Smart people don’t believe in “smart pills.”
They believe in science-backed nootropics.
So what will nerds worldwide make of NuraDyne, a new nootropic stack that’s billed as “the ultimate smart pill” and claims to “make you smarter“?
Doesn’t matter. ‘Cause with its big claims, slick pharma-style, Amazon deal & broad audience targeting, NuraDyne is practically guaranteed to sell like hotcakes.
But can NuraDyne really make us all smarter? As in, raise our IQs? Or help us win Jeopardy!? Let’s find out.
Table of Contents
About NuraDyne
NuraDyne is a “Dynamic Neural Activator” “smart pill” made by Covaxil (linked to Basic Research LLC) and sold exclusively by Amazon. NuraDyne claims a wide range of cognitive benefits — thinking speed, alertness, learning rate & more — that are all supposed to add up to a mental competitive edge. Formula notes:
- Not just for old people. NuraDyne makes this point loud and clear as it advertises itself as “the ultimate smart pill.”
- Big proprietary blend. We hate prop blends. NuraDyne has 1 big blend hiding the dosages of its primary 12 ingredients.
- Bacopa monnieri. NuraDyne gives its biggest dosage in the prop blend to Bacopa, which is one of the best, most versatile nootropics you can take.
NuraDyne Supplement Facts |
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Serving Size: 1 capsule Servings Per Container: 30 |
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Ingredients | Amount Per Serving |
Niacin | 25 mg (125% DV) |
Proprietary Blend | 594 mg |
Bacopa (whole plant) Extract | ? |
Coffee (bean) Extract | ? |
Guarana (seed) Extract | ? |
Cola (seed) Extract | ? |
Green Tea (leaf) Extract | ? |
Rhodiola crenulata (root) Extract | ? |
Inositol | ? |
Glucuronolactone | ? |
Cinnamon (bark) Extract | ? |
Cayenne (fruit) | ? |
Marshmallow (root) | ? |
Melon (fruit juice) | ? |
Jujube (fruit) | ? |
Other Ingredients: Gelatin (capsule), Rice Flour, Magnesium Stearate, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide. | |
Directions: Adults take 1 capsule daily with a full glass of water. Individual results will vary. |
Photos
NuraDyne Commercial
NuraDyne has a whole lot of ingredients, but not many nootropics.
The first thing we notice about NuraDyne is 12 ingredients packed into a 594 mg proprietary blend. We assume this drives each ingredient’s dosage wayyyyy down. But more on that later.
For now, let’s check out the ingredients of this “Dynamic Neural Activator.”
Niacin: A B-Vitamin, but not a nootropic B-Vitamin. Niacin has evidence for fighting age-related cognitive decline. But B-6 and B-12 are better Bs for BRAINPOWER — better still as high-potency P-5-P B6 and methylcobalamin B12 that leading nootropic stacks use.
Bacopa Extract: Bacopa is an awesome first ingredient (therefore biggest dosage). It’s a bona fide Swiss Army Knife nootropic, legendary for learning, memory, mental processing speed and more — also ranked #3 on our Big List of Nootropics.
Coffee + Guarana + Cola Extract: We group ’em together ’cause they all do the same thing… supply caffeine. Each brings its own botanical goodness to the party, but in NuraDyne it’s the caffeine that matters for boosting alertness.
Green Tea (leaf) Extract: MORE caffeine, but Green Tea also supplies one of our Best 5 Nootropics… L-Theanine. It could be good here… but presented in plain green tea, there’s no way to know if there’s enough L-Theanine present to deliver any brain benefits.Rhodiola crenulata (root) Extract: Rhodiola is a great nootropic, but we always see it as “Rhodiola rosea.” NuraDyne instead gives us “Rhodiola crenulata.” They’re not the same. Rhodiola rosea has been shown to be more effective for improving ATP energy and working capacity.
Inositol: a.k.a. Vitamin B8, Inositol helps brain cell membranes. While it is not a mental performance booster, evidence suggests it helps emotional balance.
Glucuronolactone: Sounds sexy, but not much evidence here. It’s used in energy drinks for its purported ability to delay the onset of fatigue. But no strong research backs that use
Cinnamon (bark) Extract: Great in rice pudding. Awesome for blood sugar balance. But not a nootropic. We think NuraDyne might include it based on weak evidence for mood and neuroprotective effects.
Cayenne: Another great herb that seems out of place. Cayenne is an awesome fat burner. But it’s not associated with brain performance. Early evidence suggests it protects the brain, and may relieve headaches. But it’s just not a nootropic.
Marshmallow root + slippery Elm bark + Melon fruit juice + Jujube fruit: We’re grouping these last, smallest-dosed herbals together because they also share something in common… none of them have anything to do with brain health or cognitive performance. Just fairy dust here.
Formula Analysis
“Ultimate smart pill” is a big claim for NuraDyne to back up.
NuraDyne’s driving force is its Proprietary Blend. But of the 12 ingredients in that blend, we only consider 4 to be nootropics. A couple of others might help long-range brain health.
But any brain benefits depend on hitting Critical Mass dosages. NuraDyne’s 12 ingredients divided evenly into the 594 mg capsule amounts to a puny 50 mg dosage for each.
But we know from the Amazon Q&A that NuraDyne supplies 180 mg caffeine, which drives the dosage of remaining ingredients down even further. NuraDyne’s directions pretty much insist you take 1 cap a day only, placing another limit on potency.
We think NuraDyne probably supplies a good dose of Bacopa and caffeine — but that leaves very little dosage left for anything else.
- NuraDyne may bring a Bacopa+caffeine boost, but we don’t think you can count on brain benefits from its other 10 prop blend ingredients.
Now the really great brain-boosting nootropic stacks can make 10+ ingredients work by using smart formulation strategies: They make sure every ingredient boosts brainpower in some way, and they use quality high-potency forms: branded ingredients, standardized herbs, botanical concentrates, etc.
But NuraDyne is mostly non-nootropic ingredients, and uses no high-potency nutrient forms.
NuraDyne’s positives are the Bacopa powder (should’ve standardized to 40%+ bacosides though) combined with caffeine. This is a good 1-2 punch that might still bring some decent mental performance benefits.
But overall, NuraDyne uses up too much capsule space on non-nootropic ingredients… and doesn’t use the premium, high-potency forms that could help compensate for the apparent low dosages of the few nootropics it does supply.
NuraDyne Benefits
If NuraDyne hits Critical Mass dosage on its biggest ingredient, Bacopa, then it might help learning, memory, and mental performance while under stress. The 4-botanical-powered caffeine dose will reliably boost alertness and mental energy. Together, Bacopa+Caffeine are a nice brain-boosting combo.
NuraDyne makes a LOT more claims than what we mentioned, including for improving learning rate, processing speed, reaction time and more. We might believe those claims…but only if that Bacopa hits Critical Mass dosage. Since NuraDyne uses a Prop Blend, we’ll never know the dosage.
Who Takes It?
NuraDyne is exclusively sold by Amazon, so people who are shopping for nootropic stacks on Amazon will be shown this product. We’d bet a big percentage of NuraDyne users are Amazon online shoppers. NuraDyne is advertised to a wide variety of lifestyles, including gamblers, gamers, students, athletes and more. It tries to position itself as a formula for everyone.
Any Side Effects?
We doubt it. The same mild potency that makes NuraDyne just OK as a brain-booster probably means that it is safe and well-tolerated. There are some complaints of jitters due to the caffeine, which could be expected with NuraDyne’s 180 mg caffeine dose. The green tea supplies some L-Theanine to help with those jitters, but it might not be enough.
NuraDyne Summary
Pros
- Bacopa. Awesome lead ingredient, shame it’s not standardized.
- 4-Botanical caffeine. 180 mg caffeine from coffee, guarana, cola & green tea.
- Amazon connection. Amazon is pretty great about returns and refunds.
- Fairly clean label. No silly artificial dyes or other gimmicks.
Cons
- Few nootropics. Only Bacopa, Rhodiola, green tea & inositol.
- Low dosages. Too many non-nootropic ingredients in 1 cap
- Weak potency. Not a single high-potency ingredient in the whole stack.
- 1 Capsule serving size. One daily cap of a weak formula won’t do much.
- Expensive. It’s about $2/capsule. Imagine if you double dosed!
Pricing & Buying Info
- 1 Bottle (30-Day Supply): $59.95
- Available online at Amazon only
Final Word on NuraDyne
NuraDyne is a basic Bacopa+Caffeine formula. This is a good combo for boosting brainpower. But why not max out these ingredients, and supply a big Bacopa dose in a high-potency form? Instead NuraDyne uses a plain Bacopa form, hides dosage, and waters it down with non-nootropics. NuraDyne is still OK, but you’re better off with a high-quality stack that uses top-shelf Bacopa & more straight-up, research-backed brain-boosters.
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