Prevagen is a top-selling, but controversial supplement that improves memory and cognition. Provasil is a similarly marketed supplement that claims it will help reduce mental fatigue and brain fog, improve memory and recall, and help slow cognitive decline.
So how do the two stack up against each other? How safe is Prevagen vs. Provasil, and what else should you know about these brain and memory supplements?
We cover these topics below.
What is Prevagen?
Prevagen is a supplement from Quincy Bioscience. The supplement contains a big dose of vitamin D, along with an ingredient that’s synthetic apoaequorin. Apoaequorin is a protein originally discovered in glowing jellyfish.
Researchers synthesized the protein, and they’ve been studying it because there’s a potential it could improve memory.
Users are instructed to take Prevagen once daily, preferably in the morning. Within a few weeks, the maker says users will start to notice improvements in their memory.
The Quincy Bioscience company has been under fire over the years for its marketing and advertising approach.
The FDA has sent correspondence to the company because it claims to take Prevagen can improve memory, and that it’s clinically proven. The FDA prohibits supplement companies from making any specific claims in advertising about particular diseases.Â
Plus, there’s an issue with the company advertising Prevagen as being clinically proven. There is very little research on the use of apoaequorin to help improve memory, and the one major study was conducted by the company that makes Prevagen. The study was limited in the number of participants, and it also ran only for 90 days, which typically isn’t considered long enough to gauge the long-term safety of anything.
So, how safe is Prevagen?
While it’s generally thought to be well-tolerated with minimal symptoms, we can’t say that’s true definitively since the research isn’t extensive. According to customer reviews, most people are fine taking it, but some anecdotal reports have serious side effects.
Most of the negative reviews about Prevagen from customers center around the fact that people don’t think it helps their memory or cognition. However, there are also plenty of customers and users who feel like it does.
What is Provasil?
According to the company that makes Provasil, 91% of users experienced an improvement of more than 39% in their overall cognitive function in four weeks. Some big claims are coming from the maker of Provasil. For example, the company says the supplement increases memory function and brain energy and promotes mental clarity and a positive mood.
Provasil is somewhat like a multivitamin. It has many more ingredients than Prevagen, including some that are pretty well-studied for brain health. For example, the Provasil supplement contains vitamin B12, l-tyrosine, phosphatidylcholine, ginkgo, and NAC.Â
There are 15 ingredients total in Provasail, including amino acids and botanical ingredients.
How Do Prevagen and Provasil Compare?
To take Provasil, you’re instructed to have two daily tablets, while Prevagen only requires one capsule daily.
Prevagen has just one active ingredient, plus vitamin D, while Provasil has many.
The primary ingredient in Prevagen, apoaequorin, is supposed to work by binding to excess calcium in the brain. Calcium dysregulation is thought to be linked to memory issues as we age, so the thought is that bringing those levels down might improve your memory.
There’s one glaring problem with Prevagen, though. Proteins are digested before they can ever cross the blood-brain barrier, so the ingredients may not be able to do anything helpful at all when you use this supplement.
The Provasil ingredients, on the other hand, are varied in their effects and how they work overall, as well as in how the body digests them.
The ingredients in Provasil have also been more widely studied than apoaequorin, and most of the research is from independent third parties. Even if you didn’t necessarily want memory and brain support, Provasil has vitamins, antioxidants, and amino acids that can be beneficial.
Provasil also seems like it would work more like a nootropic, which could mean that you see faster brain benefits, and it’s something that people of any age might be interested in using. Prevagen, on the other hand, is geared toward older people experiencing declines in memory and cognition related to normal aging.
One downside of Provasil is that sometimes having so many ingredients can be problematic. First, if you experience side effects, it’s hard to figure out which ingredient is causing them. The second issue is that with proprietary blends, there is often very little of any one ingredient, so you might not experience the full benefits you could if you took supplements individually.
Our pick for the better overall product is Provasil, although you should talk to your doctor before trying any supplement. You should also think about your goals. If you just want to have better cognition and an uplifted mood, Provasil may be right for you. If your main goal is to try and improve your memory and you’re older, you might opt for Prevagen.