Black Lion is one of three Raw Synergies products which currently make up its entire product line.
They also make a female optimization supplement called Ageless Kiss and a pre-workout called Thermo Pre that also burns fat.
We’re focusing on Black Lion, the libido enhancing, fat burning, testosterone boosting, nootropic supplement that also happens to block estrogen and reduce stress.
Basically, it does everything, if you believe the manufacturer.
Testosterone boosters are generally not what they claim to be. Mostly, they contain libido enhancers, often good ones, but natural compounds that enhance libido don’t automatically pass muster for testosterone boosting.
There are only few testosterone boosters that actually do increase the big T. When we find them, we let you know…
Click here to read the summary of the top testosterone boosters
…read on to learn more about Black Lion.
What Is Black Lion?
Perhaps the easier question to answer is: what isn’t Black Lion?
The product is pitched to customers as “Complete Male Optimization” and within the marketing blurb are several claims of different benefits to male health.
These benefits are as follows:
- Increased Testosterone Levels
- Improved Cognitive Function, Focus and Mood
- Heightened Sex Drive
- Increased Fat Burning
- Reduced Stress
- Reduced Estrogen (conversion from testosterone)
- Improved Muscle Growth
It could be argued that a true testosterone boost would cover all of these benefits and more. Black Lion isn’t just a formula stuffed with testosterone boosters though, they’ve gone for the multi-faceted approach.
We’ll cover the formula next.
Ingredients in Black Lion
The recipe below equates to a 2 capsule dose of Black Lion.
500mg – Fenugreek
300mg – Ashwagandha
150mg – Citicoline
125mg – Forslean (forskolin)
100mg – Caffeine
100mg – LJ100 (longjack or tongkat ali)
100mg – 3,3’-Diindolylmethane
50mg – Theacrine
Fenugreek and Longjack (LJ100) are nearly always pushed to the public as testosterone boosters, but they are not effective testosterone boosters.
Longjack is a good libido enhancer, and Fenugreek can block some conversion of testosterone to DHT by inhibiting the 5-alpha-Reductase enzyme. Theoretically this may stall some conversion of testosterone and keep levels elevated for longer, however, the bigger picture needs to be addressed: Black Lion is a bodybuilding supplement, in which case, weakening the reduction step to DHT may in fact arrest some of muscle growth given DHT is a stronger anabolic hormone.
Ashwagandha is another ingredient that increases sex drive, but not testosterone. It can reduce anxiety and shows promising neuroprotective effects.
Citicoline is the nootropic compound in the formula. It can increase levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which in turn improves cognitive function – working memory, learning ability, concentration.
Caffeine is a common fat burner, energizer and can also improve focus.
Theacrine is different form of stimulant which may have longer term application as the body doesn’t get used to it and start to lose effect like caffeine can.
Forskolin has been shown to boost testosterone and can initiate the same energy boost that caffeine does.
Diindolylmethane (DIM) is an aromatase inhibitor, which means some of the conversion of testosterone to estrogen is blocked. DIM can do this as well as some prescription medication.
Side Effects and Standard Precautions
Healthy men will tolerate Black Lion well, with little to no side effects.
Some who are very sensitive to caffeine may experience some mild nausea or other stimulant related effects.
The best thing to do is simply follow the instructions on the packaging and take only one pill for the first few days.
Women, children and elderly people should not take it.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Raw synergies pride themselves on including effective dosages, and in that they generally don’t disappoint.
The formula contains some excellent ingredients but it could be trying to do too many things to be hugely effective despite the ingredients being good and the dosages being good.
An improvement might be to focus on the testosterone boosters that do work, perhaps add D Aspartic Acid and remove Fenugreek.
It’s not a bad supplement though and stands head and shoulders above a great many of its competitors on the market.
We have tested many testosterone boosters and recommend only a few. Black Lion is good but it doesn’t make our final cut. You can find a summary of the best T boosters by following the link below.
Click here to find out which product is the most highly rated
References
Theacrine – Kuhman DJ, Joyner KJ, Bloomer RJ. Cognitive Performance and Mood Following Ingestion of a Theacrine-Containing Dietary Supplement, Caffeine, or Placebo by Young Men and Women. Nutrients. (2015)
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