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Acute energy
BOOST ENERGYPENDING CLINICAL VALIDATION

Acute energy

Five ingredients for a stretch when you need to be switched on in the morning: three vitamins that carry the EU claim on tiredness and fatigue, Panax ginseng, and 75 mg of caffeine. It is a short-term formula, not a daily habit: it never goes out after 2 pm, and it stops at 90 days at the latest.

WHENMorning, never after 2 pm
WITH FOODPreferably. With breakfast
DOSE VOLUME1.4 ml, in seven 0.2 ml pulses
INGREDIENTS5 active, 0 fillers
CARTRIDGE45 ml · up to 32 mornings
SLOT1 of the 6 in your device

WHAT IS IN IT

Five actives. Nothing else.

These are the reference doses of the formula. Your device pours them in steps of 0.2 ml, so what you actually take on a given morning can sit below the reference when your plan does not call for the full dose. Caffeine is marked in our composition as an optional component: the engine can build this formula without it, and then nothing here carries the caffeine claim.

INGREDIENTFORMPER DOSE% NRVWHAT IT IS THERE FOR
Vitamin B12Methylcobalamin50 µg2000%Reduction of tiredness and fatigue, and normal energy-yielding metabolism
Vitamin B6Pyridoxal-5-phosphate (P5P)3 mg214%Normal energy-yielding metabolism and reduction of tiredness and fatigue
Vitamin CL-ascorbic acid or magnesium ascorbate500 mg625%Reduction of tiredness and fatigue. The claim this formula is built around
Panax ginsengRed root, 4–7% ginsenosides200 mg—Recognised by the EMA for tiredness and weakness. Its EU claim is still on hold
CaffeineAnhydrous75 mg—Alertness and concentration, only at 75 mg per serving. Marked as an optional component
Total volume1.4 mlSeven pulses of 0.2 ml, the smallest step the device can serve
Vitamin B12Methylcobalamin50 µg2000% NRV

Reduction of tiredness and fatigue, and normal energy-yielding metabolism

Vitamin B6Pyridoxal-5-phosphate (P5P)3 mg214% NRV

Normal energy-yielding metabolism and reduction of tiredness and fatigue

Vitamin CL-ascorbic acid or magnesium ascorbate500 mg625% NRV

Reduction of tiredness and fatigue. The claim this formula is built around

Panax ginsengRed root, 4–7% ginsenosides200 mg—

Recognised by the EMA for tiredness and weakness. Its EU claim is still on hold

CaffeineAnhydrous75 mg—

Alertness and concentration, only at 75 mg per serving. Marked as an optional component

Total volume 1.4 ml 

Seven pulses of 0.2 ml, the smallest step the device can serve

No proprietary blends, no "complex" hiding the amounts, no bulking agents. If an ingredient is in the bottle it is in this table, with its form and its dose.

No proprietary blends, no bulking agents. If an ingredient is in the bottle it is in this table, with its form and its dose.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT

Four of these five have an authorised claim. One does not.

In the EU, only a short list of health claims is authorised. The three vitamins and caffeine are on it, each with its own condition. Ginseng is not: botanical claims are still on hold. We would rather show you that difference than write a sentence that sounds the same for all five.

Vitamin B12

AUTHORISED CLAIM

WHAT WE ARE ALLOWED TO SAY

“Vitamin B12 contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.”

Regulation (EU) 432/2012, for a product that is at least a source of vitamin B12. The dose is 50 µg, 2,000% of the NRV, as methylcobalamin, the active form that needs no conversion. There is no EFSA upper limit for it. Germany's BfR suggests a lower ceiling for supplements, 25 µg a day, and this dose is above it.

Reg. 432/2012 · NRV 2.5 µg · 8 sources on file

Vitamin B6

AUTHORISED CLAIM

WHAT WE ARE ALLOWED TO SAY

“Vitamin B6 contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.”

Regulation (EU) 432/2012, at 214% of the NRV, as pyridoxal-5-phosphate. B6 has one of the lowest upper limits among the vitamins: EFSA set it at 12 mg a day in 2023. It is in five other VION formulas, so the engine adds up every milligram across your plan before it adds anything.

Reg. 432/2012 · EFSA Journal 2010;8(10):1759 · 8 sources on file

Vitamin C

AUTHORISED CLAIM

WHAT WE ARE ALLOWED TO SAY

“Vitamin C contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.”

Regulation (EU) 432/2012, for a product that is at least a source of vitamin C. It is the claim this formula is built around. The dose is 500 mg, 625% of the NRV. Our library documents vitamin C and B12 in the same formula only up to 200 mg of vitamin C, and asks for 2 hours between them once vitamin C goes above 500 mg a dose, because high-dose vitamin C may break B12 down in the lab; the evidence in people is weak, so that is a precaution rather than a fact. This formula serves 500 mg of vitamin C in the same 1.4 ml as 50 µg of B12: two and a half times the dose our library documents for putting them together, and right on the line above which it asks for them to be separated, without crossing it. We are not going to call that compliance. It is flagged for clinical review, and this page will say what is decided. EFSA has not set an upper level for vitamin C; the 2,000 mg a day figure comes from the US NIH (IOM), not from EFSA. Germany's BfR suggests a lower ceiling for supplements, 250 mg a day, and this dose is above it.

Reg. 432/2012 · EFSA Journal 2010;8(10):1815 · 11 sources on file

Panax ginseng

ON HOLD IN THE EU REGISTER

WHAT WE ARE ALLOWED TO SAY

Nothing yet. Botanical claims are suspended pending review.

Recognised by the EMA monograph for tiredness and weakness, not by an authorised EFSA claim. The range in our notes starts at 200 mg a day, which is the dose here, and the monograph limits use to three months. Its full effect is measured over weeks, not in one morning. If the register ever resolves the claim, we will update this page and say what changed.

EMA/HMPC monograph, Rev. 1 (2023) · 6 sources on file · claim on hold

Caffeine

AUTHORISED CLAIM

WHAT WE ARE ALLOWED TO SAY

“Caffeine helps to increase alertness and to improve concentration.”

An Article 13.5 claim that only holds at 75 mg per serving, which is exactly the caffeine in the full 1.4 ml. On a morning when the device pours less, the dose falls under 75 mg and the claim no longer applies to it. Two other things can take it below that line. Caffeine is an optional component of this formula, so the engine can leave it out. And our library pairs caffeine with ginseng under a monitor action: with ginseng at a therapeutic dose, which the 200 mg here is, the engine may lower the caffeine by 25–30%, to roughly 52–56 mg. In either case the claim stops applying. EFSA considers up to 400 mg a day from all sources safe for healthy adults, and up to 200 mg at once.

Art. 13.5 · 75 mg per serving · 8 sources on file

HOW IT IS POURED

Seven pulses. Fewer is not the same dose.

The full dose of this formula is 1.4 ml, which the device serves as seven pulses of 0.2 ml. The engine can pour fewer, one pulse at a time, but below seven the caffeine drops under the 75 mg its claim needs. So a partial morning is a smaller dose, not the same one. The engine may also lower the caffeine by 25–30% because ginseng sits in the same formula, and then the claim does not apply at any pour. No wearable signal decides the amount for this formula yet. When one does, this page will say which.

TONIGHT'S POUR

1234567
1.4 ml of 1.4 mlthe full dose, and the caffeine claim only holds while the caffeine is served at 75 mg

MORNING, NEVER AFTER 2 PM

Why then

Caffeine takes three to five hours to fall by half in a healthy adult, and taken late it can cut into your sleep for up to six hours. Ginseng can keep you awake too, and together with caffeine it can cause insomnia, a racing heart or irritability. Our library pairs the two under a monitor action, and the engine may lower the caffeine by 25–30% when ginseng is at a therapeutic dose. So this formula goes out with your first window and never after 2 pm.

WITH BREAKFAST

Why with food

Ginseng and 500 mg of vitamin C are both easier on your stomach with a meal, and B6 is better tolerated with food. Food slows how fast the caffeine arrives, but not how much of it you get.

45 ML CARTRIDGE

How long it lasts

At the full 1.4 ml it is 32 mornings. At a partial pour it lasts longer, so the app orders your refill from what you actually took.

HOW IT ENTERS YOUR PLAN

A BOOST formula is suggested, not assigned.

BOOST is the part of your plan that comes and goes. It is meant for a stretch when your base is not enough, and it has a hard stop written into it.

  1. 01

    It is suggested from your goals, for now

    Choosing energy as a goal in your questionnaire is what points the engine to this formula, after your answers on health and current medication have been checked. No wearable signal is linked to it yet. When one is, this page will say which.

  2. 02

    A BOOST cartridge is sized for at least 7 days

    Our cartridge spec sizes a BOOST or ADAPT cartridge to last at least a week, so there is time to tell whether it is doing anything. The formula itself sets no minimum time in the slot, and the recipe does not change while it is there.

  3. 03

    It is reviewed at two weeks

    If you still feel tired after two weeks of taking it, the next step is a doctor, not more of this formula. That is the rule the EMA monograph sets for ginseng, and we apply it to the whole formula.

  4. 04

    It stops at 90 days at the latest

    Three months is the limit the EMA sets for ginseng, so it is the limit for this formula. You can start it again after a review. Our ginseng notes suggest rounds of two to three months with breaks in between, but no official source sets how long the break should be, or a yearly cap, and we do not invent one.

SAFETY AND INTERACTIONS

What it is checked against.

Every pair of ingredients in our library is checked against the others before a plan is built. This is what that check does for this formula.

COUNTED ACROSS FORMULAS

Cognitive & focus and Pre-workout

Both carry caffeine too, 100 mg and 150 mg. The engine adds up caffeine across your plan: at 200 mg a day you are told, and at 400 mg a day, the EFSA limit for healthy adults, the addition is blocked. Vitamin B6 is counted the same way against its 12 mg limit, and it is in five other VION formulas.

SPLIT ACROSS WINDOWS

Sleep, iron, immunity and adaptogen formulas

Caffeine and sedatives such as melatonin, valerian or passionflower are kept at least 8 hours apart, so this formula never shares a window with Sleep & circadian rhythm or Relax & fast sleep. It is served at least 1 hour away from Iron, because caffeine cuts iron absorption, and at least 2 hours away from Acute immunity and Cold symptom support, whose 1,000 mg of vitamin C may break B12 down in the lab, an effect we treat as a precaution because the evidence in people is weak. Vitamin C is also added up across your plan, the way caffeine and B6 are: with two active formulas our library holds the daily total at 1,000 mg, and with more than two it caps it at 500 mg in all. The 500 mg here plus the 1,000 mg in either of those two formulas is over that ceiling, so the engine counts it before it puts them in the same plan, not only before it puts them in the same window. With Chronic cortisol, which carries 300 mg of rhodiola, caffeine is capped at 75 mg, exactly where this formula sits, and with Stress & nervous system, at 200 mg of rhodiola, it is monitored and your sleep watched. Ginseng and rhodiola together are watched for insomnia the same way. High-dose caffeine and echinacea are not put together, which is the check against Acute immunity at 2,400 mg and Immunity at 600 mg. With Bones & joints, which carries 800 mg of calcium, caffeine above 300 mg a day is monitored in post-menopausal or osteoporosis profiles. And our ginseng notes allow only one major adaptogen, so ginseng is not stacked with the ashwagandha in Daily athletic, Chronic cortisol, Low testosterone or Stress & nervous system.

TALK TO A DOCTOR FIRST

Not for everyone

It is excluded if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or under 18. The EMA monograph for ginseng says no anticoagulants and not in poorly controlled blood pressure, so it is not for you if you take warfarin, acenocoumarol, apixaban, dabigatran or another blood thinner, or if your blood pressure is not under control. It is not for you either if you have bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or mania. Our caffeine and ginseng notes also say to avoid it if you have an arrhythmia that gives you symptoms, reflux or a stomach ulcer, an anxiety or panic disorder, or chronic insomnia, so it is not for you then either. Ask a doctor first if you take blood pressure or diabetes medication, an MAO inhibitor, lithium, clozapine or other psychiatric medication, an SSRI or SNRI, theophylline, ciprofloxacin, enoxacin or fluvoxamine (all three raise your caffeine levels), an asthma inhaler or another beta-agonist, a decongestant such as pseudoephedrine, another stimulant such as ephedrine, the oral contraceptive pill or tamoxifen, an immunosuppressant, furosemide, levodopa without carbidopa, isoniazid, cycloserine, anticonvulsants or deferoxamine, or are in cancer treatment. Ginseng can also shift how medicines handled by CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 behave, so tell your doctor what you are on. Some medicines work against the vitamins in here rather than against the formula: metformin, proton pump inhibitors, H2 blockers such as ranitidine or famotidine, colchicine, chloramphenicol and repeated nitrous oxide anaesthesia all lower your B12; hydralazine and penicillamine work against B6. If you take any of them long term, tell your doctor. If you have chronic kidney disease, the 500 mg of vitamin C here is already at the limit our notes set for you, which is not to go above 500 mg a day, because high-dose vitamin C raises the risk of calcium-oxalate kidney stones and of too much oxalate in your urine; any other formula with vitamin C would take you over it. Ask too before combining it with aluminium-containing antacids, because vitamin C increases how much aluminium you absorb, and vitamin C can also blunt the HDL rise from a statin taken with niacin. Ask first too if you have a heart condition, including an arrhythmia that gives you no symptoms, glaucoma, liver or kidney disease, diabetes, an autoimmune condition, a hormone-sensitive cancer, haemochromatosis, thalassaemia or another iron overload, G6PD deficiency, peripheral neuropathy, polycythaemia vera, a cobalt allergy or Leber's optic atrophy. If you have surgery planned, stop it two weeks before. High caffeine content. Not recommended for children or pregnant or breast-feeding women. Caffeine can cause nervousness, insomnia and palpitations, and 400 mg a day from all sources, coffee included, is the limit for healthy adults. Do not use it for more than three months, and see a doctor if you are still tired after two weeks. The app asks before it ever suggests this one.

WHERE THIS COMES FROM

Regulation (EU) 432/2012 on permitted health claims · EFSA Journal 2015;13(5):4102 on the safety of caffeine · European Union herbal monograph on Panax ginseng C.A. Mey., radix (Revision 1, 2023) · EFSA 2023 tolerable upper intake level for vitamin B6. Every line on this page is tied to one of the 810 sources on file, and 443 of the 9,730 possible ingredient pairs in our library are documented so far.

WHERE IT COMES FROM

You can check every line of this page.

Six sources hold up this formula: the regulation that lets us make the claims, the EFSA opinion behind its main claim, the EFSA opinion on caffeine safety, the EMA monograph behind the ginseng dose and its three-month limit, the reference intakes behind the % NRV column, and the upper limit we watch most closely.

REGULATIONRegulation (EU) 432/2012 — list of permitted health claims made on foodsclaims for vitamins B12, B6 and C, and caffeine
EFSAEFSA Journal 2010;8(10):1815 — scientific opinion behind the vitamin C claim on tiredness and fatiguethe claim this formula is built around
EFSAEFSA Journal 2015;13(5):4102 — Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine400 mg a day, 200 mg at once
EMAEuropean Union herbal monograph on Panax ginseng C.A. Mey., radix (Revision 1), 2023three-month limit, claim on hold
NRVRegulation (EU) 1169/2011, Annex XIII Part A — nutrient reference valuesthe % NRV column
EFSA ULEFSA Journal 2023 — tolerable upper intake level for vitamin B6, 12 mg per daywe serve 3 mg

Reviewed by VION nutrition team · last reviewed 16 September 2026

WHAT IS NOT PROVEN YET

This formula has not completed clinical validation. Four of its five ingredients rest on an authorised EU claim at the full dose, and the fifth, ginseng, on an EMA monograph. The combination itself has not been tested by us in a trial. When it is, the result goes on this page, whatever it says.

YOU DO NOT PICK YOUR FORMULAS

Your data does.

The questionnaire and your first weeks of data decide which six of the 29 end up in your device. This page exists so you can read what one of them is before that happens.

Food supplement. Does not replace a varied diet or a healthy lifestyle. VION does not diagnose or treat any condition. Nothing here replaces a healthcare professional.

Food supplement. Does not replace a varied diet or a healthy lifestyle. VION does not diagnose or treat any condition.