Most of us have some form of multi-vitamin in the cupboard, but targeted vitamins for focus and concentration may be harder to come by.
In recent years, there’s been a huge surge of interest in what natural intelligence-boosting vitamins can do for cognitive power. Still, the mainstream marketing of any kind of “smart drug” carries some stigma due to the misconception that brain vitamins are some form of illicit narcotic.
In fact, we already consume many compounds which enhance brain power, in the foods we eat everyday. A vitamin for focus and concentration simply elevates these natural effects and takes them to the next level, promoting mental acuity, excellent mood, and clear mental energy.
Let’s take a look at which cognitive enhancement vitamins should be in every modern medicine cabinet.

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Multi-Vitamins for your Brain
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The typical supermarket multi-vitamin contains compounds like vitamin C, the B vitamin complex, minerals like copper, chromium, and magnesium, and small amounts of omega 3 fatty acids.
While all of these ingredients can have some positive cognitive benefits, the “one size fits all” approach of consuming a large array grab bag of small-dosage supplements is not sufficient to be considered of significant cognitive benefit.
In most cases, multi-vitamins like Centrum score very low in effectiveness ratings for any one of its constituent ingredients. A major problem with grocery store vitamins is that they simply contain dosages that are way too low to be useful.
Other products may provide larger dosages but in a form that offers low bio-availability. User loyalty to these multi-vitamins is more a result of long-term marketing than reported benefits.
If you are serious about exploring supplementation as a means for boosting your memory, focus and concentration, you would be better served by identifying which ingredients in a product like Centrum sound appealing and buying them individually.
For example, B vitamins can be valuable vitamins for focus and concentration when thoughtfully supplemented. These organic nutrients, such as Pyrodoxine, Niacin, or Cobalamin, help regulate cellular metabolism. Many are pre-cursors for concentration boosting neurotransmitters like acetylcholine.
Multi-vitamins are not the most effective way to deliver these compounds to the brain. But there are products designed for the brain that do ensure most of the active ingredients make it into your cerebellum.
Nutrients for Focus & Concentration
There is no over-stating the power of the diet for healthy brain chemistry. Most people actually rely on food sources of vitamins for focus and concentration over any other supplement. Indeed, the human brain has evolved to extract many of its essential nutrients from common foods. However, contemporary trends in diet have created insufficiencies in these compounds for many people.
For example, renewed popularity of vegetarianism in the U.S. (with at least 25 million following a strict vegetarian diet) may be inadvertently contributing to a lack of nutrients the brain has traditionally acquired from meat. Beef liver, poultry, fish, and eggs are common sources of choline, omega 3 fatty acids, DMAE, serotonergics, B vitamins, and countless other compounds required for optimum neural health.
Even people who are meat-eaters may have trouble sustaining adequate amounts of these foods to maintain prime cognitive function. So, the mental benefits of a “clean” diet of healthy whole foods can be greatly enhanced with additional supplementation.
Herbal Remedies for Focus
Another traditional way that people have boosted concentration historically is via herbal, plant-based remedies. All modern medicine has its origins in the leaves and roots which were once consumed as folk remedies for every conceivable health concern. The benefits received had a scientific basis.
Naturally occurring, nitrogen-based plant alkaloids exhibit psycho-active properties which support brain health. The most famous cognition herb is probably Ginkgo Biloba, a Chinese plant renowned for its memory enhancing qualities.
Modern application of herbal vitamins for focus and concentration is more focused, such in the case of Forskolin and Artichoke Extract. These compounds, which are commonly consumed in the CILTEP memory stack, work to boost levels of cAMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate), facilitating the physical formation of long term memory.
Other herbs like Bacopa Monnieri, a North Indian plant, improve concentration by boosting nerve transmission efficacy. This herb is found in the popular cognitive stack Alpha Brain.
Supplements for Focus and Concentration
While technically a “vitamin” is defined as an organic compound that is essential to the body because we cannot synthesize it on our own, the term is frequently used to refer to other nutrients as well.
Our modern-day usage of this word extends to a broader array of supplements and substances that provide essential nourishment to living organisms. There are even some biosynthetic compounds that are occasionally grouped in with the family of vitamins.
While vitamins do offer a lot of baseline benefits for focus and mental acuity, there are upper limits to how effective they can be. When you increase your dosage of a vitamin like B6, at some point the body will start excreting excess amounts so there is limited benefit.
However, there are supplements that have been designed for the brain to get around these problems and lead to greater improvements in mental abilities. These supplements are referred to as “nootropics”.
A nootropic is simply a natural or synthesized compound which is taken to enhance brain chemistry, for the purpose of enhanced cognitive function. The original and most widely used class of nootropics are the racetams.
Supplements like Piracetam and Aniracetam boost concentration and memory by modulating Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. This creates the same effects as the vital neurotransmitter acetylcholine – improving neurogenesis and synaptogenesis to enhance nerve cell communication.
Oxiracetam is known as a superb study aid, noted for its ability to improve concentration, specifically in the areas of math and logic.
Noopept is a supplement which produces greater mental clarity and enhanced motivation. It achieves this by stimulating key receptors in the brain and can even promote the growth of new neurons and connections in the brain. This comes from the fact that it increases Nerve Growth Factor in the brain.
Any of these nootropics can be considered “brain vitamins” – think of them as super-charged neural vitamins for focus and concentration which have the power to naturally elevate cognition.
Article last updated on: April 17th, 2018 by Nootriment