Prevagen is a widely sold supplement. It’s often advertised on TV and other media formats, and because of how popular it is in terms of sales, people often wonder whether they should try it and if there are any side effects of Prevagen to be aware of. There’s also a question of how old someone should be to potentially benefit from Prevagen. We explore these topics below.
How Prevagen Works
Prevagen is touted as a supplement to help improve your memory. The over-the-counter supplement includes two main ingredients. The first is apoaequorin, which is a protein originally discovered in jellyfish. The type of apoaequorin in Prevagen is based on the jellyfish protein but is synthetically made.
The other ingredient is vitamin D.
Apoaequorin acts like a protein naturally found in our bodies, or at least it’s thought to be based on current research. The protein our bodies make is called calmodulin. Calmodulin may play a role in memory, but research is limited.
The idea is that the apoaequorin, in replicating the effects of calmodulin, can lower calcium levels in the brain. Disrupted brain calcium levels are thought to be one reason people deal with memory loss as they age.
There’s been some debate on how effective this supplement is, though. The evidence used to support Prevagen’s effectiveness is based on research that some say is flawed, and it was conducted by the company that makes the supplement, Quincy Bioscience. In their small study from 2016, researchers compared taking 10 mg of apoaequorin per day to a placebo for 90 days.
All the participants in the study had self-reported memory problems but no serious memory-related conditions.
At the end of the study, the people taking the supplement had higher scores on some of the tests meant to measure their memory than participants taking the placebo. There were issues with the study, though.
First, it included a little over 200 participants, which is small-scale. It also only ran for 90 days, which isn’t long enough to decide on long-term effectiveness or safety. There are also potential issues with the tests researchers used to test memory. None are standard tests used by health care professionals as cognitive assessments.
Does Prevagen Have Side Effects?
We discussed above that the study on Prevagen used as clinical evidence to back up its effectiveness only ran for 90 days. While it appeared to be fairly safe in that study, we can’t say for sure because there’s not enough long-term research. There are also thousands of user-reported side effects, some of which are serious.
Why Does Our Memory Decline As We Age?
It’s considered pretty normal to have some memory loss as you get older, but something like Alzheimer’s or dementia isn’t considered a normal part of aging.
When we age, there are various reasons that our memories can get a little worse. One is that our hippocampus can deteriorate with age. The hippocampus is part of the brain playing a key role in forming and retrieving memories.
The second is that the hormones and proteins that protect and repair our brain cells and stimulate neural growth can decline as we age. This is likely where Prevagen is intended to have most of its impact.
The third key reason for memory loss related to aging is that when we get older, we may experience reduced blood flow to the brain, leading to changes in cognitive skills.
Sometimes you may notice memory problems even when you’re younger.
There are many reasons for forgetfulness or tip-of-tongue syndrome even when you’re relatively young, so should you take Prevagen?
How Old To Take Prevagen?
There’s no age limit or suggestion for who can or should take Prevagen. You can theoretically take Prevagen in your 20s, 30s, or 40s, but it may not benefit you. There may not be any benefits if you’re older, either. The clinical study the company cites to show effectiveness had participants no younger than 40.
One big issue about Prevagen is that most of it’s processed in your GI system as a type of protein. Little if any of the supplement can then cross the blood-brain barrier, which it would need to do to bind to calcium and regulate the levels in your brain.
Rather than taking Prevagen, if you are experiencing mental issues, some of the best things you can do are make healthier lifestyle changes overall.
For example, a healthy diet and regular exercise are good for memory and prioritizing sleep.
These can be better options than taking Prevagen, although technically, you can take it at any age as long as you’re an adult. You should consider talking with a health care provider before taking it to ensure it won’t interfere with any health conditions or other medicines you take.