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(More customer reviews)I've had positive experiences with Planetary Formulas Bacopa Extract and for awhile had the subscription until I accumulated a backlog of it. I believe it does enhance learning and memory and I'll describe my experience.
First - Price: At the time of this review it is only some cents per tablet and the subscription deal is even better. You might expect to take 2 tablets a day but there are time when I take 3 or 4 on work days, which is really a lot. My view is it's worth it if it delivers on enhancing memory and learning as long as it does not produce bad side effects. Actually, I'm not so sure whether there are side effects, but if so they aren't that bad. What's happened to me a few times is afterward remembering events experienced like a catchy tune that stays on the mind longer than desired. I attribute this to the brain's effort to turn a short-term memory into long-term.
The Promise: This natural herbal supplement has been used in India for several thousand years as a "brain tonic" to enhance learning, concentration and memory. In two clinical studies, middle aged adults took 300mg of this extract per day for 4 to 6 weeks and while Bacopa did not restore previous memories, it did significantly enhance the retention of new information. The results were not marginal; they were significant. A link to a paper on the study is available through Wikipedia under "Bacopa." Note that 2 tablets per day would be 450mg, which is even more than the amount used in the two clinical studies. Yet we don't know if some Bacopa is stronger than others.
Extra Benefits: Bacopa also has anticancer and antioxidant effects, and even has an inhibitory effect against parasites (Wikipedia). This is the only supplement I've taken that inhibits parasites. I feel that it's a healthy supplement based on experiences with the digestive system and so on following taking the tablets. The tablets themselves have a strong herbal smell and taste, but not pleasing enough that I would choose to garnish food with such an herb.
How I Felt: A difference that I can notice, but not one with which I have had experience before and therefore suprisingly difficult to describe. Bacopa does not make me feel enhanced well-being or extra confident or even more relaxed. None of that. I experimented by taking extra dosages just to know for sure if this is having any effect, and it certainly has an effect on me.
A sufficient amount of Bacopa makes me feel as if the mind is extra focused and as if I won't forget what I'm learning or doing even if I wanted to. Now that's great if you're preparing for an exam, for example. But it's not a "high." In fact, in my experiments where I took extra large dosages (and why not since this is not expensive), I found that in some ways I was more productive but at the end of the day I was more mentally fatigued.
Because of my experience I would suggest guidelines for using bacopa. I suggest that bacopa is properly used when you find it appropriate to engage in high-focus mental tasks that require learning, yet to be aware that this focus-energy comes at the expense of focus potential later in one's 24-hour cycle. I'd like to recommend a book that touches on a similar idea: The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal.
If the mind experiences enhanced learning, or more specifically enhanced memory, it only makes sense that it will later experience fatigue. This is a side effect but I don't think it's that bad. It's not like coming down from some drug that makes you feel good. It's not a "down" feeling. It's just one of mental exhaustion followed by the brain, perhaps the subconscious, drilling on what was learned in an effort to build it into long-term memory. If you know what it's like to have a catchy tune that you don't even like on the brain, that is like what I experienced a few times days after having experimented with large doses of bacopa. Quite obviously, there is no free lunch in that this herb won't give long-term memories without the brain having done the work.
Considering the value, I recommend this Bacopa 100% but only when you want to enhance the memory of what you're doing. It didn't make me feel more confident or relaxed or provide a feeling of well-being.
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