Cognium Review

Our nootropics and nutrition expert James Dixon examines just how effective this memory enhancing nootropic is in our Cognium review. Read on to find out if it’s a good fit for your supplementation regime…

We all get stretched thin from time to time, sometimes more often than others. Our cognitive processes are often pushed to the very edge with the amount that is asked of us, the amount of stimulation we go through, and the amount we want to get done in any given day.

And these pressures continue to increase. This is modern life.

We also all go through periods of heightened cognitive demand, and with it comes heightened stress. Pressured phases in our lives – whether it’s moving house, sitting a life-changing exam, trying to raise a family, or even every day of your profession – can push our minds to their limits, even impacting our responses.

But what if there was a way to make all of this more manageable? What if you could take a supplement proven to improve your cognitive faculties – your memory, attention, provlem-solving, and so on – whilst also warding off mental fatigue and ring-fencing your long-term brain health?

This is what nootropics are for. These ‘smart drugs’ are designed to supercharge your brain either long term or in shorter bursts. There are some fantastic nootropics available on today’s market, some real, bona fide gems.

Today I want to talk to you about a smart drug called Cognium. It’s far from a favorite of mine, but it comes well-recommended from a decent enough company. So, let’s give it fair crack of the whip as I look to give it an impartial assessment in this Cognium review.

Cognium – What Is It?

Cognium is a bit of a garden variety nootropic. It should do everything mentioned above – it should improve your cognitive function and brain health.

Cognium is made by a company called Natrol, a big-hitter in the natural nootropic sphere. They are based in Chatsworth, California, and were founded in 1980 by Elliott Balbert as a cosmetics company.

However, they soon saw the need to expand into the world of health supplements. They quickly evolved, changing into a brand focused on health, churning out vitamin and mineral-based supplements.

Today they have global reach, with shops in over 60 different countries.

Natrol make some big claims with Cognium, with a fair amount of evidence backing it all up. Though I’ll get into detail a little later on, it’s worth briefly taking a look at these claims.

According to Natrol, Cognium can give you several cognitive benefits in as little as four weeks. These include enhanced memory and recall speed, improved memory retention, and improved brain health, as it helps to protect brain cells from oxidative stress.

That’s quite a list. There’s no arguing that a supplement able to do all of this would be well worth investing in. However, it’s worth giving Cognium a bit of scrutiny before getting too excited.

A closer examination reveals that it only has one unique ingredient. This is Silk Protein Hydrolysate Complex, which Natrol claim is the ultimate nootropic available today for boosting memory and recall.

(Edit: This was previously called Cera-Q. On studying this change, there appears to be no difference between the two, except the name itself. Cera-Q is a branded form of silk protein hydrolysate derived from silkworm cocoons, just like Silk Protein Hydrolysate Complex. The change in terminology appears to be a rebranding effort rather than a change in the actual ingredient used, though there is no clear statement from Naturol on this.)

This may be fantastic – simple, potent supplements are always worth taking seriously. Or it could be disappointing – in a market flooding with high-quality complexes, this might well represent a bit of a let-down. We’ll dig deeper…

Cognium Benefits

There are a few benefits to be gained from taking Cognium, as we have seen. In short, it should improve your memory.

It does this by preserving and boosting your overall cognitive functions, and slowing down the effects of the aging process within the brain, such as neuron degeneration through oxidative stress.

This improves circulation to your nervous system, meaning more nutrients and oxygen to power your brain. This process is an adaptogen against stress, which further protects your brain.

This all sounds really good – a helpful few benefits you’d want to see from a nootropic. If it can deliver on these, Cognium may well be a good bet.

However, I’ve seen better lists of intended impact when it comes to nootropics. Much better, in fact.

Cognium protects against aging and gives your memory a boost. All nootropics do this to a certain extent. Many, many go a lot further.

For example, my favorite nootropic is NooCube (though Mind Lab Pro is also a very good product). NooCube does everything that Cognium does. It slows down the aging process, protects your brain against stress, improves your brain’s circulation, and enhances your memory.

In addition, it gives you a mood boost, aids focus and concentration, improves your ability to multitask with much greater energy and clarity, and improves your communication abilities.

It also includes VitoCholine (Edit: Previously Alpha-GPC, changed to avoid soy), a well-known compound which accounts for NooCube’s ability to protect against cognitive decline; and Bacopa Monnieri, which is perfect for anxiety relief and warding off the effects of stress.

These are two of the best nootropic compounds going. Anything wanting to be a big player in this market should think twice about overlooking them – and perhaps this is where Cognium falls down.

That being said, let’s take a closer look…

Cognium – The Ingredients

Cognium does have some significant benefits over many nootropics. Namely, its simplicity ensures it is really quite safe (though always speak to your healthcare provider if you have a medical condition), and completely free from stimulants.

This may be good news for those of us who are sensitive to stimulants, who nevertheless want a bit of a cognitive boost. Having said that, there are increasing numbers of competitors who are ensuring their formulae are stimulant-free, including NooCube.

Cognium has plenty of ingredients, all of which are well-tested and good quality. It includes dicalcium phosphate, microcrystalline cellulose, dextrin, silicon dioxide, glyceryl monostearate, cellulose gum, magnesium stearate, methylcellulose, stearic acid, and glycerin.

However, these are all non-active ingredients. They will be doing very little, if nothing for you. Glycerin makes it unsuitable for vegans.

As above, Cognium has only one active ingredient – Silk Protein Hydrolysate Complex.

Silk Protein Hydrolysate Complex is a protein. Natrol extract it from the cocoons of silkworms, of all places. It has a long history of use in various forms of traditional treatments, most notably in Korean medicine. Silk Protein Hydrolysate Complex comes with a few health benefits attached to it.

It is a good antioxidant; hence, it helps to fight oxidative stress and the effects of aging in your brain. It is also meant to be a good remedy for symptoms of anxiety and stress. This makes sense – antioxidants are generally very good in this regard.

Silk Protein Hydrolysate Complex has also been shown to help prevent plaque formation on human neurons. This lends them longevity and greater efficiency over time – your brain will function better for longer.

There is a strong body of evidence for this. 400-600 mg per day can elicit results in as few as three weeks.

I think this is a slightly weak effort. If you’re going to sell Silk Protein Hydrolysate Complex, fair enough. But if it’s the only ingredient in a compound, call the product Silk Protein Hydrolysate Complex. Don’t dress it up as a more complex nootropic, and don’t charge complex nootropic money for it.

Silk Protein Hydrolysate Complex is a decent ingredient to go it alone, but I can’t help thinking that it shouldn’t have to – when more well-rounded supplements like NooCube seem to me to be a far more sensible choice, with a far more sensible methodology underpinning them.

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Taking Cognium

Cognium isn’t the easiest nootropic to take, but it’s still pretty straightforward. Natrol themselves suggest you take two tablets per day – one in the morning with breakfast, and the second in the evening with a meal.

As we have seen, Cognium has only Silk Protein Hydrolysate Complex as an active ingredient. It’s a new discovery in its current form, and certainly the scientific investigation into it is in its infancy. A lot more data is needed before we can see exactly how it acts in the body and reacts with other supplements or medicines.

Silk Protein Hydrolysate Complex is only 60% of Cognium’s total mass. The other 40% is filler, which should present no downsides (other than being kind of useless).

Partly as a result of all of this, side effects to Cognium aren’t severe, but a lot is left to be determined. The common side effects we can see attached to it include headaches, dizziness, excitability, nausea, vomiting, and interruptions to your sleep cycle.

These are all mild. However, if you’re unsure about including Cognium in your supplement regime, talk to your healthcare provider. Your doctor will be able to advise you on safety, especially if you are on medication or suffer from a pre-existing medical concern.

Verdict

Cognium seems like a strong choice if you want to improve your memory and maintain longer-term brain health, using its antioxidant properties to fight off the effects of aging and age-related oxidative stress.

Silk Protein Hydrolysate Complex is a very promising ingredient in this regard.

Or, rather, Cognium would seem like a strong choice, if the nootropic market wasn’t already saturated. You really are spoilt for choice in the modern smart drug sphere, with half a dozen or more top contenders all proven to change your life for the better.

With this much choice, it seems a little foolish to limit yourself to one ingredient and a load of filler.

Most other nootropics I can think of off the top of my head manipulate and improve multiple cognitive processes and neurological pathways. They protect your longer-term health far more ably than by simply being a good antioxidant.

I’ve mentioned a couple. Mind Lab Pro is always a good shout. So too is Alpha Brain. Both of these represent arguably far more formidable, more usable options. They are more complex, far better designed, and offer a far broader range of benefits than Cognium.

However, if it was my money, I would go with NooCube. In fact, I do spend my own money on NooCube. It’s one of my favorite supplements.

The mental clarity, focus, and energy it offers is unparalleled. The stress reducing effects are strong, too, warding off the symptoms of anxiety very nicely. The scientific backing is superb – I can think of few supplements outside of whey protein and creatine with a stronger body of evidence to support it.

And it boosts your memory and helps to maintain your cognitive health right up into old age.

In short, it does everything that Cognium does, arguably better (and definitely at least as well), plus an awful lot more. It’s the smart choice for a smart drug.