They arrive in cheerful bottles with names that sound like promises — Daily Brain Boost, Brain Drive, Brain guard+. And Americans, in turn, spend billions of dollars each year chasing the idea of a sharper mind.
This is the logic of the moment: that the self is something to be tuned and upgraded, its limits negotiable through the right regimen of diets, workouts, injections, pills, powders and gummies. Cognitive health, once the domain of aging and illness, has become another frontier for optimization.
“Is this all real or is it all marketing hype? It’s a combination I think,” said Gary Small, a professor emeritus of psychiatry and former director of the UCLA Longevity Center, now at Hackensack Meridian Health. “The science is changing so fast it’s hard for even experts to sort it out.”
About 1 in 5 adults over age 50 use vitamins or supplements specifically to try to boost brain functions like memory, attention or focus, according to a 2021 AARP survey, the most recent update. The global market for nutritional supplements was estimated at $517.1 billion in 2025 and projected to be $862.5 billion by 2033, according to Grand View Research.
Supplements occupy a distinctly permissive corner of American medicine — one where products can be sold without the kind of large, rigorous, double-blind trials federal authorities require for pharmaceuticals, which often involve thousands of people. The Food and Drug Administration provides limited oversight of dietary supplements only after they are on store shelves, largely leaving it to manufacturers to ensure their products are safe and accurately labeled.
Many brain health products are built on how the brain changes in disease — stress that can lead to cell damage, inflammation linked to cognitive decline, amyloid buildup tied to Alzheimer’s.
But showing an effect on those pathways in a lab involving a Petri dish or on animals — or even on patients with illness — doesn’t translate cleanly to improvement in otherwise healthy people’s memory or focus. The industry often blurs that line, marketing disease-adjacent science as everyday enhancement, said Pieter Cohen, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Cohen says the words “brain health” basically mean you “use your imagination and the benefits can be anything you want. … There’s no process by which these claims are vetted, so the consumer can’t rely on anything that is said by the companies or the label itself.”
Jason Wachob, founder and co-CEO of Mindbodygreen, which sells Brain guard+, said skepticism about the supplement category is fair: “The market is noisy and not all products are created equal.”
He asserts his company is built on patented ingredients, clinical doses, and rigorous testing for purity and potency in laboratories certified by the International Organization for Standardization; the company lists relevant studies supporting claims on the product site.
“Our product development starts and ends with science,” Wachob said.
Midi Health Chief Medical Officer Kathleen Jordan said the company selects “our supplements very carefully and only choose to get behind ones we believe in and are the most science supported — and ones we often use ourselves.” Momentous, maker of Brain Drive, declined to comment.
As more interest and money flow into the space, more serious human research is beginning to take shape. The findings, however, remain modest and uneven.
There is some concern that the placebo effect may be doing more of the work in some cases than the pills, powders or gummies. Some research on cognition-enhancing drugs known as nootropics and over-the-counter brain supplements suggests that perceived improvements often track closely with expectation rather than measurable changes. The benefit, in other words, may come from belief, routine or increased self-monitoring rather than the ingredient list.
Even some promising research results have not panned out. In 1997, a study in the New England Journal of Medicinesuggested that high doses of vitamin E — 2,000 units — delayed functional deterioration in moderately severe Alzheimer’s disease patients. The findings were compelling enough that many physicians began recommending this dose, but enthusiasm waned after later findings raised concerns about increased bleeding risk.
Mónika Fekete, an assistant professor of preventive medicine and public health at Semmelweis University in Budapest, led a review of nutritional supplements’ impact on cognitive function in the journal Nutrients. Fekete and her colleagues found that vitamins B, C, D and E each contribute uniquely to brain health, but studies about dietary supplements more generally are frequently limited by differences in methods, small sample sizes and a lack of clear goals.
“The strongest and most consistent evidence regarding brain health and prevention of chronic diseases does not support the widespread use of isolated dietary supplements,” she said.
Researchers say the most reliable ways to protect brain health remain decidedly unglamorous: exercise, sleep and social connection.
What supplements does one expert take and avoid?
Here’s how Small, 74, thinks about supplements in his own life:
1. Curcumin A number of years ago, Small came across epidemiological studies noting lower rates of Alzheimer’s disease in parts of Asia where diets are rich in turmeric, the golden-yellow root long used in cooking. Around the same time, laboratory research began to suggest that curcumin, one of turmeric’s active compounds, had anti-inflammatory properties and might reduce tau and amyloid beta — proteins closely associated with neurodegeneration. Intrigued, Small helped conduct a small, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 40 adults and reported improvements in memory and attention in the group that took curcumin.
The study was never expanded, but he found the results suggestive enough to begin taking the supplement himself. He remains uncertain about its effects on the brain, he said, but is comfortable with the possibility that it may offer broader anti-inflammatory benefits.
A 2024 reviewof published studies on curcumin found a “statistically significant improvement in cognitive performance,” while cautioning about potential gastrointestinal side effects. There have been recent concerns about whether it could cause liver damage as well.
2. Coenzyme Q10 There have been a few studies that suggest Coenzyme Q10, a naturally occurring compound that helps cells produce energy and helps protect them from damage, could aid the brain. But Small mostly takes it because he takes a statin for cholesterol and his doctor told him there is some evidence CoQ10 lowers the risk for side effects such as muscle aches and fatigue.
3. Multivitamin One of the more convincing findings to date about supplements comes from the cognitive substudies of the Harvard-led COSMOS trial, which involved over 2,200 participants followed over roughly two to three years. A paper published in 2024 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that adults over 60 who took a daily multivitamin scored modestly better on tests of episodic memory than those given a placebo — a gap researchers say amounts to about two years of cognitive aging.
What he doesn’t take:
1. Vitamin D “Vitamin D is good for the body, definitely, and there are some suggestive evidence it may help with cognitive health,” he said. But Small said he gets plenty of it by being outdoors and does not believe in supplementing unless a person is deficient.
2. B12 Low vitamin B12 levels can lead to “fatigue, numbness, tingling and memory loss,” Small said. “But if your levels are normal, I think the evidence it’s going to help you much is pretty flimsy.”
3. Omega-3 When it comes to taking omega-3 in supplements, Small said, “When benefits are seen, they are small, inconsistent and often not clinically meaningful.” On the other hand, observational studies have consistently shown that people who eat fish regularly have a lower risk of cognitive decline and dementia. “Randomized trials haven’t confirmed a causal effect, but sushi, sashimi, branzino, salmon and other fish are some of my favorite foods, so I enjoy a fish dish twice a week,” he said.
4. Creatine A number of Small’s patients are taking creatine for their physical health, and some randomized controlled trials link it to better working memory and processing speed. Although he doesn’t take it himself, Small said it falls into the category of “if somebody feels very strongly, I won’t argue — as long as I don’t think there are side effects.” He said older adults, as well as athletes, may benefit from creatine supplementation, though some people may experience side effects.
5. Phosphatidylserine This is part of the brain cell membranes and is believed to support cognitive function, memory and nerve health. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition in 2010 of 78 older people in Japan who complained of memory issues found that phosphatidylserine derived from soybean given for six months resulted in improved memory function, especially delayed recall and the ability to remember information after a period of time has passed. But Small is not convinced enough to take it himself, and it can be found naturally in fish, soybeans and eggs.
6. Nicotinamide riboside A form of vitamin B3, this ingredient has been getting a fair amount of attention recently as a popular antiaging supplement. A 2025 clinical study of people with long covid published in eClinicalMedicine found high doses were associated with positive changes in cognition, fatigue and mood. But the research is still in the very early stages.
Tips for evaluating supplements
Ask your doctor. Bring the bottles and canisters of everything you are taking to your doctor to evaluate, because there’s often overlap between different brands and formulations. “You may be wasting money or, at worst, creating a situation of drug interactions you’re not aware of,” Small said.
Vet the companies. There are two main issues with supplements: whether they work or might cause harm, and whether they contain what’s advertised or include dangerous contaminants. Research whether a manufacturer is a reputable company and if there any lawsuits or complaints against it.
Be skeptical. Instead of taking the claims on a label for granted, assume the pills or powders don’t do anything until you’ve done your own research. “With social media and the Internet, supplement marketing is on steroids,” Small said. “Whoever has the loudest voice in the room seems to prevail.”
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