Nootropic supplement: concentration & brain stimulation

Smart Pills is a supplement designed to optimise brain function and promote mental efficiency. It is formulated from six different ingredients, including two renowned natural nootropics, Bacopa monnieri and Ginkgo biloba, vitamin B12 - now scientifically recognised as playing a key role in the nervous system, caffeine, taurine and theanine.

The combined scope of their effects enhances well-being and cognitive performance: memory, cerebral microcirculation, mental effort … They work symbiotically to provide the extra boost we need to be more focused and productive.

Who is Smart Pills aimed at?

Smart Pills is for anyone looking to:

• Maximise their motivation.
• Respond to cognitive challenges.
• Improve their mood.
• Regain greater work efficiency.
• Achieve ‘flow’, the mental high characterised by deep concentration and total immersion in an activity.
• Become more effective.
• View tasks to be accomplished in a clear-headed way (mental clarity).

When is a good time to take Smart Pills?

• When revising for an exam and during the exam itself.
• When your workload is particularly heavy.
• On occasions that demand intense mental effort.
• Before a stressful event such as an oral presentation, competition, job interview, etc.
• When you’re finding it hard to find motivation.
• When you’re mentally fatigued.
• When you want to break bad habits of procrastination and inattentiveness.
• When you need to take an important decision.

More generally, Smart Pills can be taken when you need a little boost or an extra level of concentration. You can take one capsule in the morning or before periods of prolonged work and concentration.

There’s also nothing to prevent you from taking it every day for extended periods.

What’s in Smart Pills?

Smart Pills contains five main ingredients, all chosen for their scientifically documented effects and absence of toxicity. As always, SuperSmart has taken the utmost care to use only the highest quality raw materials for each of these ingredients.

Extract of bacopa monnieri standardised to 20% bacosides

The benefits of Bacopa monnieri are well-established in terms of improving the cognitive system and memory (1-6), as well as visual perception, attention and language (verbal understanding and vocabulary) and reducing impulsivity (7-8), improving concentration and reasoning (9), as well as alertness and speed of information-processing (10), associative memory (11), retention of new information (12) and even reducing the tendency to make mistakes (13-14).

Its principal chemical components are triterpene saponins (bacoside A1, bacoside 13, bacopasaponins, jujubogenin), cucurbitacins, monnierasides, flavonoids (luteolin and quercetin), alkaloids and coumarins.

Effects have been reported in both adults and children, healthy or otherwise (15), as a result of its different mechanisms:

1) Improvement by bacosides of transmission of nerve impulses. These compounds repair damage to neurons by inducing kinase activity and neuron synthesis, and by restoring synaptic activity (16). They exert antioxidant effects at several levels in all areas of the brain, particularly in astrocytes and fibroblasts where they protect against damage to DNA (17).

2) Involvement in the GABAergic system (18).

3) Effect on glutamatergic transmission (19-20) (lowering glutamate levels).

Our extract of Bacopa monnieri is standardized to 20% of bacosides, the most active ingredients of the plant.

L-theanine extracted from green tea

This is an amino acid found in green tea and certain types of mushroom. A number of preliminary studies have suggested it has a relaxing effect on the nervous system (21-22).

It may explain why drinking green tea every day helps to maintain mental alertness and improve cognitive performance (23) and memory. In research conducted in 2014, improved connections between neurons (called synapses) were observed in green tea consumers compared with controls (24). It also appears to stimulate blood flow in the brain (25).

Taurine

This is one of the most abundant free amino acids in the body: it is present in almost all tissues, particularly excitable tissues such as the muscles, retina and nervous system.

The body is able to synthesise taurine itself in the liver and brain, but additional intake from the diet is necessary to prevent deficiency (26). Requirements for taurine are estimated to range from 40mg to 400mg a day depending on various parameters.

Taurine has excellent bioavailability when ingested: it rapidly enters the bloodstream, crossing the blood-brain barrier with the aid of specific carriers to reach the brain parenchyma where it joins endogenously produced taurine.

It is concentrated in synapses in certain areas of the cerebral cortex where it acts as an inhibitory transmitter, preventing over-stimulation caused by high levels of amino acids (27). It also plays a role in long-term potentiation (LTP) – the significant and sustainable increase in synaptic efficacy – via induction of a cascade of molecular events.

Vitamin B12 (methylcobalamine)

Methylcobalamine participates in neurotransmitter synthesis and helps maintain the myelin sheath in order to preserve the efficacy of nerve fibres.

Recent studies have shown its benefits in increasing alertness and preventing various neurological problems. It is widely recognised for optimising nervous system function and helping to reduce nervous fatigue.

As the body is unable to produce methylcobalamine, it has to be obtained from the diet. However, since it is available in very few foods and high oxidative stress levels increase the body’s requirements for vitamin B12, nutritional supplementation is an increasingly popular option.

Caffeine (anhydrous)

Present in tea and coffee, caffeine is an alkaloid from the methylxanthine family. It is rapidly metabolised by the body and deployed in all tissues including in the brain.

Peak blood concentration is reached within 60 minutes of ingestion and it takes at least three hours for the body to eliminate one half of a dose.

Evidence from dozens of studies, along with individual everyday use, proves beyond doubt that caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, attention, creativity, and mental activity, and helps counter drowsiness. However, it also influences thought development (cognition) by reducing reaction time (31), improving the execution of simple tasks, facilitating learning tasks (32) and improving the ability to retain information useful for accomplishing future tasks (33).

Extract of Ginkgo biloba

For close to 2800 years, we’ve known about the medicinal properties of Ginkgo biloba, an ancient tree that has existed for some 300 million years. It is the leaves which are most highly prized because of their rich content in terpenes, particularly ginkgolides and bilobalides, as well in various polyphenol and flavonol compounds.

Extracts of Ginkgo biloba influence neuronal metabolism by improving the capture of glucose and oxygen. This is due to the action of bilobalides on the mitochondria, the small organelles involved in the conversion and use of energy. This same compound also prevents lipid peroxidation in the brain with the help of ginkgolides, by increasing the activity of glutathione transferase, an endogenous antioxidant. This effect is enhanced by flavonoids which protect brain cells from free radicals (34).

Updated: 30/03/2018

Notes

This product should not be used as a substitute for a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. It’s important to follow the guidelines on how to take it and the recommended dose, and to use it by the ‘best before’ date. It is not recommended for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, or for children under 15. Keep out of children’s reach. Store in a cool, dry place.

Buy Smart Pills capsules to boost your brain activity.