Focus Factor Reviews: Good For Memory?

This is our Focus Factor reviews, where we take a closer look at one of the leading nootropics / brain supplements on the market Focus Factor and see how it compares to other options such as Mind Lab Pro.

The Focus Factor product (also known as Factor Focus, and also the makers of Focus Factor Kids), is a brain health supplement that is claimed to promote:

• Memory
• Concentration
• Focus

We’ve all seen the commercials, but how well does Focus Factor actually work?

In this review, we look closer at brain supplement Focus Factor to see how effective it really is if you’re taking their servings regularly per day.

However, if you want to know what you’re actually getting when it comes to the clinically backed cognitive and memory boosting ingredients – you’re out of look. They’re all hidden under a proprietary formulation. Not only that some of them also have a potential for side effects.

We take a look at the ingredients, the risks and other issues we’ve seen with this brain supplement below.

How to take Focus Factor?

To use the Focus Factor product, simply take 4 tablets a day with food. Focus Factor even suggest that if you have a higher body weight, activity level, stress level or an inadequate diet you can take up to 8 per day.

This seems excessive. However, it will still help to supply you with a good source of vitamins and pyroglutamic acid, if your diet is lacking those vitamins.

Focus Factor Ingredients: What’s in here?

A lot. The Focus Factor product has a lot of ingredients – more than any other nootropic or brain supplement that we’ve had the pleasure to review.

This is mainly because of their aggressively packed proprietary blend in the Focus Factor product. There are a lot of ingredients in there – and it’s not necessarily for the better.

A proprietary formula is typically looked down on in the supplements industry. This is when a supplements manufacturer choose to hide the individual dosages of their actual ingredients.

The defense to this is usually because the formula is a “secret”. We’re not sure what Focus Factor’s reasons are, but when you’re dealing with this many ingredients the potential for side effects becomes great – and in the spirit of safety they should disclose how much of each ingredient there actually is in here.

Don’t get us wrong, they come clean with the safe options in this supplement like the Vitamin D, Vitamin C and other vitamins and mineral – it’s the ingredients that have a clinical study behind them or a degree of risk to them that they’ve been less transparent.

Below, we’ll look at the list – do a summary and give our thoughts.

Focus Factor Ingredients List

The Focus Factor product contains the following ingredients:

• Vitamin A – 4000 IU
• Vitamin C – 250 mg
• Vitamin D – 100 IU
• Vitamin E – 30 IU
• Thiamin – 3 mg
• Riboflavin – 1.7 mg
• Niacin – 25 mg
• Vitamin B6 – 15 mg
• Folate – 300 mcg
• Vitamin B12 – 20 mcg
• Biotin – 300 mg
• Pantothenic Acid – 12 mg
• Calcium – 50 mg
• Iron – 5 mg
• Iodine – 15 mcg
• Magnesium – 100 mg
• Zinc – 10 mg
• Selenium – 50 mcg
• Copper – 0.4 mg
• Manganese – 2 mg
• Chromium – 100 mcg
• Molybdenum – 10 mcg
• Potassium – 50 mg
• Synergetic and Proprietary Formulation
• DMAE
• L-Glutamine
• Bacopin
• L-Pyroglutamic Acid
• Phosphatidylserine
• DHA
• Inositol
• Bilberry Fruit
• GABA
• Grape Skin Extract
• Vinpocetine
• Huperzine A
• Boron
• Vanadium

Well, there’s an awful lot of vitamins and minerals in Focus Factor with their dosages clearly displayed. However, as soon as it gets to the more serious stuff – all those nice dosages in Focus Factor disappear.

This is what’s known as a proprietary blend, and we don’t like to see it in the supplements industry. A proprietary formulation is when a supplement manufacturer chooses to hide the individual dosages of the ingredients in their product.

Instead, they group them all together under one larger dose. This stops you from knowing how much of each ingredient you’re getting when taking Focus Factor and makes it a lot harder to gauge how effective this supplement actually is. So it’s more difficult to know how well this will work for memory, focus, concentration etc.

With hidden dosages, it makes it a lot easier for Focus Factor to be under-dosed in the areas that matter (the ones with a clinical study) in attempts to save money. It’s a very old-school method, and we’re thankful not many companies do it any more.

Below, we’ll be looking at the main ingredients in the Focus Factor supplement product, aside from the vitamins and minerals to see just how effective they are and whether or not they may work for you.

DMAE

This isn’t a great addition to the Focus Factor product – and it actually has potential side effects. DMAE is a compound that was originally use in anti-aging creams to help reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

At some point this “fight the effects of aging” stance got it into nootropics and other dietary supplements. It was has been claimed to fight cognitive decline, however there is no real reliable studies which effectively show it to do so.

In terms of actual side effects, DMAE has been seen to cause birth defects in animals – which has the potential to scale up to humans.

L-Glutamine

Glutamine reviews as a naturally occurring amino acid which is found typically in high amounts in meats and eggs. It’s also found in numerous sources of protein. Unless you’re a very strict vegan, you’re unlikely to run into any deficiencies of L-Glutamine in your diet.

It can help to some degree with endurance, and reduce sugar cravings – however if you already have adequate levels of this amino acid – adding more to your system won’t make a significant difference to your memory, concentration and focus.

Instead, you’re potentially just going to replenish a nutrient source your already had an adequate amount of. By how much however is unknown due to the dosage not being disclosed because of the proprietary blend.

Bacopin

Bacopin reviews as an extract of Bacopa Monnieri – which is an effective nootropic, brain supplement and cognitive enhancer for memory.

Bacopa Monnieri has good links to improving memory performance as well as overall learning and retention. It’s also effective for helping with mental processing, cognition and relaxation.

So, how does it work for memory? And is it effective in Focus Factor?

Bacopa Monnieri works by supplying active bacosides which are antioxidants to your brain such as superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase. This helps protect your brain cells from free radicals, which may help fight cognitive decline.

Bacopa Monnieri also helps to boost your levels of acetylcholine, serotinin and GABA which are neurotransmitters which support focus, memory and mood.

However, how effective it will actually be in Focus Factor is up for debate – that proprietary blend does not help the case. Without knowing how much of it you’re getting in this supplement, it’s hard to know how reliable it actually will be for memory.

DHA

DHA reviews as one of the Omega 3 fatty acids which is typically found in fish oil and other supplements. Also known as Docosahexaenoic Acid, this ingredient in Focus Factor is found in high concentrations in your brain.

It’s been suggested to help improve mental processing speed and memory, as well as mood and general brain health. However, a lot of this comes down to how much of it you’re getting as to whether or not it will adequately support brain health.

Again, Focus Factor has that proprietary blend that stops us from knowing just how much of each ingredient we’re getting in this supplement. This is a big problem as you wouldn’t know any of these doses if you were to buy Focus Factor.

It’s a good nutrient in this dietary supplement but it may not be a high enough dosage to clear up some brain fog.

Choline

Choline is a questionable nutrient to have in a brain health supplement – typically citicoline is more effective. The reason we say this is that choline bitartrate is a lot harder to cross your blood-brain barrier compared to citicoline.

You want to raise your choline levels – but you want to do it a way you know works. When it is working properly, choline can help remedy brain focus, increase focus and even boost brain energy by a considerable amount in some cases.

However, when you take straight dietary choline, your chances of getting these benefits diminish greatly. Choline Bitartrate is much cheaper to source – and can still be claimed to be choline and have the benefits associated with it tagged on – but it is not as effective.

Without being to cross that blood-brain barrier, it’s another one of those ingredients in Focus Factor, that leaves you wanting more.

And again – we have no idea what the dosage is of it or how effectively it will help memory, due to it being part of that Focus Factor proprietary blend.

Inositol

This is more of a support in the Original Focus Factor. So, what can it do for the rest of the ingredients Focus Factor has?

Inositol can help with treating anxiety in extremely high doses – but that is definitely not the case in Focus Factor. Research shows inositol can help with anxiety, as well as panic attacks and generally other conditions brought on by high stress.

However, the research also shows that it only helps to treat these in doses between 14,000 – 18,000 mg – which is considerably more than what you’re taking Focus Factor to get: regardless of whether or not it’s in a proprietary blend.

It may offer some minor support, but don’t expect much of anything from this ingredient for anxiety, memory, concentration or any other benefit for brain health.

Bilberry

Bilberry Fruit is a nutrient packed with antioxidants. It doesn’t help so much with brain function – it’s more focused on improving your overall vision.

They contain C3G which can offer rhodopsin support for your eyes. In general the Bilberry fruit can also help with eye capillary flexibilty which helps improve the blood flow to your retina for better overall eyesight.

We’re surprised to see Bilberry fruit in here. It’s a good ingredient for vision health in Focus Factor (it even contains Vitamin C) – it’s just in the absolute wrong supplement. Why is this an essential choice to a supplement focusing on brain function?

If there was a “Vision Factor” we’d class this as an excellent ingredient – as for now it’ll offer you vision benefit (if it’s dosed effectively) as a bonus addition to attempting to boost brain performance. But it isn’t. Bilberry does not help memory.

GABA

GABA is a nice idea in the Original Formula. It’s a neurotransmitter which is already in your brain which can help promote a degree of calming effects. It may help to reduce anxiety, stress and generally give you a better sense of well-being.

However, GABA has difficulty crossing your body’s blood-brain barrier. Meaning that although you may be supplementing it – you may not be getting the benefit from it that you would do with another supplement that promotes GABA after being absorbed.

This may be an issue, and may strip it from being an effective choice in Focus Factor. It’s also not good for memory.

Huperzine A

Huperzine A is another Orginal Focus Factor ingredient that claims to help with memory, concentration and focus. It does this by helping to increase your levels of acetylcholine via blocking the enzyme that regulates it and breaks it down.

This can help give your brain a more significant boost in concentration and focus. However, there is a drop off point where there is a build up in acetylcholine – which can lead to side effects.

However, whether there is enough in here to cause side effects – or whether there’s enough in Factor Focus to actually help with cognition, or improve memory remains a mystery as we have no idea what the actual dosage is in this product.

It’s still one that you should keep your eye on though, for both good and bad reasons. Without the dosages, it’s hard to know how well it helps memory.

Vanadium

Vanadium is not an essential mineral – but it is a mineral which can help with your body’s glucose metabolism. This can to some extent help with brain energy as it can help the glucose be used by your brain more effectively.

However, it is one of the weaker options at achieving this, with the ingredient that typically works the best at this being Phosphatidylserine. Phosphatdiylserine is a phospholipid that makes up 15% of the fats in your brain, it’s a much better tool to improve memory.

We would’ve preferred to have seen more of that in here – over Vandium.

Focus Factor Original Formula Summary

As you can see from our Original Focus Factor reviews, this product has a lot of weaker areas that could replaced, redosed or simply removed to make this supplement a little better.

First off, it absolutely packed with vitamins, minerals and lots of other ingredients which claim to help brain function in some way. However, the majority of the ingredients that are actually claimed to help improve memory, cognition and other areas all have their dosages hidden via the proprietary blend.

You have no idea how much you’re getting of each ingredient, so how can you gauge how effective it really is for an analytical perspective? It’s more than difficult as you don’t know how much of each nutrient you’re getting per day.

Not to mention the risk of side effects from the DMAE and Huperzine A in here. There’s a lot going on and not a lot of clarity of how much is actually there.

Focus Factor Side Effects: Is it safe to use?

There are several areas of concern in Focus Factor, with the main areas being the DMAE and the Huperzine A.

DMAE has links to causing birth defects in animals – which could always pose a problem if you are taking Focus Factor while trying for a baby. It’s unclear whether or not these issues scale up – but it is better to be safe then sorry.

The other issues are with the Huperzine A. As we don’t know the dosage – we’re unsure of how much damage it will do. However, we do know that getting too much Huperzine A can lead to a buildup in acetylcholine. A little build up can help cognition – but a lot can work against you.

This can lead to issues such as:

• Brain Fog
• Lack of Focus
• Drop in Cognition
• Dizziness
• Confusion
• Fatigue

Generally not feeling in a positive, focused state of mind. Not ideal for anyone who’s looking to boost their cognition. This isn’t the case for every supplement that contains Huperzine A – but when the dosage is higher – it can lead to problems like this.

And as Focus Factor has all of these ingredients at an undisclosed dosage – it makes it harder for us to see how big (or small) the side effects are with this nootropic.

There’s also the risk of other side effects purely from the sheer range of ingredients in this nootropic – as soon as you get into that 15 – 20 range, it becomes harder to pinpoint where the problems may be coming from. Is it Vitamins / Minerals related? Is it it do with the blend? It all gets harder to track – and it’s not a good look for a brain supplement.

Focus Factor Review Summary

And so concludes our Focus Factor review. It’s clear that this is a memory supplement that has a lot of commercial support, but not a lot of clinical support.

Yes, it’s on TV, but they don’t tell us the dosages that are actually in this product. With that proprietary formulation, we have no way of knowing how effective this brain supplement really is.

All we know is that there are a lot of ingredients – some good, some bad and none of them with a disclosed dosage when it comes to cognition.

Focus Factor may have some benefit. But compared to more transparent nootropics out there on the market – it struggles to stand a chance. Perhaps this is why they do most of their advertising on the television and not the internet.

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Focus Factor FAQ

This is our Focus Factor FAQ. Here we look at questions that couldn’t make it into our reviews, but are frequently asked.

We’ll be looking at some of the other products such as Focus Factor Kids, and general questions about the product and if taking these tablets a day is good for the brain.

Focus Factor for Kids – What is that?

Yes, Focus Factor for Kids is a thing. This is something that we do not support, nor recommend. Although it is still a natural supplement that contains Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, Vitamin E, Vitamin B12, Phosphatidylcholine and Phosphatidylserine – you shouldn’t try to biohack your child.

The main area we would avoid here is the phosphatidylserine. More research is needed but it’s not ideal to but a developing mind on supplements that may change how it functions. We suggest leaving brain supplements and nootropics to minds that have fully developed to avoid risks.

Focus Factor Kids / Focus Factor for Kids is a brain supplement for children that we do not support the use of.

Does Focus Factor actually work?

To an extent. There are numerous vitamins and minerals in Focus Factor which could support general health. As for the focus blend itself – it’s hard to say. Being a proprietary formulation, it’s hard to know how much of each ingredient you’re getting and how effective it really is overall.

In addition, there’s only a handful of ingredients in Focus Factor which have been seen to help cognition. Other ingredients like the DMAE and Choline Bitartrate have not been seen to work effectively when taken per day.

Without knowing the full dosages, and the information that only a handful of the ingredients in Focus Factor actually work in their tablets a day – it may work to some extent, but the cognitive gains you’ll make won’t be as strong as what you’d get with a more competitive brain supplement.

What are the side effects of Focus Factor?

There are numerous potential side effects of Focus Factor:

• Fatigue
• Brain Fog
• Loss of Focus
• Drop in Cognitive Performance
• Dizziness

This is a potential hazard from the Huperzine A in Focus Factor. By inhibiting an enzyme in your brain which is supposed to break down your levels of acetylcholine, your acetylcholine levels don’t get broken down and rise.

At first, this is great for raising your overall levels of cognition and focus, even to improve memory. But if the build up becomes to great – you get hit with the symptoms listed above.

There’s also other risks from Factor Focus which includes the potential for birth defects. The DMAE has links to causing birth defects in animals. This may not scale up to humans, but there is a chance of this happening. If you are trying for a child – we advise that you do not use Focus Factor.

Is Focus Factor Good for the Brain?

Not compared to some of it’s competition on the market. The Focus Factor label lists 692 milligrams of a “synergistic” and “proprietary” formula that includes omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants claimed to be good for the brain. However, Focus Factor has little or no scientific evidence that any of them can improve memory or concentration, and it has been shown that some of them actually don’t help.

We have come across other products which do have much better results on paper – and from taking them – these are always products with clear dosages and nutrients with a high number of clinical studies behind them.

What is the active ingredient in Focus Factor?

There are numerous active ingredients in Focus Factor such as DMAE, Bacopa Monnieri, Phosphatdyslerine and more – whether they’re effective or not in here however, remains unknown.

Although they have the research behind them, there is an issue with these ingredients having their overall dosages hidden, which means they could be under dosed and not give you the results you’re looking for.