Welcome to the most comprehensive White Flood pre-workout review on the internet.
Whether you’re looking for your first ever pre-workout or you’re a seasoned veteran when it comes to nutritional supplements, then this is the place to learn everything you need to know about this Controlled Labs White Flood pre-workout.
Nothing but an honest and independent assessment of the product based on the latest scientific research into its key ingredients and their most effective dosages. The days of wasting hour upon hour of your time researching the latest pre-workout options only to be met with sales pitches and marketing jargon are over.
This one stop shop gives you everything you need to make an informed decision as to whether this White Flood pre-workout is the best option for your training goals!
About Controlled Labs
“Controlled Labs was founded in early 2005 with the goal of producing the highest quality products at A PRICE THAT CUSTOMERS COULD ACTUALLY AFFORD. The company refuses to make any outlandish claims and, instead standby the results its products actually deliver in real world scenarios. All Controlled Labs products have, since the company first started, and continued to be made in a GMP certified for sport facility.This not only means that quality comes first in the production of our supplements but also that there are no banned or illegal hormones produced in the plant, so there is no chance of cross contamination… Finally, we make products that actually taste good; like actual soft drinks. For results, quality, VALUE and taste, Controlled Labs should be your first choice in Sports Nutrition supplementation.”
A fairly generic and vague brand description which is pretty much the norm when it comes to the pre-workout market. We’ve been sure to emphasise a couple of sections related to the price of their products above, the reason for which will become abundantly clear a little later in this Controlled Labs White Flood pre-workout review.
Ingredients in White Flood pre-workout
Whilst, on initial inspection it looks as though this pre-workout product is made up of a series of proprietary blends, there is actually only one ‘complex’ which fails to disclose the precise quantities of every component ingredient. Even then, the dose of the most important ingredient in this particular blend, namely caffeine, is actually listed.
Why is this so important you ask? Well if you don’t know exactly how much of each ingredient you are consuming per serving, not only can it be potentially dangerous but it is also impossible to work out if you are getting a scientifically optimal dose of those ingredients.
Despite what manufacturers may try to tell you about keeping their patented formulas away from the prying eyes of competitors, there is only one reason they would choose to make use of proprietary blends and that’s to hide underdosed ingredients from you!
Whilst this Controlled Labs pre-workout does make use of one proprietary blend, in fairness, all of the key active ingredients have their precise quantities listed. As a result we can’t complain too much!
Arginine (2200 mg)
Raising your blood levels of an amino acid called arginine is a particularly effective way of increasing your bodies production of nitric oxide. Increased NO helps cause vasodilation, which in turn promotes improved circulation and increased blood flow to working muscles during exercise.[1] Sounds great right!
Unfortunately, these potential benefits are eradicated by the fact that the vast majority of ingested arginine is metabolised in the liver before it reaches the bloodstream.[2]
Consequently, supplementing directly with arginine is not actually an effective method for increasing NO production, and as a result, it’s dosage in this White Flood pre-workout becomes largely irrelevant.
L-ornithine (800 mg)
Whilst early research suggests that supplementing with ornithine may have potential benefits for exercise performance as a result of its fatigue fighting properties, there simply isn’t enough scientific evidence to promote an optimal dosage.
To be honest, we’d prefer the product included ingredients with a proven track record of enhancing training.
Beta alanine (1700 mg)
If the inclusion of arginine and l-ornithine in this Controlled Labs pre-workout are somewhat questionable, the appearance of beta alanine is a huge positive.
With the exception of creatine monohydrate, beta alanine is the most effective nutritional supplement on the market when it comes to exercise performance. Capable of helping your body fight fatigue during anaerobic activity thanks to an enhanced lactic acid buffering capacity, this amino acid can be of real tangible benefit to your training performance.[3]
In order to do so, however, it must be taken regularly at the correct dose. Most studies suggest that a daily serving of 4-6g for a period of at least 2 weeks is sufficient to see results, with muscle saturation levels of carnosine increasing the longer you supplement for.[4]
Unfortunately then, the 1.7g in White Flood pre-workout falls way short of this optimal dose and is unlikely to be of much benefit to your workout capacity.
L-tyrosine (700 mg)
There is only very limited scientific research to support any potential ergogenic benefits of tyrosine supplementation, mainly in relation to metabolism and energy levels due to its relationship with hormones such as adrenaline.
As a result, an optimal dosage hasn’t yet been established. This means it is impossible to determine whether the 700 mg dose included in this product is of benefit to your exercise performance or not.
For the purposes of our White Flood pre-workout review, however, we would rather Controlled Labs used more of their scoop space on ingredients with categorical evidence to support their benefits!
Caffeine (250 mg)
Caffeine is the only ingredient in White Flood’s Energy and antioxidant flood complex to have its quantity disclosed. And in all honesty, despite the blends vast array of other ingredients, caffeine is the only one this Controlled Labs White Flood pre-workout review is bothered about knowing the dosage of as its the only ingredient with any evidence to support its benefit.
A 250 mg serving is pretty much perfect. More than enough to offer the energy boost and mental focus associated with caffeine consumption, but not too much as to result in some of the negative side effects related to really significant dosages.
There is also increasing research to suggest that caffeine intake can help to boost your metabolism and help you to burn more fat during your sessions. Double whammy!
Are there any side effects?
Most pre-workout supplements come with a list of minor potential side effects. It’s part of the territory for products which often contain high doses of stimulant ingredients.
The 250 mg serving of caffeine does have the potential to cause symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, the jitters and anxiety.
Having said that, this is a lower dose than many other pre-workouts and given that the research suggests caffeine can be consumed safely at levels as high as 400 mg per day, a 250 mg dose seems reasonable.[5] If, however, you have a particularly low tolerance level to caffeine or you’ve never taken a pre-workout before, it may be sensible to start with a half serving of this product.
The only other ingredient which has the potential to cause any notable side effects is beta alanine. This can cause a tingling sensation on the surface of the skin which ordinarily subsides after about 20 mins. The good news is, this side effect is completely harmless and should actually be taken as a sign you are consuming a meaningful dose. In all honesty, the mediocre 1.7g per serving in White Flood is unlikely to result in such a sensation anyway!
White Flash vs White Flood: what’s the main difference?
The most significant difference between these two Controlled Labs products are the inclusion of l-citrulline and betaine in White Flash, as well as higher doses of caffeine and l-tyrosine.
The appearance of l-citrulline in an optimal dose is a major improvement as this amino acid is far more effective at raising blood levels of arginine and therefore nitric oxide than the arginine included in White Flood.
Betaine has limited scientific evidence to support its ergogenic benefits and thus its inclusion is largely inconsequential. The larger dose of l-tyrosine is also a little irrelevant due to the lack of clarity surrounding its purported benefits too.
A 300 mg dose of caffeine pushes this pre-workout from manageable in terms of stimulant content to pretty extreme and certainly not for the faint hearted!
Pros and cons of White Flood pre-workout
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Pricing review
At $57.49 on the official Controlled Labs website, White Flood comes in at a whopping $2.29 per serving, putting this pre-workout very much at the more expensive end of the market.
This price tag kind of makes a mockery of Controlled Labs goal of producing affordable nutritional supplements!
Flavor options
There are only 3 flavor options available in the White Flood pre-workout product range which means particularly fussy customers may struggle to find a taste to suit.
Summary
The fact that all of the key ingredients in this product have their servings disclosed on the supplement facts label is a huge positive. Whilst Controlled Labs do make use of one proprietary blend, the only ingredient of any significance in it is caffeine, and the dose of this is listed. So, all in all, no harm done!
Having said that, a willingness to disclose the precise servings of ingredients is only a real positive if those ingredients are in fact scientifically supported and included in meaningful doses. Unfortunately, White Flood falls short with respect to both of these factors.
Beta alanine is a great ingredient, with exceptional benefits for exercise performance which have been confirmed by a wealth of scientific research. The 1.7g dose in this product, however, leaves our White Flood pre-workout review rather deflated.
Add to this, the inclusion of ingredients which either don’t benefit exercise performance or simply have such limited research to suggest they do that they may as well not be present, like tyrosine and l-ornithine, and things go from bad to worse.
The only saving grace is an optimal serving of caffeine, but at an astronomical $2.29 per scoop, we and you, should be expecting a whole lot more for the money. Our advice, if you want a value for money product which is going to offer you more than just a brief energy boost then look elsewhere for your pre-workout needs!
Resources
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124046306000531
[2]https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/first-pass-effect
[3] beta-Alanine supplementation augments muscle carnosine content and attenuates fatigue during repeated isokinetic contraction bouts in trained sprinters- J Appl Physiol (1985). 2007 Nov;103(5
[4] Stellingwerff T, Anwander H, Egger A, Buehler T, Kreis R, Decombaz J, et al. Effect of two beta-alanine dosing protocols on muscle carnosine synthesis and washout. Amino Acids. 2012;42(6):2461–72. doi: 10.1007/s00726-011-1054-4 and Harris RC, Jones GA, Kim HJ, Kim CK, Price KA, Wise JA. Changes in muscle carnosine of subjects with 4 weeks of supplementation with a controlled relase formulation of beta-alanine (CarnoSyn), and for 6 weeks post (Abstract) FASEB J. 2009;23:599.4.
[5] Fat burners: nutrition supplements that increase fat metabolism- Obesity Reviews 2011
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