Self appointed genius.
Looking through our emails to try and decide which brand to review next, I nearly passed over Genius Burn. I figured, oh well if there are geniuses behind it, what’s the point? It’ll be perfect, right? Then I remembered one important point.
In the supplement game there are two types of genius: The Formula Genius and The Marketing Genius. Ideally you what the first kind, but which of these is Genius Burn?
Turns out the reference isn’t to the manufacturer, but to the goals of product. This unusual product is nootropic/fat burner mongrel, supposedly able to boost brain function and sizzle fat at the same time.
In all, makers promise:
One red pen moment straight away is there are a couple of times when 2 or 3 ingredients are grouped together in proprietary blends. Just the names of components and an overall total. No individual dosages. We hate that and so should you. Real geniuses show all their data.
‘Genius’ looks pretty sarcastic from where we’re sitting. It kicks off with a tiny 125mg proprietary blend of 3 ingredients (tea, tuber fleecewood and loranthus pariciticus) none of which are convincing. Then there’s a solid dose of ashwagandha, which is good, but usually only a support player. Gymnema sylvestre may help to burn fat but is still largely unproven.
The only serious thermogenic choice is capsaicin and that’s only given a measly 25mg.
A small amount of theacrine is there to help with energy since Genius Burn is so against caffeine (or are they? More on that later.) Citicholine and Huperzia may help to sharpen focus too, but a few more weak components and another even smaller blend mean overall this formula is really disappointing.
At nearly $50 Genius Burn is nearly challenging the best burners on the market. In price at least.
In our opinion it gets nowhere near justifying that much money. Not just quality wise, but also because they expect you stack this already costly little number with another Genius product. (Nearly time for the big reveal…)
The Genius supplements website doesn’t offer any truly detailed testimonials to get your teeth into. Instead it lets it’s strong scores on retail sites like Amazon do the talking.
It does have a high star rating, but consider how little detail a lot of that feedback offers and how easy it is to fake. Plus factoring in some of the negative reviews flagging up side effects, it’s hard to be all that reassured.
What we will say for Genius Burn is it’s made in the U.S, so at least we know it’s not dangerous. Beyond that we’ve nothing but bones to pick. It’s not just the limp formula or the proprietary blends, it’s the whole ‘no caffeine’ shtick.
That stimulant-free high horse is in fact more of a phony pony. As it turns out, far from being against caffeine, they’re leaving it out because they expect you to buy it separately, from them. They’re saying, ‘We know Genius Burn could be better, pay an extra $15.99 to make that way.
Genius supplements are based in Seattle and have a very slick looking website. It’s plastered with sincere sounding mission statements, including, unbelievably that they don’t use stimulants. Not a lot of company info though.
They have a vast range of products encompassing weight loss, muscle building, mood management, brain boosting and something for every stage of a workout. We couldn’t dig up any serious customer service scams, so if not for the issues we’ve just gone through this score would be higher.
Users should take 1 or 2 caps 1 or 3 times a day.
So consumers are given a degree of choice in how much they want to take, which is something we don’t see a lot.
We have our doubts but if you’re going to get any use out of Genius Burn, the higher end of this this scale is most effective.
3 evenly spaced servings will keep any active ingredients Genius Burn does have, adequately topped up and working for most of the day.
1 or 2 servings mean you’ll start to see a tail off in potency later in the day. When you consider this isn’t blowing any minds at its best, that’s not great news.
Some users did report headaches and racing heart, which might seem odd for a caffeine free burner. Remember though it does contain theacrine, which boosts energy and is often used in pre-workout supplements.
Other customers seemed absolutely fine using Genius Burn.
Genius Burn is available from Amazon.com at just over $47 for a month’s supply.
Ooolong Tea is a partially oxidized tea which activates enzymes that cut down triglycerides, a type of fat found in the blood. For this reason it has slight fat burning qualities, with one study showing more calories in women drinking oolong compared to water.
White Tea is another partially oxidized tea, which may help promote relaxation. It has the highest levels of the downer neurotransmitter, GABA. Unfortunately GABA is not easily absorbed when taken orally so unless your taking a large amount effects will likeky be limited.
Black Teais fully oxidized tea and has the highest caffeine content with about. This makes it good for fat burning as far as speeding the metabolism, provided it isn't paired with a large amount of other stimulants
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19271168Used in traditional Chinese medicine to aid circulation and heart health. Clinical evidence suggests it could be useful for reducing inflammation around the body, thanks mainly to it being a rich source of Reservratrol.
Around 200mg is has been seen to be an active amount.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20534755A chinese herb used traditionally to treat dry flaky skin and soothe sore muscles or joints.
We couldn't find a lot of modern clinical evidence that this choice lives up to its reputation so we're not at all convinced it worthwhile.
This herb is an adaptogen, meaning it help your body better cope with stress, including exercise. In theory this allows you to work out for long and this shift fat the old fashioned way. There has also been small weight loss effects observed but these tend to barely reach statistical signifigance.
Added to a fat burner to strengthen the stimulant line up because like caffeine, theacrine mainly boosts energy and alertness. Again, handy for firing you up for an exercise session, which is why it’s becoming increasingly popular in pre-workout products also.
A nootropic compound that converts to both choline and cytidine when ingested. Cytidine converts into uridine. Urdine has cognitive enhancing properties, complimenting fish oils. About 250mg is usually an active amount.
http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?paperID=19921
This plant found in the woodlands of India is said to regulate insulin and help treat diabetes. It has some wight loss potential but studies are few and far between, there needs to be much more evidence before we're pleased to see it in a burner.
There's also the issue of long term use leading to increased liver toxicity which would make us wary of any product including it.
No fat burning abilities but known ability as an anti-anxiety ingredient. Usually included in burners that are heavy on the stimulants, to try and cut down side effects.
This spice is a relative of the Ginger family. It has a reputation as an aohrodisac, but more importantly quite low levels may be able to speed up our metabolic rate.
This is based almost entirely on one small study however and more work is definitely needed.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23308394
Cayenne is one of the best natural ways of starting thermogenesis in the body. The capsaicin in this ingredient melts away extra calories by heating the body up, then expends more again as our system tries to cool back down.
Ginseng has a long history of use in traditional medicine and has made the jump to modern use. Nitric oxide means better blood flow and therefore better erections.
Ginseng also has a positively balances blood sugars however, which controls insulin. T levels can be suffer if insulin gets out of balance, so adressing that is welcome.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15982990Chinese herb which looks to aid the immune system to a degree and also could benefit healthy kidney function.
However it does this at higher dosages than you'll normally see in supplements, anything from 1.5g to ten times that so we's stop short of saying it's a strong choice.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17661330
The active compound in this plant, Huperzine-A, is thought to be cognitive enhancer. It stays in the body for a long time so should really be cycled.
Some cornerstone natural fat burners are absent. Green tea or green coffee bean for example.
Let’s get some decent appetite control on the go too please and maybe some B vitamins for energy.
Also the lack of caffeine severely hampers the fat burning effectiveness … but Genius Burn knows that full well as we’ve seen.
If Genius Burn is any kind of genius, frankly it’s closer to a evil one. We’re surprised this supplement isn’t manufactured in a dormant volcano lair somewhere in the Pacific.
Whether it’s the poor formula or the marketing tricks to try to rinse more cash out you, this is one to avoid.
