Provasil
Positives
- Good ingredients
- Contains DHA
Negatives
- Key ingredients under-dosed
- Manufacturer tries to silence bad reviews
- Manufacturer uses bottom-shelf lawyers to pressure hosts into removing negative reviews
Provasil Review Summary
This Provasil review is probably a lot less enthusiastic about the product than many others you will find on the internet. That’s because Provasil uses “lawyers” (who can barely type emails) to threaten websites into removing negative reviews. Their main affiliate has rented office space in India to avoid reciprocal action – very sneaky!
Provasil contains some of the best natural nootropics in existence. The majority of the ingredients used here have been proven in robust clinical trials to be effective and reliable. There’s nothing in Provasil that makes us think side effects are likely; for the vast majority of users, this looks like a safe and side effect-free nootropic. However, we remain deeply unimpressed with Provasil.
As with many products, the very best ingredients are dosed too low for our liking – FAR TOO LOW. We also think the choice of cholinergic could be much better – choline bitartrate is very basic and the dose is tiny. In our opinion, the serving sizes, as well as the behavior of the manufacturer, really let this nootropic down.
Where To Buy Provasil
The makers of Provasil use hollow threats and intimidation tactics to try to silence criticism of their product. We think it unlikely that you can trust an online merchant that employs such tactics. We urge caution when spending your money online.
The makers of Provasil (MEDMARK LLC) recently got in touch and demanded that we remove all “copyrighted” material from this review. They claim we are not “authorized reviewers”, so we cannot use images of the product. They also threatened us with legal action if we did not take the page down. It seems only positive reviews of Provasil are acceptable (such as those published by India-based scammers Consumer Health Digest). We would like to make it clear that we are not an “authorized reviewer”, and proud of it. We are not in any way or form associated with the makers of Provasil. We are not “authorized” by them to publish this review – we don’t need their authorization. They repeatedly told us we had 24 hours to take the review down without giving us a good reason why we should. The review remains up; nothing makes you look weaker than empty threats. All images fall under fair use. They were obtained from Amazon. We are not posing as the crooks behind this product.Consumers Beware – Provasil Making Threats
Full Provasil Review
Provasil was launched some time ago, yet the manufacturers have managed to maintain a great deal of interest in it. It is certainly one of the most talked-about nootropic supplements on the market; after a good few years on the shelves, that’s certainly impressive. This is no doubt down to the aggressive marketing tactics of the manufacturer; they push Provasil through some of the shadier supplement review sites (you know the kind we’re talking about).
However, there are also plenty of genuine Provasil fans out there. There are certainly plenty of people still using this nootropic, and they have left a large number of positive reviews all over the internet.
So how has Provasil managed to remain so popular all these years?
What does this nootropic claim to do?
Provasil is marketed as an all-round cognition enhancing supplement. According to the manufacturer, it is a “maximum strength” formulation, which does a number of things:
- Boosts memory
- Intensifies focus
- Increases mental performance
There are also the usual claims to being able to help clear brain fog, improving attention span, and helping with long-term memory recall.
All of these are now standard claims of nootropics manufacturers; and quite rightly too.
Natural nootropic supplements can’t make you any more intelligent, and there is no such thing as a “real life Limitless pill”, as many shady manufacturers claim.
Yet helping to maintain a good working memory, increasing your ability to focus, and making sure that you are mentally sharper when you need to be are all well within the abilities of well-formulated natural nootropic stacks.
The question is: can this supplement really do any of this?
Does Provasil really work the way the manufacturers say it does?
Does the formula stack up against the best nootropics on the market today?
Why are they using “lawyers” to have negative reviews removed?
Let’s take a closer look at Provasil and find out. Below you will find our detailed review of this popular nootropic supplement. We start by looking at the formula to see if the ingredients and doses really stand a chance of delivering on the promises made by the manufacturer. We’ll discuss side effects, long-term health risks, and value for money. If you have any questions, please post them in the comments section at the end!
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Provasil Ingredients
Here is the Provasil formula as it should appear on the bottles:
Main Problem – Low Doses Across The Board!
The Provasil formula is far too weak to compete with the best nootropics on the market today.
It is massively under-dosed across the board, with the best ingredients being dosed at a fraction of what you would need to consume to experience real cognitive benefits.
A prime example is the cholinergic used by Cognetix Labs, or Medmark, or whoever makes this product.
Provasil contains 100mg of choline bitartrate.
Acetylcholine is a very important neurotransmitter for a whole host of brain functions, from memory recall to focus and processing. To ensure that the brain can synthesize and then utilize all the acetylcholine it needs to to cope with periods of intense mental activity, you need to make sure that it has access to a plentiful supply of choline.
However, increasing the amount of available choline is not simply a matter of consuming more choline. Like with a lot of things, the body doesn’t really work that way. Choline by itself does not readily cross the blood-brain barrier.
The best way to increase choline availability is to supplement with choline analogues. That way, you can ensure that there is plenty crossing the blood brain barrier and turning into acetylcholine.
Now, not all choline analogues are the same with regards to their efficacy.
Choline bitartrate is indeed a fairly reliable way to boost choline availability, but it is far from the most effective way of doing so.
To rival the effectiveness of the best choline boosters (i.e CDP-choline or Alpha GPC), we believe that you need to take a relatively larger amount of choline bitartrate. Certainly more than the 100mg found in the Provasil formula.
To really make a difference to cognition, we think choline bitartrate dosage should be closer to 400mg per serving at the very least.
That is not to say that Provasil won’t positively effect cognitive function; it’s just that the choline bitartrate dosage would need to be larger for that specific ingredient to make a significant difference.
We see the same problem again with the Bacopa monnieri content. Each serving provides just 100mg of a whole plant powder.
That is both too low and too weak for our liking.
We think you will only really start to benefit from Bacopa monnieri content when using a concentrated, standardized extract dosed at around 125-150mg per day.
Taking 100mg of whole plant powder probably isn’t going to give you the same improvements in memory recall and retention that you would get form using 300mg per day, or a smaller amount of a concentrated extract with a good amount of bacosides in there.
This is a major let-down as Bacopa monnieri has so much to offer when it is dosed properly, and when you use a proper extract!
Other Problems – Useless Ingredients
The main issue with this supplement is the fact that it has low-dosed the vast majority of the ingredients.
But that is certainly not the only issue with Provasil.
The formula also contains plenty of useless ingredients.
The prime example here is Asian Ginseng.
This stuff is used in many different natural supplements. it is commonly found in bodybuilding supplements designed to raise testosterone levels, as well as in some “male performance” enhancers (scam products to say the least).
It is also increasingly used in natural nootropic stacks, but we have absolutely no idea why.
We have never seen a shred of convincing evidence that Panax Ginseng positively influences cognition in a meaningful way.
It is always a shame to see manufacturers relying on hype to guide their formulation decisions rather than hard science. Until we see robust proof that Panax Ginseng has nootropic action, we assume that this is what happened here.
-See Our Scam Supplement Guide-
Side Effects – Is Provasil Safe?
There aren’t any ingredients in Provasil that give us serious cause for concern. They aren’t known to cause side effects, and they are all widely used in various different supplements today. Each ingredient has been tested individually on humans, and they are all thought to be generally safe for long-term consumption.
We can’t see anything in this supplement that makes us think that the vast majority of users would experience any problems whatsoever.
That is of course assuming that said users don’t have existing health problems, are very old or young, or are pregnant.
Remember, we aren’t doctors, and this is NOT medical advice.
To keep yourself safe, you MUST do your own research and talk to a doctor before you take Provasil.
These supplements cannot cure serious cognitive decline. They are designed to enhance cognitive function, not to treat disease. If you are struggling with severe cognitive impairment, you need to talk to a qualified health professional!
What Are Other People Saying?
Here is a selection of customer reviews we have found online (Amazon). While these aren’t always 100% reliable, it is certainly worth looking at these to get a feel for a supplement before you part with your hard-earned money!
Strangely, this reviewer went to great lengths to break down the formula of Provasil in their review:
Again, verified customer reviews can only tell us so much, but they are worth checking out just in case there are thousands upon thousands of very angry customers.
In this case though, people seem to have received their products after they paid their money. That’s better than a lot of supplements out there!
How Much Does Provasil Cost?
The Provasil website lists the following price options:
- 1 Bottle: $49.95
- 3 Bottles: $149.95
- 5 Bottles: $249.75
All of these offers come with a “free” bottle of Green Pura; a scam weight loss supplement seemingly made by MEDMARK LLC as well.
Provasil is priced similarly to other brain supplements on the market right now. However, we don’t think it can justify that price tag. The doses are too low and there simply aren’t enough proven nootropics in the formula. We think this product should be a lot cheaper than it is.
It does have a 60 day money back guarantee written into the terms & conditions, which is always good. We haven’t had any reports of people struggling to get their money back with this one, so it seems to be a legit guarantee.
Review Conclusion – Is Provasil Right For You?
After reviewing Provasil as thoroughly as we can using the information available online, we can only conclude that it is a pretty weak, bog-standard, and ultimately over-priced nootropic supplement.
It certainly isn’t terrible in and of itself; there are no major side effect red flags, and it contains some good nootropics.
The problem is that the good ingredients have been dosed so low that they’re practically impotent. Other ingredients offer no nootropic benefits at all.
We would have assumed that Cognetix Labs (or MEDMARK LLC depending on who you ask) had their customer’s best interests at heart when they designed the formula.
But since we learned that they try to silence all dissenting opinion, we’ve changed our minds. Anyone willing to be so deceitful and underhanded can’t truly value user satisfaction.
In any case, the formula is pretty mediocre. In our opinion, it is unlikely to deliver the same results that other stacks can.
A more focused, and more generously dosed natural nootropic stack would almost definitely, in our opinion, deliver better results for those looking to enhance their focus, memory, and mental stamina.
We think there’s simply not enough of the best ingredients to make a huge difference to your cognitive performance.
We think the tactics used by the manufacturers to silence negative reviews needs to be taken into account.
The fact that they threaten baseless legal action against reviews they don’t like is, in our humble opinion, telling of a manufacturer who doesn’t have the customer’s best interest at heart.
We were told that we had 24 hours to remove “offending material”. We asked for screenshots of what that offending material was; they were unable to point us to anything that constituted copyright infringement. Instead, they just repeated their threats.
They obviously don’t want potential customers to have access to all available information.
We wonder why!
We have reviewed hundreds of nootropics and this supplement is still the most impressive. Our review team used this product for months and all experienced:
- Heightened focus
- Enhanced memory function
- More mental energy
- Better mental performance under stress
Read our full review to find out if this is the nootropic you have been looking for.
Is there a cognitive enhancing supplement on the market that you think does have ingredients in sufficient quantities to be therapeutic? Thank you for your review.
Hi Judith,
What do you mean by therapeutic exactly?
what do you recommend for memory boosting??
Hi Lisa,
Any product which contains a good amount of Bacopa Monnieri, Lion’s Mane mushroom, and a decent serving of phosphatidylserine should help with memory function. That is assuming you get the doses right and stick with it for a few weeks at least. Improving memory function isn’t an overnight job; it takes real commitment and patience.
Hope that helps. If you have any other questions let us know!
Do you know of products that contain the formulation that meets adequate amounts of the items discussed above – i.e. Bacopa Monnteri, Lions Maine Mushroom, and phosphatidylserine? If not can you tell me how much of those ingredients that each one needs to be in order to be of use?
Buying the individual ingredients separately can be cheaper in the long-run, but the initial outlay is obviously more because you can’t buy small amounts of things like Bacopa monnieri and phosphatidylserine cheaply and regularly. You kind of need to buy in bulk.
We recommend Mind Lab Pro for that reason. It contains plenty of Bacopa monnieri (standardized to contain only the active bacosides) and a hefty serving of Lion’s Mane Mushroom.
Hope that helps Marilyn. If not, feel free to drop us an email, or get in touch on twitter.