PhenQ vs Burn Lab Pro: which is these two natural diet pills is more effective at burning away unwanted fat, boosting your energy levels, and helping with cravings? We bring them face to face to help you determine which is the better option for you.
PhenQ vs Burn Lab Pro Summary
Although neither PhenQ nor Burn Lab Pro make it onto the very top of our best fat burner list, Burn Lab Pro is the clear winner. It contains higher-quality ingredients, the ingredients are well-researched and more effective, and it costs less despite using a more expensive formula ($59 vs $65.95). The results of PhenQ didn’t quite live up to the hype that the product has been getting online. And while Burn Lab Pro is by no means a cheap fat burner, we’ve found it to be highly effective at reducing food cravings and increasing metabolic speed – despite not using any stimulants.
PhenQ vs Burn Lab Pro Ingredients
PhenQ Ingredients
PhenQ’s ingredient label looks like this:
In case that didn’t load properly for you, here is a list of PhenQ’s ingredients:
- Calcium Carbonate (625mg)
- Caffeine Anhydrous (150mg)
- L-Carnitine Furmarate (142.5mg)
- a-Lacy (25mg)
- Nopal (20mg)
- Magnesium Stearate (10mg)
- Capsicum Extract (8mg)
- Sipernat 225 Silicon Dioxide (5mg)
- Niacin (4.5mg)
- Piperine Extract (3mg)
- Chromium Picolinate (80mcg)
To start on a positive note, all the ingredients in PhenQ have their doses clearly listed on the label. We know exactly what we are getting.
As for the ingredients themselves, we get a few good ones – including caffeine, piperine, and chromium. Caffeine, as most of us know, is a natural stimulant. In addition to boosting our energy levels, it also enhances your metabolism – helping you to burn more calories. Chromium is a trace mineral with blood sugar-lowering effects. Piperine is a compound from black pepper that eases the digestion of other ingredients, helping to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal issues. Together, these three ingredients should help you with cravings and keep post-meal sluggishness away.
However, not everything is great with PhenQ’s formula. There are also some serious issues that we need to touch on.
For starters, there is an awful lot of untested and ineffective ingredients in PhenQ. Nopal is a type of cactus. It is a source of fiber, which means it helps lower your cholesterol and blood sugar levels. But Nopal is rarely if ever used in fat burner supplements. The reason is that there are far more effective appetite suppressants and types of fiber out there – Glucomannan is one example.
Then we have a-Lacy Reset. Not many people who are interested in weight loss know about this ingredient – there is a good reason why. The ingredient a-Lacy Reset is a combination of cysteine and Alpha-Lipoic Acid (ALA). While otherwise considered beneficial, these two ingredients have next to no use in a diet pill. The manufacturers of PhenQ argue that ALA and cysteine can provide anti-inflammatory and blood-sugar-lowering effects. But so far, studies show that these bioactivities are too weak to make a difference. A-Lacy is merely wasting capsule space that could be used for more effective, proven fat-burning ingredients like green tea extract and vitamin D.
Carnitine is another ineffective ingredient that PhenQ is using. Carnitine is an amino acid that our liver and kidneys naturally synthesize, and we also get a lot from food. It has an effect on our mitochondria, helping the body to convert fat into energy. Now, this effect isn’t potent enough to cause significant weight loss. Additionally, studies on carnitine are mixed. Supplementation is often unnecessary and doesn’t provide extra benefit if you’re already eating animal products (best sources of carnitine). In studies that do show some fat-burning benefit, it is only statistically significant, but it doesn’t translate to real-world results.
Speaking of a waste of capsule space, fillers in PhenQ are taking up a necessarily large chunk of the formula. Magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide, calcium carbonate are cheaper for the manufacturer to buy, but they have no benefits for the person who is using the product. In some cases, fillers like silicon dioxide have raised controversy about potential long-term side effects. Compare this with something like Burn Lab Pro which only contains rice concentrate and NutriCaps Pullalan capsule as “other ingredients”, and it’s clear PhenQ could do better in this segment.
Even when there are effective ingredients in PhenQ, there are problems. Capsicum extract is a compound from cayenne pepper that has potent thermogenic effects. It helps you burn more calories throughout the day, even when not exercising. However, you will rarely see a good fat burner using capsicum as an isolated compound; most often, a whole-spectrum cayenne pepper extract will be included. By using only capsicum, PhenQ is missing out on other benefits of other compounds in cayenne pepper that are more beneficial for weight loss when used in combination, rather than in isolation.
All in all, PhenQ looks like an underwhelming weight loss formula. It has too many problems for us to be able to recommend it as an effective product. It’s easy to get fooled by the hype, but there are definitely better options on the market right now.
Burn Lab Pro Ingredients
The ingredients in Burn Lab Pro are:
- GTF Chromium (80mcg)
- Calcium HMB (262.5+1500mg)
- Coleus Forskohlii (375mg)
- Capsimax Cayenne Pepper Extract (75mg)
- Black Pepper Extract (3.75mg)
As shown on the label:
At first glance, Burn Lab Pro’s formula looks really good. It consists of patented, highly standardized ingredients such as NutriGenesis™ Chromium. NutriGenesis is an in-house technology that Opti-Nutra (manufacturer of Burn Lab Pro) uses to produce nature-identical nutrients.
The rest of the ingredients look solid, too. Burn Lab Pro contains many of our favorite fat burner compounds, including Cayenne Pepper Extract (as Capsimax™), Coleus Forskohlii (as ForsLean™), and BioPerine™. These three ingredients are all potent thermogenic compounds, enhancing the body’s ability to burn fat more efficiently instead of glucose. Forskolin and Capsimax also work to reduce the occurrence of food cravings, helping you to stick to your daily calorie limit.
However, what surprised us a little with Burn Lab Pro is the inclusion of HMB.
HMB is a special type of calcium that has muscle-protective effects. Only a small number of fat burner supplements use this compound, one of the reasons is its expensive manufacturing. The investment is very much worth it in our opinion, as HMB is shown to be effective at blocking enzymes in your body that contribute to muscle wasting.
Still, Burn Lab Pro is not a perfect formula. We would like to see a stimulant like caffeine included, which would help with energy and mental focus. Having said that, we were impressed by Burn Lab Pro’s ability to produce effects that are similar to any high-quality caffeinated diet pill. We also understand that some people can’t tolerate caffeine well, but don’t want to sacrifice the weight loss effects. For these people, Burn Lab Pro’s formula is the ideal answer.
Which Formula Looks Better Overall?
Although both have some downsides, Burn Lab Pro is definitely a higher-quality and more effective formula than PhenQ.
Even though it doesn’t use any caffeine, we’ve found Burn Lab Pro to achieve impressive results in terms of fat burning and appetite suppression. The entire Burn Lab Pro formula consists of premium ingredients that are costly to produce, but it’s clear Opti-Nutra went above and beyond to deliver the best formula they can. The only slight remark from us is the lack of caffeine, but for some people, this will be an upside.
Meanwhile, PhenQ uses too many unnecessary fillers and uses some ineffective ingredients. A large part of its formula is dead weight that should be replaced with more effective, higher-quality compounds.
All in all, Burn Lab Pro takes a clear win in this crucial category.
What do Others Say?
Both PhenQ and Burn Lab Pro enjoy excellent reviews online. However, one thing that Burn Lab Pro has going for it that we haven’t seen with PhenQ is that it is backed by professional athletes and UFC Fighters. One of the people who endorse Burn Lab Pro is Aljamain “Funkmaster” Sterling, a bantamweight UFC champion. He claims to have successfully used Burn Lab Pro to help him cut weight for weight without sacrificing muscle mass.
For this reason, we will once again give a slight edge to Burn Lab Pro in this department.
PhenQ vs Burn Lab Pro Side Effects: Which is Safer?
Neither PhenQ nor Burn Lab Pro is likely to cause negative side effects. That said, PhenQ contains caffeine and Alpha-Lipoic Acid, both of which are known to cause negative reactions in certain groups of people. If you aren’t sure whether you may have a negative reaction to the ingredients in Burn Lab Pro or PhenQ, it’s best to consult your doctor first.
Pricing & Value
PhenQ costs $69.95 per bottle (30 servings), which makes it one of the most expensive fat burner supplements we’ve reviewed so far. The good news is, you can save some money by buying in bulk. Additionally, PhenQ offers a 60-day money-back guarantee, which is great.
Burn Lab Pro also comes with some excellent bulk-buy deals. It costs a bit less – $59 per bottle (30 serving). However, buying a 3-month supply of Burn Lab Pro gets you 1 extra bottle for free – saving you 25%. You also get free and fast international shipping. Breaking it down further, the 3+1 deal of Burn Lab Pro costs $44.25 per bottle, or $1.45 per daily serving. You are also covered by the 30-day money-back guarantee if you’re not happy with the product.
Takeaway
Which one is better value: Burn Lab Pro or PhenQ?
In our experience, the clear winner is Burn Lab Pro. It uses higher-quality ingredients, the ingredients are optimally dosed, and it uses next to no fillers. We’ve found it to be highly effective at reducing appetite and enhancing our metabolism despite not using any stimulants.
By contrast, PhenQ contains multiple unnecessary fillers as well as some ineffective ingredients. While it does work to an extent, better fat burners can be found for the price it charges.
While Burn Lab Pro is not amongst our top-3 fat burners due to a lack of a stronger “kick,” it’s still an impressive fat burner and a better value than its competitor.
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