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Do you feel tired all the time, no matter how much sleep you get? If so, it might mean that your body is unable to produce enough because it’s not getting enough of the right nutrients to be active for longer.
So, if you’re someone who wants to feel energetic but doesn’t have the time or knowledge to prepare healthy, balanced meals, then an energy supplement may do the trick.
Some people often consume energy drinks or energy bars to increase their energy output, but those are often unhealthy and may lead to serious health complications in the future.
As such, we have compiled a list of what we believe to be the 4 best vegan energy-boosting supplements on the market so that you can boost your energy and mental performance in a healthy fashion.
Best Vegan Energy Supplements
1 – Performance Lab Energy
Why This Supplement?
- Prebiotic Capsules (to improve nutrient absorption);
- Certified Vegan by The Vegan Society;
- Caffeine, Gluten, Soy, and Synthetic Additive-Free;
- No Genetically Modified Organisms.
Performance Lab is a reputed leader in the supplements industry and went through the process of making its supplements completely vegan-friendly, including its stim-free energy supplement.
Energy is a supplement that contains six unique ingredients, none of them being caffeine, which means you’re bound to feel energized without the feelings of jitteriness and eventual crash.
This energy formula contains ingredients such as Magnesium, L-carnitine, R-Lipoic Acid, Q10 Co-Enzyme, Pyrroloquinoline Quinone (PQQ), and BioPerine (black pepper extract).
One of the issues that may be responsible for your lack of energy is having low magnesium levels. You may also notice muscle spasms, weakness or stiffness as well.
Due to magnesium’s role in energy production and storage, regular muscle function, and maintenance of blood glucose levels, it has been used as an ergogenic aid for athletes. This is also a role that caffeine plays, but we know how addictive that can be.
With that being said, Performance Lab’s energy formula contains far more complex compounds that may help you sustain your energy levels, namely CoQ10, which is a vitamin-like compound that is required for the flow and transformation of energy.
Without CoQ10, cell energy cannot be generated or sustained, which is why they have included a bioavailability-enhanced micro-active form of CoQ10 that will help restore your CoQ10 levels for peak energy performance.
Another unique ingredient is Pyrroloquinoline Quinone (PQQ), an antioxidant that serves as a cofactor for enzymatic reactions that enable cell health and development. It is associated with mitochondrial function, which is where 80% of the body’s CoQ10 can be found, so it acts in concert with CoQ10 to influence genetic pathways that regulate mitochondria, where cell energy is generated.
Finally, you can also find Acetyl L-Carnitine, which is an athletic performance enhancer that helps preserve energy stored in the muscle while encouraging the use of energy stored in fat, which suggests it’s also a useful ingredient if you also want to burn fat and build muscle.
2 – Transparent Labs Vitality
Why This Supplement?
- Testosterone Optimization Formula;
- Caffeine, Gluten, and Synthetic Additive-Free;
- No Genetically Modified Organisms.
Transparent Labs is typically one of the brands we recommend when it comes to nutritional supplements, and this time is no exception.
Like Performance Lab, they’re also one of the reputed leaders in the supplement industry, and they’re valued for their transparency by not hiding their ingredients behind proprietary formulas.
Vitality is a natural hormone-optimizing supplement that boosts testosterone levels while controlling estrogen and cortisol production.
It does so by using six unique ingredients: Zinc, Ashwagandha Extract, Shilajit Extract, Quercetin Dihydrate, DIM (Diindolylmethane), and Eurycoma Longifolia Extract.
Zinc is one of the most important minerals in the body because it supports fertility and testosterone production, particularly in males.
Low testosterone is problematic for men because it can result in a reduced sex drive, increased body fat, decreased motivation, and sleep problems like insomnia. These symptoms can add up to chronic low energy, and mental and physical fatigue.
A study found that middle-aged men with preexisting infertility experienced an average 250% increase in sperm cell counts and a 54% increase in total testosterone levels after taking a zinc supplement daily for three months. 1
Ashwagandha is another ingredient that is associated with testosterone production, and also the mitigation of stress-induced cortisol secretion. Like what happens with zinc, there is also some evidence that Ashwagandha may be able to increase testosterone production, positively affecting energy levels. 2
Other ingredients that may also affect testosterone production are DIM (Diindolylmethane), Quercetin Dihydrate, and Eurycoma Longifolia Extract, with the latter having the most pronounced level of evidence. 3
This particular formula works under the premise that as long as you keep testosterone levels high, you should be able to keep your energy levels high as well.
3 – Qualia Nootropic Energy
Why This Supplement?
- Future Kind is 100% vegan-friendly;
- 45 milligrams of Vitamin C per serving;
- Delivered in the form of gummies;
- Contains 30 servings per container.
Neurohacker is a brand that takes a unique scientific approach when developing its products, partly because it doesn’t override the body’s regulatory systems with chemicals, but instead focuses on supporting the body’s ability to self-regulate to move biomarkers in a specific direction.
They believe in helping the body more effectively regulate its own biochemistry, and restoring homeostatic balance so that its natural internal processes become more robust and function better.
Qualia Energy was created with that same philosophy in mind so you’ll find a mixture of different things, including nootropics, vitamins, adaptogens, amino acids, and superfoods.
To put together this formula, Neurohacker hired a team of leading scientists in (human) biology-related fields, which means the combination of ingredients they put together should be legitimate.
For instance, the supplement contains 25 mg of niacin (or vitamin B3), which is the primary compound that controls the amount of NAD+ in your body. 4, 5, 6 NAD+, in turn, is crucial for the body’s energy production, and having higher levels decreases your risk for certain age-related diseases and makes you (feel) younger. 7, 8, 9
As a result, it makes sense to include niacin in an energy supplement, and it might also be logical from a mental perspective because higher levels of NAD+ are associated with improved cognition, although higher-quality studies are required before we can consider it to be a bullet-proof fact. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
Apart from niacin, you have a panoply of other ingredients that may be beneficial, including L-tyrosine, L-theanine, Alpha-GPC, inositol, and arginine silicate.
L-tyrosine is a great ingredient that improves both physical and mental performance, in part, because it’s a building block of important neurotransmitters.
In fact, some studies show that tyrosine is quite vital for dopamine production, a neurotransmitter that is heavily involved with motivation, creativity, abstract thought, self-control, and overall well-being. 16, 17
L-theanine also has demonstrable cognitive performance effects as it also influences neurotransmitters. Alpha-GPC is an ingredient that is often included in energy drinks, and there are also studies that demonstrate its effects on mental and physical capabilities.
Inositol-Enhanced Bonded Arginine Silicate (a combination of inositol and arginine silicate) lacks enough research, but it does seem to have promising benefits for both energy and cognitive performance, although it’s potentially underdosed.
The other ingredients in this formula, particularly those derived from fruit extracts, are underdosed, so although studies show promising effects, their inclusion in this formula is questionable.
Additionally, this supplement also contains caffeine, which a lot of people seek to avoid.
4 – HFL Body Brain Energy
Why This Supplement?
- Made In A FDA Registered Facility in the US;
- No Genetically Modified Ingredients;
- 1-Year Guarantee.
HFL has been in business since 1996 and this specific formula has existed for the last 18+ years, and it consists of 5 patented ingredients, 15 herbal extracts, 4 essential vitamins, and 2 amino acids.
I find this supplement alluring because they offer a 1-year guarantee, claiming that their supplement is so effective at improving energy, as well as amping up mental and physical performance, that they’re willing to give you your money back if you don’t experience results.
HFL lists out their ingredients per ‘stack’ on their label, so you have a “dopamine optimizer”, a “stress optimizer”, a “nootropic optimizer”, and a few other categories of ingredients that are bundled together to provide you with a given set of benefits.
Like previous supplements, you’re able to find effective ingredients, namely L-theanine, L-tyrosine, L-carnitine, Rhodiola extract, Alpha-GPC, and more.
Given the variety of ingredients available (21, to be more precise), you’ll notice that a lot of the ingredients are available in below adequate dosages, so their effectiveness is questionable.
Personally, I prefer supplements with fewer ingredients as those usually contain ingredients in effective doses or doses that have strong scientific data behind them. This formula seems to have numerous ingredients, but it’s really difficult to tell whether they’re effective because they either have lacking scientific research or many of them are available in low doses.
Editor’s note: The content on this website is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. The content of our articles is not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. It’s always best to speak with your doctor or a certified medical professional before making any changes to your lifestyle, diet, exercise routine, or trying a new supplement.
Scientific references:
1 – Netter A, Hartoma R, Nahoul K. Effect of zinc administration on plasma testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and sperm count. Arch Androl. 1981 Aug;7(1):69-73. doi: 10.3109/01485018109009378. PMID: 7271365.
2 – Ahmad MK, Mahdi AA, Shukla KK, Islam N, Rajender S, Madhukar D, Shankhwar SN, Ahmad S. Withania somnifera improves semen quality by regulating reproductive hormone levels and oxidative stress in seminal plasma of infertile males. Fertil Steril. 2010 Aug;94(3):989-96. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2009.04.046. Epub 2009 Jun 6. PMID: 19501822.
3 – Khanijo T, Jiraungkoorskul W. Review Ergogenic Effect of Long Jack, Eurycoma Longifolia. Pharmacogn Rev. 2016 Jul-Dec;10(20):139-142. doi: 10.4103/0973-7847.194041. PMID: 28082797; PMCID: PMC5214558.
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6 – Fricker RA, Green EL, Jenkins SI, Griffin SM. The Influence of Nicotinamide on Health and Disease in the Central Nervous System. Int J Tryptophan Res. 2018 May 21;11:1178646918776658. doi: 10.1177/1178646918776658. PMID: 29844677; PMCID: PMC5966847.
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8 – Rajman L, Chwalek K, Sinclair DA. Therapeutic Potential of NAD-Boosting Molecules: The In Vivo Evidence. Cell Metab. 2018 Mar 6;27(3):529-547. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.02.011. PMID: 29514064; PMCID: PMC6342515.
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11 – Martens CR, Denman BA, Mazzo MR, Armstrong ML, Reisdorph N, McQueen MB, Chonchol M, Seals DR. Chronic nicotinamide riboside supplementation is well-tolerated and elevates NAD+ in healthy middle-aged and older adults. Nat Commun. 2018 Mar 29;9(1):1286. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03421-7. PMID: 29599478; PMCID: PMC5876407.
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