Guides on PricePlow
This page lists our notorious “mega posts” – extremely well-researched articles ranging from scams to avoid to buyer's guides to in-depth ingredient analyses.
We publish one or two of these per month, and they are brutal to work on, so we hope you appreciate them.
Buyer's Guides
Each of these includes a Top 10 list, but we actually like the choose your own adventure guides where we recommend products specifically tailored for you and your needs:
The PricePlow Podcast
Some of our most in-depth information can be found in our long-form podcasts. Join us and subscribe to the PricePlow Podcast on your favorite service (or watch on YouTube).
Critical Information
The Amino Acid Protein Spiking Scandal
Read and understand this before ever buying protein powder!
Proprietary Blends
Understand the risks of encountering a “Batch-to-Batch Bait and Switch” when buying a proprietary blend!
Nutrition Facts Label Rounding Scams
Learn about a scam where brands take advantage of the FDA's labeling laws and use rounding to their advantage with ultra-small serving sizes.
Ingredient Analyses
Muscle Building Supplements:
- EAA vs. BCAA
- Betaine
- Taurine: An effective endurance-booster in just one use!
- Phosphatidic Acid
- Epicatechin
- Arachidonic Acid
- Tongkat Ali
- Peak ATP
- Cordyceps
- Tomatidine
- Spilanthes Acmella
- Velositol: Enhancing Muscle Protein Synthesis for Protein Powders and Aminos
- Citrulline Nitrate: The Dual Pathway N.O. Igniter
- Laxogenin
Men's Fertility Supplements
Stimulants
- Ephedra (hint: the ephedrine alkaloids have been removed and replaced with other ingredients)
- Higenamine: The Underrated Appetite Supressant Stimulant
- See our DMAA Legal Updates
- DMHA / Octodrine / 2-Aminoisoheptane / 2-Amino-6-Methylheptane – 2016's Stimulant?!
- Dynamine
- Eria Jarensis Extract / N-phenethyl-dimethylamine
- Theacrine
- BMPEA
Other Weight Loss Ingredients
- Berberine: The Best Glucose Disposal Ingredient Just Got Better
- GlucoVantage: NNB Nutrition's Dihydroberberine
- BAIBA: New Ingredient Generates Exercise in a Pill?!
- MitoBurn: NNB Nutrition's L-BAIBA
- Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA): The Cognitive-Boosting Antioxidant
- Ephedra
- Forskolin
- Grains of Paradise
- Gamma Butyrobetaine (GBB) – Super Carnitine That Makes You Sweat?!
- Ecklonia Cava
- Sinetrol
- Berberine: The Best Glucose Disposal Ingredient Just Got Better
Nootropics (cognitive focus and brain enhancers)
Joint Supplements
Protein
- Beware: Ion Exchange Whey — An Inferior type of protein processing
- See the main Protein Powder Ingredients in our best protein powder guide
Other Scams / Scandals / Potentially Unsafe Ingredients
- Arecoline (Potentially carcinogenic ingredient in new pre workouts and fat burners)
- AMP Citrate (banned)
- Isomaltooligosaccharide (IMO Fiber): A Fraudulent “Fiber”?
- Maximum Shred (Scam: $87 Product with $4 of Ingredients)
- Instant Knockout (Is this questionably-dosed fat burner worth $59?!)
- Labz Supplement Brands
- Soylent (see also the Soylent Lawsuit)
Contact us if you have ideas / requests for new ones.
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EAA is the New BCAA: Essential Amino Acids Stage a Coup
“BCAAs vs. EAAs?”
For quite a while, that was the big argument. Over the decades, branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplements have been some of the most popular (and profitable) products on the market. Catapulted into the spotlight by some early […] Continue Reading →
Dynamine: A Neuroactivating “Stimulant” by Compound Solutions
Major Announcement! Dynamine has achieved GRAS Status with the FDA with several new safety studies! Read more in our Dynamine GRAS announcement to understand the importance of this decision.
Compound Solutions is regarded as one of the premier companies on […] Continue Reading →
Bait and Switch: The REAL Reason to Hate Proprietary Blends
Over the past decade, the supplement industry has made a serious shift towards open labeling practices and away from proprietary blends. Nearly all new brands on the scene are opting to disclose the dosages of all active ingredients, while the […] Continue Reading →
DMHA / 2-Aminoisoheptane / Octodrine: 2016’s Stimulant
New year, new stimulant? You bet your ass!
In the wake of the removal of other popular stimulants over the past few years, a battle has raged to fill the void left by the ingredients now gone. The supplement industry […] Continue Reading →
Ecklonia Cava: The Sugar-Shuttling Seaweed Supplement
Seaweed is one of Earth’s most interesting dietary wonders. Packed with nutrient-rich polyphenols, scientists are continually finding great new compounds inside.
It’s often postulated that some of these compounds, along with higher fish consumption, can be attributed to coastal populations […] Continue Reading →
MSM Supplements: Joint Support for Athletes AND Aging!
To any athlete looking to achieve consistent and long-term results, joint health should be considered as important as proper training and diet. If the joints aren’t fully functional, then strength and speed will be suboptimal, no matter how good the […] Continue Reading →
Spilanthes Acmella: Testosterone-Boosting Flower of Power
Spilanthes Acmella is a food used throughout history as a medicine specifically for its pain relieving properties. It’s also known as the Toothache Plant, or Paracress, for its frequent use in helping relieve toothaches.
More poignant to this […] Continue Reading →
Tomatidine: The Muscle-Building Nightshade
Tomatoes are one of the most commonly-eaten foods around the world. Over time, scientists have discovered a multitude of natural compounds inside, nearly every one of them beneficial in some capacity.
Never did we imagine that one of these compounds […] Continue Reading →
Grains of Paradise: Fat Fighting Spice of the Goddesses
Grains of Paradise is a spice routinely used in many styles of cooking to deliver a bit of “pop” to a dish. So why are we seeing it in fat burning supplements lately? Put simply: because it works – and […] Continue Reading →
Want to Die Sooner? Then Don’t Eat Your Vegetables
We’ve always “known”, but now we know. In lieu of the “Standard American Diet”, eating your fruits and vegetables makes you live longer.
Or, to put it in a way that will hit closer to home, not eating vegetables […] Continue Reading →
