A product by Old School Labs
Our Findings:
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Review Overview
We recently came across Old School Labs, a supplement company that seems to run it’s business entirely through Amazon.
If you’ve come across this product you’ve probably seen it’s reviews. They’re pretty intensely positive, and we don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. With such overwhelming online praise this product is either too good to be true, or the company has done something to trigger these reviews.
After we delved a little deeper we discovered many of the reviewers had been given the product for free to promote it’s launch – which the company openly admits. Over 70 reviews and no one said anything bad about the product or the company? Come on. This is a shill people.
This is what the company has said beneath each comment:
“Note: As we strive to set a new standard of transparency in the supplement industry, we wanted to mention that this reviewer was selected at random to receive this product for free before its launch and write an impartial review. The reviewer accepted. We highly value feedback and reviews, positive or otherwise, and strive to keep improving our products and delivering uncompromising supplements.”
That line really stood out to us. Things of high value are usually attained for a price. But never mind our detective work – let’s look at the ingredients.
What does Vintage Boost do?
According to their website Vintage Boost is a vegan friendly testosterone booster that can be used by any age for any testosterone boosting purpose.
Old School Labs say Vintage Boost:
- Boosts Strength, Muscle, Energy
- Enhances Libido and Sexual Health
- Safe and Effective at Any Age
The top two are the generic quips of most testosterone boosters, however we take issue with the last one. We don’t believe a testosterone booster can be suited to any age.
Look at it this way, younger guys who are working out with these testosterone boosters, want a product that is rich in testosterone production – aromatase (estrogen producers) generally speaking aren’t much of a problem for a man in his twenties, but once he’s passed 30 and those T-levels begin to naturally drop, it’s then that those inhibitors will strike.
However, this product does have a ‘Pro-Testosterone and Anti-Estrogen’ group of ingredients built into it… but we’ll get to that in a moment. They definitely have an interesting take on the matter.
How does Vintage Boost work?
Vintage Boost is comprised three main groups of ingredients (but don’t worry, they aren’t proprietary blends!) to help with the testosterone boosting process. These are:
- Vitamins and Minerals Group
- Pro-Testosterone and Anti-Estrogen Strength Multiplier Groups
- Androgenic Hormone Amplifier and Energy Group
Well it all sounds very impressive and pretty close to what we’re looking for. However, I would ask you to hold fire as we look into what these ingredients actually are and how they effect your T levels.
Vitamin D (as Ergocalciferol) – Off to a horrendously bad start. This is vitamin D2. It is a lot harder to absorb into the body than vitamin D3… actually there’s so much to say on this matter I feel the need to bullet point it:
- D3 is the more natural than D2, D3 is the hormone (yes it is a hormone!) we synthesize when we’re exposed to sunlight.
- D3 is less toxic than D2
- D3 is the more potent form of vitamin D
- D3 is more stable than D2
- There’s more clinical trials backing D3
- D3 is more effective at raising blood testosterone
If you’re interested you can read the whole report here: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/589256_4
There’s lots of hate against Vitamin D2 by professionals online as well, there’s a great quote from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:
“Furthermore, the public expects to derive the equivalent effect per unit dose of vitamin D, whether it is vitamin D2 or vitamin D3. The scientific community is aware that these molecules are not equivalent. Therefore, vitamin D2 should no longer be regarded as a nutrient appropriate for supplementation or fortification of foods.”
Another really good article, you can read more about that one here; http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/84/4/694.full
Just to clarify – all those Amazon reviews, and no one picked up on this.
Vitamin B6 – Now this does have some anti-estrogen effects. Vitamin B6 works with the C2 hormonal pathway on the gene activity of estrogen. Once the estrogen has bound to a receptor, the B6 decreases their activity and suppresses their growth. There needs to be more than just B6 to make a real difference here though.
Magnesium – This a good promoter of free testosterone. 60% of the testosterone in the male body is bound to Sex Hormone Binding Globulin, this makes the testosterone unusable and they lose their anabolic potency. However, magnesium has the power to lower the globulin count and allow more testosterone to roam freely throughout the body.
Zinc – A major key to our testosterone levels, Zinc is needed to release the luteinizing hormone – the hormone responsible for releasing testosterone, DHT (follicle stimulating hormones) and growth hormone. It has also been seen to increase serum testosterone in men.
D-Aspartic Acid – Now this is what we’re talking about. DAA is a fantastic testosterone producer and does a similar job to zinc by releasing luteinizing hormones. However, DAA also builds up the testes and removes rate limits on testosterone synthesis.
Prasterone – Has been said to reduce aging, however the evidence for this has been proven unreliable. The main issue here is how the hormone works with testosterone. It raises it, which is good, however it also raises estrogen as well. This study that I’ll link to under this post shows how Prasterone (or DHEA) has no beneficial effects: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21789881
Tribulus – Has been seen to enhance libido, although has had little effect on testosterone if any. This fruit appears to be more suited towards protecting organ function according to research.
Maca Root Powder – Quite like tribulus, there have been many studies done into the plant Maca, although it has never been seen to raise testosterone, it has however been seen to raise libido.
These ingredient were very hit and miss, there are some good ones and some bad ones. However, if you want to see some great ones, click below and see our top recommended booster ingredients:
Click Here for Our Top Choices for T Booster Ingredients!
-Complete with clinical studies and their functions against Low T-
Okay, so how do I take it?
Vintage Boost operates like no other testosterone booster we’ve seen. It has various ‘waves’ of how to take the product depending on the week you are into it.
Week 1: Take 3 capsules once a day with dinner
Week 2 & 3: Take 3 capsules twice a day with breakfast and lunch
Week 4: Take 3 capsules once a day with breakfast
These servings are all over the place. Can’t you balance the amount you take throughout the week? This would give your body a steady supply for test levels to always stay elevated.
Is it dangerous, are there side effects?
There have been no reported side effects, and there shouldn’t be to be honest. It seems pretty safe as a product. Effectiveness on the other hand is an entirely different issue.
Is there anything better out there?
Yes. Although it was VERY well played of Old School Labs to use D-Aspartic Acid, it’s clearly not enough to make a whole world of difference compared to some of the products out there on the market. We’ve made a list of our most effective ones and you can see them all at the link below:
-Click Here to See Our Top Natural Testosterone Boosters-
Vintage Boost Review Conclusion
Vintage Boost seemed like a good idea when we saw it. We loved the packaging. The ingredients though are confused and very hit and miss. Some we love, some we hate. At the end of the day, it’s just not a product we can really stand by and approve of – Although we love the lack of proprietary blends.
We really get the impression that this product was half-researched (and expertly marketed) with guys falling on gold ingredients (D-Aspartic Acid) not paying full attention to what they were reading (Vitamin D2) or looking at outdated content (Tribulus) either way it’s just something we can’t put out there until we see stronger ingredients from these guys.
In this case, we’ll give it a 3.
