5 Reasons Why Guarana Rocks

Guarana is the cool new kid on the block, the unknown brother of caffeine, who is ready to take over the spotlight. You may ask why? It’s because guarana is caffeine with a positive effect on learning and cognition. And it’s just as natural as caffeine.

Guarana, or paullinia cupana, is a seed from a tree the Amazon Basin (mostly Brazil). It looks like a sweet chestnut, but on the inside, it is a very different seed. Next to caffeine, it contains xanthines and phenolics, like catechins, tannins, and procyanidins.

Together these compounds not only have a stimulating effect, they also improve learning and cognition.

What Makes Guarana Great?

1. It helps you maintain focus and mental energy (wakefulness)

Like explained in an earlier blog. Caffeine has many positive effects, of which maintaining focus and mental energy are two of the main benefits.

2. It may have additional cognitive effects

Although these studies are yet to be performed on people, they suggest that there may be a cognitive enhancing aspect of guarana independent from caffeine.

3. There is a slight improvement in reaction time

There also appears to be a slight improvement in secondary memory performance and reaction time associated with guarana. Again the improvements are shown to be unrelated to the caffeine intake. Here there has been some research on human subjects, though more research is needed to fully ascertain the effect and causal link.

4. It is linked to lower LDL-Cholesterol

The prevalence of hypertension, obesity and metabolic syndrome is lower in a group that habitually drinks guarana. Women also showed to have a lower level of LDL-Cholesterol. A causal link between lower obesity and guarana is still being researched.

5. Combine it with L-Theanine to combat jitters

Because guarana contains caffeine, we recommend that you combine it with L-Theanine (found in green tea). This combination will leave you with the above mentioned positive effects, but won’t give you the anxiety normally associated with caffeine.

Guarana has been around just as long as caffeine but is just now being discovered. About half of the yearly production is used in energy drinks, but more and more people are discovering it as an upgrade to caffeine.

Have you tried guarana? Let us know on the forum!