The Role of Dietary Ingredients in Mental Energy – A Scoping Review of Randomized Controlled Trials – PubMed Black Hawk Supplements

Abstract

Low mental energy can contribute to decreased productivity, altered life balance, decreased physical performance, and ultimately affect quality of life. As such, there is a great demand for food and beverage products that positively impact mental energy. Numerous products claim to alter mental energy making continued review of the scientific evidence critical. The objective of this study was to conduct a scoping review of randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effect of 18 dietary ingredients on mental energy outcomes in adults without severe disease. Methods: A literature search, completed using PubMed, resulted in the identification of 2261 articles, 190 of which met eligibility from initial abstract review. Full-text review was completed on the 190 studies which resulted in 101 articles that fully met eligibility for inclusion in this study. The search strategy for two ingredients did not yield any eligible studies, leaving studies for 16 ingredients that were extracted and summarized by reported significantly improved outcomes for cognition, mood and perceived feelings, and sleep assessments. The preliminary results for several dietary ingredients directionally suggested a mental energy benefit (≥20% of outcomes), including ashwagandha, chamomile, dark chocolate, ginseng, green tea, lavender, lion’s mane mushroom, maca, tart cherries, turmeric, and valerian root. The results of this scoping review suggest that of the 16 dietary ingredients reviewed, 11 may be promising for further exploration on their potential benefits in supporting mental energy. Given consumer demand and market growth for food and beverage products that positively impact mental energy; continued efforts in assessment method alignment and additional evaluation in well-designed trials is warranted.KEY TEACHING POINTSOf the 16 dietary ingredients reviewed, 11 (ashwagandha, chamomile, dark chocolate, ginseng, green tea, lavender, lion’s mane mushroom, maca, melatonin foods, turmeric, and valerian root) may be promising for further exploration on their potential mental energy benefits.Dark chocolate, ginseng, ashwagandha, and lion’s mane mushroom were the most promising ingredients for further evaluation in the cognition domain of the ingredients evaluated.Turmeric, maca, lavendar, and ashwagandha were the most promising ingredients for further evaluation in the mood and perceived feelings domain of the ingredients evaluated.Ashwagandha, chamomile, green tea, melatonin foods, valerian root were the most promising ingredients for further evaluation in the sleep domain of the ingredients evaluated.Additional, well-designed, consistent, clinical trials and systematic reviews are warranted as the challenge of heterogeneity in mental energy study design remains.

Keywords: Mental energy; cognition; dietary ingredients; fatigue; focus; mood; perceived feelings; sleep.

Similar articles

• Folic acid supplementation and malaria susceptibility and severity among people taking antifolate antimalarial drugs in endemic areas.

  Crider K, Williams J, Qi YP, Gutman J, Yeung L, Mai C, Finkelstain J, Mehta S, Pons-Duran C, Menéndez C, Moraleda C, Rogers L, Daniels K, Green P. Crider K, et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022 Feb 1;2(2022):CD014217. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD014217. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022. PMID: 36321557 Free PMC article.

• The future of Cochrane Neonatal.

  Soll RF, Ovelman C, McGuire W. Soll RF, et al. Early Hum Dev. 2020 Nov;150:105191. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2020.105191. Epub 2020 Sep 12. Early Hum Dev. 2020. PMID: 33036834

• Acute Effects of Naturally Occurring Guayusa Tea and Nordic Lion’s Mane Extracts on Cognitive Performance.

  La Monica MB, Raub B, Ziegenfuss EJ, Hartshorn S, Grdic J, Gustat A, Sandrock J, Ziegenfuss TN. La Monica MB, et al. Nutrients. 2023 Dec 6;15(24):5018. doi: 10.3390/nu15245018. Nutrients. 2023. PMID: 38140277 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.

• The effects of twenty-one nutrients and phytonutrients on cognitive function: A narrative review.

  Lewis JE, Poles J, Shaw DP, Karhu E, Khan SA, Lyons AE, Sacco SB, McDaniel HR. Lewis JE, et al. J Clin Transl Res. 2021 Aug 4;7(4):575-620. eCollection 2021 Aug 26. J Clin Transl Res. 2021. PMID: 34541370 Free PMC article. Review.

• Behavioral Counseling to Promote a Healthful Diet and Physical Activity for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Adults Without Known Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: Updated Systematic Review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force [Internet].

  Patnode CD, Evans CV, Senger CA, Redmond N, Lin JS. Patnode CD, et al. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2017 Jul. Report No.: 15-05222-EF-1. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2017 Jul. Report No.: 15-05222-EF-1. PMID: 29364620 Free Books & Documents. Review.

Cited by

• Not All Maca Is Created Equal: A Review of Colors, Nutrition, Phytochemicals, and Clinical Uses.

  Minich DM, Ross K, Frame J, Fahoum M, Warner W, Meissner HO. Minich DM, et al. Nutrients. 2024 Feb 14;16(4):530. doi: 10.3390/nu16040530. Nutrients. 2024. PMID: 38398854 Free PMC article. Review.

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances