WellPath MIND Review

WellPath is definitely a newcomer to the nootropics scene. They launched their initial line of products just over a year ago. It consisted of MIND (a nootropic), ZEN (an anxiolytic), and Renew (a beauty supplement). But of the three, it was MIND which grabbed the most attention.

Billed as a total nootropic, WellPath MIND claims to improve both focus and memory while also supporting long-term brain health. According to the website, users can look forward to better athletic performance, improved mood, better concentration, and increased energy levels.

It explicitly claims to be a healthier, more sustainable alternative to ‘limitless pills’, hormones, and study drugs.

Sounds good to me!

So how much of this can we believe? Does it really do any of this? Can WellPath Mind improve focus, memory, and clarity? Is it good value for money? Is there a better nootropic than WellPath Mind for your goals?

Find out by reading my complete WellPath MIND review below. As always, please post your questions and own personal experiences in the comments at the end!

WellPath MIND ingredients

MIND contains a fairly substantial 13 ingredients. This isn’t unusual for a nootropic stack, but it certainly is more than most of today’s minimalist brain supplements.

Here is the ingredients list:

Some of you might not be familiar with all of these ingredients. I’ll go through the key ingredients in WellPath MIND so you know what each ingredient does and how it contributes to better cognitive function.

Bacopa monnieri

A nootropic stack staple, Bacopa monnieri improves memory retention and recall speed. It has been shown to be particularly effective over long periods of time, and in people suffering with very mild, age-related cognitive impairment. A slow burner, but a powerful nootropic.

Lion’s Mane Mushroom

This is easily one of the most interesting nootropic substances around right now. Lion’s Mane Mushroom supplementation increases the expression of Nerve Growth Factor in the brain. I’ll explain why this is important in the discussion below!

Phosphatidylserine

Phosphatidylserine is a phospholipid used in the construction of brain cell membranes, neuron dendrites, and other vital structures. It is also necessary for apoptosis, which is where cells at the end of their life cycles commit ‘suicide’. Supplementing with phosphatidylserine is a good way to support brain health going forward.

Rhodiola rosea

This is my favorite natural anxiolytic, hands down. Rhodiola rosea is a ‘nootropic-specific’ anxiolytic. It doesn’t simply reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. It actively supports concentration and memory function while you’re under intense pressure. This makes it the ideal choice for people with stressful jobs, important deadlines to meet, or students during exam season. It is safe and well tolerated. A must for any comprehensive nootropic stack.

Alpha-GPC

One if the most powerful – if not the most powerful – cholinergic on the market. It rapidly increases acetylcholine concentrations in the brain. This very quickly increases brain power across a number of dimensions – greater focus, longer attention span, faster information processing, better verbal fluidity, and more.

My thoughts on the formula

Overall, I’m really not impressed with this nootropic. WellPath took a fantastic set of ingredients and ruined any serious potential it had by choosing doses that are far too low. All of the best ingredients in WellPath MIND – all of them – have serving sizes that are below my recommended minimum dose for you to feel significant effects.

That said, there are some really good things about this formula that I don’t want to just glaze over with my criticism of the doses.

Main Positives

As I said, the ingredient selection here has been generally very good. When making WellPath MIND, these guys have obviously tried to cover as many different aspects of cognitive enhancement as they could.

For example, memory function over the long-term is taken care of by the Bacopa monnieri. This is one of the most reliable memory-enhancers I’m aware of; study after study shows that Bacopa monnieri supplementation improves memory retention, recall, and accuracy.

It is particularly effective in older people with mild – but not clinically diagnosed – age-related cognitive decline.

The only thing worth noting about Bacopa is that it generally takes a while to start having a tangible effect. The studies showing the best results lasted for 12 weeks, with differences in performance noted after 6-8 weeks.

How long it takes you to notice a difference will vary. But generally speaking the longer you use Bacopa for, the better the results.

Now, 200mg is not an ideal dose for a 20% Bacoside extract. But it is definitely enough for you to see real, meaningful results in about 12 weeks. So long as you’re consistent, the benefits should get stronger over time.

While the Bacopa monnieri is getting to work ramping up your memory function, the Lion’s Mane Mushroom is supporting long-term, lasting brain development.

Lion’s Mane Mushroom has bene shown in clinical trials to promote the release of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) in the brain.

NGF is a neurotrophic factor which regulates the growth, proliferation and maintenance of your brain cells. Increasing NGF expression therefore speeds up neuron growth and proliferation. The potential effects of taking Lion’s Mane Mushroom consistently for a long period of time are immense – better information processing, faster memory recall, better visual processing, more verbal fluency; everything!

This isn’t an ingredient that works right away. You wont necessarily notice any difference from using Lion’s Mane Mushroom, much in the same way that you don’t ‘notice’ DHA from fish oil. But the effect is very much real.

We only get 200mg of Lion’s Mane Mushroom per serving of WellPath MIND. This is significantly less than you will get from other premium nootropic stacks today.

But as Lion’s Mane Mushroom is such a slow burner, we can forgive MIND for low dosing this one. You should still see benefits.

Main Negatives

Despite some significant selling points outlined above, I wont be recommending WellPath MIND to any of you guys any time soon. There are just too many problems with the formula for me to add it to my list of recommended nootropics.

The main issue for me is the fact that WellPath MIND only contains 50mg of Alpha-GPC.

As I said, Alpha-GPC is an extremely powerful focus booster. It rapidly improves information processing capabilities, gives you an almost tunnel vision-like focus, and keeps you in the ‘flow’ for an extended period.

But to get these benefits, you need to take enough of the stuff. In my experience Alpha-GPC has a minimum effective dose of about 150mg.

The best nootropics will typically use around 200-250mg of Alpha-GPC per daily serving. Some use more, but beyond 300mg you’ll be getting seriously diminishing returns; you can only use so much acetylcholine!

In my opinion, 50mg of Alpha-GPC isn’t going to have a meaningful impact on your cognitive function. I doubt anybody is going to get the kind of sharp lift in attention and learning capacity that I associate with nootropics from WellPath MIND.

The fact that WellPath decided to use DMAE as well as such a low dose of Alpha-GPC really irritates me too.

DMAE is a substandard nootropic in my opinion. It is a cholinergic, like Alpha-GPC. But it is nowhere near as effective as Alpha-GPC.

I’ve seen report after report from people who failed to get any benefit whatsoever from DMAE.

I’ve seen plenty of reports where people have experienced pretty nasty side effects while using DMAE too, such as this poor guy:

I have to ask myself; why did WellPath use both DMAE and a small dose of Alpha-GPC?

Why didn’t they just dose the Alpha-GPC properly?!

If they’d taken the money they spent on DMAE and spent it on more Alpha-GPC, this would be a significantly better supplement.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the WellPath MIND formula doesn’t contain an anti-oxidant.

Antioxidants might sound like an after thought. But treating antioxidants as an after thought when making a nootropic stack would be a big mistake.

Antioxidants are extremely important when mitigating cognitive decline. The oxidative damage inflicted on your cells from environmental and ingested toxins can really take a toll over the course of an entire lifetime.

Protecting your brain cells from this oxidative damage is a good way to promote long-term cognitive function – healthier cells mean more efficient, effective, active cells!

Most of the leading brain supplements on the market today contain a pretty hefty dose of a potent antioxidant – Resveratrol, Maritime Pine Bark, etc.

The WellPath MIND formula contains nothing of the kind. This isn’t a fatal flaw, but it does show you the difference between this nootropic and the market leaders.

Is it safe to take WellPath MIND?

One thing you’ll all want to discuss is the WellPath MIND side effect risks.

In my opinion WellPath MIND is a safe nootropic for the vast majority of people. I highly doubt that many people are going to experience any side effects worth talking about from this nootropic.

The ingredients are all totally natural – WellPath MIND uses nothing but herbal extracts and concentrates, choline analogues, and vitamins.

More importantly, these ingredients have all been tested in proper, controlled, clinical trials.

Each one has been independently tested for use as supplements by humans. They have all been found to be perfectly safe for regular human consumption.

As far as I know, none of the major studies published on these substances have identified serious health or side effect risks.

So on the whole, WellPath MIND nootropic looks pretty safe to me!

However, there are two big factors you need to consider before you go ahead and start using this nootropic stack.

Huperzine A Issues

Huperzine A shuts off the brain’s ability to get rid of excess acetylcholine. It inhibits the enzyme acetylcholinesterase which is usually responsible for getting rid of used acetylcholine. So while you’re using Huperzine A, acetylcholine will quickly build-up in the brain.

More acetylcholine means more raw brain power at your disposal. It is the currency of your brain’s executive functions, after all.

But as is always the case, too much of a good thing can hurt you!

The side effects of having too much acetylcholine include:

• Headaches
• Confusion
• Loss of focus
• Fatigue
• Muscle cramps

In order to avoid excessive acetylcholine build-ups, you need to take regular breaks from Huperzine A. This will allow your brain to ‘reset’ acetylcholine levels, getting things back to within normal, healthy limits. You can then start again with another ‘cycle’.

The longer you use Huperzine A for without taking a break, the worse the side effects.

Caffeine Issues

Obviously, caffeine is something you need to take seriously. It is a super-powerful stimulant. Just a few hundred milligrams of the stuff can hit the most seasoned coffee drinker like a sledgehammer.

WellPath MIND only contains 50mg, which is less than in a single Americano.

But most of you will already be consuming a fair amount of caffeine per day anyway. I’ve never met a nootropics enthusiast who isn’t also a coffee addict!

Work out your existing caffeine intake and, if it’s high, think carefully before you add in an extra 50mg from supplements.

Final verdict – Should you use WellPath MIND?

I’d say that WellPath MIND had a lot of potential, but the doses let it down.

The fact that WellPath have limped in on Alpha-GPC is a big weakness in MIND’s formula. That alone would be enough to prevent it from being one of my recommended nootropics.

But there are other problems.

Doses are low across the board. Even the Bacopa monnieri and Lion’s Mane Mushroom – the two most promising ingredients – could use larger serving sizes to really pack a punch.

WellPath MIND lacks power for me. I expect to get a serious focus and concentration kick from nootropics. I doubt this stack will give me that. I highly doubt it will do it for you too.

If you want to see a real, noticeable improvement in cognitive function, then you’re better off investing in a more potent nootropic supplement. You can find examples of more powerful stacks on my most recommended nootropics page.