be burned out of the bean.

I started talking to my business partner Keith Jardine about this, and then another partner, Lacie Mackey, who’s a high level trainer and athlete. We got on this road of coffee and nutrition together, then I started having discussions on twitter about people’s favorite single origin roasters, and I started trading bags with people, sort of like an informal coffee club.

Then Keith introduced me to a guy named David, he and his brother Juan immigrated from Colombia and have a coffee roaster in Albuquerque. They have the roaster here and a family plantation in Colombia, they get the beans from the plantation there and roast them in New Mexico.

Single origin is from the same region, single estate is even better than that, it’s all off the same farm. All the beans we do are hand picked, cold washed, come from the same estate and same family. They’re the highest quality coffee beans in the world. And I realized I needed and wanted to share that with people. We thought up a brand around that, and we went from there.

Our parent company is Pirate Life, and the whole idea is to educate ourselves about our own wellness. The conversation a lot of times is that we get sick, and we need some pills to get us back on the track to wellness. We’re all victims of our lifestyle, whether you’re a hang glider or a rodeo rider or professional chef.

But I want to empower people to Pirate their Lifestyle, help people find out what consumption does to them. The only vote that counts for me is to vote with my dollars. My good friend Joe Rogan says voting in the national elections is like pro wrestling. It might make you feel better, but it doesn’t affect the outcome. So where I spend my dollars makes the difference, which is why I spend my money on small based community companies. Maybe that costs a little more, but real food costs more in this day and age, crazy enough.

Caveman Coffee rose out of that, as did my Pirate Life podcast and a few other things we have in the works. We didn’t want a business, we wanted a movement to empower people.

Caveman sells high quality coffee, and you also sell MCT oil. Is that something you incorporate into your own routine?

I travel a lot, and I’m always warding off fatigue. Wherever I end up, I need to be on and 100% present. My nutrition is super important for me.

MCT is a nice healthy fat that you can derive from coconuts or palm oil. But with palm oil, you have destruction of rainforest and great ape habitat, so we try to be careful of how we source, and we do it from coconuts. I use it in my coffee to keep my fats high. I keep my fats high because I feel better that way. I spoke a little bit on the ketogenic diet; personally, I’ve found that keeping my carbohydrate count to 50 or 30 grams a day or less, I feel great. But in order to do that, I have to eat a ton of fat. Then my body creates ketones, and my body is fueled off adipose tissue.

MCT oil supplants the use of cream in my coffee. I have a little whip that I blend it up with, it’s nice and creamy and delicious. That and fish oil I take religiously.

What are some some tips to fighting fatigue and staying your best on the road?

For me, it’s diet, so much of it is diet. I used to have really bad mood swings when I was a sugar burner. When I burn sugar as fuel, I crash, and then I’m on this roller coaster all day long, and it played with my emotions, I got surly. I’m a slave to food in this way.

That’s one of the reasons I went on the ketogenic diet, fats don’t do that to me. If I need to take a little cat nap, I can wake up good and present. And I take Alpha BRAIN at night before I go to bed, which is a great product that Onnit puts out, your readers are probably familiar with it. I sleep deeper.

That’s just me, a lot of people take it throughout the day for mental clarity, I don’t do that, I take like four or five of them at night. And of course, it’s probably against the recommended dosage on the bottle, but I’m 240 pounds and I’m used to taking a lot of things. I get into REM sleep a lot quicker than I normally would, and even shorter duration sleep I’m getting more benefits out of. But that’s what biohacking is all about, getting the most out of what you’re doing.

We get a lot of questions from folks on supplement dosage, especially when it comes to Alpha BRAIN. We’ve noticed a huge amount of variation about how it will work for some people.

I just spent the weekend with [Onnit CEO] Aubrey, and he was talking about how different people are affected differently by it. Experience is the best information we have, and my experience is going to be deviated from yours.

And one more supplement I take daily is ZMA. I find the zinc, magnesium, and B6 highly useful for my rest and recovery.

How I work out these days is different than how I worked out as a professional combative athlete. Now I do higher volume in a shorter duration. I try not to have any metabolic conditioning workouts that last more than 8 to twelve minutes.

Where can people find out more about you, and what’s the best way for people to get in touch?

I try to answer all my messages. I’m on Twitter and Instagram, Taitimus Maximus is my Snapchat, and I’m responsible to all of those. You can find out more about our coffee and MCT on Caveman Coffee’s website. And of course Pirate Life Radio, I’m honored to be able to have the conversations I’ve had with some really fantastic people. I get to talk to people I really admire who are living high octane lives and have found fantastic success and serenity by walking an alternate route than what they were given as kids generally.

The post The Pirate Biohacker: Interviewing Tait Fletcher of Caveman Coffee appeared first on Brain Wiz.

1. I want something with caffeine (Alpha BRAIN is caffeine free, and while this is also something a lot of people cite as a benefit, preferences of course differ)
2. I want a simpler formula
3. I want a more transparent formula (Alpha BRAIN doesn’t publicly release the exact makeup of their proprietary blends, but they have generally been revealed in one research source)
4. Alpha BRAIN is too expensive
5. I just want to try something different

To make it easier to find some of the best Alpha BRAIN alternatives, we’ve highlighted these reasons and some of our favorite solutions below.

Have another Alpha BRAIN alternative you love? Let us know in the comments!

You Want Something Simpler

Alpha BRAIN is a broad-spectrum nootropic, meaning it contains a high number of ingredients that, while potentially synergistic, have numerous different effects on the brain and body. It has 12 active ingredients, many of which might not carry a potent effect for everyone.

Learn what our testers think about Alpha BRAIN in our review.

One of our current favorite Alpha BRAIN alternatives with a very straightforward formulation is RISE by Nootrobox. It has just three active ingredients: rhodiola rosea, bacopa monnieri, and Alpha-GPC. And unlike Onnit, Nootrobox is very upfront with how much of which ingredients are in its supplements.

Learn more about RISE in our full review.

Like Alpha BRAIN, RISE is caffeine-free and is designed for daily use. Both supplements contain notable adaptogens, though only RISE contains rhodiola, which our testers have anecdotally found to give a mental as well as physical boost. Both supplements contain Alpha-GPC, the highest-quality form of choline you’ll find in nootropics (and the form most able to cross the blood-brain barrier). Learn more about Alpha-GPC here.

It’s worth noting that Bacopa and Alpha-GPC are both found in Alpha BRAIN, though in significantly smaller quantities than RISE; Alpha BRAIN contains 240 mg of their Focus Blend, which includes both ingredients, while RISE contains 300 mg of each.

You Want Something More Powerful With Caffeine

Alpha BRAIN’s caffeine-free formula is famous and pairs well with coffee. However, some people want a powerful, fast-acting nootropic formula that gives them a more perceptible energy boost. In that case, our testers prefer Lumonol.

Lumonol is another broad-spectrum nootropic stack that includes a choline source, but it’s paired with guarana (a potent caffeine source) and noopept, a fast-metabolizing compound that can provide a cognitive boost shortly after ingestion (similar to, but potentially more potent than, piracetam).

Lumonol is one of our highest-rated nootropics and one of the fastest-acting, highest-energy blends we’ve tried. Find out more about Lumonol and who it may be best for in our review.

truBrain is another fast-acting nootropic our testers generally had good experiences with, and it’s one with a transparent list of ingredients plus the backing of an impressive team of neuroscientists. We found their liquid shots, which come in caffeinated and non-caffeinated forms, tasty and convenient.

You Want Something Cheaper

Onnit isn’t known for bargain-basement prices, though they occasionally release coupons and discounts. (Find out how to get the cheapest Alpha BRAIN at our coupons portal.)

If you’re looking for a broad-spectrum nootropic at a cheaper price, especially one that’s accessible to beginners, our testers recommend looking at Cognitex. It has a pretty different ingredient profile than Alpha BRAIN, but we overall enjoyed it, and it paired very well with coffee and other sources of caffeine like Smart Caffeine. If you take into account the price per serving, Cognitex is about half the price of Alpha BRAIN (assuming a 2-capsule serving of Alpha BRAIN).

Read our full Cognitex review here. 

Another cheaper option per serving is Choline Force by Bulletproof (also known as Upgraded Self). Find out about our experience with Choline Force in our review.

You Want Something More Transparent

Again, Onnit isn’t always the most forthcoming with their exact formulations. Of the options listed above, RISE, Cognitex, and Choline Force are all very transparent in their formulations, in fact, transparent ingredient amounts is one of the founding principles of a company like Nootrobox. As far as a stimulant-free stack with a quality, no-gimmicks formula our testers enjoyed, RISE is currently our preferred alternative to Alpha BRAIN.

Still looking for that perfect stack? Check out our Ultimate Beginner’s Guide for rankings of the best nootropics.

Quick note: Some in the biohacking community enjoy creating their own blends and mixing raw ingredients. We primarily review consumer-ready supplements and don’t put out recommendations for at-home or self-packed supplements made from raw ingredients meant for research purposes, which can carry its own set of risks. When starting any new supplement regimen, please use common sense and don’t be afraid to consult with your healthcare provider.

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Onnit claims Shroom TECH Sport was formulated to boost athletic performance by aiding/enabling energy pathways in the body. However, many of its primary ingredients, including Rhodiola rosea, cordyceps mushroom, and ashwagandha, are popular nootropic ingredients in their own right.

We set out to see if this pre-workout formula gave our testers a mental edge as well. Read on to see what our testers thought.

Ingredients

Vitamin B12 (as Methylcobalamin), 3mg

An essential nutrient, B12 plays an important role in numerous bodily functions, including neurological function and development. The particular form of B12 is the coenzyme form most often used to reduce brain fog and promote mental energy due to its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. This form of B12 can also directly participate in homocysteine metabolism.

Chromium (from Chromium Picolinate), 200mcg

This is an essential mineral and element that impacts glucose sensitivity and insulin in the body. Onnit includes chromium in ShroomTECH Sport to theoretically help balance and maintain blood sugar levels during activity.

Shroom Tech O2 Blend, 1500mg

A proprietary blend of ingredients from Onnit.

Organic Cordyceps (whole) Extract, Organic Cordyceps (whole)

This is Onnit’s headlining ingredient in ShroomTECH Sport, and it’s one we’re seeing more commonly in nootropic supplements. The cordyceps mushroom is an adaptogen that has been used in Chinese and Tibetan medicine as a treatment for numerous ailments, though its exact effects on the body still need to be determined through extensive clinical research. There’s also some early but promising clinical research indicating cordyceps extract has significant anti-fatigue properties.

Onnit claims it can boost ATP generation and oxygen utilization and aerobic capacity in the body, and some preliminary research backs their claims.

Shroom Tech Adaptogen Blend, 875mg

A proprietary blend of ingredients from Onnit.

Green Tea (leaf) Extract

Shroom Tech Sport gets some (unspecified) quantities of polyphenols, caffeine, and l-theanine from the addition of green tea. An amino acid that’s becoming an increasingly common ingredient in nootropics, l-theanine promotes relaxation without being a sedative. Research suggests it also helps the brain deal with stress. Often paired with caffeine, l-theanine effects appear complementary to the world’s most popular stimulant. It may also increase brain activity and memory.

Rhodiola (root) Extract

A noted adaptogen with few (if any) noted side effects, rhodiola is an herbal extract shown to boost physical and mental endurance while reducing the perceived symptoms of stress. Rhodiola fights fatigue, and there’s some anecdotal evidence it boost the effects of stimulants like coffee. Generally, a very large amount of rhodiola (over 600 mg) does not seem to boost the ingredient’s effects and may actually reduce them; with rhodiola, less may in fact be more for some users, and some clinical studies have seen effectiveness at doses under 100mg.

Onnit’s website cites some research suggesting a synergistic effect when combining rhodiola and cordyceps extracts. Rhodiola is also a headlining ingredient in stimulant-free stacks like RISE by Nootrobox (which our testers enjoyed).

Ashwagandha (root) Extract

The extract of Ashwagandha roots and leaves have been used in Ayurveda, the traditional Hindu medicine philosophy, as a mood stabilizer, and to combat stress and anxiety. The extract is said to work as a nervous system depressant, bringing about tranquility and relaxation, and making it easier to fall asleep.

Astragalus (root) Extract

One of Traditional Chinese Medicine’s fifty fundamental herbs, Astragalus has been shown to benefit the kidneys and is also linked to some general properties as they relate to anti-inflammatory effects and longevity. It may be adaptogenic in its effects, protecting against the effects of stress and neural decline.

The majority of human research, though, focuses on astragalus’ properties as they relate to the kidneys, though there’s some promising research suggesting it could improve exercise endurance. It generally has poor oral bioavailability (better via injections) and may interfere with some pharmaceuticals because it inhibits the enzyme CYP3A4. Onnit claims the inclusion of astragalus in ShroomTECH Sport positively influences the potency of cordyceps.

Other ingredients: Vegetarian Capsule (Cellulose, Water), Maltodextrin.

Usage Guidelines

• Designed to help the body with cellular energy and cardiovascular endurance.
• Take a serving of the greater of 3 capsules or 1 capsule per 50 lbs. of body weight, 45 minutes prior to physical exertion or competition, preferably on an empty stomach.
• When not engaging in planned physical exertion, take a serving of 1-2 capsules in the afternoon on an empty stomach to maintain daily energy.
• Do not exceed more than 6 capsules in any 24 hour period unless otherwise directed by a healthcare practitioner.

What Our Testers Say

“I’m always curious about the physical energy I get (or don’t get) from rhodiola, it all depends on what I’m taking it with. In this case, I felt sustained mental and physical energy. I took Shroom Tech Sport before workouts, as suggested on the label. It doesn’t seem to contain much caffeine, but it gave me at least the same boost, if not more, than some of the high-stimulant pre-workouts I’ve used in the past. It definitely stimulated me mentally, though I noticed the biggest impact on physical performance.”

“Adaptogenic formulas like Shroom Tech Sport often make me feel calm, and this was no exception. I took it in the morning and afternoon, and overall I prefer it to start my day with coffee or breakfast. On days I expected to be otherwise jittery or nervous, like when a quarterly report draft was due, I feel like Shroom Tech helped me stay level headed through it. I’m not sure it helped with my focus, but I felt less fatigued and less nervous than I might feel without it.”

“Like Alexandra, I also enjoyed taking this with coffee, though I liked it more in the afternoon when I’m facing a post-lunch slump. Cordyceps on its own has never been the most potent thing for me, but in this formulation and with these ingredients, I felt pretty good. I’m not sure I’d take it every day, but I’ll keep it handy if I need something to fight a sluggish afternoon.”

“This didn’t help me feel ”˜sharp’ like Alpha BRAIN, which was a little disappointing. However, I never felt tired on days when I took Shroom Tech. I’m going to think of it as more of a hedge against stress and tiredness than a focus or energy enhancer on its own.”

BrainWiz Tips

• Shroom Tech Sport contains some caffeine from green tea, so be aware of that when combining with other stimulants like coffee.
• This is a fairly robust adaptogenic formula, especially when starting, we recommend taking on its own instead of stacking with other nootropics.
• Don’t take too close to bedtime, as it may cause some mild difficulty sleeping when taken right before bed.
• Take before a workout to get more out of your session.

Supplement Summary

Unlike Alpha BRAIN or Alpha BRAIN Instant, Shroom Tech Sport didn’t impart a remarkable sense of sharpness or focus. It DID, however, prove popular among our testers for fighting fatigue and taking the edge off stressful situations. We’re not convinced this is an everyday nootropic, but for times when particularly challenging physical or mental tasks are right in front of you, it may certainly make those situations more tolerable, and less exhausting.

Interested in learning more? Check out our reviews of Onnit products Alpha BRAIN and Alpha BRAIN Instant.

The post Kiss Fatigue Goodbye? Reviewing Shroom TECH Sport by Onnit appeared first on Brain Wiz.

10% Off Alpha BRAIN and Alpha BRAIN Instant in 2016

As of writing this article, Onnit is offering Alpha BRAIN and Alpha BRAIN Instant for 10% off specials. Find the Alpha BRAIN 10% off special here and the Alpha BRAIN Instant 10% off special here.

Cheaper Alpha BRAIN and Alpha BRAIN Instant

Onnit often offers seasonal and special holiday discounts for specific products like Alpha BRAIN and Alpha BRAIN Instant. These can be as high as 20% off a product. Check back on this page for those, which we’ll regularly update as Onnit announces them.

For discounts that can be applied throughout the year, customers have a few options. First, Onnit offers discounts for larger orders at checkout regardless of season. The standard is generally 5% savings for orders over $150, and 10% for orders over $250 when buying off their website.

Recurring Order Discounts

In addition, the company offers “Stay Onnit,” a recurring orders program that sends you a given supplement at regular intervals of 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, or 90 days. If you choose to go with Stay Onnit, the company will give you 20% off your first order. Stay Onnit also applies any special or larger discounts in a given month to your recurring order.

Military Discounts

Onnit also offers a military discount, which can be found on the footer of their home page here. It’s 15% off for anyone getting product shipped to a military base or for customers who verify active service by using a military email address and providing proof of military ID.

Check back on this page for regularly updated Onnit discounts and coupon codes for Alpha BRAIN and Alpha BRAIN Instant.

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The Evolution of Alpha BRAIN

With the announcement of Alpha BRAIN Instant in late 2015, the manufacturer has introduced a new form of their favorite supplement. At first glance, Alpha BRAIN Instant is just Alpha BRAIN in a powdered form, as opposed to the standard capsule, with some flavorings to make it a pleasant drink. But while each form of Alpha BRAIN contains the Onnit Flow, Focus, and Fuel blends, the proportions are actually different between the two varieties.

Find out which flavor of Alpha BRAIN Instant we preferred in our full review.

So What’s Different?

Onnit claims Alpha BRAIN Instant has one big advantage: “The advantage of the powdered drink mix over original Alpha BRAIN is that you save the time it takes for the body to dissolve the capsule. The nutrients get delivered right away to your stomach, expediting absorption and how quickly they can cross the blood-brain barrier.”

But there’s another major difference, namely in the ingredients themselves.

The difference is in the amount of Onnit’s Flow and Fuel blends in each version of the supplement (the amount of vitamin B6 and Focus blend are the same in both). One serving of Alpha BRAIN Instant has 1,150 mg of their Flow blend, which contains l-tyrosine, the calming l-theanine, oat straw extract, and phosphatidylserine. A serving of Alpha BRAIN original has only 650 mg of that proprietary blend.

Alpha BRAIN Instant also contains more of the Fuel Blend per serving, at 71 mg versus normal Alpha BRAIN’s 65 mg. That particular blend contains l-leucine, vinpocetine, BioPerine black pepper extract (for increased absorption), and pterostilbene.

What Does This Mean for Me?

Our testers enjoyed both Alpha BRAIN and Alpha BRAIN Instant, and they’re among our favorite nootropic blends, especially when it comes to stimulant/caffeine-free stacks. In fact, several of us have been taking Alpha BRAIN fairly consistently for upwards of 5 months with consistent effects. (A few of us, however, get a better experience by cycling off the supplement occasionally, as tolerance may build with some of the ingredients.)

Alpha BRAIN Instant may take the edge in that it actually is a bit faster-acting; if you don’t like swallowing pills or are looking for a tasty morning beverage, it may also be worth a try. Alpha BRAIN’s original formula, as a capsule, is easier to pair with your morning coffee. We’ve found both to be similar in the length of their effects.

Individual experience may vary; the choice may truly come down to taste, routine, and whether you want to wait an additional few minutes for the earth-grown formula to kick in.

Looking for the Best Price on Alpha BRAIN?

Onnit isn’t known for releasing a lot of huge discounts on their products, but they are pushing hard on getting people to try Alpha BRAIN Instant. For the latest discounts, check out our piece on Alpha BRAIN coupons to get the best and most up-to-date deals on their nootropic formula and other supplements.

The post Alpha BRAIN vs. Alpha BRAIN Instant: Which Is Better? appeared first on Brain Wiz.

Read our full review of Alpha BRAIN here, and find out why Alpha BRAIN Instant is different here.

Learn More About Alpha GPC

Alpha GPC supplies dietary choline to the body. In the brain, choline is used to make acetylcholine, an important neurotransmitter involved in many cognitive processes. In people who don’t get enough choline in their diets, choline supplementation on its own may be enough to give them a perceived cognitive boost, in some of our testers’ experience, it’s reduced brain fog and enhanced focus. Alpha GPC may also fight cognitive decline and the decay of neurons and their membranes in older mammals.

Alpha GPC is about 40% choline by weight, meaning it has the potential to confer about 40% of its dosage to the body as dietary choline. Along with CDP-Choline (about 18.5% choline by weight), it’s a form of choline most likely to be seen in nootropics because it confers choline that can more easily cross the blood/brain barrier. Compounds that increase the presence of neurotransmitter acetylcholine are often called cholinergic. Alpha GPC seems to be the preferred, though more expensive, cholinergic for newer and/or high-quality nootropic manufacturers.

Many of the studies involving Alpha GPC use dosages between 300 and 600mg. However, more research is needed to indicate the “optimal” dose for various effects, and this may vary somewhat between users.

Alpha GPC may have also have potent implications for strength and muscular output; when taken in dosages around 600mg as a pre-workout, it has been shown to increase muscle force and potentially stamina.

How Much Alpha GPC Is in Alpha BRAIN?

Both Alpha BRAIN and Alpha BRAIN Instant include Alpha GPC as part of their “Onnit Focus Blend,” which is 240mg total per serving and also includes bacopa and huperzia. Basically, the dosage of Alpha GPC you’re getting in a single serving of Onnit’s Alpha BRAIN products is well under the 300-600mg you see elsewhere, and maybe well under 200mg (Onnit doesn’t indicate the exact proportions in many of their blends). While both forms of Alpha BRAIN have proved popular among our testers, some people may respond better to a higher dose of Alpha GPC. Remember, Alpha BRAIN also contains numerous other nootropic compounds that interact synergistically with Alpha GPC.

Looking for a nootropic with a higher dose of Alpha GPC, along with ingredients to fight the effects of stress? Check out our review of Nootrobox’s RISE supplement, which contains 300mg of Alpha GPC per serving.

The post Alpha BRAIN vs Alpha GPC: What You Need to Know appeared first on Brain Wiz.

Read our full review of Neuro Clarity.

And like Onnit’s super-popular Alpha BRAIN and Alpha BRAIN Instant formula’s, it also contains noted adaptogen and popular nootropic extract bacopa monnieri. But when comparing these two stacks, what’s most important to keep in mind?

First, Neuro Clarity gets a nod for listing the exact amounts of each included ingredient, whereas many manufacturers choose not to (supposedly to keep their formulas proprietary and secret). While Onnit is a fairly transparent company in our experience, they keep the exact proportion of ingredients in many of their blends secret, as is the case with Alpha BRAIN and Alpha BRAIN Instant (which, interestingly enough, have slightly different amounts of their Flow and Fuel blends). Find out more about the difference between Alpha BRAIN Instant and their original formula in our full review.

Read our Alpha BRAIN review here.

Overall, though, our testers have generally preferred Alpha BRAIN to Neuro Clarity due to its potency and specific effects (at least for them). Several of our testers experienced increase feelings of calm with Neuro Clarity, but the cognitive boost was extremely mild at best. Alpha BRAIN, on the other hand, is one of their favorites for sustained mental energy and focus, and several of our testers experience a cumulative boost in memory and concentration when taking it for two to three weeks in a row.

Neuro Clarity may not be a bad option for those looking to take the edge off work anxiety, but when comparing these two stimulant/caffeine-free stacks, our testers say Alpha BRAIN wins out on actual nootropic effects.

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This means they don’t publicly list exactly how much of each ingredient is in a serving of their respective supplements. (This is a fairly common practice in the supplement industry and companies work to protect their formulas from each other, though there are notable exceptions; see Natural Stacks and truBrain.)

However, while they share a significant number of ingredients, our experiences with Alpha BRAIN and Addium differ in some key ways. First, it’s worth noting that Alpha BRAIN (an Onnit product) is stimulant/caffeine-free. While the exact amounts of ingredients in Alpha BRAIN differ between its regular and powdered instant formulas, neither caused jitteriness in our testers. (Read our full review of Alpha BRAIN, including our thoughts on timing, as well as our full review of Alpha BRAIN Instant.)

Alpha BRAIN’s stimulant-free nature also makes it a valuable part of one of our favorite travel stacks.

Alpha BRAIN in capsule form paired especially well with coffee in our experience, and it’s a regular part of the morning routine for several of our testers. They especially like the cumulative effect and tend to get more out of Alpha BRAIN after taking if for several weeks. However, some people sensitive to adaptogens like bacopa may see diminishing returns and could get more benefit from cycling off Alpha BRAIN every few days. Like any nootropic, personal experience will vary somewhat!

In contrast to the caffeine-free Alpha BRAIN, Addium does contain caffeine in its proprietary blend, though in an unspecified amount. After just a single capsule of Addium, our testers felt a different rush from the caffeine; some enjoyed this, while it gave others excess jitters, and we didn’t have much success stacking it with coffee or other nootropics. Read our full Addium review to see how our testers reacted to their proprietary formula.

Addium also contains GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid), which may have a positive effect on sleep and rest for certain users; even though it’s an ingredient that can have difficulty crossing the blood-brain barrier, we recommend becoming familiar with its effect before users stack with other nootropics or stimulants, and we use caution or avoid drinking alcohol on days when we consume GABA-containing stacks.

While Alpha BRAIN tends to give our testers a bit more mental energy and focus that gradually builds over the day, Addium felt like a quick rush, with some jitteriness, that risked a crash shortly thereafter.

The post Alpha BRAIN vs Addium: Which Is the Better Nootropic Stack? appeared first on Brain Wiz.

The main difference between Lumonol and Alpha BRAIN is evident from the ingredients on the label. While Alpha BRAIN is made from what Onnit calls “earth-grown nutrients” and features only all-natural ingredients, many of Lumonol’s most potent inclusions are synthetic. These synthetic molecules include noopept and picamilon, ingredients which our testers felt were very powerful and effective. They provided a very potent perceived cognitive boost, but our tolerance varied from person to person, and some of us were more sensitive to Lumonol than others. That’s why we suggested trying out a small starter dosage in our full Lumonol review.

And while Alpha BRAIN is completely caffeine-free, Lumonol does contain stimulatory ingredients, including guarana (which can contain 4x the amount of caffeine as coffee). The combination of stimulants plus fast-metabolizing ingredients like noopept made Lumonol one of the fastest-acting stacks we’ve ever tried; our testers usually felt the effects just a few minutes after ingestion (another reason why some of our testers only needed one pill to feel a boost). They also generally liked taking Lumonol on its own, without stacking in other nootropics or caffeine.

Find out how one of our testers felt after trying Lumonol for 90 days.

Alpha BRAIN, on the other hand, does not contain stimulants, and while many people experience a mental energy boost from taking it, it’s more of a gradual onset and greater mental endurance throughout the day. In our full Alpha BRAIN review, several of our testers mentioned they thought it paired well with their morning coffee. Alpha BRAIN Instant, Onnit’s new drinkable formulation, acts a bit quicker and has a slightly different concentration of ingredients than original Alpha BRAIN. (Read our Alpha BRAIN Instant review.)

Overall, our testers feel Lumonol is more directly “powerful” than Alpha BRAIN, and the combination of ingredients gives them energy and focus very quickly (though it’s worth noting different people may feel different effects from the ingredients, especially noopept). Alpha BRAIN isn’t necessarily mild-mannered, but its natural formulation is a bit less intense than Lumonol and is something more of our testers turn to every day as opposed to on days when they need a special boost. It’s worth noting that we do have several regular Lumonol users, and there’s some evidence the cognitive boost builds over time when taking either of these supplements.

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For us, at least, these combo nootropics + multivitamins don’t work all that well. 

FOCUSfactor isn’t actually our least favorite of the multivitamin nootropics we’ve tried, but if anything, the brain boost it provides is mild and short-lived (read our full review of FOCUSfactor). After trying it, we doubt the amount of nootropics in its “synergistic and proprietary formulation” is enough to really provide much of a boost, and there doesn’t appear to be a lot of method to their madness; they’ve thrown a bunch at the wall and seem to hoping something sticks. Some of our testers thought FOCUSfactor stacked well enough with coffee and/or caffeine, but taking 4 to 8 capsules/day ultimately wasn’t worth the effort.

In contrast, Alpha BRAIN is a broad-spectrum nootropic stack many of our testers really like. [Read our review of Alpha BRAIN and the new, faster-acting Alpha BRAIN Instant.] It has a broad ingredient list, but every inclusion is accounted for and seems to have a logical place in the stack. Our testers have tried Alpha BRAIN in both its consumer-facing forms, regular pills and the newer Alpha BRAIN Instant drinks, and have reported a lot of positives with few negatives. It’s also backed by two clinical studies that speak to its effectiveness, although it’s important to note these were both funded by its manufacturer, Onnit.

Alpha BRAIN is a caffeine-free stack that affects everyone a bit differently, so our testers use it in different ways from each other, and that includes variability on dosage and timing, definitely one we’ve played around with to see what works best for us individually. (For example, of our testers tends to be a bit sensitive to bacopa, which can cause his mind “to race” a bit if taken too close to bedtime; however, cutting to a half dose and taking Alpha BRAIN in the morning seems to reduce this while still providing noticeable nootropic benefits.)

Overall, FOCUSfactor has failed to stay in our rotation as far as favorite nootropics, while Alpha BRAIN, in both its forms, has stayed very close to the top of our testers’ lists. When it comes to combining nootropics with multivitamins, maybe there is only so much that can fit into one stack.

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