Genestra - Neurogen Cognition

Product Notes:

As we age, we tend to lose a step, not only in our physical capacities but also our cognitive functions. And just as we can take certain supplements such as protein powders, collagen or calcium to combat the loss of muscle mass or bone density, other supplements may be able to help optimize our existing mental faculties and slow down the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.

Neurogen Cognition was specifically developed to do that (to support cognitive health and brain function), with premium forms of three types of herbal extracts supported by recent scientific research: Bacopa, Curcumin, and Ginger.

Bacopa

Bacopa (also known as Brahmi) may still be relatively unknown in North America, but it's a plant that's been used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for a variety of purposes for millennia (including memory enhancement).

Over the past 20 years or so, numerous randomized, placebo-controlled trials have shown bacopa can improve memory and attention. That's bolstered by other research suggesting the likely mechanisms for those effects are due to its antioxidant properties and abilities to help increase cerebral blood flow and regulate neurotransmitter levels.

Genestra Brands has selected a proprietary form of a clean, standardized extract of bacopa here, called BACOGNIZE™. Clinical research has demonstrated it can improve cognitive function in both healthy students and older adults (enhancing their performance in a test measuring attention, freedom from distractibility, and working memory), and it's also been shown to help reduce fatigue and improve the psychological effects of stress on mood.

Curcumin

The second major ingredient is Curcumin, which of course is derived from the spice Turmeric, and is another long-standing Ayurvedic medicine backed by plenty of contemporary research.

Curcumin is well-known to be able to help reduce inflammation and is widely used in supplements to relieve joint pain and improve mobility, but it turns out that inflammation may be a risk factor for impaired reasoning and memory, as well. Moreover, curcumin may also be able to help boost BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), a protein that helps regulate the structure, function, and development of the brain's neurons and synapses and helps neurons grow and form new connections.

Here, Genestra has turned to another proprietary type: LONGVIDA™ Optimized Curcumin, which is produced by encapsulating the free curcumin in a matrix of three types of fatty acids to enhance its solubility and enable it to survive digestion and enter the bloodstream to reach the target tissues, such that it is over 100 times more bioavailable than just regular curcumin.

Clinical research has demonstrated LONGVIDA can help improve cognitive functions such as sustained attention and working memory tasks and reduce the fatigue and anxious or foul mood that can be induced by the stress associated with having to carry out cognitively demanding tasks.

Ginger

Rounding out the trio is Ginger, another important plant with antioxidant properties that's long been used in herbal medicine to reduce inflammation (and of course nausea). As with curcumin, studies indicate ginger can inhibit inflammatory responses that occur in the brain, and it is both being actively studied and used in some places to help with variety of neuro-degenerative diseases. (NDDs: chronic neurological disorders associated with cognitive or motor dysfunction, such as Alzheimer's disease.)

Daily doses of ginger extract have even been shown to improve reaction time and working memory in healthy people (in a 2012 study of middle-aged women).