Alpha Brain vs Roman Focus Summary
Roman Focus and Alpha Brain, which one is better for your focus, memory, and cognitive function overall? Which one is healthier, safer, and better value for money? The answer is that both options should give you some results in terms of improving your memory and focus to an extent. Roman Focus has the advantage of using research-supported ingredients with clearly shown amounts on the product label.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Alpha Brain. Alpha Brain has quite a few ingredients, but many of them are hidden in proprietary blends. Oat straw in Alpha Brain is a waste of capsule space as it’s not proven to have any substantial benefits. Overall, while Roman Focus is the winner of the two, it has some downsides of its own, such as mandatory subscription and containing underdosed ingredients (Alpha GPC).
So, which one to get? While neither one is among our top picks, Roman Focus looks better on paper at leas
What do we recommend?
About Roman Focus and Alpha Brain
Roman Focus: Overview
Roman is a men’s health brand focused on bringing high-quality and convenient healthcare. They have multiple products in their range, including Roman Testosterone Support.
Roman Focus is designed as a nootropic dietary supplement, which means it supports brain functions like memory, focus, and mental clarity. It’s all-natural.
Priced at $48/month or $120/quarterly, Roman Focus is claimed to help you with:
- Calm energy
- Mental sharpness
- Memory & recall
These benefits are the result of a synergy of its natural ingredients like caffeine, L-theanine, and American ginseng. You can expect it to kick in within 30-60 minutes of consumption. However, some ingredients like Bacopa need weeks to gradually improve deeper areas of brain function.
In other words, be patient with any high-quality nootropic, as the very best ingredients take time to show their full benefits.
Okay, onto Alpha Brain now. How does it compare to Roman’s flagship nootropic supplement?
Alpha Brain: Overview
Alpha Brain is also an all-natural dietary supplement formulated to enhance your mental performance.
It’s been on the market since 2011 and has become one of the most popular brain supplements today. This is in no small part thanks to the great marketing efforts of its company, Onnit.
Alpha Brain is one of the pricier nootropics you’ll find, costing $79.95 for 90 capsules or $34.95 for 30 capsules, with a 15% discount if you subscribe to recurring delivery.
Alpha Brain claims similar benefits as it competitor. It says it will give you:
- Enhanced memory
- Sharper focus
- Quicker mental speed
Its 25,000+ reviews on Amazon with 4.5* rating just underline what we previously said about its popularity.
But does it work as well as advertised? How does it compare to Roman Focus’ formula? Only by looking at the ingredients can we get an accurate picture!
Ingredients in Roman Focus and Their Dosages – Are They Effective & Safe?
Roman Focus Formula Overview
Roman Focus is said to be formulated by the company’s in-house doctors and scientists to support your cognitive function from different angles.
Let’s see what they came up with:
- Bacopa monnieri (300 mg): A staple choice for a nootropic. This herb has become known for improving anxiety, memory, and recall, more so with prolonged daily use.
- American ginseng root extract (200 mg): The new Roman Focus formula has reduced the dosage of America Ginseng from 300mg to 200mg per serving. This ingredient gives calm energy feeling, which goes well with caffeine and L-theanine.
- L-Theanine (200 mg): A natural component found in tea leaves and some mushrooms, it’s shown to promote relaxation without sleepiness.
- Alpha-Glyceryl Phosphoryl Choline (196 mg): Also known as Alpha GPC, it’s one of the integral nootropics that supports the memory aspect of cognitive function. The sad part is that it’s underdosed; most studies have used 1,200mg per day as an effective dose.
- Caffeine (100 mg): This stimulant is one that we’re all familiar with. Studies show it is neuroprotective as well as boosting alertness and concentration.
Roman Focus also contains essential B-vitamins, such as Niacin, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin B12. You may not necessarily “feel” these unless you’re deficient; they’re working in the background.
Alpha Brain’s Formula
Alpha Brain has a few different blends of ingredients, each one designed to optimize different area of your brain performance.
- Onnit Flow Blend (650 mg): Contains L-theanine, L-tyrosine, Oat straw, and Phosphatidylserine. It’s sad that we can’t see the dosages, preventing us from telling how effective this blend is at its claimed benefits, which are: supports multitasking, reduces stress, and sharpens concentration.
- Cat’s Claw (350 mg): This one is not a typical inclusion in nootropics, and there’s a reason for it. Very little human research has been done on its potential cognitive benefits.
- Onnit Focus Blend (240 mg): This proprietary blend combines Alpha GPC, Bacopa Monnieri, and Huperzine A. As its name suggests, its aim is to boost your concentration, as well as improve memory, motivation, and nerve health. Even though the ingredient dosages aren’t shown, we can tell that the key ingredients are underdosed. For example, Alpha GPC alone is shown in studies to work optimally at around 1200mg per day.
- Onnit Fuel Blend (60 mg): Consisting of L-leucine and Pterostilbene, this proprietary blend promotes your long-term brain health.
- Vitamin B6 (10 mg): Many small benefits for the body and brain, but they’re unlikely to be apparent as most of us already get enough B6 through foods. That said, if your diet is lacking, supplementation can support the production of mood-enhancing neurotransmitters and combat memory loss linked to aging.
Which Ingredient Formula Looks Better?
Overall, Roman Focus looks to be a superior option to Alpha Brain. The latter might have been a decent choice in 2011 when the nootropic market was still small, but now with more advanced supplements available, Alpha Brain will need to update its outdated formula and make it more transparent.
That’s not to say that Roman Focus is without its flaws. The underdosed Alpha GPC, alongside missing core ingredients like Pine Bark Extract and Lion’s Mane Mushroom, perhaps even L-Tyrosine, means it’s not the most comprehensive nootropic supplement we’ve seen.
Pricing
Roman Focus costs $48 per month, or $120 for quarterly payments (comes down to $40 per month). You get free shipping with every order.
Additionally, every order after the first one comes with refill puches to reduce waste.
Alpha Brain, on the other hand, costs $34.95 for a bottle of 30 capsules, or $79.95 for a bottle of 90 capsules. You can get 15% off by subscribing to repeated delivery.
Recommendations for Different Groups
There’s no one-size-fits-all nootropic. Between Alpha Brain and Roman Focus, which one is better for which particular group of people?
Here are our thoughts.
Roman Focus
Its natural, evidenced ingredients make Roman Focus a good option for you if you’re:
- Working professional: The caffeine, Ginseng, and L-Theanine combo should give you prolonged concentration and productivity.
- Students: Bacopa monnieri, when taken consistently for weeks, can really make a difference in your memory retention and information processing speeds, which can be crucial for exams.
- Seniors: Again, Bacopa is beneficial for improving communication between brain cells, which is something that older folks typically benefit from the most.
Alpha Brain
Due to its lack of transparency with proprietary blends, we found it hard to recommend Alpha Brain for any specific people group.
If you’re not concerned about the lack of information on the label and don’t mind the high asking price, Alpha Brain could be worth a try. For some people, it might be effective enough to warrant purchasing it again.
Safety & Side Effects
Both Alpha Brain and Roman Focus fare well in this area.
For most people, they shouldn’t cause any side effects. The ingredients are decently researched for the most part, and the ingredient dosages, from what we’re able to see, are well within safe limits.
With that said, those who’re intolerant to caffeine will want to avoid Roman Focus. Whereas for some people, Huperzine A in Alpha Brain might cause side effects like headaches.
It’s a push.
How Soon Can You Expect First Results?
With Roman Focus, you can expect the first benefits within an hour of supplementation. The initial boost in focus and mental clarity is thanks to caffeine and a few other ingredients.
However, it should also provide other benefits like memory improvement over time, thanks to Bacopa.
Alpha Brain is more tricky to determine as we can’t see the ingredient doses, and it’s also caffeine free, so don’t expect guaranteed immediate benefits.
Final Thoughts
Neither Roman Focus nor Alpha Brain stands as our favorite nootropic formula. Both are somewhat effective at improving your cognitive functions, but both have flaws like underdosed ingredients or missing compounds that the best nootropics typically use.
With that said, Roman Focus is our clear winner between the two. It contains a more transparent ingredient profile and the key ingredients are better dosed. Unless you’re completely intolerant to stimulants, we think it’s going to have a better effect on your cognition in the long run.
What do we recommend?
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