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Ingredient & advertising guide

This page has two jobs. First, it explains every one of the nutrients printed on the label of the supplement we sell, what each is, and what the research does and does not say about it. Second, and this is the part most advertising pages leave out, it lists the headlines we run, tells you which ones are exaggerated, and separates the small number of things that are genuinely supported by evidence from the many that are not.

1. Our headlines, and what is actually true

These are the headlines we have run, grouped by the claim they make. The right-hand column is our own plain assessment. We have marked each family of headlines as Exaggerated, Partly true, Withdrawn or Broadly supported.

The headline as you saw it	What is actually behind it
"Mental Decline Begins When Seniors Can't Spell These 3 Words. Test Now""Top Doctors Say Mental Decline Begins When Seniors Can't Pronounce These 3 Phrases. Can You?""MDs Say Mental Decline Begins When Seniors Can't Pronounce These 3 Phrases. Can You?""Memory Decline Begins When Seniors Say These 3 Phrases (See The List)""Declining Memory Begins When Seniors Say These 7 Phrases. See Which Ones"	Exaggerated There is no set of three words, three phrases or seven phrases whose spelling or pronunciation marks the beginning of mental decline. Nothing "begins" at a word. Word-finding and naming tasks do appear inside real cognitive screening tools, but those tools are administered and interpreted by a clinician alongside your history, your medications and a physical exam. Failing a word online means nothing on its own: plenty of people with perfectly healthy brains stumble over a word when they are tired, anxious, or being timed. "Top doctors" and "MDs" refer to no specific doctor. See section 5.
"Japan's Oldest Doctors Say Memory Loss Isn't Age: Just Avoid Drinking These 3 Beverages""Japan's Greatest Doctors Say Memory Loss Isn't Age: Just Avoid Drinking These 3 Beverages""Japan's Oldest Doctors Say Memory Loss Isn't Age: Just Avoid Eating These 3 Foods""Japan's Oldest Doctors Say Memory Loss Isn't Age: Just Stop Eating These 3 Foods"	Exaggerated No group of Japanese doctors issued this statement. There is no such panel, no such list, and no source we can point you to. Japan appears in the headline because it is widely associated with long life, which makes the claim feel credible. That is a marketing decision, not a citation. The second half is also wrong in an important way. Memory loss is strongly related to age. Age is the single largest risk factor for dementia, and no diet removes it. What is true is narrower: certain long-term drinking and eating patterns are associated with faster cognitive decline in large population studies. Association is not proof of cause, and "just avoid these three" is not how any of it works.
"Nobel Prize's Doctors Say Memory Loss Isn't Age: Just Stop Eating These 3 Foods"	Withdrawn We retract this one outright. No Nobel laureate has endorsed this page, this product, or any list of three foods on our behalf. Attaching the Nobel Prize to an advertisement implies an authority that does not exist and we should not have run it.
"The Overlooked Boxed Cereal Now Tied to 8 Out of 10 Memory Cases"	Our headline was wrong There is no such statistic. No study ties any cereal to eight out of ten cases of anything, "memory cases" is not a category any researcher uses, and no cereal has been "overlooked" by anyone: the sugar figure is printed on the side of every box. The number was invented for the headline and we withdraw it. The grain of truth is the same as for the other cereal headlines below: sugary cereals are mostly refined starch and added sugar, and diets heavy in both are associated in population studies with poorer memory scores [1] and with faster cognitive decline over years. [2] That is a modest association across thousands of people, not eight in ten of anyone. See section 3.
"Brain Experts Now Say These 3 Cereals Age the Brain Faster Than Time""Scientists Now Say This 1 Cereal Ages the Brain Faster Than Time"	Exaggerated No food ages the brain "faster than time." That phrase was written for effect and it is not a finding from any study. It is also internally inconsistent: in one version it is three cereals, in another it is one, because the number is something we test for click-through, not something we measured. The grain of truth: diets high in added sugar and refined starch are associated with poorer memory scores and greater cardiovascular risk over years. That is a modest effect across a population, not a fate sealed by a bowl of cereal. See section 3.
"Doctors Now Say This Popular Evening Drink Is Behind Memory Loss""Doctors Now Say This Popular Evening Drink Is Behind Brain Health Decline"	Partly true The "evening drink" is alcohol, and of everything our ads point at, this is where the evidence is strongest. Heavy and even moderate regular drinking has been linked in long-running studies to worse brain outcomes, including shrinkage of the hippocampus, the region most involved in forming memories. Excessive alcohol is one of the risk factors named in the 2024 Lancet Commission on dementia. [3] [4] What is overstated is the word "behind." Alcohol is one contributing risk factor among many, not the cause of memory loss. Cutting back is a genuinely good idea. It is not a cure, and it will not undo damage already done. It is also worth saying plainly: the capsules we sell contain no alcohol and no caffeine.
"Doctors Name 5 Popular Drinks Now Tied To Memory Decline. Coffee Tops The List""Seniors: These 4 Drinks May Be Aging Your Brain Faster""The 4 Drinks Brain Doctors Want Seniors to Quit""Neurologists Say Cognitive Decline Isn't Age: Just Stop Drinking These 2 Popular Drinks""Doctors: 3 Popular Drinks Now Tied to Memory Loss in Seniors"	Exaggerated Notice that the count changes: two drinks, three, four, five. It changes because it is an advertising variable we rotate, not a number that came out of a study. No neurologist is named in any version, because none was consulted. "Coffee tops the list" is the clearest thing we have got wrong. Large reviews of coffee and cognition have generally not found ordinary coffee drinking to be a risk factor for dementia; several report a neutral or modestly favourable association. If you drink coffee and enjoy it, this headline gave you a reason to worry that the evidence does not support. Our own article about this extract suggests no coffee after two in the afternoon, for the sake of sleep. That is a timing point, not a claim that coffee harms memory. See section 2.
"Brain Doctors: Quit These 4 Drinks Before It's Too Late"	Exaggerated No brain doctor was consulted for this headline, and there is no "too late." The deadline was invented to make you click. The four drinks are the ones in section 2: alcohol, sugar-sweetened soft drinks, energy drinks and sweetened coffee-shop drinks. Cutting back on them is sensible for your heart, your sleep and your weight, and long-running population studies link heavy use of the first two to poorer cognitive outcomes over years. There is no evidence that quitting them on any particular day changes anything about your memory, and there is no age after which the change stops being worth making. See section 2.
"Memory Slipping? Check These 4 Everyday Drinks First"	Partly true Half right, in the wrong order. If your memory is slipping, the first thing to check is not a drink; it is your doctor, because several treatable causes listed in section 6 look exactly like memory loss and none of them is fixed by changing what you pour. The four drinks are the everyday ones in section 2: alcohol, sugary soft drinks, energy drinks and sweetened coffee drinks. Reviewing them is a reasonable second step, mostly for sleep and for your heart. Not enough plain water belongs on the list too, and it is the one our own article dwells on. See sections 2 and 6.
"America's Top Experts Say Mental Decline Isn't Aging: Just Avoid These 5 Kitchen Drinks"	Exaggerated The same construction as the "Japan's doctors" headline above, with the country changed. No panel of American experts issued this statement, and we cannot point you to one. Mental decline is strongly tied to age, and no drink removes that. The five kitchen drinks are alcohol, sugar-sweetened sodas, diet sodas, energy drinks and sweetened coffee-shop drinks, all in section 2, where the honest version of each is written out. "Just avoid" overstates what any of that evidence shows. See section 2.
"Still Sharp at 90? Seniors Are Rethinking These 3 Everyday Foods"	Partly true The gentlest of our headlines, and still an overstatement. Nobody knows what keeps a particular person sharp at 90. The largest studies point to blood pressure, hearing, physical activity, social contact and education far more than to any food; see section 7. The three everyday foods are sugary breakfast cereals, processed meats and packaged baked goods, all in section 3. Eating less of them is associated in population studies with better long-term brain and heart outcomes. That is a modest, slow effect across a population, and no food is a guarantee at any age. See sections 3 and 7.
"Drink one cup a day and watch your memory change"	Exaggerated The cup is the glass of water you swallow one softgel and two capsules with, at lunch. Nothing in it has been shown to change memory: the diet the jar copies came out even in its only randomized trial, [5] and the nutrients in the jar, tested one at a time at higher doses, mostly did nothing for the memory of healthy people over 65. What a daily glass can honestly give you is a two-second habit, done at the same time each day, that carries the rest of a routine: lunch at the table, fish and greens on the plate, a line in a notebook. "Watch your memory change" should not have been written. See sections 7 and 9, and the ingredients below.
"A jar that tries to put the Mediterranean diet into one softgel and two capsules; the only randomized trial of the diet came out even"	Broadly supported This is the reading our article is built on, and it is in the two diet studies. In 960 older adults followed for an average of 4.7 years, those whose meals most resembled the MIND pattern held their thinking scores better, a gap of about seven and a half years of age; [6] that is an association. In the only randomized trial, 604 older adults followed the MIND diet or a plain control diet, both with calorie restriction and counseling, for three years; both groups improved, and the difference between them was not significant. [5] The headline is meant to lower expectations, not raise them: the jar inherits a good diet's shopping list and the diet's evidence is an association that its own trial did not confirm. It is not a claim that the jar works.
"Neurologists Name 5 Popular Prescriptions Now Tied to Memory Decline"	Partly true, and the most dangerous to act on This one is closest to real research. Several widely prescribed drug classes have been linked in large studies to higher dementia risk, and prescribing guidelines already flag some of them as poor choices for older adults. [7] [8] [9] But an advertisement is the worst possible reason to change a prescription. Stopping some of these medicines suddenly can cause seizures, dangerous rebound anxiety, or a return of the condition being treated. Never stop or change a prescribed medicine because of something you read in an ad, including ours. Read section 4 before you do anything.

2. Every drink our ads point at

Our headlines have referred, in different versions, to "3 beverages", "4 drinks", "5 popular drinks", "2 popular drinks" and "this popular evening drink" without ever naming them. Here is the complete list of what we were pointing at, and what the research actually supports for each one. Where a study is cited, it is observational unless stated otherwise: it can show that two things travel together in a population, not that one causes the other.

3. Every food our ads point at

The food headlines referred to "3 foods" and to "cereals": one cereal in some versions, three in others. Again, the number was ours, not a finding. Here is what was meant, and what stands behind it.

4. The "5 prescriptions" headline

Our headline said "5 popular prescriptions now tied to memory decline." It named none of them. These are the drug classes that research has actually flagged. "Tied to" means associated in observational studies, not proven to cause.

What this section is not. It is not a claim that these medicines cause dementia, not medical advice, and not a suggestion that a supplement is an alternative to any of them. It is a prompt to have one specific conversation with a professional who knows your history. Several things in the jar we sell deserve a mention in that conversation of their own accord: its fish oil is worth naming if you take anything that thins the blood; its vitamin D and vitamin E are worth naming if you already take either; and it contains fish and gelatin. One more reason to have that conversation before you make it a daily habit.

5. The "3 words" and "7 phrases" tests

Several of our headlines invite you to test yourself on words or phrases: spell these three words, pronounce these three phrases, see whether you say these seven phrases. There is no such validated test, and we cannot give you a real one, because a real one does not work that way.

What actual cognitive screening looks like. Clinicians use short structured tools. The Mini-Cog, the MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) and the MMSE are the common ones. They do include word tasks: recalling three unrelated words after a delay, naming animals, repeating a sentence. But three things make them different from an online quiz:

• They are administered in person, in a standard way, by someone trained to do it.
• The score is interpreted against your age and education, not against a fixed pass mark.
• A low score is a reason for further evaluation (bloodwork, medication review, history from a family member, sometimes imaging), never a diagnosis by itself.

Screening tools also produce false alarms. Anxiety, poor sleep, hearing loss, depression, pain and simply being nervous all lower scores in people whose brains are fine. This is precisely why an online word quiz is meaningless: it has none of the context that makes the real instrument useful.

6. Real warning signs, and the causes worth ruling out

The genuinely useful list is not about spelling. It is about whether memory or thinking has changed enough to interfere with everyday life. Signs that deserve a medical appointment include:

• Memory loss that disrupts daily life: repeatedly asking for the same information, relying on notes and family for things you used to handle yourself.
• Difficulty completing familiar tasks: a routine recipe, a regular route, paying the usual bills.
• New trouble following or joining a conversation, stopping mid-sentence, or calling things by the wrong name.
• Confusion about time or place: losing track of dates or seasons, or how you got somewhere.
• Trouble judging distance, or reading. Worth checking, since it can also be vision.
• Putting things in unusual places and being unable to retrace steps, sometimes with a sense that others are to blame.
• Noticeably poorer judgement, especially about money.
• Withdrawing from work, hobbies or social life; changes in mood, personality, suspicion or apathy.

Ordinary ageing looks different: occasionally forgetting a name and recalling it later, misplacing your glasses and finding them, needing help with an unfamiliar device, taking a moment to find a word, rereading a paragraph after lunch and getting it on the second pass. That is normal and common at every age.

7. What actually has the best evidence

If we only had one section to be useful in, this would be it. The 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission on dementia concluded that nearly half of dementia cases worldwide, around 45%, could potentially be prevented or delayed by addressing fourteen modifiable risk factors across the life course. ^[3] Not one of them is a supplement, a liquid extract, or a list of three foods.

• Treat hearing loss. Use hearing aids if you need them.
• Control blood pressure from mid-life onward. Take the medication as prescribed.
• Treat high LDL cholesterol and manage diabetes.
• Do not smoke.
• Stay physically active. Regular walking counts, and it is free.
• Limit alcohol.
• Treat depression, and take it seriously in older adults.
• Stay socially connected. Isolation is a measured risk factor, not a soft one.
• Correct vision loss: get cataracts treated, keep the prescription current.
• Protect your head from injury; reduce fall risk at home.
• Sleep properly. Persistently short sleep in mid-life has been associated with higher dementia incidence. ^[11]
• Keep learning: education and continued mental engagement across life.
• Maintain a healthy weight and reduce exposure to air pollution where you can.

These are unglamorous. They cannot be delivered in a headline, they take years, and none of them can be sold to you by us. They are also, by a wide margin, the best-supported things on this entire page.

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8. Ingredient guide: what is actually in the jar we sell

What each of the nutrients printed on the label of NeuroReserve RELEVATE is, what it is traditionally used for, and what the cited research says. The panel prints an amount for every line, per day of one softgel and two capsules: vitamins D3, E, niacin and B12, magnesium, a herring-roe omega-3 complex with 200 milligrams of DHA and 58 of EPA, lutein and zeaxanthin, a 280-milligram flavonoid blend whose four parts are not split, decaffeinated green tea catechins, theanine and 25 micrograms of pterostilbene. The other ingredients are the gelatin softgel, the plant-fiber capsule and L-leucine. Where a study is cited below, it used one nutrient at a time, usually at a higher dose; none of it tested this jar. Read the statement at the end of this section before you buy anything.

Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol)

The 'sunshine vitamin': the skin makes it from sunlight, and it is added to milk and found in fatty fish and egg yolk. It regulates calcium and bone. Many older adults in northern latitudes have low blood levels in winter.

Traditional and everyday use. No traditional use; identified in the 1920s.

What the research says. In the three-year DO-HEALTH trial of 2,157 adults aged 70 and older, 2,000 IU a day of vitamin D3 produced no statistically significant benefit on a cognitive screening score, alone or combined with omega-3s and exercise.^[12] Correcting a real deficiency is a matter for a blood test and a doctor, not for a memory page.

Amount per serving in RELEVATE. 30 mcg (1,200 IU) (150 % DV)

Good to know. Safe at label doses; the tolerable upper level for adults is 100 mcg (4,000 IU) a day. Too much over time raises blood calcium.

Vitamin E (as d-alpha tocopherol acetate)

A fat-soluble vitamin that works as an antioxidant in cell membranes. The label form, d-alpha tocopherol acetate, is the natural form of the vitamin with an acetate group attached to make it stable in a liquid. Nuts, seeds, vegetable oils, spinach and avocado are the usual food sources.

What the research says. In the Women's Health Study, 6,377 generally healthy women aged 65 or older took 600 IU of vitamin E on alternate days for up to 9.6 years and gained no cognitive benefit over placebo.^[13] That amount is many times the 7.5 mg in this product, so the trial says nothing in favour of the label amount either.

Amount per serving in RELEVATE. 20 mg (133 % DV; plus 40 mg gamma-tocopherol from mixed tocopherols)

Good to know. At high supplemental doses vitamin E can interfere with vitamin K and raise the risk of bleeding, which matters if you take anything that thins the blood; the amount here is modest. The upper limit for adults is 1,000 mg a day. Talk to your doctor before use if you are under a doctor's care.

Vitamin B3 (niacinamide)

One of the two common forms of vitamin B3, also called nicotinamide. Unlike the other form, nicotinic acid, it does not cause the skin flush that high doses of niacin can produce. It occurs in meat, fish, nuts, legumes and enriched grains.

What the research says. A Cochrane review of 14 trials in 27,882 cognitively healthy adults concluded that B-vitamin supplements probably have little or no effect on global cognitive function up to five years.^[14] In the European Union, niacin carries authorised claims that it contributes to normal psychological function and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.

Amount per serving in RELEVATE. 50 mg (313 % DV)

Good to know. Well tolerated at the amounts found in supplements of this size. Talk to your doctor before taking it if you are under a doctor's care.

Vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin)

A vitamin found naturally only in animal foods — meat, fish, eggs and dairy — and in fortified products. The body absorbs it through a two-step process in the stomach and small intestine that becomes less efficient with age, which is why supplement doses are often many times the daily requirement: only a small percentage of a large oral dose is taken up.

What the research says. A Cochrane review of 14 trials in 27,882 cognitively healthy adults concluded that B-vitamin supplements, including vitamin B12, probably have little or no effect on global cognitive function up to five years.^[14] That review says nothing about people who are actually short of B12; in the European Union the vitamin carries authorised claims that it contributes to normal psychological function, to normal functioning of the nervous system and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.

Amount per serving in RELEVATE. 20 mcg (833 % DV)

Good to know. No upper limit has been set, because unabsorbed vitamin B12 is not stored. A blood test is the only way to know whether you are short of it; ask your doctor rather than guessing.

Magnesium (bisglycinate chelate)

A mineral involved in hundreds of enzyme reactions, nerve signaling and muscle function; found in nuts, seeds, beans, whole grains and leafy greens. Bisglycinate is magnesium bound to the amino acid glycine.

Traditional and everyday use. No traditional use.

What the research says. We did not register a memory trial of magnesium for this page. Fifty milligrams is about 12 % of the Daily Value, roughly what a small handful of almonds provides.

Amount per serving in RELEVATE. 50 mg (12 % DV)

Good to know. Safe at this amount; large doses of magnesium supplements cause loose stools. People with kidney problems should ask their doctor before taking magnesium.

Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) from fish oil or herring roe

The two long-chain omega-3 fats of oily fish (salmon, sardines, anchovies, mackerel, herring). DHA is a building block of nerve-cell membranes; EPA is a precursor of signaling molecules. Supplements come as fish oil, krill oil, algal oil or, in RELEVATE, herring roe phospholipids.

Traditional and everyday use. Fish has been eaten for brain and heart for as long as there have been fishermen; fish-oil supplements date from the 1980s.

What the research says. The randomized trials in healthy older adults are mostly null: a 2012 Cochrane review of three trials in 3,536 people over 60 found no difference from placebo on mental-status scores or on word learning, digit span and verbal fluency;^[15] an 18-month trial of 390 adults aged 65 to 90 taking 2.3 g a day of DHA-rich fish oil found no benefit and a small negative effect on psychomotor speed;^[16] and the three-year DO-HEALTH trial found no effect of 1 g a day on a cognitive screening score.^[12] A 2015 meta-analysis did find that DHA, alone or with EPA, improved episodic memory in adults with mild memory complaints, and that doses above 1 g a day helped episodic memory regardless of baseline.^[17] One 24-month trial of 60 adults over 65 combining 1 g of fish oil with carotenoids and vitamin E found fewer working-memory errors.^[18] A 2018 review of 51 trials concluded the question is still open.^[19]

Amount per serving in RELEVATE. 645 mg (of which DHA 200 mg and EPA 58 mg)

Good to know. Fishy burps and loose stools are the common complaints. Doses above about 3 g a day can affect bleeding: ask a pharmacist if you take blood thinners or have an operation planned. Fish allergy excludes fish-derived products.

Lutein and zeaxanthin (marigold carotenoids)

Two yellow-orange pigments (xanthophyll carotenoids) that the body cannot make. They concentrate in the macula at the back of the eye, where they absorb blue light, and they are also found in brain tissue. Food sources: kale, spinach, collards, egg yolk, corn and orange peppers. Supplements are usually extracted from marigold flowers.

Traditional and everyday use. No traditional use; studied since the 1990s for eye health.

What the research says. In two one-year placebo-controlled trials in older adults (average ages 72 to 74; 44 and 51 participants analyzed), 12 mg a day of lutein plus zeaxanthin was associated with better complex attention and cognitive flexibility in one,^[20] and appeared to buffer decline on a verbal learning task in the other.^[21] In a 24-month trial of 60 healthy adults over 65, 22 mg of carotenoids combined with 1 g of fish oil and vitamin E was associated with fewer working-memory errors than placebo, a small effect.^[18]

Amount per serving in RELEVATE. 5 mg + 1 mg (half the 12 mg a day used in the one-year trials in older adults)

Good to know. Considered safe at the amounts used in trials (up to 20 mg a day for years). Very high intakes can tint the skin yellow-orange, which is harmless.

Flavonoid blend: bilberry anthocyanins, quercetin, kaempferol, myricetin

Four plant pigments and polyphenols: anthocyanins give bilberries and blueberries their color; quercetin is in onions, apples and capers; kaempferol in kale and broccoli; myricetin in berries and vine tea. RELEVATE extracts them from bilberry fruit, Sophora japonica flower and seed, and Ampelopsis leaf, in a 280 mg blend called FLAVOCORE.

Traditional and everyday use. The plants are foods and traditional teas; the isolated blend is a modern formulation.

What the research says. In a 12-week study of 26 healthy older adults, a daily blueberry concentrate providing 387 mg of anthocyanidins was associated with increased brain perfusion and activation on MRI and a borderline improvement on a working-memory test.^[22] RELEVATE does not say how many milligrams of anthocyanins its 280 mg blend holds, so the two cannot be compared.

Amount per serving in RELEVATE. 280 mg (proprietary composition; split not printed)

Good to know. Food-level amounts are safe. Quercetin supplements at gram doses have been linked to kidney concerns in rare reports; ask a pharmacist if you take daily medicine.

Organic green tea (Camellia sinensis), leaf

The leaves of the tea plant, dried without the oxidation that turns the same leaves into black tea. Green, black and oolong teas all come from this one plant; only the processing differs.^[23] It is the first ingredient printed on this tin, so it is very likely the bulk of the blend.

Traditional and everyday use. Drunk daily across Asia for centuries, and the base of most flavored tea blends sold today.

What the research says. Green tea carries caffeine and a small amount of the amino acid L-theanine. In one study in adults aged 50 to 69, a single dose of L-theanine was associated with a faster reaction time on an attention task and fewer errors on a working-memory task.^[24] The summary of that study does not state the dose, and the tin does not state how much green tea is in a teaspoon. The National Institutes of Health notes that green tea contains caffeine, that liver injury has been reported mainly with green tea extracts in tablet or capsule form rather than with the drink, and that green tea may reduce the effectiveness of some medicines.^[23]

Amount per serving in RELEVATE. 200 mg

Good to know. It contains caffeine, so it is a daytime cup, not a bedtime one, and worth limiting if caffeine unsettles your heart or your stomach. Green tea may reduce the effectiveness of some medicines (the NIH names nadolol, atorvastatin and raloxifene).^[23] Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before drinking it daily if you take anything daily, or if you are pregnant or nursing.

L-theanine

An amino acid found almost exclusively in tea leaves (Camellia sinensis) and in a few mushrooms. A cup of brewed green tea contains roughly 25 to 60 mg of it. It is what gives green tea its savoury, brothy taste.

Traditional and everyday use. Consumed for centuries as part of everyday tea drinking in China and Japan; isolated and named in Japan in 1949.

What the research says. In a placebo-controlled study in men and women aged 50 to 69, a single dose of l-theanine was associated with a faster reaction time on an attention task and with more correct answers and fewer omission errors on a working-memory task.^[24] The published summary of that study does not state the dose used, so no comparison with any product amount can be made from it.

Amount per serving in RELEVATE. 50 mg

Good to know. Generally well tolerated. If you are pregnant, nursing, or under a doctor's care, talk to your doctor before adding any supplement.

Pterostilbene

A small molecule related to resveratrol, found in tiny amounts in blueberries and in the heartwood of the Indian kino tree (Pterocarpus marsupium), from which supplements are usually extracted or synthesized.

Traditional and everyday use. No traditional use on its own; the kino tree has a history in Ayurveda.

What the research says. We found no randomized trial of pterostilbene on memory or attention in healthy adults in our PubMed search of 2026-09-09; the human trials we saw studied muscle, liver or metabolic markers. Thorne pairs it with caffeine in a co-crystal (PurEnergy) and describes it as a sustained-release form of caffeine; the caffeine is the part with a track record.^[25]

Amount per serving in RELEVATE. 25 mcg (micrograms, not milligrams)

Good to know. Short human studies at 50-250 mg a day reported no serious effects; some reported a rise in LDL cholesterol at higher doses. Ask a pharmacist if you take daily medicine.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This information does not constitute medical advice and it should not be relied upon as such. This product is not a substitute for medication or other treatment prescribed by a physician or health care provider. Consult your doctor before starting any dietary supplement.

9. What we can and cannot promise

Set against the headlines that brought you here, this is the complete and honest position.

Things we cannot promise, and that nobody selling you a supplement can:

• That this jar will improve your memory, or that it is the diet it copies.
• That it will prevent, delay, slow or reverse dementia or Alzheimer's disease.
• That it offsets alcohol, sugar, processed food, or any drink or food named on this page.
• That it can replace a prescribed medicine, or make a medication review unnecessary.
• That any doctor in Japan, any Nobel laureate, any neurologist or any "brain expert" recommends it. None has.
• That a word or phrase quiz can tell you anything about your brain.
• That a day of the jar delivers the gram or more of omega-3 the trials used, or the 12 milligrams of lutein and zeaxanthin the one-year trials used. It holds a quarter of a gram of DHA and EPA and 6 milligrams of the pigments, and nobody has tested the jar.
• That the words on the label describe anything that has been shown for this jar. They are the maker's wording, and the same label carries the FDA disclaimer.

Things we can say honestly:

• It is one softgel and two capsules of vitamins, a mineral, fish-roe oil, plant pigments and plant extracts, made for a company in Las Vegas, Nevada, that publishes a street address, a toll-free number and an email, in a facility the seller says is certified by NSF. Every ingredient printed on the label is listed above with its amount; the flavonoid blend gives one figure for four compounds.
• It contains no caffeine and no alcohol.
• It contains fish and gelatin. It is not for a fish allergy or for a vegetarian.
• The price, the shipping terms (free standard shipping within the United States, three to seven business days; expedited for a fee; international by email only) and the refund policy (a full refund on a first order, requested by email within 30 days of receiving it) are exactly what is written on the seller's pages. Nothing more, and no promise made elsewhere overrides them.
• The customer reviews we quote are real and public on the seller's site; we quote them word for word, we mark "Verified Buyer" only where the seller's review system does, and we left out reviews that made claims we cannot check. Individual experiences are not evidence.
• We earn a commission if you buy. That is our interest in this, stated plainly.
• Nothing here is medical advice, and none of it replaces your doctor.

10. Questions people ask us

Did a Japanese doctor, a Nobel laureate or a neurologist really say this?

No. Those attributions are advertising language. No named or identifiable expert made those statements, and none has endorsed this product.

So is coffee bad for my memory or not?

Ordinary coffee is not an established risk factor for cognitive decline, and reviews generally find neutral to modestly favourable associations. Our "Coffee Tops The List" headline overstated it. What is worth watching is added sugar in coffee drinks, and caffeine late enough in the day to spoil your sleep. That last point is the only reason our article suggests no coffee after two.

Should I stop my sleeping tablet or my anxiety medication?

Not on your own, and not because of an advertisement. Some of these drugs cause seizures or severe rebound symptoms if stopped abruptly. Take your full medication list to your doctor or pharmacist and ask whether anything on it is a poor fit for your age. See section 4.

Is this product a treatment for Alzheimer's or dementia?

No. It is not a treatment for any disease. If you or a family member is facing a diagnosis, the people to talk to are your doctor and a support organisation such as the Alzheimer's Association helpline listed above.

The seller says it fills seventeen nutritional gaps and is clinically backed. Is that true?

The gaps are the seller's count of the diet's nutrients; the panel prints thirteen lines and a four-part blend. "Clinically backed" refers to studies of the Mediterranean and MIND diets, not of the jar, and the diet's only randomized trial came out even with a plain diet. The same label carries the statement that its claims have not been evaluated by the FDA. We treat the wording as wording.

Does it contain caffeine or alcohol?

Neither. The green tea extract is decaffeinated. It contains fish, from herring roe, and gelatin in the softgel.

How much omega-3 is in it, compared with the studies?

Six hundred forty-five milligrams of a herring-roe complex, of which 200 milligrams of DHA and 58 of EPA. The trials in healthy adults over 65 that found nothing used four to nine times that; the pooled analysis with a signal in people with memory complaints started above a gram a day. A serving of sardines gives several times the jar's DHA.

Why does this page talk about medicines if the product is not one?

Because one of our headlines pointed at "5 prescriptions", and you deserve to know what was behind it. Nothing in section 4 is advice to change a medicine, and the product is not an alternative to any of them.

If your own headlines are exaggerated, why should I believe this page?

A fair question. Do not take our word for it. The references below are real, published sources you can look up yourself, and nothing in sections 5, 6 and 7 requires you to buy anything or trust us. If this page and our headlines disagree, believe this page.

Does this page cost anything?

No. It is free, there is nothing to sign up for, and you are welcome to read it, close the tab and never come back.

Can I check these claims myself?

Yes, and you should. Every numbered reference below can be found by searching its title. For general information, the National Institute on Aging (nia.nih.gov) and the Alzheimer's Association (alz.org) publish plain-language material and sell nothing.

References

These are the sources behind the claims marked with a number above. Most are observational studies, which can show association but not cause; the diet's randomized trial came out even, the omega-3 trials are randomized and mostly found nothing, and the lutein, catechin and blueberry trials were small. We have deliberately not cited anything for the claims we describe as exaggerated, because there is nothing to cite.

1. Pase M.P. et al. (2017). Alzheimer's & Dementia 13(9):955-964 doi.org
2. Gonçalves N.G. et al. (2023). JAMA Neurology 80(2):142-150 doi.org
3. Livingston G. et al. (2024). The Lancet 404(10452):572-628 doi.org
4. Topiwala A. et al. (2017). BMJ 357:j2353 doi.org
5. Barnes L.L. et al. (2023). New England Journal of Medicine 389(7):602-611 doi.org
6. Morris M.C. et al. (2015). Alzheimer's & Dementia 11(9):1015-1022 doi.org
7. Gray S.L. et al. (2015). JAMA Internal Medicine 175(3):401-407 doi.org
8. Coupland C.A.C. et al. (2019). JAMA Internal Medicine 179(8):1084-1093 doi.org
9. American Geriatrics Society 2023 Beers Criteria Update Expert Panel (2023). Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 71(7):2052-2081 doi.org
10. Pase M.P. et al. (2017). Stroke 48(5):1139-1146 doi.org
11. Sabia S. et al. (2021). Nature Communications 12:2289 doi.org
12. Bischoff-Ferrari H.A. et al. (2020). JAMA 324(18):1855-1868 doi.org
13. Kang J.H. et al. (2006). Archives of Internal Medicine 166(22):2462-2468 doi.org
14. Rutjes A.W.S. et al. (2018). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CD011906 doi.org
15. Sydenham E. et al. (2012). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012(6):CD005379 doi.org
16. Danthiir V. et al. (2018). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 107(5):754-762 doi.org
17. Yurko-Mauro K. et al. (2015). PLoS One 10(3):e0120391 doi.org
18. Power R. et al. (2022). Clinical Nutrition 41(2):405-414 doi.org
19. Rangel-Huerta O.D. & Gil A. (2018). Nutrition Reviews 76(1):1-20 doi.org
20. Hammond B.R. et al. (2017). Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 9:254 doi.org
21. Lindbergh C.A. et al. (2018). Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 24(1):77-90 doi.org
22. Bowtell J.L. et al. (2017). Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism 42(7):773-779 doi.org
23. NIH NCCIH. "Green Tea" (updated February 2025) nccih.nih.gov
24. Baba Y. et al. (2021). Journal of Medicinal Food 24(4):333-341 doi.org
25. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (2015). Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine. EFSA Journal 13(5):4102 doi.org

Citing a study does not mean the study is about this product. None of the research above tested NeuroReserve RELEVATE, and none of it supports it.

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