About
Magnum Primer is a multivitamin pack made by Magnum Nutraceuticals.
This product is intended to help build muscle mass, increase strength, boost recovery, raise energy, improve hydration and enhance performance.
Comprising a daily serving of eight capsules, the ingredients list is split into six different formulas: “Cell Repair”, “Amino Prime”, “Brainfood”, “Digest RX”, “Power Fats” and “Hydration Plus”.
The Cell Repair formula contains B vitamins, which the Magnum says could help build and repair muscle, while improving high-intensity exercise performance. The Brainfood blend uses L-tyrosine and huperzine A, which are thought to improve mental performance.
Each box of Magnum Primer provides 24 servings.
zbikowski88 –
“Holy Ingredient Profile” But is the profile worth the price?
—-Introduction—-
Before I start I want to thank Magnum Nutraceuticals for participating in the SR TROOP Program. This will be my first of two reviews that I will be doing for their products. I’ve heard of this company in the past but have never tried any of their supplements until now. What enticed me to claim Primer was its versatility… Not only is it a multi-vitamin but its about 6 products in one performance pack. During the duration of this review I was training 5 to 6 days a week training 2x per day: fasted cardio in the morning and weight lifting in the evening.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
The ingredient profile features a transparent label with a bunch of different ingredients. Luckily Magnum came up with some organization and created 6 different categories. However with so many ingredients there are a “bunch” that are under dosed.
1. Cell Repair: 2 capsules
Features around 27 different ingredients – this is mainly the multi-vitamin portion of the performance pack. (Multi-Vitamin, Anti-Oxidant, Anti-Aging Formula)
2. Amino Prime: 2 capsules
Features around 19 different ingredients – works with your metabolism (Anabolic+Metabolic Activating Compound)
3. Digest RX: 1 capsule
Features 5 different ingredients that help & support your digestive system. (Complete Spectrum Acti-Digestive Complex)
4. Brain Food: 1 capsule
Features 5 different ingredients that support brain functions such as activation, clarity and focus
5. Power Fats: 1 capsule
Features 9 different fats – basically a 3,6,9 omega blend
6. Hydration Plus: 1 capsule
Features around 11 ingredients supporting hydration and bone density
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
Taste- Once in a while there were some weird tasting capsules that have leaked. Otherwise there were no complaints as they were in capsule form.
Mixability- All of the capsules are small and easy to swallow…. no horse pills here.
Dosing- I took 1 Magnum Primer pack per day with breakfast.
—-Effectiveness—-
Judging the effectiveness of a multi-vitamin can be tricky but the main question I ask myself…. Did this improve my overall health/well being??? I have to say that it did. My energy levels increased throughout the day and didn’t feel as sluggish. It wasn’t a huge increase but never-the-less it was noticeable. Because of this increase I believe it helped with my mood (Happier). I did notice a change with my bowel movements, there was a weird smell every time I went #1 while using Primer. There were more frequent bathroom visits.
I didn’t notice much in terms of strength & muscle mass like their website suggests. That has to do more with your diet and training program. This kind of product is more of an insurance policy for your body. However the increases I did notice had to do with energy/mood/digestion.
—-Value—-
The cheapest value I could find was on Amazon for around $45. Each box of Primer contains 30 packs with a total of 8 capsules per pack. The math is pretty simple here: $1.50 per pack/day which is kind of high when you consider the following…. Under dosed ingredients and Effectiveness. There are other performance multi-vitamins that may not have this kind of ingredient profile but they are dosed better and cheaper.
—-Side Effects—-
None
—-Conclusion—-
Overall Magnum Primer has a bunch of ingredients but do you really need all of them? I’d rather see less ingredients that are better dosed. Primer does work and noticed an increase with my health. Would I buy Primer again? It really depends if there is a sale or bogo otherwise I can’t see myself paying up for Primer. However multi-vitamins work different for everyone so I can see others getting better benefits from Primer.
Clipper83 –
While I love the packs, this will not be my go-to MV
—-Introduction—-
Fun fact, one of the first supplements I bought was CLA from Magnum several years ago. I believe it was called Acid or something. Times have changed since then, and I am much more knowledgeable. Magnum has always been one of those well known companies that I seemed to skip when I was shopping online.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
There are quite a few ingredients in here, so I’ll quickly mark each blend they have and what its supposed to do.
They have a focus blend which has a small amount of Huperzine, tyrosine, and vinpocetine. I’m a fan of all of those ingredients.
You get one fish oil pill, which is good. I would like to see more omega content, but that would certainly drive the price up.
As for the actually MV blend. More vitamin D would be nice too see, as well as methylcobalamin as a B12 form. Other than that it looks alright.
I could really do without the amino pill. Honestly, a pill full of aminos is fine, but when I see that there is cinnamon in there, I’d rather get a full dose of cinnamon instead of small doses of everything else. Creatine, betaine, and CLA all in such small amounts is not something I’m going to be able to appreciate. The “Amino Prime Anabolic+Metabolic Activating Compound” blend is something I would like to see taken out, and replaced with either something good for blood sugar, or nothing at all to be honest.
Now for the mineral part. I have to give Magnum some credit for using Magnesium Chelate. This is actually a pretty good form of magnesium. Bioavailability is pretty high. Calcium carbonate on the other hand is not good. I am not a fan of calcium supplements as it is, as there are some studies showing that they can have some bad long-term effects, and that it’s carbonate makes it worse. Carbonate is one of the worse forms calcium as far as bioavailability goes. Zinc is at a good dose, as well as chromium.
I really like the enzyme blend. Anything to help with digestion is a positive in my book. Maybe some added probiotics, but that’s all I could think of.
Overall, it is not the worst profile I have ever seen, but there is plenty of room for improvement.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
One serving is a bunch of pills. 8 pills to be exact. I personally have no problem swallowing pills, so it was no inconvenience to me, but I could see some people dreading taking that many pills.
No taste at all and I never had a pill burp.
—-Effectiveness—-
MVs are one of those products that you don’t always “feel” working. Sometimes you have to go by what the science says.
I did not notice increased energy, but that is normal for me with MVs. All I can really go with here are lisiting out some of the things that I can say were positive in my day-to-day routine.
I never got sick. I rarely do, but it’s good that I did not while on Primer.
I think the most effective part of this product is the fact that it’s a pack of multiple products at once. Someone who is forgetful could really benefit from keeping a few packs of these in their car. Keeping these at work and some at home was great, as transporting pills can be a hassle.
For the most part, you have to judge these kinds of products by the profile and price.
—-Value—-
$45 for 30 servings seems like a lot, however, it isn’t as bad as it looks. You are getting multiple products in here. Fish oil, MV, nootropics, enzymes, aminos. Only issue I have is that some of the blends are underdosed.
Not the worst I’ve seen, but I personally would not go for this. I feel I’d be able to get all that Primer has to offer and save some money as well.
—-Side Effects—-
Neon yellow urine… B-vitamins. Nothing to be worried about.
—-Conclusion—-
Magnum is a well known brand, and has quite a few solid products. Primer, while not perfect, may be good for some people. People who maybe forgetful when it comes to taking pills, or people who simply like convenience. I’ll admit, having packs is something more companies should start doing.
I will stick to buying my products separately. The price just isn’t good for a one months supply of underdosed ingredients.
bctuthill –
Jack of All Trades Master of None Approach, but Real Handy!
—-Introduction—-
Hi everyone, BCTut here ready to give you the highs and lows of a really interesting multi-vitamin by Magnum Nutraceuticals. I say “interesting” because of the sheer array of ingredients that go into this mix. Touching on a lot of key areas is great- but does it translate into results and effective dosing? That’s the big question here
—-Ingredient Profile—-
Primer has the most extensive ingredient panel of any product I’ve ever reviewed. The panel is subdivided into 6 categories: Cell Repair, Amino Prime, Brain Food, Digest Rx, Power Fats, and Hydration Plus. Because of how many ingredients there are I’m not going to bore everyone with each one. Instead, I’m going to highlight each of the categories and some of the noble or key ingredients that are included. I’ll post the full panel as a picture at the end of the review for those who are curious to see more.
Cell Repair: This category represents most of the common multi ingredients: Vitamins A-K, folic acid, biotin, etc. There are a few lesser known items in there though: i.e., Norwegian Kelp. One of the biggest benefits of Norwegian Kelp is that it attracts and accumulates nutrients and minerals from sea water. The collected bounty includes things like magnesium, folic acid, and calcium- thus potentially skewing the stated levels of those ingredients in Primer and making them slightly higher than anticipated. It’s also a good source of iodine which helps your thyroid and assists in hormone production. Also found is N-Acetyl L-Cysteine. I see N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine a lot, but haven’t seen this much. Supposedly it’s really effective in promoting an increase of anti-oxidants, and in studies has demonstrated potential to help get rid of acne and lessen symptoms of addiction.
Brain Food: This category is mainly driven by L-Tyrosine, a common nootropic known to help reduce cortisol levels and slightly increase cognition. It also contains Vinpocetine which has a claim for being capable of improving memory, and Huperzine A which can inhibit an enzyme that leads to cognitive decline.
Power Fats: This is a 1.2 g serving that is 1 part fish oil, 2 parts seed oil; 2 parts omega 3, 1 part omega 6. Good for the heart, the joints, the brain, and everything in between.
Amino Prime: This is a long spanning list of amino acids and other compounds ranging from BCAAs to Arginine to Tribulus Terrestris. Unfortunately, none of them are really dosed well enough to do anything on their own. Though, you’d probably see a slight improvement in blood flow and recovery from the blend all working together and sharing common effects.
Digest Rx: Mainly what you have here is Amylase, an enzyme that is found in your spit and begins the digestive process for your body. Also found is protease, great for reducing muscle damage; lactase, another digestive enzyme; lipase, a third digestive enzyme; and cellulase, an enzyme produced by fungus and bacteria.
Hydration Plus: In here you get a blend of great minerals like magnesium, zinc, selenium, potassium, and calcium. You get a third more calcium than you’d get in a glass of milk and about as much potassium as half a banana, but the other ingredients are dosed pretty low.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
Primer comes in really handy pill packs. I love when companies do this because it makes it really easy to take things to work or on trips. The company recommends taking 1 pack daily, but not more than 2. If possible, take it before working out. I work out in the morning on an empty stomach and know better by now than to take any pills in the morning on an empty stomach. Instead, I took it when I’d get to the office and after my workout. A couple of times I had sore joints and started to get little bugs while taking this and doubled the dose with another in the afternoon.
—-Effectiveness—-
While taking Primer I was able to stay generally healthy and didn’t sustain any injuries. That’s really what I’d take a product like this for. However, at the end of the day it’s really just an insurance policy. I still try to eat properly and recruit my nutrients there, but supplements like this I’ll take as back up. Primer was more robust than just a multi-vitamin, but except for some of the nootropics included, nothing was dosed very heavily. Whether it was because of the timing of my dose or the inclusion of those nootropics, the place I noticed the effects most was in the office. Over the past few months I have been totally overloaded at work. When taking Primer I’d notice I got more accomplished. I get to points some days where I literally have so much work to do that I can’t prioritize any of it. When that happens I need to step back, hash it all out on paper, and then reapproach it. While taking Primer I was actually = busier than ever, but didn’t have any struggles prioritizing the most important tasks.
A secondary benefit to Primer was that it seemed to help my joints a bit and kept me healthy. Overall I was slightly less sore, and while I did get sick during the time I was taking it, it was unavoidable with a child in preschool and I bounced back quickly.
—-Value—-
Primer is expensive. The cheapest I could find was 45.99 on a site called LuckyVitamin.com. For 30 servings, it’s just not worth it for what you’re getting with the doses.
—-Side Effects—-
There were no side effects.
—-Conclusion—-
Overall the thing I liked most about Primer was the packaging and ease of use. I also appreciated the attempt to hit on many different areas of nutrition, but at the end of the day it just lacked the proper dose in too many categories to become a staple item in my rotation. I think the intent is good, and that there is definitely a market for this because of the portability, but a little more focus on key ingredients and dosing those better would help. My humble opinion is that Magnum might have success targeting consumers on sites like bodybuilding.com, but for informed athletes they’ll need to focus less on perception and marketing and more on the dosing of the ingredients and focusing on fewer goals within one product. Thanks everyone.