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Ingredient & advertising guide

This page has two jobs. First, it explains every line on the Supplement Facts panel of the beverage drops we sell, what each is, and what the research does and does not say about it. Second, and this is the part most advertising pages leave out, it lists the headlines we run, tells you which ones are exaggerated, and separates the small number of things that are genuinely supported by evidence from the many that are not.

1. Our headlines, and what is actually true

These are the headlines we have run, grouped by the claim they make. The right-hand column is our own plain assessment. We have marked each family of headlines as Exaggerated, Partly true, Withdrawn or Broadly supported.

The headline as you saw it	What is actually behind it
"Mental Decline Begins When Seniors Can't Spell These 3 Words. Test Now""Top Doctors Say Mental Decline Begins When Seniors Can't Pronounce These 3 Phrases. Can You?""MDs Say Mental Decline Begins When Seniors Can't Pronounce These 3 Phrases. Can You?""Memory Decline Begins When Seniors Say These 3 Phrases (See The List)""Declining Memory Begins When Seniors Say These 7 Phrases. See Which Ones"	Exaggerated There is no set of three words, three phrases or seven phrases whose spelling or pronunciation marks the beginning of mental decline. Nothing "begins" at a word. Word-finding and naming tasks do appear inside real cognitive screening tools, but those tools are administered and interpreted by a clinician alongside your history, your medications and a physical exam. Failing a word online means nothing on its own: plenty of people with perfectly healthy brains stumble over a word when they are tired, anxious, or being timed. "Top doctors" and "MDs" refer to no specific doctor. See section 5.
"Japan's Oldest Doctors Say Memory Loss Isn't Age: Just Avoid Drinking These 3 Beverages""Japan's Greatest Doctors Say Memory Loss Isn't Age: Just Avoid Drinking These 3 Beverages""Japan's Oldest Doctors Say Memory Loss Isn't Age: Just Avoid Eating These 3 Foods""Japan's Oldest Doctors Say Memory Loss Isn't Age: Just Stop Eating These 3 Foods"	Exaggerated No group of Japanese doctors issued this statement. There is no such panel, no such list, and no source we can point you to. Japan appears in the headline because it is widely associated with long life, which makes the claim feel credible. That is a marketing decision, not a citation. The second half is also wrong in an important way. Memory loss is strongly related to age. Age is the single largest risk factor for dementia, and no diet removes it. What is true is narrower: certain long-term drinking and eating patterns are associated with faster cognitive decline in large population studies. Association is not proof of cause, and "just avoid these three" is not how any of it works.
"Nobel Prize's Doctors Say Memory Loss Isn't Age: Just Stop Eating These 3 Foods"	Withdrawn We retract this one outright. No Nobel laureate has endorsed this page, this product, or any list of three foods on our behalf. Attaching the Nobel Prize to an advertisement implies an authority that does not exist and we should not have run it.
"Brain Experts Now Say These 3 Cereals Age the Brain Faster Than Time""Scientists Now Say This 1 Cereal Ages the Brain Faster Than Time"	Exaggerated No food ages the brain "faster than time." That phrase was written for effect and it is not a finding from any study. It is also internally inconsistent: in one version it is three cereals, in another it is one, because the number is something we test for click-through, not something we measured. The grain of truth: diets high in added sugar and refined starch are associated with poorer memory scores and greater cardiovascular risk over years. That is a modest effect across a population, not a fate sealed by a bowl of cereal. See section 3.
"Doctors Now Say This Popular Evening Drink Is Behind Memory Loss""Doctors Now Say This Popular Evening Drink Is Behind Brain Health Decline"	Partly true The "evening drink" is alcohol, and of everything our ads point at, this is where the evidence is strongest. Heavy and even moderate regular drinking has been linked in long-running studies to worse brain outcomes, including shrinkage of the hippocampus, the region most involved in forming memories. Excessive alcohol is one of the risk factors named in the 2024 Lancet Commission on dementia. [1] [2] What is overstated is the word "behind." Alcohol is one contributing risk factor among many, not the cause of memory loss. Cutting back is a genuinely good idea. It is not a cure, and it will not undo damage already done. The seller's listing suggests squeezing its drops into alcoholic beverages; we do not repeat that suggestion.
"Doctors Name 5 Popular Drinks Now Tied To Memory Decline. Coffee Tops The List""Seniors: These 4 Drinks May Be Aging Your Brain Faster""The 4 Drinks Brain Doctors Want Seniors to Quit""Neurologists Say Cognitive Decline Isn't Age: Just Stop Drinking These 2 Popular Drinks""Doctors: 3 Popular Drinks Now Tied to Memory Loss in Seniors"	Exaggerated Notice that the count changes: two drinks, three, four, five. It changes because it is an advertising variable we rotate, not a number that came out of a study. No neurologist is named in any version, because none was consulted. "Coffee tops the list" is the clearest thing we have got wrong. Large reviews of coffee and cognition have generally not found ordinary coffee drinking to be a risk factor for dementia; several report a neutral or modestly favourable association. If you drink coffee and enjoy it, this headline gave you a reason to worry that the evidence does not support. Our own article about these drops suggests no coffee after two in the afternoon, for the sake of sleep, and more water in its place. That is a timing point, not a claim that coffee harms memory. See section 2.
"Brain Doctors: Quit These 4 Drinks Before It's Too Late"	Exaggerated No brain doctor was consulted for this headline, and there is no "too late." The deadline was invented to make you click. The four drinks are the ones in section 2: alcohol, sugar-sweetened soft drinks, energy drinks and sweetened coffee-shop drinks. Cutting back on them is sensible for your heart, your sleep and your weight, and long-running population studies link heavy use of the first two to poorer cognitive outcomes over years. There is no evidence that quitting them on any particular day changes anything about your memory, and there is no age after which the change stops being worth making. See section 2.
"Memory Slipping? Check These 4 Everyday Drinks First"	Partly true Half right, in the wrong order. If your memory is slipping, the first thing to check is not a drink; it is your doctor, because several treatable causes listed in section 6 look exactly like memory loss and none of them is fixed by changing what you pour. The four drinks are the everyday ones in section 2: alcohol, sugary soft drinks, energy drinks and sweetened coffee drinks. Reviewing them is a reasonable second step, mostly for sleep and for your heart. Not enough plain water belongs on the list too, and it is the one our own article dwells on. See sections 2 and 6.
"America's Top Experts Say Mental Decline Isn't Aging: Just Avoid These 5 Kitchen Drinks"	Exaggerated The same construction as the "Japan's doctors" headline above, with the country changed. No panel of American experts issued this statement, and we cannot point you to one. Mental decline is strongly tied to age, and no drink removes that. The five kitchen drinks are alcohol, sugar-sweetened sodas, diet sodas, energy drinks and sweetened coffee-shop drinks, all in section 2, where the honest version of each is written out. "Just avoid" overstates what any of that evidence shows. See section 2.
"Still Sharp at 90? Seniors Are Rethinking These 3 Everyday Foods"	Partly true The gentlest of our headlines, and still an overstatement. Nobody knows what keeps a particular person sharp at 90. The largest studies point to blood pressure, hearing, physical activity, social contact and education far more than to any food; see section 7. The three everyday foods are sugary breakfast cereals, processed meats and packaged baked goods, all in section 3. Eating less of them is associated in population studies with better long-term brain and heart outcomes. That is a modest, slow effect across a population, and no food is a guarantee at any age. See sections 3 and 7.
"Drink one cup a day and watch your memory change"	Exaggerated The cup is your morning coffee with one squeeze of these drops in it, which is the label's own first serving. Nothing in that cup has been shown to change memory: the three extracts are at a fraction of the doses the trials used, and the largest trial of ginkgo, at twenty-four times this dose, found nothing after six years. What a daily cup can honestly do is get you to drink more water across the day, and staying hydrated is linked, in older adults, to better thinking speed and well-being. That is a reason to drink the cup, not a promise about your memory. "Watch your memory change" should not have been written. See sections 7 and 9, and the ingredients below.
"Neurologists Name 5 Popular Prescriptions Now Tied to Memory Decline"	Partly true, and the most dangerous to act on This one is closest to real research. Several widely prescribed drug classes have been linked in large studies to higher dementia risk, and prescribing guidelines already flag some of them as poor choices for older adults. [3] [4] [5] But an advertisement is the worst possible reason to change a prescription. Stopping some of these medicines suddenly can cause seizures, dangerous rebound anxiety, or a return of the condition being treated. Never stop or change a prescribed medicine because of something you read in an ad, including ours. Read section 4 before you do anything.

2. Every drink our ads point at

Our headlines have referred, in different versions, to "3 beverages", "4 drinks", "5 popular drinks", "2 popular drinks" and "this popular evening drink" without ever naming them. Here is the complete list of what we were pointing at, and what the research actually supports for each one. Where a study is cited, it is observational unless stated otherwise: it can show that two things travel together in a population, not that one causes the other.

3. Every food our ads point at

The food headlines referred to "3 foods" and to "cereals": one cereal in some versions, three in others. Again, the number was ours, not a finding. Here is what was meant, and what stands behind it.

4. The "5 prescriptions" headline

Our headline said "5 popular prescriptions now tied to memory decline." It named none of them. These are the drug classes that research has actually flagged. "Tied to" means associated in observational studies, not proven to cause.

What this section is not. It is not a claim that these medicines cause dementia, not medical advice, and not a suggestion that a beverage drop is an alternative to any of them. It is a prompt to have one specific conversation with a professional who knows your history. Several things in the drops we sell deserve a mention in that conversation of their own accord: ginkgo can add to the effect of anything that thins the blood; ginseng may lower blood sugar, may affect clotting and commonly disturbs sleep; the sodium counts if you have been told to limit salt or take a diuretic; and the potassium, small as it is, matters to people with kidney problems or on certain blood-pressure medicines. One more reason to have that conversation before you make it a daily habit.

5. The "3 words" and "7 phrases" tests

Several of our headlines invite you to test yourself on words or phrases: spell these three words, pronounce these three phrases, see whether you say these seven phrases. There is no such validated test, and we cannot give you a real one, because a real one does not work that way.

What actual cognitive screening looks like. Clinicians use short structured tools. The Mini-Cog, the MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) and the MMSE are the common ones. They do include word tasks: recalling three unrelated words after a delay, naming animals, repeating a sentence. But three things make them different from an online quiz:

• They are administered in person, in a standard way, by someone trained to do it.
• The score is interpreted against your age and education, not against a fixed pass mark.
• A low score is a reason for further evaluation (bloodwork, medication review, history from a family member, sometimes imaging), never a diagnosis by itself.

Screening tools also produce false alarms. Anxiety, poor sleep, hearing loss, depression, pain and simply being nervous all lower scores in people whose brains are fine. This is precisely why an online word quiz is meaningless: it has none of the context that makes the real instrument useful.

6. Real warning signs, and the causes worth ruling out

The genuinely useful list is not about spelling. It is about whether memory or thinking has changed enough to interfere with everyday life. Signs that deserve a medical appointment include:

• Memory loss that disrupts daily life: repeatedly asking for the same information, relying on notes and family for things you used to handle yourself.
• Difficulty completing familiar tasks: a routine recipe, a regular route, paying the usual bills.
• New trouble following or joining a conversation, stopping mid-sentence, or calling things by the wrong name.
• Confusion about time or place: losing track of dates or seasons, or how you got somewhere.
• Trouble judging distance, or reading. Worth checking, since it can also be vision.
• Putting things in unusual places and being unable to retrace steps, sometimes with a sense that others are to blame.
• Noticeably poorer judgement, especially about money.
• Withdrawing from work, hobbies or social life; changes in mood, personality, suspicion or apathy.

Ordinary ageing looks different: occasionally forgetting a name and recalling it later, misplacing your glasses and finding them, needing help with an unfamiliar device, taking a moment to find a word, rereading a paragraph after lunch and getting it on the second pass. That is normal and common at every age.

7. What actually has the best evidence

If we only had one section to be useful in, this would be it. The 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission on dementia concluded that nearly half of dementia cases worldwide, around 45%, could potentially be prevented or delayed by addressing fourteen modifiable risk factors across the life course. ^[1] Not one of them is a supplement, a beverage drop, or a list of three foods.

• Treat hearing loss. Use hearing aids if you need them.
• Control blood pressure from mid-life onward. Take the medication as prescribed.
• Treat high LDL cholesterol and manage diabetes.
• Do not smoke.
• Stay physically active. Regular walking counts, and it is free.
• Limit alcohol.
• Treat depression, and take it seriously in older adults.
• Stay socially connected. Isolation is a measured risk factor, not a soft one.
• Correct vision loss: get cataracts treated, keep the prescription current.
• Protect your head from injury; reduce fall risk at home.
• Sleep properly. Persistently short sleep in mid-life has been associated with higher dementia incidence. ^[8]
• Keep learning: education and continued mental engagement across life.
• Maintain a healthy weight and reduce exposure to air pollution where you can.

These are unglamorous. They cannot be delivered in a headline, they take years, and none of them can be sold to you by us. They are also, by a wide margin, the best-supported things on this entire page.

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8. Ingredient guide: what is actually in the drops we sell

What each line on the Supplement Facts panel of Buoy Brain Health Drops is, what it is traditionally used for, and what the cited research says. The panel gives amounts per 1.5-millilitre squeeze and per five squeezes, which the seller calls the recommended daily amount; the trace-mineral blend has no amount printed. Where the seller's listing and the panel disagree (the listing says 120 mg of ginkgo per serving; the panel says 10 mg), this guide follows the panel. The other ingredients are purified water, non-GMO citric acid and a small "antioxidant blend" of organic blood orange extract, organic acacia, rosemary, anise and citrus from limes. Where a study is cited below, it used one substance at a time, in a measured dose several times larger than a squeeze; none of it tested a beverage drop, and none of it tested this product. Read the statement at the end of this section before you buy anything.

Panax ginseng root extract (Asian ginseng)

The root of a slow-growing plant native to Korea, northeastern China and far-eastern Siberia, whose active compounds are called ginsenosides; a different plant from American ginseng and from the "Siberian ginseng" sold under a similar name. In this product it is a root extract of unstated standardization.

Traditional and everyday use. Used in traditional Chinese practice as a calming agent and as a general tonic, and promoted today for stress, fatigue and mental performance.

What the research says. In a 14-week trial of 256 healthy middle-aged volunteers, a fixed combination of 100 mg of standardized ginseng extract with 60 mg of standardized ginkgo extract, taken twice a day, was associated with a 7.5% improvement in an index of memory quality.^[13] In 30 healthy young adults, 8 days of 200 or 400 mg a day of a standardized extract went with better self-rated calmness and, at 400 mg, better mental arithmetic, with no added benefit from repeated dosing.^[14] A single 200 mg dose in the same kind of volunteers went with better subtraction performance and less self-rated mental fatigue during an hour of mental work.^[15] The National Institutes of Health summarizes the research as modest cognitive benefits in middle-aged adults but not young adults, with memory improvements seen mainly in combination with ginkgo. All of those trials used 200 to 400 mg a day of standardized extract; this product gives 30 mg per squeeze and 150 mg at five squeezes.

Amount per serving in Brain Health Drops. 30 mg per 1.5 ml serving (150 mg per 5) (standardization not stated)

Good to know. The National Institutes of Health lists trouble sleeping as the most common side effect, notes that ginseng may lower blood sugar, may interfere with blood clotting, may worsen autoimmune conditions and may interact with some medicines, and states that short-term use of up to six months appears safe for most people; it advises talking to a doctor before use during pregnancy. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before use if you take anything daily.

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

A small amino acid that the body makes from glutamate and that acts as the main calming (inhibitory) chemical messenger of the nervous system; it is also produced by yeasts and bacteria and is sold as a supplement, usually made by fermentation. Whether GABA swallowed as a supplement reaches the brain at all is an open question that the researchers who study it raise themselves.

Traditional and everyday use. No traditional use; a supplement of the last few decades, marketed for calm and focus.

What the research says. In a randomized placebo-controlled experiment in healthy young adults, a single 800 mg dose of oral GABA was associated with fewer order errors in a rapid visual temporal-attention task and no effect on spatial attention; the authors called the result preliminary and noted the unresolved question of whether oral GABA crosses the blood-brain barrier.^[16] A second trial by a related group reporting better action selection after 800 mg was retracted in 2022 and is not cited here. No trial has tested GABA for memory in older adults, and 800 mg is more than 26 times the 30 mg in one squeeze of this product.

Amount per serving in Brain Health Drops. 30 mg per serving (150 mg per 5)

Good to know. Generally well tolerated at supplement doses in short studies; because it is marketed as calming, be cautious combining it with anything that makes you drowsy, and talk to your doctor before use if you take anything daily.

Ginkgo biloba leaf extract

An extract of the fan-shaped leaves of the ginkgo tree, a species so ancient it is called a living fossil, planted along city streets across the world. This is the herbal extract, a different thing from the homeopathic dilution of ginkgo found in some sprays.

Traditional and everyday use. Ginkgo leaf extract has been sold as a "memory herb" for decades.

What the research says. In the largest trial to date, 3,069 adults aged 72 to 96 took 120 mg of a standardized extract twice a day for a median of 6.1 years and declined at the same rate as the placebo group in memory, attention, language and every other domain measured.^[17] The National Institutes of Health states there is no conclusive evidence that ginkgo is helpful for any health condition.^[18]

Amount per serving in Brain Health Drops. 10 mg per serving (50 mg per 5) (the listing text says 120 mg; the panel says 10 mg)

Good to know. Ginkgo may increase the risk of bleeding in people who take anything that thins the blood; fresh ginkgo seeds are toxic. Talk to your doctor before use if you are under a doctor's care or are due for surgery.

Sodium and chloride (as sea minerals from unrefined sea salt)

Ordinary salt, dissolved: sodium and chloride are the two ions that make up table salt and the main electrolytes lost in sweat. Here they come from unrefined sea salt. One squeeze carries 50 mg of sodium (2% of the daily value) and 80 mg of chloride (3%): about the sodium in a slice of bread, and roughly a third of what a sports drink serving carries, which is what the label itself says.

Traditional and everyday use. Salt has been used to season and preserve food, and to replace what sweat takes, for as long as there have been kitchens.

What the research says. In the Berlin Aging Study II, 1,111 adults aged 60 to 89 who were objectively dehydrated showed a steeper decline over time in a processing-speed test and in well-being, independent of other health factors.^[9] A 2021 systematic review of 18 studies in 33,707 older adults found dehydration associated with higher mortality and poorer course of illness, and some but sparse evidence linking it to poorer cognitive performance.^[10] Neither study tested salt drops or any product: they say that drinking enough matters as you age. Most Americans already eat more sodium than the daily value, so 50 mg more is neither a benefit nor a risk on its own.

Amount per serving in Brain Health Drops. 50 mg sodium (2% DV) and 80 mg chloride (3% DV) per serving (from unrefined sea salt)

Good to know. If your doctor has asked you to limit sodium (blood pressure, heart, kidney), count these squeezes like any other salt: five a day add 250 mg. Talk to your doctor before use if you take a diuretic or anything daily.

Potassium (as potassium citrate)

A mineral the body needs for kidney and heart function, muscle contraction and nerve signaling, here in the citrate form, a salt of potassium and citric acid. One squeeze carries 10 mg, under 1% of the daily value; a banana carries about 400 mg.

Traditional and everyday use. Potassium comes from fruit, vegetables, beans, dairy and fish; adult men are advised to get about 3,400 mg a day, mostly from food.

What the research says. No study has tested this amount of potassium for anything; at 10 mg it is a rounding error against the daily value.

Amount per serving in Brain Health Drops. 10 mg per serving (<1% DV)

Good to know. Potassium from food is not harmful for healthy people; people with kidney problems or on some blood-pressure medicines can build up too much potassium and should ask their doctor before adding any potassium supplement, even a small one.

Magnesium and calcium (as sea minerals)

Two minerals present in seawater and in unrefined sea salt. Magnesium helps regulate muscle and nerve function, blood sugar and blood pressure and is used to make protein, bone and DNA; calcium builds bone. Here both are present in trace amounts: 0.5 mg of each per squeeze, under 1% of the daily value. Adult men are advised to get 400 to 420 mg of magnesium a day.

Traditional and everyday use. Both come from food: leafy greens, nuts, seeds, beans and whole grains for magnesium; dairy, greens and fish with bones for calcium.

What the research says. At half a milligram per squeeze, no claim can be made or tested; these amounts are what the sea salt happens to carry.

Amount per serving in Brain Health Drops. 0.5 mg each per serving (<1% DV) (trace amounts)

Good to know. Magnesium naturally present in food and beverages is not harmful; the concern with supplements starts at hundreds of milligrams, far above this.

87+ ionic trace minerals (proprietary blend from ionic deep ocean minerals)

A concentrate of what is left of seawater after most of the sodium is removed, which the label describes as "87+ trace minerals and elements like manganese, boron, selenium, silica, copper." The panel prints no amount for the blend or for any element in it (a dagger mark instead of a figure).

Traditional and everyday use. Sea-mineral concentrates have been sold as additives for drinking water for decades.

What the research says. With no amount on the label, nothing can be said about it beyond its presence; there is no study of this blend.

Amount per serving in Brain Health Drops. — (amount not stated) ("†" on the panel)

Good to know. Trace elements such as selenium and copper have upper limits, but without an amount on the label there is nothing to compare; if you already take a multimineral, ask your pharmacist.

Vitamin B1 (thiamine)

A water-soluble vitamin the body cannot store in quantity, so it has to come from food every few days. It is found in whole grains, pork, fish, beans and fortified breads and cereals.

What the research says. A Cochrane review of 14 trials in 27,882 cognitively healthy adults concluded that B-vitamin supplements probably have little or no effect on global cognitive function up to five years.^[19] In the European Union, thiamine carries an authorised claim that it contributes to the normal functioning of the nervous system.

Amount per serving in Brain Health Drops. 0.5 mg per serving (40% DV)

Good to know. Very well tolerated from food and supplements; no upper limit has been set.

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine HCl)

A water-soluble vitamin present in many foods that the body uses in more than 100 enzyme reactions involved in metabolism. Adults over 50 are advised to get 1.7 mg (men) or 1.5 mg (women) a day; one squeeze carries 0.5 mg (30% of the daily value).

Traditional and everyday use. Comes from poultry, fish, potatoes, chickpeas, bananas and fortified cereals.

What the research says. A Cochrane review of 14 trials in 27,882 cognitively healthy adults concluded that B-vitamin supplements (folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin B6 or combinations) probably have little or no effect on global cognitive function.^[19] The National Institutes of Health notes that people with higher blood levels of B6 tend to have better memory, but that supplements have not been shown to improve cognition in older adults.

Amount per serving in Brain Health Drops. 0.5 mg per serving (30% DV)

Good to know. Very high doses from supplements over long periods (1,000 mg a day and more; the upper limit for adults is 100 mg a day) can cause nerve damage in the arms and legs; five squeezes give 2.5 mg, far below that.

Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)

A water-soluble vitamin that helps turn food into energy and is involved in making and breaking down fats. Adults are advised to get 5 mg a day; one squeeze carries 1.5 mg (30% of the daily value).

Traditional and everyday use. Present in almost all foods: meat, eggs, milk, mushrooms, avocados, whole grains. Deficiency is very rare.

What the research says. No study has tested pantothenic acid for memory or attention in healthy adults; there is nothing to cite.

Amount per serving in Brain Health Drops. 1.5 mg per serving (30% DV)

Good to know. Safe even at high doses; very high supplement doses (such as 10,000 mg a day) can cause stomach upset and diarrhea.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This information does not constitute medical advice and it should not be relied upon as such. This product is not a substitute for medication or other treatment prescribed by a physician or health care provider. Consult your doctor before starting any dietary supplement.

9. What we can and cannot promise

Set against the headlines that brought you here, this is the complete and honest position.

Things we cannot promise, and that nobody selling you a supplement can:

• That these drops will improve your memory.
• That they will prevent, delay, slow or reverse dementia or Alzheimer's disease, or prevent or relieve migraines or headaches, whatever the seller's listing says.
• That they offset alcohol, sugar, processed food, or any drink or food named on this page.
• That they can replace a prescribed medicine, or make a medication review unnecessary.
• That any doctor in Japan, any Nobel laureate, any neurologist or any "brain expert" recommends them. None has.
• That a word or phrase quiz can tell you anything about your brain.
• That a squeeze delivers the 200 mg of ginseng extract, the 800 mg of GABA or the 120 to 240 mg of ginkgo extract used in the trials. The panel says 30, 30 and 10.
• That the drops hydrate "64% better than water." That figure is the seller's, from a study of its hydration drops that we were not able to read, and we do not repeat it.
• That the words "Brain Health" on the bottle, or the marketing word on the seller's listing, describe anything that has been shown. They are a product name and a sales word, and the seller's site carries the FDA disclaimer.

Things we can say honestly:

• It is a liquid beverage drop with sea-salt electrolytes, three B vitamins, an unmeasured trace-mineral blend and small amounts of three plant extracts, made in the United States by a company that publishes a street address and an email but no telephone number. Every line printed on the panel is listed above.
• It contains no sugar, no sweeteners and no caffeine. One squeeze carries 50 mg of sodium, about the sodium in a slice of bread.
• Drinking enough water is associated in older adults with slower decline in thinking speed and well-being; that is the one line of evidence on this page that bears on the product, and it bears on tap water just as well.
• The prices, the subscription (the seller's default button; it renews every four weeks until cancelled), the shipping terms and the return policy (a refund on a new customer's first order only, requested within 30 days of delivery, with unopened items returned; otherwise all sales are final) are exactly what is written on the seller's pages. Nothing more, and no promise made elsewhere overrides them.
• The customer reviews we quote are real and public on the seller's site; we quote them word for word, we mark "Verified Buyer" only where the seller's review system does, and we left out reviews that made claims we cannot check. Individual experiences are not evidence.
• We earn a commission if you buy. That is our interest in this, stated plainly.
• Nothing here is medical advice, and none of it replaces your doctor.

10. Questions people ask us

Did a Japanese doctor, a Nobel laureate or a neurologist really say this?

No. Those attributions are advertising language. No named or identifiable expert made those statements, and none has endorsed this product.

So is coffee bad for my memory or not?

Ordinary coffee is not an established risk factor for cognitive decline, and reviews generally find neutral to modestly favourable associations. Our "Coffee Tops The List" headline overstated it. What is worth watching is added sugar in coffee drinks, and caffeine late enough in the day to spoil your sleep. That last point is the only reason our article suggests no coffee after two, and water in its place.

Should I stop my sleeping tablet or my anxiety medication?

Not on your own, and not because of an advertisement. Some of these drugs cause seizures or severe rebound symptoms if stopped abruptly. Take your full medication list to your doctor or pharmacist and ask whether anything on it is a poor fit for your age. See section 4.

Is this product a treatment for Alzheimer's, dementia or migraines?

No. It is not a treatment for any disease, whatever wording appears on the seller's listing. If you or a family member is facing a diagnosis, the people to talk to are your doctor and a support organisation such as the Alzheimer's Association helpline listed above.

Why is it called "Brain Health Drops" if you say it has not been shown to do anything for the brain?

Because that is the name the maker printed on the bottle. We did not choose it and we do not repeat it as a promise. The seller's own site carries the statement that its claims have not been evaluated by the FDA and that the product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. We treat the name as a name.

The listing says 120 mg of ginkgo and the panel says 10 mg. Which is right?

We follow the panel. The Supplement Facts panel is what the law requires the maker to print and is what describes the bottle; the 120 mg figure appears in a marketing paragraph on the same page. We have noted the discrepancy in our article and here, and we make no claim based on the larger number.

Does it contain caffeine or alcohol?

No. Nothing on the panel is caffeine, the seller states its only caffeinated product is a different one, and there is no alcohol in the drops. The seller suggests squeezing them into your morning coffee, which is where the alertness described in reviews mostly comes from.

How much salt is in it?

50 mg of sodium and 80 mg of chloride per squeeze; 250 mg of sodium at five squeezes a day, against a daily value of 2,300 mg. If your doctor has asked you to limit sodium, count the squeezes like any other salt.

Why does this page talk about medicines if the product is not one?

Because one of our headlines pointed at "5 prescriptions", and you deserve to know what was behind it. Nothing in section 4 is advice to change a medicine, and the product is not an alternative to any of them.

If your own headlines are exaggerated, why should I believe this page?

A fair question. Do not take our word for it. The references below are real, published sources you can look up yourself, and nothing in sections 5, 6 and 7 requires you to buy anything or trust us. If this page and our headlines disagree, believe this page.

Does this page cost anything?

No. It is free, there is nothing to sign up for, and you are welcome to read it, close the tab and never come back.

Can I check these claims myself?

Yes, and you should. Every numbered reference below can be found by searching its title. For general information, the National Institute on Aging (nia.nih.gov) and the Alzheimer's Association (alz.org) publish plain-language material and sell nothing.

References

These are the sources behind the claims marked with a number above. Most are observational studies, which can show association but not cause; the ginseng, GABA and ginkgo trials used standardized extracts at several times the amount in a squeeze, and one GABA trial we deliberately do not cite was retracted. We have deliberately not cited anything for the claims we describe as exaggerated, because there is nothing to cite.

1. Livingston G. et al. (2024). The Lancet 404(10452):572-628 doi.org
2. Topiwala A. et al. (2017). BMJ 357:j2353 doi.org
3. Gray S.L. et al. (2015). JAMA Internal Medicine 175(3):401-407 doi.org
4. Coupland C.A.C. et al. (2019). JAMA Internal Medicine 179(8):1084-1093 doi.org
5. American Geriatrics Society 2023 Beers Criteria Update Expert Panel (2023). Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 71(7):2052-2081 doi.org
6. Pase M.P. et al. (2017). Alzheimer's & Dementia 13(9):955-964 doi.org
7. Pase M.P. et al. (2017). Stroke 48(5):1139-1146 doi.org
8. Sabia S. et al. (2021). Nature Communications 12:2289 doi.org
9. Mantantzis K. et al. (2020). Psychology and Aging 35(4):517-528 doi.org
10. Edmonds C.J. et al. (2021). Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics 95:104380 doi.org
11. Gonçalves N.G. et al. (2023). JAMA Neurology 80(2):142-150 doi.org
12. Morris M.C. et al. (2015). Alzheimer's & Dementia 11(9):1015-1022 doi.org
13. Wesnes K.A. et al. (2000). Psychopharmacology 152(4):353-361 doi.org
14. Reay J.L. et al. (2010). Human Psychopharmacology 25(6):462-471 doi.org
15. Reay J.L. et al. (2005). Journal of Psychopharmacology 19(4):357-365 doi.org
16. Leonte A. et al. (2018). Brain and Cognition 120:8-16 doi.org
17. Snitz B.E. et al. (2009). JAMA 302(24):2663-2670 doi.org
18. NIH NCCIH. "Ginkgo" (updated February 2025) nccih.nih.gov
19. Rutjes A.W.S. et al. (2018). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CD011906 doi.org

Citing a study does not mean the study is about this product. None of the research above tested Buoy Brain Health Drops, and none of it supports it.

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