Phosphatidylserine: Benefits, Side Effects, Best Time to Take It & More

Phosphatidylserine

(PS)

Evidence: High
Possible Benefits: High
Safety: High

What is phosphatidylserine?

Phosphatidylserine is a dietary phospholipid that can either be obtained from food or synthesized in the body from L-serine. As a supplement, it is often derived from soy or sunflower lecithin and is used for improving focus, memory, and well-being. This article is about the main benefits of phosphatidylserine, its potential side effects, the best time to take it, and more.

What does phosphatidylserine do for the body?

Phosphatidylserine is one of the major membrane phospholipids in the brain, accounting for around 13% of the phospholipids in the human cerebral cortex.

In the brain, this phospholipid can support acetylcholine release, monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B), brain glucose metabolism, and increase BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor).

Possible benefits

All of the potential benefits mentioned below are dose-dependent. Generally, the higher the dose, the more pronounced the effects are. However, they do reach a plateau at a certain point. We will discuss the best dosing protocol later in this article.

Major benefits

Improved cognition – Phosphatidylserine supplements are associated with an improvement in many markers of cognition, including memory, learning capacities, attention, mental flexibility, number processing, calculation, and more. Supplementation can support acetylcholine release, monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B), brain glucose metabolism, and increase BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor).
Reduced symptoms of schizophrenia – Phosphatidylserine can be about as effective as glycine and sarcosine for reducing the symptoms of schizophrenia. It is not as reliable as sarcosine as many people don’t respond to phosphatidylserine supplements positively. On the other hand, phosphatidylserine is much more practical than glycine for this purpose because glycine can only reduce symptoms of schizophrenia when taken at extremely high doses (800+ mg/kg/d). This dose seems too impractical and may not be safe to take in the long term.

Minor benefits

Increased exercise performance – Phosphatidylserine supports resistance to exhaustion and healthy stress responses to exercise.
Reduced anxiety – A moderate-high dose can lower stress and anxiety to at least some degree.
Improved well-being – At least one study has shown that phosphatidylserine supplements can reduce the intensity of sad feelings and supports healthy stress response.
Reduced symptoms of Parkinson’s disease – While more research is necessary to prove this effect, at least one study shows that D-serine can alleviate some symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. This effect likely applies to phosphatidylserine as well.

Possible side effects

These side effects are dose-dependent. The risk for them increases (often linearly but sometimes exponentially) as you increase the dose. Some of the side effects only apply to very high doses.

Toxicity – While acute toxicity has never been reported, taking high amounts of phosphatidylserine could lead to chronic toxicity and cause some health problems. To prevent chronic toxicity, it is best to stay below 1 gram a day unless you have a great reason to take more.
Contamination – Contaminated supplements are uncommon in the USA and other well-regulated countries. However, if you wish to buy products from China, India, or other countries without strict regulations, beware that the supplements may be contaminated. Either way, you need to choose the brand you order from wisely. It is highly recommended to check the certificates or read through some reviews for the specific product before you buy it. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has the power to regulate dietary supplements but can only do so after they have been on the market for a while. That’s because supplement companies are not obligated to announce to the FDA when releasing a new product on the market. The FDA has to discover the product and test it for potential impurities, which can take a lot of time. During that time, the supplement can be sold on the market even if it’s impure. Also, supplement companies can change their manufacturers without announcing it to the FDA.

Who should not take phosphatidylserine?

You should probably avoid taking the supplement if you:

get enough serine from food
experience a severe adverse reaction after taking the phospholipid
are on a tight supplement budget (since there are more cost-effective supplements on the market for most people)

Who will benefit the most?

You should consider taking the supplement if you:

consume very little protein (less than 0.3 grams/pound of body weight)
suffer from schizophrenia

How much phosphatidylserine should you take?

Since this phospholipid can be found in food or synthesized in the body from L-serine, you may already get sufficient amounts without taking it as a supplement. About 0.36 grams of protein/pound of body weight should generally be enough to prevent any symptom deficiency.

If you plan to take phosphatidylserine as a supplement, 200-400 mg appears to be the best daily target for most people. This amount should provide most of the benefits without meaningful side effects.

Schizophrenics may benefit from doses higher than 400 mg/day. The benefits may not plateau even beyond 2 grams/day.

The upper safety limit for phosphatidylserine is not well-established. To stay on the safe side, don’t take more than 1 gram daily unless you have a great reason to do so. Higher amounts may cause problems if you take the supplement for a prolonged period.

Food sources of phosphatidylserine

The richest sources of phosphatidylserine are fish, white beans, and lecithin. People get on average 75 to 184 mg of PS from food per day.

L-serine, a precursor to phosphatidylserine, is found in all whole foods that contain dietary protein. The amount of serine per gram of protein varies from food to food but a general rule of thumb is that the more protein you eat, the more serine you are getting from food.

Best time to take phosphatidylserine

Phosphatidylserine is partially water-soluble and partially fat-soluble, so you want to take it with food to absorb it well. Taking the supplement with food is also better if it causes stomach upset when you take it on an empty stomach.

To maximize the benefits, take phosphatidylserine in the morning or before a cognitively demanding task.

Unless it feels too impractical, spread the daily dose into 2+ smaller doses throughout the day.

Interactions

Ginkgo biloba
The two supplements act synergistically for improving memory.
DHA
The combination is effective for improving memory and cognitive health.

Where to buy phosphatidylserine

Amazon is the best option for ordering phosphatidylserine supplements in most countries. They offer some very affordable products backed by many positive reviews. Also, you can choose from a wide range of brands without having to search through other markets on the internet.

Beware some brands display the dosage per serving instead of per pill or capsule. Therefore, you may accidentally buy something less potent than you intended. Do not fall for this marketing trick.

FAQ

You can take the phospholipid daily and do not need to cycle it. However, it is certainly not a problem if you don’t take it daily. Not taking the supplement every once in a while could lead to better absorption. That is yet to be proven or disproven.

All of these options are fine. The two most important things to consider are the price and dosing. Powders are almost always the cheapest form. However, you may need a highly accurate scale to dose them correctly (preferably 0.001g). You can get one for as little as $20 from Amazon. Dosing the powders also takes some time that can add up over months or years. The disadvantage of capsules is that they often contain bovine gelatin, which rarely comes from an ethical source.

While phosphatidylserine absorbs and gets digested well if you take it before falling asleep, it is better to take the phospholipid early in the day or before a cognitively demanding task.

This phospholipid should not become harmful once it exceeds the expiration date but can lose potency over time.

Keep the supplement in a cold, dark, and dry place, and it should remain just as potent for many months or even years.

While toxicity is rare, too much phosphatidylserine in the system can cause some health problems over time. It is best to stay below 1 gram a day to prevent these side effects.

You may need more of this phospholipid if you:
– eat very little protein (less than 0.3 grams/pound of body weight)
– suffer from schizophrenia

The half-life of phosphatidylserine in the body is about 1.5 hours. This phospholipid stays in your system for about half a day after you consume it.

In the long term, you need to take the supplement for about 2-4 weeks to begin noticing the benefits.

Most phosphatidylserine pills and powders are vegan-friendly but always check the label to be sure. If you buy the phospholipid in a capsulated form, beware that the capsules often contain animal-based gelatin. Instead, find a brand that puts its products into cellulose capsules.

Phosphatidylserine is partially water-soluble and partially fat-soluble, so you want to take it with food to absorb it well.

Unless you take very high doses at once, phosphatidylserine should not break your fast. If you practice time-restricted eating, take this phospholipid during your eating window so it doesn’t break your fast.

References

Most of the information provided in this guide is supported by scientific research that can be found and verified in the PubMed medical library. We highly encourage you to use the library to verify anything said in this article. We excluded from consideration studies that are either confounded or have a high conflict of interest.

TABLE OF CONTENTS