Popular podcaster and influencer Joe Rogan is accused of cashing in on brain health supplements based on “false” and “misleading” research.
Rogan, who has 14.5 million subscribers to his podcast, helped pharmaceutical company Onnit develop a pill that would “enhance focus” in 2010.
But more than a decade later, the company is being sued by a New York customer who claims the $30 supplement, called Alpha Brain, is based on bogus science.
Alpha Brain is advertised as a nootropic – a class of supplements that claim to improve brain function. It is taken as a capsule and is recommended twice a day. Onnit claims it ‘supports memory’ and ‘promotes focus’ so you feel ‘in the zone’.
The company, founded by holistic health guru Aubrey Marcus, says its statements are backed by a study it funded in 2016, which saw the supplement “significantly improve” performance on memory tests.
Joe Rogan said he helped his friend, Onnit founder Aubrey Marcus, develop the original formula for Alpha Brain
Alpha Brain is marketed as a supplement that ‘supports memory’ and ‘promotes focus’ to help you feel ‘in the zone’
However, the lawsuit, filed in New York State, claims the process was “flawed,” and in fact the clinical trial showed that Alpha Brain does not improve memory or focus.
This misleading advertising means consumers could be owed millions in refunds, the lawsuit suggests.
It is unclear what will happen if the complainant, named Jean Paul Lotz, wins the lawsuit.
However, previous settlements of these types of supplements, known as nootropics, have seen companies pay out billions of dollars to customers who were “misled” by company claims.
And scientists have their doubts about Alpha Brain and other similar supplements.
Dr. Viktor Henderson, a professor of neurology who specializes in brain aging at Stanford University, told DailyMail.com: ‘I don’t think the evidence is strong for this product and others like it. So save your money. Do something useful with it.’
Despite the skepticism, nootropic supplements are incredibly popular, and Onnit is far from the only company claiming that its products boost brain function.
Onnit, bought by British giant Unilever for between $250 and $400 million in 2021, claims it has sold more than 3 million bottles – which, at $80 per bottle, would represent sales of $240 million.
The global brain health supplement market is estimated to reach $5.8 billion by 2023 25 percent of Americans over 50 years of age who is using some form of the pills.
Onnit sells a 90-pack of Alpha Brain for $79.95 – about $1.13 per pill – which will last you 45 days. The lawsuit estimates that this has helped Onnit generate about $100 million in revenue since 2021 — $18 million in New York alone.
Alpha Brain says it works by providing the body with more nutrients that it can use to produce neurotransmitters – the chemical signals that control the brain.
The pills contain an amino acid called L-theanine, which occurs naturally in mushrooms. In the body, L-theanine can be converted into the neurotransmitter dopamine.
Dopamine, known as the pleasure hormone, plays a role in motivation, focus and mood management.
The theory is that eating more L-theanine allows you to increase dopamine production.
The right balance of dopamine in the brain is important for mood, learning and productivity.
However, too much of this hormone has been linked to aggressive behavior and problems with impulse control.
Other supplements from Onnit include a vitamin D3 spray for bone health and heart function, a ‘mood pill’ to boost daily mood and relaxation, and a supplement to support a healthy immune response.
As exciting as the scientific claims are behind various nootropics, none of these supplements have been proven to actually do what they claim, Dr. Barry Gordon, a cognitive neurologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, told WebMD.
Right now, most nootropic claims only work “theoretically,” Dr. Henderson to DailyMail.com.
He said: ‘I think a lot of people have tried (studies) and the evidence behind a lot of it isn’t very good.’
Onnit is quick to point to their clinical trial as proof that their supplement is not like others on the market. Their trial proves that Alpha Brain is not “horse shit**, snake oil or placebos,” Rogan said in an excerpt from his podcast. on Onnit’s YouTube.
And although Dr. Henderson noted that while it’s great that Onnit is funding these studies, the conclusions they draw from them aren’t as important as the company makes them seem.
Nearly all measures of cognitive improvement looked at in the study showed no difference between the people who used Alpha Brain and the people who didn’t use it, he explained.
And in the one area of memory where Alpha Brain appeared to improve cognitive function – verbal memory – Dr. Henderson that the difference between the groups was so small that it was probably due to chance alone.
Rogan said on his podcast that he helped Onnit founder Aubrey Marcus come up with the idea for Alpha Brain. His actual relationship with the company is unclear
“It could have been a coincidental finding, and there was no internal consistency in terms of other memory results to really have confidence in that finding,” he said.
It’s not that the entire study was bad, but “it’s a poor interpretation of the results of one small clinical trial,” he added.
According to Henderson, you might be better off drinking a cup of coffee and ingesting caffeine to give your brain a boost rather than taking what Mr. Rogan is promoting.
It is not clear from public information what role Mr. Rogan played in Alpha Brain. In some videos he is credited as the founder of Onnit, in others as an employee in the creation of Alpha Brain, and in others as a partner in the company.
In a Question and answer posted by Onnit in 2014Mr. Marcus, a wellness guru and podcaster, said he consulted Mr. Rogan in the early days before creating Alpha Brain.
In an advertisement on Onnit’s YouTube channel posted in 2022 with an excerpt from Mr. Rogan’s podcast, Mr. Rogan said, “Aubrey and I started Onnit.”
A separate video discusses Onnit’s marketing strategy, former Chief Marketing Officer Mike Spadier argued that Mr. Rogan “helped develop the original formula for Alpha Brain.”
Mr. Spadier also said, “Early in their conversations, Aubrey agreed to make Mr. Rogan a partner,” meaning he would make money if Onnit ever became popular enough to be bought by a larger company.
This happened when Onnit was sold to Unilever in 2021.
Representatives for Onnit, Unilever and Joe Rogan did not respond to multiple requests for clarification from DailyMail.com
As for the recent lawsuit, previous lawsuits against other companies selling brain boosters have paid out big bucks in court for misleading claims.
Quincy Bioscience agreed to pay $36 million in claims and restitution for making “deceptive memory claims” in their advertising while marketing the nootropic product Prevagen.
British consumer goods company Reckit Benckisser settled a lawsuit over its nootropic called Neruiva for $8 million in July 2021.
However, the lawsuit against Onnit in New York is not necessarily a blow to the lawyers.
A similar lawsuit was filed against Onnit California in 2023 by someone who has used Alpha Brain.
The unnamed Californian sought damages because she felt the company’s “false claims” had tricked her into buying the product.
The lawsuit alleged that the company “illegally collected millions of dollars from unsuspecting consumers,” but was ultimately dismissed.
In the 16-page class action lawsuit filed April 23 in a New York federal court, the lawyers detailed the plaintiff, Mr. Lotz lived in Manhattan and bought Alpha Brain five times in 2021, selling approximately spent $400.
Mr. Lotz reportedly purchased the supplement because of its “misleading claims that it would improve memory, focus and mental processing speed.”
If he had known the evidence was scant, he would not have purchased the supplement, the lawsuit said.
Mr. Lotz also intends to claim reimbursement of the surcharges and attorney’s fees.
At this time, Mr. Lotz is the only person in the lawsuit, but the lawyers write that anyone in New York State who purchased these products may be eligible for damages.
The prosecuting law firms also did not respond to multiple requests for comment.