Background:
CocoaVia is a daily dietary supplement that aims to support brain and heart health via promoting healthy blood flow. The magic ingredient is cocoa flavanols, and this product promises the highest concentration of these flavanols available among supplements today. Each serving (2 capsules) offers 450mg of cocoa flavanols, the highest level available on the market as the manufacturer claims, backed by 100% satisfaction guarantee and more than 20 years of scientific research. Let’s inspect this nootropic candidate closer.
Supplement Facts:
Key Ingredients: 16/20
- Cocoa extract (bean) – 1110mg
- Cocoa flavanols – 450mg
- Hypromellose capsule
- Silicon dioxide
- Magnesium stearate
Effects & Benefits: 16/20
Proven brain and cognition support – this is the main promise of CocoaVia to customers. According to its data sheet, taking the supplement can be tantamount to taking good care of one’s brain health, keeping it sharp and performing at its best every day, no matter the circumstances.
CocoaVia relies on over 20 years of scientific research on cocoa flavanols and their benefits to the brain. This is done via helping relax the arteries, which in turn promotes healthy blood flow and the brain’s constant nourishment. Sounds simple and straightforward? CocoaVia’s promotions state that the product is backed by decades of rigorous research on cocoa flavanols, one of nature’s wondrous brain health keepers.
Potential Side Effects: 13/20
Harvard Health has devoted an entire study on the potential downsides of taking CocoaVia. It finds problematic the recommended two portions every day in order to get the projected benefits. According to its press release, this daily dose comes with an added 200 calories, which can mean a 20-pound weight gain over a year if one doesn’t consciously try to lose the weight!
Cocoa, too, isn’t readily for everyone. It can cause caffeine-related unwanted effects, from nervousness to sleeplessness to fast heartbeat. It can also trigger migraine headaches among certain people – a dear price to pay for one’s brain-boosting quest.
Pricing Options: 11/20
A one-month supply costs $50, while a 3 and 6 month supply comes with 20% and 30% discount respectively. This is a bit on the steep side as far as top cognitive enhancers are concerned. This list offers more affordably priced options.
Online Reviews: 16/20
While ConsumerLab.com rates the product highly, there are mixed reviews online of its benefits, the timeframe for benefit onset, and the price they have to pay for the side effects (or lack of apparent benefits). $50 for a month’s supply isn’t exactly cheap, and it proves to be prohibitive for a considerable number of brain enhancement seekers.
Recap:
Positives:
- Natural cocoa-derived formula
- Reputable manufacturer
- Straightforward, no-nonsense flavanol benefits
Negatives:
- Cost-prohibitive
- Groups of people don’t tolerate cocoa well
- Lack of diversity in brain boosting nutrient lineup
Verdict: 55%
We are not concerned about potency of ingredients, quality, or reliability when it comes to CocoaVia. The contentious point is that cocoa isn’t for everyone, and once it has caused a reaction or doesn’t sit well with someone, then the brain boosting benefits are already lost and irrelevant. The cost can be limiting, too, given the abundance of more fairly priced brain health products that offer the same promises. CocoaVia might be worth the try and can be good news for those whose bodies don’t react to it negatively. But what will make one stay? Sustainable, consistent benefits – something that CocoaVia reviews online hardly reflect.
The Best Brain Supplements: Your Complete, Personalized Guide
In such a busy, harried world, people look for all the help they can get.
They’ve got problems remembering things, concentrating in school or focusing on a big work project, or being in the best energy and mood level for family and their personal goals.
Nootropics - also known as “smart pills” and brain enhancement supplements - are designed to help address these cognitive issues and improve memory and learning, focus and concentration, problem solving, and overall energy and vibrancy. These supplements are a potential fit for students (usually college students), professionals and business executives, and the elderly who want to enhance their brain power and performance.
Check the Best Smart Pills
The question, though, is…
Do you know the best brain-enhancing supplement for you?
Our product reviews will answer exactly this. By presenting accurate, up-to-date product information, conducting weeks-long product trial, and raising the alarm on fillers and low-quality ingredients, we’re about to guide you in your decision-making.
We take a long, hard look at the manufacturer, where they manufacture the pill, the website, pricing, customer testimonials, and different authoritative websites that point to how safe and effective a smart pill is.
At the end of it all, we present our Top 5 rated smart pills for your easy reference.
How Do Nootropics Work?
Known by many different names, nootropics act as brain enhancement aids and brain boosters that don’t leave your cognitive wellness to fate.
There are two kinds of nootropics: (1) pharmaceutical cognitive enhancers made up of chemicals believed to have a clear effect on the brain and nervous system, and (2) natural cognitive enhancers, which are mostly herbal or nutrient-based in their composition. Our reviews focus on the second group, which don’t require a prescription, not considered drugs, and thus are allowed to be sold the counter and online via vitamin retail shops like Amazon.
Are natural nootropics actually the savior they’re painted to be?
These plant-based extracts promise improved mental functioning, no less. Their surging popularity, particularly in recent years, can be attributed to their high overall safety value and few and minor side effects compared with their pharmaceutical counterparts.
If you’ve heard of the term “nootropic stack,” it means different herbal or nutrient-based nootropics “stacked” together to achieve your own cognitive targets.
Types of Natural Nootropics
- Neurotransmitter enhancers - These increase the activity of brain chemicals responsible for mental sharpness. Examples are acetylcholine, and other neurotransmitters.
- Vasodilators - Boost blood flow to the brain via widening the blood vessels.
- Antioxidants - Preserve and protect brain cells from the damage caused by free radicals roaming in the body
A high-quality nootropic can change your brain wellness and make you limitless in many different ways. These include enhanced memory, increased attention to detail, outrageously good focus, increased alertness, better mental and visual acuity, improved learning and thinking, managed stress, better mood and energy, and a generally renewed sense of life and brain performance.
This is why this product review guide will help you in so many ways to know a nootropic inside and out. From the ABCs of the product formula to the overall verdict, you will have an informed choice of what to choose for your next nootropic bottle or product.
What Should You Look For In A Top-Rated Nootropic?
Offers essential vitamins and nutrients - Your brain gobbles up an unbelievable amount of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and nutrients for it to properly function for life’s everyday demands. The nootropic you deserve provides these crucial components and more. Ginkgo biloba, Bacopa monnieri, Panax ginseng, and more - the list is endless, but only a few good ones deserve your attention. Click here for the top-rated ingredient list for a smart pill.
Backed by clinical data and experts - The best nootropics have a solid scientific basis through independent, third-party research data on their effectiveness and benefits.
There’s no reason for a credible health care expert not to endorse a well-created supplement for brain enhancement.
Superior manufacturing standards - It’s not just about the ingredients, but also creating the product with the highest standards of production. The best supplements are manufactured in the United States, in a laboratory registered by the FDA. The manufacturer should be GMP certified as well!
Independent reviews (Not just Amazon!) - Reviews can be bought and unverified, so keep an eye out for them. Our reviews, for instance, maintain their independence through a circle of product testers that really get to the bottom of things and assess individual product performance and quality.
What Should You Avoid In A Brain Enhancement Supplement?
Improper dosage - Incorrect levels of each active ingredient - yikes! This leads you to believe that you’re getting optimum value and not the cheaper, over-hyped product that it actually is.
Insufficient return policy and fraud - Reputablecompanies offer 100% money-back guarantee since they are confident enough that their product works. Read the fine print and don’t just trust what you see on the surface.
“Free trial” offers - Does it seem too good to be true? Then it probably is. If you have to enter your credit card details to get to try a product for a month for free, then it’s not free.
Let’s combine your due diligence in research and our honest, in-your-face product reviews that won’t leave you guessing and wanting more information.
The Best Smart Pills On The Market In 2022
We have dutifully compiled the top 5 brain enhancement supplements based on our independent review, product trial, and well-vetted product information. Here’s what we’ve come up with to help you make a smart decision on smart pills today.
Our Winning 5 Brain Boosting Supplements for 2025
#1 LumUltra
Pros
- Incredible results from a potent, fast-acting formula
- Effects are very well-rounded: improvements to memory, focus, mood, energy
- Formula is a fantastic combination of potent Noopept and many other natural nootropics
- Information online is very detailed and simple to understand, love their design and content
- Premium ingredients at a great price (daily cost is cheaper than a cup of coffee!), we suspect this won’t last long, they might be trying to reach a certain market share then raise their price.
- 90-day return policy!
Cons
- They communicate everything via ticketing for quality assurance reason, so if you don’t know how to place order online, then you are out of luck
- Might want to supplement with a multivitamin (only contains B12)
Why It’s TCE-Approved:
Avanse Nutraceuticals’ LumUltra (New and Improved) blows all our editors away with an innovatively new formula utilizing the potent Noopept, in combination with select key natural nootropics. Hands down, LumUltra is the best cognitive enhancer we’ve ever reviewed, and will probably top our list for a very long time.
#2 Brain Pill
Pros
- Good market presence, or product recall
- Availability of scientific studies delving on ingredient and product levels
- Proprietary ingredients for uniquely positioned benefits
- Discounts and savings for bulk orders
Cons
- Relative shortage of customer testimonials
- Lacking imagery around supplement facts and product labeling
Why It’s TCE-Approved:
We are impressed by the speed and precision at which BrainPill responds to brain enhancement needs – and without unwanted effects that could turn off first-time users. The benefits are sustained and evident from the first dose, and this doesn't happen every time with nootropic products.
#3 Alpha Brain
Pros
- Good for focus
- Great customer service team
- Could be great as a workout supplement
Cons
- Effects are a bit limited
- New formula might actually be less potent due to new focus on fitness and health
#4 Prevagen
Pros
- Unique formula and ingredient “Apoaequorin”
- Website is rich in information and resources for further reading
- Clear video on website that explains Prevagen in simplistic way
Cons
- Little to no effects on focus and mood
- Poor value at $59.95 (better nootropics available at that price)
- Studies on Apoaequorin are still quite limited today.
#5 Neuriva
Pros
- Low to no side effect potential
- Offers targeted benefits for five areas of brain function
- GMO and caffeine free
- Vegan-friendly supplement
Cons
- Contains only two major ingredients, which are relatively standard in nootropics
- Lack of ample clinical research presented
- Soy lecithin content is a potential allergen
Sources
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2690227/
- https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/news-and-analysis/cognitive-enhancers-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-what-is-in-the-pipeline/11117394.article?firstPass=false
- https://health.usnews.com/wellness/mind/articles/2018-09-27/what-are-nootropics
- https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/peak-nootropics-llc-aka-advanced-nootropics-565256-02052021
- https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/fortifying-your-memory-with-supplements
- https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/natural-brain-boosters
- https://www.managedhealthcareconnect.com/article/role-nutrition-prevention-cognitive-decline
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3311304/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3423755/
- http://theconversation.com/the-economics-of-the-money-back-guarantee-80876
- https://ispe.org/initiatives/regulatory-resources/gmp
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5545206/
- https://www.npr.org/2018/07/30/629800775/some-amazon-reviews-are-too-good-to-be-believed-theyre-paid-for
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- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/caffeine-side-effects
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