Does Neuro Gum Work? Here’s What You Should Know

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In April 2020, Kent Yoshimura and Ryan Chen took their company, Neuro, to Shark Tank, seeking a $750,000 investment for a 5% share. Although the Sharks were impressed, offers received from Kevin O’Leary and Robert Herjavec didn’t satisfy the pair of entrepreneurs, who chose to walk away. According to Shark Tank’s most recent update, Neuro has a net worth of $24 million today. Even with the company’s astounding growth, the question remains — does Neuro Gum work? Here’s what you should know about the company and its products.

What is Neuro Gum?

Neuro Gum is an innovative nootropic gum you can chew to enhance your energy, focus and memory cognitively. Other Neuro products help you sleep, recharge, and experience greater clarity and calmness, with some available in gum and mint form and others in one or the other. 

Yoshimura and Chen come from respective neuroscience and chemical backgrounds, so you can draw comfort in the fact that they knew what they were doing when creating their scientifically backed products. According to the company, Neuro Gum’s four essential ingredients, and all others, included in the original Energy & Focus product, are cold-compressed to maintain their bioavailability. 

This patented process means that users should benefit quicker than through other supplements, or by drinking energy drinks or coffee. Neuro states that rigid testing protocols ensure each gum and mint meets recognized safety standards and is consistent and effective. 

Neuro Gum products include:

• Energy & Focus Gum and Mints for attention, cognition and productivity
• Extra Strength Energy & Focus Gum and Mints for extra attention, cognition and productivity
• Memory & Focus Gum for memory, focus and mood
• Calm & Clarity Mints for mood, focus and mental stamina
• Sleep & Recharge Meltaway Mints for relaxing, renewal and refreshing

If they work, Neuro has products that cater to practically every cognitive brain function you might need help with during a regular 24-hour day. With emphasis on the original Energy & Focus Gum in this article, you can decide whether Neuro Gum works, and if it is as safe as Neuro claims.

Does Neuro Gum Work?

One of the four original Neuro Gum products’ primary ingredients, caffeine, is an adenosine antagonist that keeps you awake. A known stimulant for mood and focus, it increases the GABA receptors that calm the brain and generates dopamine and serotonin, neurotransmitters boosted by nootropics. Too much dopamine or serotonin can cause adverse side effects, so sticking to the suggested daily doses of Neuro Gum is essential.  

Studies prove that L-theanine, the second of four essential ingredients in the original Neuro Gum, clinically improves aspects of cognitive performance in response to stress. It reduces the cortisol that caffeine produces and increases serotonin, dopamine and GABA levels in your brain. The ingredient bolsters alpha and theta brain waves that encourage additional relaxation and creativity.

The other essential ingredients that Neuro names are the B vitamins, B6 and B12. While not directly nootropic at the stated doses, the vitamin B6 will help replace that lost in urine through caffeine. Vitamin B6 is a co-factor in synthesizing epinephrine (adrenaline), serotonin, GABA, dopamine and norepinephrine, a stress hormone that increases heart rate and prompts glucose release.

Vitamin B12 works the same way as B6, contributing to cognition, memory, mood, and alertness through synthesizing in the same way, except with epinephrine. B12 also aids DNA production, supports nerve and red blood cell health and nourishes the body’s nervous and cardiovascular systems. Caffeine consumption also depletes vitamin B12 in the urine, so the vitamin’s inclusion in Neuro Gum combats this loss.  

Neuro Gum Does Work

The above should satisfy you that Neuro Energy & Focus Gum has a clinical foundation for success at its active dose, meaning it will work on paper for improved cognitive functioning. Its ingredients could even assist you if you’re feeling physically fatigued and need a boost. The cognitive conclusion aligns with most consumer reviews, where feedback commonly notes its quick boosting of brain-related performance, notably in productivity, focus, energy and mental clarity. The boost lasts two to three hours with the Neuro Gum product.

So, you can be comfortable receiving a working product for your money. While all seems rosy with Neuro Gum at surface level, like certain other cognitive supplements, there remain a few potential red flags concerning its formulation, ingredients and research and testing legitimacy.  

Possible Neuro Gum Red Flags

Neuro claims the BrainCo research team at MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences conducted the pilot study on Neuro Gum, involving 20 participants, and the results appear on its website. No BrainCo or MIT results appear in clinical trials published in peer-reviewed journals or anywhere else, besides in a reported Neuro marketing team write-up in PR Newswire. This lack of confirmation from recognized, unbiased sources or direct access to the study leads to questions about its legitimacy. 

Another possible red flag is the use of sucralose in the Neuro Gum product. Neuro advertises the gum and mints as vegan-friendly, aspartame-free, gluten-free, and with zero sugar. Sucralose is a calorie-free artificial sweetener that replaces sugar. Ironically, it is sugar-based, with three hydroxyl groups replaced by chlorine atoms in a prolonged chemical process. 

Some find the inclusion of the FDA-approved sucralose, along with the sorbitol and steviol sweeteners, problematic because if you have a sensitive digestive system, you can only take so much before it begins to affect you. Recent research also links a sustained use of sucralose to systemic inflammation, metabolic diseases, liver damage and toxic effects at a cellular level. Studies also raise questions about sucralose increasing your body’s insulin levels, which makes you crave food without reason. If you are caffeine-sensitive, using Neuro Gum could also have adverse side effects.

Neuro fails to mention the amount of artificial sweetener within each gum, although you’d think the company conforms to FDA standards. As sucralose is far sweeter than sugar, it doesn’t take much to provide the sweetness level that helps make the product appealing. 

Using Neuro Gum Requires Self-Control

It’s likely that sticking to the recommended daily dosage of 1-10 pieces of Neuro Gum and Mints — taken at a maximum of two pieces simultaneously — won’t adversely affect you. However, the extra focus and other cognitive benefits the gum provides may tempt some consumers to remain on that level more often. 

The addictive nature of caffeine, itself a health risk at high quantities, combined with the sucralose content, could be detrimental to you if you constantly ignore the maximum daily dosage recommendations long-term. With no prescription requirements for the product, it’s ultimately up to you to restrict your chewing to an acceptable and safe level daily.

Neuro Gum Provides Cognitive Benefits, But Proceed With Caution

If you can maintain self-discipline when using Neuro Gum, you’ll likely enjoy the extra focus, mental clarity, energy, and increased productivity. However, the lack of clarity regarding its trial and testing phase, along with the inclusion and makeup of some included ingredients, creates doubts about Neuro’s level of transparency. Almost all the information you need is on the company’s website, but why isn’t it available elsewhere? Ultimately, your good judgment and self-control should ensure Neuro Gum works for you positively and beneficially.