With male testosterone levels dropping globally, there’s an increasing demand for libido and sexual performance enhancing supplements. Libido Max Red is a sexual support supplement for men, sold by a company called Applied Nutrition, which claims “Satisfaction Guaranteed.”
But does Libido Max Red actually contain ingredients proven to increase libido in men? Does it contain any unhealthy additives? Will the supplement cause side effects? And how do real customers review and rate Libido Max Red?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Libido Max Red to give our take on whether or not the supplement is likely to be effective, and whether or not it's healthy.
We'll also share our concerns about missing ingredients on the official brand's website, and feature customer reviews.
Ingredient Analysis
Libido Max Red contains five active ingredients: calcium, l-citrulline, l-arginine, beet powder, and black tea extract.
Calcium is a mineral found in whole foods like cheese and sardines. We can't find any clinical evidence that it improves libido in men.
The rest of the active ingredients are included in a proprietary blend totalling 1,620 milligrams (mg), which averages 420 mg per ingredient.
L-citrulline is an amino acid which is effective for improving erectile function, but we consider it to be underdosed in Libido Max Red.
A clinical trial published in the Urology journal found that this ingredient can improve erection quality at a dose of 1,500 mg per day, or 357% higher than the average ingredient dose in Libido Max Red.
We can't find any clinical evidence that l-citrulline improves libido.
L-arginine is another amino acid. It's a less efficient nitric oxide precursor than l-citrulline, meaning both ingredients can improve blood flow but l-arginine is less effective.
We can't find any clinical evidence that l-arginine improves libido.
Beet powder may have positive effects on cardiovascular health, as we documented in our review of the Super Beets supplement, but we can't find any clinical evidence that it has an impact on libido.
Black tea extract was shown in a 2008 clinical trial to increase libido in rats, but we can't find any studies with human trial participants showing this ingredient to be effective.
Overall, we consider this to be one of the worst-formulated libido supplements we've reviewed on Illuminate Health.
We cannot identify one single active ingredient that we consider likely to be effective for improving libido in men, and even the ingredients with other functional effects, like citrulline for blood flow, may be underdosed.
Missing Ingredients on Brand's Website
The inactive ingredients shown above are found on the GNC product listing for Libido Max Red, but are not currently included on the Supplement Facts label on the Applied Nutrition website.
This is a consumer safety issue and is extremely concerning in our opinion.
Supplement manufacturers are required by the FDA to clearly publish all of the ingredients on the Supplement Facts label, and failing to do so prevents consumers from making an informed decision about what they're putting in their body.
We urge Applied Nutrition to publish the full ingredient list on the Supplement Facts label for Libido Max Red on their website.
There are a number of questionable inactive ingredients in this product that health-conscious consumers may wish to avoid.
Titanium dioxide is banned for use as a food additive in the EU over genotoxicity concerns. This refers to the ability of a compound to damage genes.
Red 40 and Blue 2 are artificial food dyes.
As we documented in our ExtenZe reviews article, there are toxicity concerns regarding artificial dyes, and since they have zero nutritive value, it seems logical to avoid them.
Talc is a filler ingredient shown to be associated with an increased risk of stomach cancer in a 2019 medical review.
Will Libido Max Red Cause Side Effects?
Libido Max Red does not appear to have been studied in any clinical trials, so it's challenging to say for certain whether or not the supplement will cause side effects.
However, we can make an educated guess based on its ingredients.
All of the active ingredients in this formulation are safe, well-studied, and we do not consider them a risk to cause side effects.
Artificial food dyes are inactive ingredients containing neurotoxic chemicals which may aggravate mental health issues, according to a meta-study published in the Advances in Neurobiology journal.
Overall, we do not consider Libido Max Red likely to cause side effects in otherwise healthy individuals, but individuals with mental health conditions may wish to avoid the supplement due to the inclusion of artificial food dyes.
Our Clean Men's Health Picks
MBG Vitamin D3 Potency+ is our top value testosterone support pick.
Vitamin D3 supplementation has been clinically shown to increase total testosterone levels by over 25%.
MBG Omega-3 Potency+ is our top erection quality pick.
Omega-3 fatty acids were described as "critical for men with ED who are under age 60 years" in a 2012 medical review.
All of the products recommended in this section are entirely free of ingredients that we consider unhealthy.
Customers Rate Libido Max Red
Here are the average customer review ratings for this supplement on different online retailers, at the time of updating this article:
Amazon: 4.1/5
Walmart: 3.2/5
DoorDash: 3/5
A verified purchaser on Amazon named "FLY NAVY" claims that the pills had no effect at all:
"First of, they were not softgels as advertised but hard tablets. Secondly, hard tablets don't always digest completely so a lot of product gets wasted. I suspect that may be the case here as these have no effect. Either that or the product doesn't produce the intended results."
Libido Max Red Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Libido Max Red in our opinion:
Pros:
- May improve blood flow to penis
- Black tea extract may enhance libido
- Positive reviews on Amazon
Cons:
- Ingredient disclosure issues
- Contains titanium dioxide
- Contains artificial food dye
- Contains talc
- Active ingredients are underdosed in our opinion
