Full Send is one of the most popular brands in the U.S. with younger generations, and they recently launched a supplement line called Full Send Supplements. Their promotional videos suggest that their products are clean and high-quality.
In this article we’ll review the ingredients in Full Send’s most popular supplements based on medical research to determine if we believe they’re likely to be safe and effective. We’ll also explain why their lack of ingredient disclosure is a safety issue.
Failure to Publish Ingredients on Website
Full Send does not publish the full list of ingredients in plain text on their website. The only way to see the Supplement Facts label is in the image of the side view of the bottle. This is very difficult to read, especially for products with many ingredients. The Pre-Workout label is nearly illegible, especially on mobile.
We consider this a serious safety issue, because consumers need to be able to easily access ingredient information to rule out ingredients they’re allergic to.
Further, there are some ingredients like caffeine which need to be very clearly listed, because some people are sensitive to caffeine and get anxiety when taking higher doses. There are also patients with heart conditions who may need to avoid caffeine entirely.
The fact that the caffeine dosage is not clearly stated in the Description section of the product on their website is entirely unacceptable in our opinion, and we urge the brand to publish this information, along with the full list of active and inactive ingredients, in plain text on their website.
Full Send Pre-Workout Review
One of Full Send’s most popular products is their pre-workout, which comes in a Blue Raspberry flavor. As we discussed in our best pre workout article, this class of supplements is typically used for two reasons: increased energy during the workout and performance benefits such as improved endurance or strength.
At a glance, Full Send’s pre-workout appears to be poorly formulated. It contains a seemingly random blend of B-vitamins: thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and Vitamin B12. We can’t locate any medical research suggesting that this blend of B-vitamins improves workout performance or energy, and Full Send doesn’t cite any, so we will consider these active ingredients ineffective.
We also believe, as we’ve referenced in many of our articles, that it’s illogical to take random blends of vitamins or minerals without documented deficiency. There is no benefit to taking B-vitamins for patients who have normal levels of these vitamins; there is only a benefit to those in a deficient state. So taking B-vitamins without a blood test doesn’t make sense.
The caffeine in Full Send Pre-Workout is dosed at 200 milligrams (mg), which is an effective dose for ergogenic (workout-enhancing) function. A review published in the Sports Medicine medical journal documented how caffeine supplementation can increase maximal force and muscle endurance during workouts by stimulating the central nervous system.
Beta-alanine is another effective ingredient in this product. At a dose similar to that in Full Send Pre-Workout, this compound was proven in medical research to increase carnosine levels in muscle by up to 50%, which should equate to improved endurance.
Taurine is an amino acid that we recommend avoiding in supplement form. It may be effective for improving muscle recovery, but the research on this compound that we’ve reviewed is mixed and inconclusive. It’s also been shown in a recent medical review to potentially be harmful to the brain of adolescents when combined with caffeine. For this reason we don’t believe this pre-workout product is a good option for those with a developing brain.
Betaine is an effective ergogenic ingredient, but it may be underdosed in Full Send Pre-Workout. A medical review of betaine’s effects on muscle strength and power analyzed results from 7 individual clinical trials on the subject.
In all of the trials, the minimum dose used was 2 grams (g). The dose in this pre-workout is 500 mg, or 25% of what appears to be the minimally-effective dose. Thus we will consider this ingredient ineffective in Full Send’s formulation.
N-acetyl-l-carnitine HCL is another ingredient that we’re struggling to find proven efficacy for. While this form may be more bioavailable than carnitine alone, Full Send doesn’t publish any proof of this, and most medical research on carnitine uses a minimum dosage of 1 g, which is 5x the amount in this pre-workout.
The final active ingredient in this product is a patented compound called AlphaSize, at a dosage of 25 mg. We don’t understand this dosage because most medical studies on this compound seem to use around 200 mg or higher dose. We can’t identify any studies proving this compound is effective at such a low dose as is included in this supplement.
Overall we’re unimpressed by this formulation. It does contain some effective ingredients at effective doses, but it also contains a number of ingredients and dosages that we would consider ineffective based on a review of medical research.
Questionable Additive Ingredients
Full Send’s pre-workout contains a number of inactive, additive ingredients that we recommend consumers avoid for health reasons.
It contains natural & artificial flavors, which is a broad descriptor term that fails to identify the specific chemical compounds used. There is animal research suggesting that many artificial flavoring compounds are toxic. Since these ingredients provide zero nutritive or performance benefit, it seems logical to avoid them.
The supplement also contains the artificial sweetener sucralose, which caused negative changes to insulin function in healthy young adults in at least one clinical trial as we documented in our Body Fortress Whey Protein review, which analyzed another workout supplement containing this ingredient.
It also contains citric acid, which is a flavor enhancer. Most people can tolerate this compound fine, but a small minority of patients seem to have whole-body inflammation reactions (based on a medical review), because this ingredient is often manufactured from a fungus.
We consider citric acid the least concerning of the additive ingredients, but still recommend that consumers avoid it out of an abundance of caution.
One good thing about this formulation is it includes natural colorants such as beet juice instead of artificial dyes.
Still, we wouldn’t recommend this product due to the inclusion of these inactive compounds we consider questionable from a health perspective.
Stamina Capsules Review
According to the brand’s website, the most popular product at the time of writing this article is called “Stamina Capsules” and is used for enhancing sexual function and performance.
The first ingredient is ashwagandha extract, which is a good ingredient choice for a sexual supplement. This herb has been proven to positively impact sexual function in both men and women in research studies.
Both of the studies linked above utilized a dose of 600 mg, while the dose in Full Send Stamina Capsules is only 400 mg. However this is close enough that we’ll consider it likely effective.
Eurycoma longifolia root extract, colloquially referred to as “Longjack,” is another effective ingredient choice. Medical research proves it to be effective for enhancing male sexual function and potentially increasing testosterone at exactly the dose in this supplement.
As we overviewed in our ExtenZe review article, mucuna pruriens may improve sperm function and increased sexual activity in an animal study, though the dosage was much higher than that in Full Send.
Tribulus terrestris may be effective for improving ED and testosterone status in men with low testosterone, based on a medical review. Some of the dosages used in the individual studies reviewed were similar to that in Full Send Stamina, so we’ll consider this an effective ingredient choice.
The final active ingredient is maca root extract at a dosage of 60 mg. Maca is well-studied for enhancing libido, but this ingredient may be underdosed. The dosages in a medical review of maca for sexual function were much higher (around the 2 to 3 gram range), but extracts are more concentrated than raw powder so we’ll consider this potentially effective.
Overall this is a much better formulation than the pre-workout in our opinion. Another benefit of this product is it contains no questionable additives; the three filler ingredients are totally safe and non-toxic.
While we wouldn’t recommend this product because of some dosage questions we have, we also wouldn’t recommend that consumers necessarily avoid it.
Liver Reset Review
We do not believe that consumers should be taking dietary supplements to try to treat liver problems, and we don’t believe it’s ethical or safe for supplement manufacturers to sell products targeting liver function.
The brand claims this product “helps liver and kidneys detoxify” with no citation. We haven’t come across any medical research suggesting that the liver or kidneys need herbal supplements to properly detoxify; they do so naturally. It’s literally their function in the body.
As we explained in our recent review of Liver Health Formula, we recommend that consumers consider “detoxification” claims as red flags of a low-quality supplement brand. There doesn’t seem to be much medical research suggesting that healthy adults benefit from exogenous compounds for detoxification, nor is the term very well-defined medically.
Patients with liver injury should seek medical attention and not use dietary supplements to try to fix their problem, because many liver conditions are quite severe.
We don’t recommend this product and we don’t find it necessary to review the active ingredients due to the category of supplement. We recommend avoiding all “liver detox” supplements generally.
Informed Sport Certified
Full Send Supplements are certified by a company called Informed Sport which tests products for contaminants and banned substances. This is a good sign, especially given that they sell sexual and workout supplements; two of the categories most likely to be tainted according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S.
All things being equal, we would recommend that consumers choose a product that is Informed Sport certified over one without the certification, because supplement contamination is a real issue, especially in the U.S. We commend Full Send Supplements for taking this step.
Full Send Supplements YouTube Review
One of the most popular reviews of Full Send Supplements is published by a YouTube channel called “More Plates More Dates.” The creator’s comments are somewhat similar to ours, in that the products don’t seem to be very effectively formulated on the whole:
