Primal Mind Fuel Review & Test Results

What Is Primal Mind Fuel?

Primal Mind Fuel is a nootropic from Primal Harvest, a company better known for everyday wellness and beauty formulas than brain health. That’s not a deal-breaker, but it does set expectations: this looks more like a generalist entry into the category than a flagship cognitive product.

For this review, I’m running a full trial and tracking day-to-day changes, including energy, focus, recall, and any side effects. I’m also pulling the formula apart to see whether the ingredients (and their doses) match what the better research suggests is effective. Claims are easy; dosing is where most products rise or fall. If Mind Fuel holds up, I’ll say so. If it doesn’t, I’ll point to options that are better built for memory and focus. My aim is simple: a clear verdict on whether this bottle is worth your money.

How Does Primal Mind Fuel Claim To Work?

Primal Mind Fuel makes a number of appealing (but as I'll explain unrealistic) claims. The company claims the product "promotes focus, boosts mental clarity and enhances productivity". It also states that the product will help you achieve a flow state, sharpen mental clarity, improve memory retention and elevate natural energy. In theory some of the ingredients included in Primal Mind Fuel can work to deliver some of the claimed benefits, but crucially only if they're present in the required amounts. In short Primal Mind Fuel doesn't include many, or possibly any of its main ingredients in the amounts required to deliver the brand's promised benefits.

It's worth saying that there are a great many highly effective nootropic ingredients that Primal Mind Fuel simply misses including altogether. These include Acetyl L-Carnitine, Lion's Mane, L-Theanine, Citicoline, Ginseng, Phosphatidylserine and many more. 

Scientific Basis

I've thoroughly assessed Primal Mind Fuel's ingredient profile, comparing the ingredients used to the latest clinical studies - in other words evaluating just how effective the ingredients - and the amounts used in Primal Mind Fuel - actually are in providing different cognitive benefits. Starting with the basics, Primal Mind Fuel includes a simple B-vitamin complex, which will provide some simple general brain health benefits, but most brain supplements will include a similar range of B-vitamins.

The real focus of Primal Mind Fuel's formulation is its so-called 'NeuroSmart' proprietary blend. This might sound interesting, but it's simply a marketing wrapper for a range of generally under-dosed ingredients - I found this to be a real disappointment. This impressive sounding blend includes some worthwhile ingredients, but the total blend is a mere 314.05mg, far too little to provide many, or any of the ingredients included at effective levels. For example, Bacopa Monnieri alone requires a daily serving size of 300mg to deliver meaningful memory improvements [1],[2]. For Bacopa to be effecively dosed, that would leave just 14.05g for every other ingredient listed - unfortunately virtually every other ingredient requires far more than that to work. Caffeine would need at least 100mg to boost focus [3], L-Tyrosine requires 275mg to manage stress and regulate mood [4], Rhodiola requires 100mg [5] and so on. 

In simple terms, when you add up the amounts required of all the ingredients in Primal Mind Fuel, the total required for every ingredient to be effectively dosed is more than 3x greater than the amount included in the proprietary blend. I personally find this purposeful under-dosing and somewhat cynical marketing very frustrating to see. Companies or brands that seek to mislead consumers by including negligible amounts of proven brain boosting ingredients are seeking to profit from consumers, without actually providing an effective product in return. Perhaps Primal Harvest's intentions are better placed than I'm suggesting, but it's challenging to view such under-dosing in a more positive light.

It's also worth being aware that the inclusion of Huperzine A in Primal Mind Fuel, means it's not generally recommended to use it on an on-going basis. Huperzia A shouldn't be used continuously for more than 6 months, due to adverse side effect risks [6].

Qualitative Review of Primal Mind Fuel's Efficacy

I tested Primal Mind Fuel by taking the product as directed for 11 weeks. I did have some reservations over the product's potential, but did my best to place these to one side and objectively assess how well the product works in practice. As a reminder, for the product to deliver on its claims, I would hope to see a noticeable improvement in my energy levels, improved focus and concentration, greater clarity and perhaps most enticingly more time in a flow state.

From day 1 I sensed something was off. That's not to say that I expected big changes off the bat, but I was was stuck by just how meager Primal Mind Fuel's serving size is - just one fairly small capsule per day, barely comparable in size to a standalone 300mg capsule. There was simply no way that all the ingredients listed were present in worthwhile amounts.

In terms of what I noticed, it was well, nothing. Nothing dramatic anyway. I didn't feel a surge of energy or increased concentration, I simply felt much the same as how I do most days. I began to even doubt that the caffeine in Primal Mind Fuel was present in a worthwhile amount. Determined to detect some level of change, I paid particularly close attention to my energy levels and ability to concentrate during difficult tasks. But despite the promise of reaching a flow state more readily, I never experienced that uninterrupted focus I was expecting - and it is something I have experienced with other nootropic supplements, but not Primal Mind Fuel. Even on the days I felt particularly tired, there was no obvious difference to my mental clarity or mental energy levels.

Overall, I was left feeling disappointed, but not entirety surprised by the lack of results. Primal Mind Fuel's low doses, lack of transparency and overstated claims don't add up to a good product, let alone a great one.

Estimate of Efficacy Relative To Similar Products

Dosage:

Primal Mind Fuel's serving size is just one capsule per day. This might sound appealing but the reality is there's just too little in the way of active ingredients to make any sort of meaningful difference to cognitive performance or brain health.

Quality:

The combination of hiding ingredients behind a proprietary blend, under-dosed ingredients and a small overall serving size makes it challenging to say it's a worthwhile product. Added to which the inclusion of rice flour as a filler and low grade flow agents means its a low dose, low cost and generally speaking ineffective product overall.

Efficacy:

Primal Mind Fuel doesn't compare in terms of effectiveness with the best products I've tested, like ThinkEase. I've tested a number of under-dosed and less effective nootropic supplements, but Primal Mind Fuel is perhaps one of the least effective I've tested to date.

Cost:

Primal Mind Fuel retails for $33.95, but can be found for around $30 if you shop around. It's therefore priced somewhat lower than more premium nootropic supplements, but in my judgement represents much lower value for money given the relative poor results.

Safety Considerations and Potential Side Effects

Primal Mind Fuel is unlikely to cause adverse side effects for most people. Added to which, the very low doses and low quantity of active ingredients makes it highly unlikely that side effects will occur. However, the inclusion of Huperzine A, means that Primal Mind Fuel does have a high side effect risk if used for more than 6 months continuously [6]. 

Overall Assessment

My scientific analysis and firsthand trial of Primal Mind Fuel was disappointing overall. The brand's claims to boost focus, memory, mental clarity and make it easy to reach a flow state is more wishful thinking (or perhaps misleading marketing) rather than scientific fact. I felt virtually no changes at all despite taking the product as directed for 11 weeks straight. The issues with Primal Mind Fuel are clear cut and fairly fundamental, not only does it miss out a good many highly effective nootropic ingredients, those it does include are dosed far too low to be of any real benefit. 

I would recommend opting for a more science-led and transparent product with clear dosage information, a broad range of nootropic ingredients and effective doses of each ingredient. My current favorite is ThinkEase, for precisely all of those reasons I've just listed. It just works. 

References and Further Reading

1. https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/vitamin-b-deficiency/350150
2. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5075615/
3. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254898713_Coffee_Caffeine_and_Cognitive_Performance
4. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/382082449_Impact_of_L-theanine_and_L-tyrosine_on_markers_of_stress_and_cognitive_performance_in_response_to_a_virtual_reality_based_active_shooter_training_drill
5. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6288277/
6. https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-764/huperzine-a