Nutrascend Achieve Review

Achieve is a brand new nootropic supplement from Nutrascend. As far as I know, Achieve is Nutrascend’s first and only product. It only appeared online recently, but it already seems to be getting a lot of attention.

So what does it do?

According to the official website, Nutrascend Achieve delivers the classic trifecta of nootropic benefits:

• Enhanced memory function
• Heightened focus
• More mental clarity

The website tells us how Achieve differs from all the other nootropics making the same claims: “Nutrascend™ combines only the most pure and potent ingredients to give you just what you need to succeed.”

So the general vibe here is total cognitive performance optimization.

Sounds good to me!

But this is all stuff I’ve heard dozens of times before. Makers of brain supplements always say that their stack is different – that their nootropic is one of the few capable of making a real difference to your life.

So does Nutrascend Achieve really work? Is it safe? What side effects will it cause? How does it compare to my current top rated brain supplements?

Read my complete Nutrascend Achieve review below to find out. If you’ve used this stack yourself, please share your experiences in the comments at the end – I’d love to hear what you think!

Achieve ingredients

Nutrascend Achieve has a very nice, simple, straightforward formula. There are just 5 proper nootropic ingredients, coupled with a handful of vitamins and minerals.

Here is a shot of the ingredient label:

Here is a list of the ingredients:

Here is a quick breakdown of the ingredients in this nootropic, what they do, and what I think of them.

Bacopa monnieri

Bacopa monnieri is a very prominent herb in Ayurverdic medicine. It has been used for hundreds of years as a general cure-all. Modern scientific research has found that supplementing with Bacopa monnieri does have at least one real benefit – it significantly improves memory function. Trials have found that Bacopa monnieri works particularly well for people currently experiencing mild memory loss.

DMAE

DMAE is a choline analogue used to raise choline levels in the brain. This in turn increases acetylcholine levels in the brain. The end result is higher cognitive function overall. DMAE is not the most reliable cholinergic. I much prefer Citicoline, or Alpha-GPC for a fast-acting solution to poor focus.

Ginkgo biloba

Ginkgo biloba contains compounds called glycosides and terpenes. These compounds significantly improve blood flow to the brain without raising systemic blood pressure. I don’t regularly use Ginkgo biloba because I don’t think I have a problem with circulation. But I think the vast majority of people will benefit from using this, especially if you’re experiencing problems with memory, energy and brain fog.

Phosphatidylserine

This fat-like substance is a necessary constituent of brain cell membranes. Basically, if you don’t have enough phosphatidylserine, you can’t maintain and construct vital brain structures like neurons, synapses, and dendrite myelin sheaths. You get some from food – and we can make some ourselves – but if you want to maximize brain performance then you probably want to supplement.

Rhodiola rosea

Rhodiola rosea is the best blend of nootropic and anxiolytic in existence. It reduces stress without acting as a sedative. It also actively promotes cognitive performance during times of acute mental stress. Being able to stay calm and focused under pressure can make a massive difference to your work. If you’re making a comprehensive nootropic stack, rhodiola rosea is a must.

My thoughts on the formula

The Nutrascend Achieve formula is pretty good on the whole. The manufacturer has chosen a handful of ingredients and given them decent serving sizes. Most manufacturers spread their formulas too thin; they focus too much on getting all the ingredients they can in there, so they ignore doses entirely.

It’s therefore great to see Nutrascend doing things how I think they should be done – that is, in a way that genuinely benefits the end user, not just the marketing team.

However, there is one major flaw in this formula that really puts me off. If this was changed, Nutrascend Achieve would be a genuinely excellent supplement.

What a shame!

Let’s go through the main positives and main negative of Nutrascend Achieve.

Main Positives

Although the big flaw puts me off buying Achieve, the formula is generally very good – far better than most of the nootropic supplements out there today.

Generally speaking, Nutrascend Achieve uses potent, effective, scientifically-proven ingredients. More importantly, these ingredients have been dosed properly!

For example, each serving of Achieve contains 100mg of Rhodiola rosea.

As I said above, this is the best nootropic-specific anxiolytic I have ever heard of – it’s the best I’ve ever used personally too. The reason I love rhodiola rosea so much is because it doesn’t just reduce stress and anxiety. It actually promotes optimal brain performance while you’re under intense stress.

Using 100mg of rhodiola rosea per day is more than enough to see a drastic reduction in feelings of stress and anxiety. It is also enough to experience the calm, steady focus and clarity that can come with using rhodiola rosea.

We also get 300mg of Bacopa monnieri from Nutrascend Achieve.

Every nootropic designed as an all-round, full-spectrum stack needs some Bacopa monnieri. Nothing comes close to Bacopa in terms of enhancing memory function over the long-term. It is safe, well-tolerated, and extremely reliable.

Nutrascend Achieve uses a standard 20% bacoside extract. This isn’t the best extract on the market, but it’s a lot better than whole plant powder!

300mg of 20% bacoside extract per day will bring about significant improvements in memory retention, recall, and accuracy in about 6-12 weeks. With Bacopa, the longer you use it for, the better the results.

Main Negatives

There is only one major negative to the Nutrascend Achieve formula, and that is the cholinergic they have used.

The manufacturers have clearly focused on ingredient quality and potency here. So I am even more disappointed than usual to see that they’ve gone with DMAE as the cholinergic compound.

I hate DMAE!

It is a seriously sub-par focus enhancer. Of the commonly used cholinergic compounds, DMAE is easily the least reliable, the most unpredictable, and the least efficient.

DMAE does not have any of the same peripheral benefits associated with Alpha-GPC use, and compared to Citicoline it is pretty side-effect prone.

If you take a look at the major nootropics forums, you’ll see that many people get absolutely nothing out of using DMAE. This is something I can’t say about Citicoline or Alpha-GPC.

So all-in-all, DMAE is a poor choice for a cholinergic.

Increasing acetylcholine in the brain is a central goal of nootropic supplements. Every supplement designed to heighten focus, increase verbal fluency and promote information processing should have a hefty dose of a potent cholinergic.

If Nutrascend had used a better – and admittedly more expensive – cholinergic, Achieve would be a much better brain supplement.

Will Nutrascend Achieve cause side effects?

The DMAE content in Nutrascend Achieve is the only real danger in terms of side effects.

Nutrascend Achieve contains 130mg of DMAE. That is much more than the standard 50mg dose typically used by pre-made nootropic stacks. It is slightly more than the 100mg people use when taking DMAE alone for short-term focus increases.

I have seen several reports of people complaining of relatively serious side effects from 100mg of DMAE or more per day. These side effects include:

• Headaches
• Jaw clenching
• Confusion
• Low mood
• Loss of motivation
• Hyperactivity

It seems that side effects don’t’ occur immediately for most people; they start coming on after a few days of consistent DMAE use, and they steadily become more pronounced.

If you experience any of these side effects while using Nutrascend Achieve, cease use immediately and seek medical attention.

Apart from that, this looks like a very safe natural brain supplement. The ingredients used here are all well-understood. They’ve been studied extensively. Several independent clinical trials have concluded that these ingredients are generally safe for regular human consumption.

Final verdict – Is Nutrascend Achieve any good?

If you happen to be a good responder to DMAE, and you’ve used it plenty of times in the past without issue, then I would say that this nootropic is probably a great full-spectrum, daily stack for you.

However, for my average reader, I think Nutrascend Achieve is a poor choice.

The formula is pretty good on the whole, but the use of DMAE just totally spoils it for me.

The side effect risks are too real, and the results are just too unreliable.

If you’re looking for a daily, all-in-one, pre-made nootropic, then there are significantly better options out there right now. This is especially true if you are a beginner with nootropics.

Check out my top recommended products and see if any of those suit your needs – see the list here…

To learn more about how these supplements work, see my big list of nootropic ingredients.