Vitaae Review & Test Results

What Is Vitaae?

Vitaae is a nootropic from Sane Laboratories in Spokane, WA, the company also trade as SANE MD, so both names pop up online. It’s one of a small handful of products they make. The positioning of Vitaae is unusual. It's pitched as a brain supplement and, oddly, as something that helps with throat phlegm. Bundling those two benefits into one capsule isn’t explained, and the reasoning isn’t clear. The marketing also leans on the idea of “leaky brain” - a phrase you won’t find in mainstream research or clinical practice. It reads more like a catch-all label for age-related cognitive issues than a recognized medical concept.

In this review, I’ll go through the formula, weigh the claims against the evidence, and share what I noticed after using Vitaae myself.

How Does Vitaae Work?

Vitaae's wide range of promised benefits span most facets of cognitive health and performance, including helping reduce or eliminate brain fog, preventing mood swings, increasing energy levels and resolving memory related problems. The brand wraps these effects up and talks about helping you achieve optimal brain health, but stops short of explaining precisely what that means. Confusingly, there is also a repeated reference to fixing so called "leaky brain" but no adequate description of this fabricated pseudo medical term, or how the product might seek to address it can be found. Beyond this it also claims to reduce throat phlegm, which seems entirely unconnected to the other benefits and it's unclear how or if the product is capable of addressing this specific issue.

Returning to Vitaae's claimed brain benefits, the brand's aim is to help people reclaim a feeling of youthful energy and the feeling of having a sharp mind once again, both laudable aims and undoubtedly desirable outcomes. However, looking at the product's composition quickly raises concerns over how credible these claims are - there's very little to get excited about in Vitaae's ingredient list. Don't get me wrong there are two worthwhile nootropic ingredients, one of which may be present in a clinically proven amount, but overall it includes very few proven ingredients - and certainly too little to deliver the broad range of claimed benefits.

Scientific Basis

Vitaae is an unusual brain supplement. It makes unusual and somewhat unclear claims and use a very unconventional formulation. Going against established scientific evidence isn't always a bad thing, but in Vitaae's case, there no clear or compelling support to back up the strong product claims, or explain the rationale behind it's unusual choice of ingredients. 

Starting with Vitaae's inclusion of 125mg of Vitamin D - it's no bad thing to supplement with Vitamin D, and there are potential brain benefits from doing so (some studies support Vitamin D as an aid to improved cognitive function) [1], but it's would be far more cost effective to supplement with a standalone Vitamin D capsule, than to incorporate it into a premium brain supplement. In my opinion it's inclusion makes sense but it doesn't offer good value for money when so many more effective nootropics could have been included instead. The inclusion of Magnafolate is interesting, as it considered to have potential as a nootropic ingredient, but only for people known to be deficient in folate - which tends to be limited to people with particularly poor diet, pregnant women (who wouldn't be good candidates for Vitaae) and certain people on medication. It's therefore relevant for some people, but not most [2].

The meat and potatoes of Vitaae's formula is its 1560mg proprietary blend. The word proprietary may sound as though the brand is protecting some unique intellectual property, but the simple reality is that those supplement companies that use proprietary blends are doing so for one reason, to hide underdosed ingredients from scientist reviewers like myself, or from potential customers [3]. This avoids scrutiny and in turn means ingredients can be added and named on the label without them necessarily being present at effective levels. This can help build a marketing story whilst keeping costs low, a win win for the manufacturer, but a likely ineffective product for the consumer. Vitaae follows this path of obscuring how much of each of it's main ingredients are present in its formulation. Acetyl L-Carnitine (ALCAR) requires at least 750mg to be effective and its credible that Vitaae does include this much, but the information is hidden and no clear assessment can be made [4],[5]. Other ingredients in Vitaae's proprietary blend are less proven as nootropic ingredients and Vitaae's rationale for their inclusion is less clear. Gymnema Sylvestre Leaf Extract may be indirectly beneficial for brain function as it may help stabilize blood sugar levels in some people, but the few studies that exist are limited in scope and their finding are inconclusive. The science around Omega 3 and brain health is, by contrast, well established, but Vitaae uses a very low concentration at just 7.5% EPA/DHA, a much higher concentration of 50-90% would be much more beneficial as a nootropic [6].

For all the ingredients in Vitaae's proprietary blend to be at clinically proven amounts, the total dose would need to be upwards of 2750mg (750mg of ALCAR, 1000mg of Gymnema Sylvestre and 1000mg of Omega 3 - ideally in a more concentrated form) - in reality the total blend only amounts to 1560mg, just over half the required amount. This means each, or possibly all of these ingredients are unlikely to have any perceivable benefits for most people.

Qualitative Review of Vitaae's Efficacy

Having studied Vitaae's ingredient profile, I felt I knew what to expect in terms of results, hopefully at least mild, but noticeable improvements to some aspects of cognitive performance. My expectations were driven by it seeming likely that Vitaae's proprietary blend could include an effective amount of Acetyl L-Carnitine (ALCAR) - a very effective nootropic ingredient, which for reasons of cost and serving size, isn't included in many brain supplements.

Acetyl L-Carnitine's benefits for the brain are wide ranging and include increased prioduction of energy in the brain, increased metabolite levels, neuroprotection from oxidative stress, improved mitochondrial function, improved learning and memory, improved cognitive function and nerve protection (due to its ability to form and maintain the myelin sheath which essentially protects nerves from damage) [7]. Beyond this hope for an effective dose of ALCAR, I didn't expect much from the rest of Vitaae's formulation, the possible long-term benefits of Coenzyme Q10 are welcome but not something that can be measured and the science isn't black and white. The other ingredients aren't strictly speaking nootropic ingredients, unless you're deficient in folate or Vitamin D, something that isn't true for most people, myself included.

My experience did yield a modest improvement in what I would term mental clarity as well as a slight increase in my ability to sustain my focus. Bear in mind this is a qualitative assessment and not an exact science, but having tested numerous similar products it's possible for me to make a reasonably accurate assessment of each products relative strengths and weaknesses. This effect, whilst helpful was more subtle than I would have expected if a clinically proven dose of ALCAR was present. I can't say definitively that Vitaae doesn't use at least 750mg of ALCAR, but the effects were relatively disappointing.

As far as Vitaae's promise of reduced phlegm is concerned, I can't claim to have experienced any obvious effects in this area during my trial. That said, it's not something I have a particular issue with and I therefore wouldn't consider myself as a suitable test subject for assessing this specific claim. I remain unconvinced that Vitaae's ingredients have potential in this area, but my primary interest is the field of nootropics and brain science, rather than ENT, congestion, inflammation, infection or mucus production.

Estimate of Efficacy Relative To Similar Products

Dosage:

Vitaae uses a two capsule serving size, in line with many similar products. Whilst its total amount of active ingredients is reasonably impressive, it can't be ignored that much of this is comprised of ingredients not known to have direct benefits for the brain, ingredients seemingly included to bulk the product out at low cost, or worthwhile ingredients that are likely to be underdosed.

Quality:

Vitaae does a good job of presenting the product well, it has a somewhat premium feel. But the issues with it's formulation and an overall lack of transparency leads me to feel it falls short from a quality standpoint.

Efficacy:

I did experience some mild cognitive benefits from Vitaae, but these were limited to modest improvements to focus and mental clarity. Someone less attuned to the effects of brain supplements may experience these effects to a lesser, or greater degree, but overall it's a product which won't make a meaningful difference for most people.

Cost:

Vitaae typically sells for $39.95 per bottle, it's therefore reasonably premium priced. However, it's limited effects mean it's not a product I would consider to represent good value for money. Spending more on a more effectively formulated product is likely to be advantageous for most people.

Safety Considerations and Potential Side Effects

Vitaae doesn't contain ingredients likely to cause side effects. Should they occur, any side effects are likely to be limited to mild stomach discomfort or mild headaches. Magnafolate has been linked to triggering calcium imbalances in some people, but the amounts likely to be present in Vitaae aren't expected to cause this issue.

Overall Assessment

To sum things up, Vitaae is an interesting brand and product. It's fair to say its offering is unique, no other product to my knowledge seeks to address cognitive issues alongside a very specific issue with throat phlegm. The brand's claims and creative terminology undoubtedly work to create interest and the advertising feels persuasive, even to me. However, the product falls someway short of its wide ranging and sometimes confusing claims. It uses only two real nootropic ingredients and its padded out with low cost ingredients that are only indirectly beneficial - or outright unproven. The lack of transparency over the products contents is unhelpful at best and potentially misleading.

Overall Vitaae doesn't compare to more scientifically formulated products. The best brain supplement in my testing is ThinkEase. Compared with Vitaae it uses more ingredients, all of which are transparently dosed in clinically proven amounts. It worked well for me in improving most aspects of cognitive function, whilst also being beneficial for overall brain health.

References and Further Reading

1. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1404477111/
2. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamin-b12-or-folate-deficiency-anaemia/causes/
3. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10196566/
4. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5621476/
5. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1024984013069
6. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2021/11/08/two-omega-3s-in-fish-oil-may-boost-brain-function-in-people-with-heart-disease/
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22549035/