About
Mutant Test is a natural testosterone booster made by the Mutant brand.
The product is designed to increase strength, improve the libido and promote a “general sense of well-being”, while also speeding up recovery.
The testosterone booster contains several common ingredients in this type of product. These include vitamin D – deficiency in which is said to cause low testosterone, low sex drive and muscle wastage. Fenugreek could help prevent the conversion of testosterone into estrogen, while D-aspartic acid (D-AA) is believed to support male fertility.
Each bottle of Mutant Test contains 180 vegetarian capsules, which translates to 30 servings.
Redweilerfan –
Mutant TEST Review: It did not transform me into an alpha male mutant but at least it had some minor benefits to offer
—-Introduction—-
Hello SR Nation! Redweilerfan here with the first review for 2018. It has been a while since I made a review, been extremely busy with life and work, but what better way to begin a new supplement year with the review of a test booster?! Today we will go IN DEPTH with Mutant’s own test booster and see how it holds up to scrutiny. No doubt, test boosters belong to a controversial category of supplements; some love them, some hate them. For some test boosters are basically scam products designed to fool gullible aging men, scam products that will offer a placebo effect at best. Yet others would swear by them and see very positive effects such as increase of lean mass, fat loss, increased libido and aggressiveness and other beneficial effects for hard training men. Either way, I’m not taking any position on test boosters as such here; I’m basically just curious and threw myself in into the game here. Since I’m an old guy (41 years) I figured that I am the perfect candidate for trying supplements like this and evaluate it and put up an honest review of my experiences with it. So that’s basically my approach here. I haven’t all that much experience with this kind of supplementation really, I have only tried one test booster before and it gave me some benefits, so when I saw Mutant having a nice price on this one, I immediately pulled the trigger. Before moving on I want to say that I have not had any blood work done, so I can’t say with scientific certainty that my testosterone levels were affected in either direction. With that said, let’s review it!
—-Ingredient Profile—-
So, for a test booster this has relatively few ingredients. We will present them and go in depth with each and every one. Per one dose, which is 6 capsules daily (30 days supply), you get;
Vitamin D (ergocalciferol) 25 mcg (500 % of your daily allowance)
Niacinamide 24 mg (150 % of your daily allowance)
Zinc (Albion, zinc bisglycinate) 30 mg (300 % of your daily allowance)
MacaTest (Maca, Lepidium meyenii root) 3000 mg
Testosurge (patent pending premium Fenugreek Extract, Trigonella foenum-graecum) 500 mg
Bioperine (Black pepper extract piper Nigrum fruit 98 % piperine) 5 mg
Ergocalciferol, is a type of vitamin D (D2) and vitamin D has been shown to have vital functions pertaining to the production of testosterone in your body. In several studies vitamin D seems to be an important factor in keeping testosterone levels optimal, and even increasing them with long term supplementation. However, ergocalciferol is according to some studies inferior to D3 when it comes to absorption and the body’s ability to use it effectively. The dose here seems to be an optimal one though.
Niacinamide, or vitamin B3, is often associated with increased blood flow and energy production on a cellular level, but less so with testosterone. There are, however, indications that niacin can affect testosterone production in a roundabout way as it affects cholesterol metabolism (cholesterol being a building block of testosterone) positively. Vitamin B3 is also a powerful antioxidant that can provide an overall beneficial environment for a healthy and optimal testosterone production.
Zinc is an essential mineral for testosterone production. It can raise testosterone levels in men with zinc deficiency and it has, in higher dosages, an anti-estrogenic effect. Zinc is a mineral that is rapidly depleted through sweating in combination with hard training so therefore it is an essential ingredient in a test booster. Zinc is also necessary for maintaining a good quality of sperm production and is linked to fertility.
Maca is a widely popular ingredient often used as an aphrodisiac. It does not, however, raise testosterone levels at all, and is non-hormonal in its effects. Increase in libido, which maca often is claimed to cause, seems to be more anecdotal than scientific to its character. It is safe to say that more research is needed in relation to maca and its effects on the human body. “Clinical dose” would be around 1500-3000 mg and thus we have a “clinical dose” here.
Fenugreek is a classical test booster ingredient, and at the same time the scientific evidence to support its testosterone increasing effects, is conflictual. One study often referred to indicate that fenugreek in 500 mg can increase serum testosterone in resistance trained men in 8 weeks. However, other studies could not observe or replicate this effect. Fenugreek thus remains a contested test boosting ingredient and more scientific studies are needed. The 500 mg dose here would be “clinical” if we would take the one study seriously. Many would however continue to back the claims of this herb being an effective test booster and it has been used traditionally for centuries to enhance male virility.
Bioperine or black pepper extract is a standardized ingredient used to enhance absorption of all the other ingredients and the 5 mg dose here is equally standardized as effective.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
These are capsules so taste is not an issue here. Or is it? You are supposed to take 6 capsules directly upon waking up in the morning on an empty stomach. Now, let me tell you; as soon as I put those pretty big capsules in my mouth I immediately tasted that gritty, earthy and pungent herbal taste and it wasn’t pleasant at all. So you will have to swallow them quickly with 250 ml of water, which wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. The capsules are pretty big, not horse pills perhaps, but quite big. But once you learn how to swallow them quickly it wasn’t too big of an issue. Often test boosters are swallowed with food for better absorption, so Im somewhat confused here as to why you should take these on an empty stomach. Even though you have Bioperine in here, I think that the absorption is less effective than swallowing the capsules with food. Vitamin D for example is a fat soluble vitamin and is recommended to be consumed with food, preferably fat food. Maca also seems to be better absorbed with food so why Mutant chose to have this instruction of consumption is beyond me. Another thing is this; why not disperse the dosages over the day; say 3 caps in the morning and 3 in the evening? Then you would get a better blood serum balance of the vital ingredients. Testosterone production is at its top level during night time and at its smallest levels during the day. So swallowing all 6 caps directly in the morning on an empty stomach doesnt make sense.
—-Effectiveness—-
Alright, to the part that you all want to read, did it work? Well, yes and no. Let me divide the effects in categories;
Performance and energy: I did notice an overall increased performance in the gym, I had a decreased resting time between sets and I felt an overall positive energy there. This was nothing ground breaking, but still noticeable. It did not make me feel like 20 years old again, but I still felt that overall increase in general performance and daily energy.
Alpha male feeling: unfortunately I did not get any alpha feeling in the gym, or elsewhere, and not any healthy aggression either, which can be symptomatic of increased test levels.
Libido: maca is especially lauded when it comes to libido, so I thought that this could be interesting. Well, not only did I not have any raise in libido at all, more likely I felt a somewhat decrease in libido! Not a good thing when supplementing with a test booster right?! I don’t know why this was so, we are all different and react differently to ingredients in supplements. Maybe it is just me. When I tried my first test booster, which was DAA based, I did notice an increase in libido combined with spontaneous erections, but not here with this supplement.
Sleep: I did notice an increased quality of sleep with Mutant TEST. Again, nothing ground breaking, but still noticeable. I had a more restful sleep and deep sleep as well. I felt more alert in the mornings too.
Appetite: I also felt a somewhat increased appetite with this supplement. I was sometimes hungry all the time, although these effects seemed to wear off at the end of the cycle.
Acne: this usually is a tell sign that testosterone levels are up. I actually got some minor acne after the first week, but it was very mild and disappeared quickly. With the DAA based test booster I took earlier I got plenty of acne.
So, overall there were some positive effects, but some negative as well.
—-Value—-
I think that the value is pretty okay actually. Test boosters are generally quite expensive, sometimes in the 70 to 80 dollar category or more, which of course is ridiculous. However, this booster was competitively priced. I bought it with a 20 % discount and I paid around $ 34 for a bottle of 180 capsules, which lasted for 30 days. That’s pretty fair, I think. I checked around on the internet and you can find it on SVNCanada.com for $ 54.95 (Canadian dollars) and on Amazon for around 21-22. I tried to find any prices on Mutant’s own website but couldn’t find any unfortunately. Overall, considering this is a test booster, it had a pretty fair value. It doesnt totally empty your wallet like some other test boosters do.
—-Side Effects—-
I did have some problems with nausea the first week or so when taking the capsules on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. After that initial period the nausea vanished. No other side effects to report.
—-Conclusion—-
Alright, to summarize this review; as a test booster it failed somewhat I think. Some of the classical indications of raised test levels did not appear at all, and even worse, my libido decreased instead of increased. I didn’t get any alpha male feeling either, nor any indications of lean mass increase. There were some indications that were positive though; increased energy and performance to some extent, better sleep quality and a somewhat increased appetite (not for women though!). For me, Mutant TEST becomes a meh product, since it does not deliver as a test booster. The ingredients are a bit sketchy when it comes to solid scientific backing and I think that other more well established ingredients should have been used in the formula. But again, we all react differently, and maybe you will have a better experience than I had with this one. Who knows, this is the world of supplements! But I will continue to use test boosters and see how future results may be. But Mutant TEST will not be one of those.