Controlled Labs Orange Brainwash – Supreme Cognitive Booster

Whenever Controlled Labs pops up on our radar, we know it’s going to be a good day. The New York supplement company has been in the game for quite some time and is probably best known for their White Flood pre workout series. People also tend to forget that CL was one of the only companies for a long time carrying the torch for EAAs in intra workouts with their tasty and effective Purple Wraath.

But for this new one, they’re starting it off right… with a rotating gif!!

Controlled Labs explodes back on the scene with a powerhouse nootropic supplement titled Orange Brainwash.

The brand is back at it, and this time they’re jumping into the rapidly expanding nootropic niche with the debut of Orange Brainwash. Keeping in line with their theme of ‘colorful’ names, this nootropic definitely jumps off the page, bringing all the bells and whistles of a well-made brain-boosting supplement powder that you can drink every morning or afternoon.

We’ve got all the details on this mighty nootropic supplement ahead, but before we get there, take a moment to check the best deal and sign up for alerts from PricePlow:

Orange Brainwash Ingredients

To say this thing is loaded would be an understatement. This product literally has everything (and then some more) you’d possibly want in a pre workout. Hold onto your brains boys and girls, because your mind is about to get blown

• Acetyl L-Carnitine (2g)

  

  Orange Brainwash is LOADED with all sort of nootropic goodness, and dosed extremely well to boot.

  Typically displayed as ALCAR, acetyl l-carnitine is a highly bioavailable form of L-Carnitine that seamlessly crosses the blood-brain barrier, bringing with it a slew of cognitive benefits included increased focus, memory, and learning memory along with some neuroprotection too.^[1,2]

  ALCAR contributes to greater levels of the “learning” neurotransmitter acetylcholine by offering its acetyl group. In the presence of sufficient choline (more on that below), the body will generate more acetylcholine, thereby enhancing cognitive function and mental energy.^[3]

  1g is where we start to “feel” it a bit, and this 2g is a spectacular start to a good nootropic powder.

• L-Tyrosine (1g)

  It’s no secret L-Tyrosine is our preferred form of the amino acid. It’s been shown to be more effective than N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine in the body, leading to greater production of three important neurotransmitters — adrenaline, noradrenaline, and dopamine.^[4,5] Greater levels of these three catecholamines translate to increased alertness, focus, and mood.

  This is another solid dose – the industry has moved on from the smaller 250mg or even 500mg doses, and nootropic users want to feel it working. Many users, including ourselves, get that at 1g.

• Alpha GPC 50% (600mg)

  

  Acetylcholine is synthesised from the compounds choline and acetyl-CoA. Image courtesy of the University of Bristol

  Up next is another one of our top focus-boosting compounds around, in Alpha GPC. Along with CDP-Choline, Alpha GPC is a highly bioavailable form of supplemental choline that enhances acetylcholine production, leading to more dialed in focus as well as a stronger mind-muscle connection (should you be using this as a pre workout too).^[6,7,8]

  Note that you’re getting 600mg of Alpha GPC 50%, which means each scoop of Orange Brainwash delivers 300mg Alpha GPC. If you’re looking at a product that simply states “600mg Alpha-GPC”, but they don’t state that it’s 50%, then you need to check with the manufacturer, because there’s a good shot they’re not being fully honest. Reason being, pure alpha GPC is a sticky mess — it needs to be bound to something like silica, which is a 50/50 ratio!

  So we’d like to thank Controlled Labs for the honest dosing information. And once again, this is right at the dose where things can be felt for the better.

• Lion’s Mane Powder (500mg)

  One of the oldest, and more recently popular, nootropics on the scene is Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus). Frequently used in Asian cultures, Lion’s Mane is a crazy looking fungi that increases Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) in the brain as well as memory, recall, and cognitive function.^[9,10,11]

  You’re getting 500mg of Lion’s Mane powder, which is a good starting dose, but we really need to know what the beta-glucan content is. Beta-glucans are polysaccharides in Lion’s Mane responsible for a lot of the ingredient’s nootropic benefits. So, until we know that, we’re left to wonder – but the dose is promising either way.

  There’s a lot more to this mighty mushroom, which you can read about in our in-depth article titled, Lion’s Mane: The Nerve Growth Nootropic Mushroom.

• L-Theanine (200mg)

  

  Increased focus, energy, alertness, mood, and reaction time…is there anything Brainwash doesn’t do?

  Theanine is a relaxing amino acid present in tea leaves. It’s often added to higher stim pre workouts to help tame the aggressive hit of caffeine, but it also provides some unique cognitive benefits when paired with caffeine. Specifically, theanine enhances cognitive performance (word recognition, information processing, attention switching, etc.) and mood.^[12,13]

  The “trick” with theanine is to find the right amount for you. Too much and you’re too relaxed to want to do anything, but just the right amount and you’ll slip into a quasi “flow” state and be cruising through your work with ease. The 200mg might be too much for some people, but the perfect amount for the crowd who’s really sensitive to caffeine.

• Bacopa Leaf Extract (150mg)

  In use since 800 B.C., Bacopa Monnieri is a nootropic herb prized for its bacoside content. Bacosides are a type of saponin that operate as neurotransmitter regulators and also help regenerate synapses and repair damaged neurons.^[14] The good quality bacopa extracts on the market are high in bacoside content, which the extract here is standardized to 50% bacosides. This is the good stuff folks!

  As for benefits, bacopa does it all. It acts as a neuroprotectant, improves learning, memory, and cognition all in addition to relieving stress and anxiety.^[15,16,17] We’ve got a ton of more info on this potent nootropic in our guide Bacopa Monnieri: The “Feel Good” Nootropic.

  We’re finding that bacopa is a main ingredient in every one of our favorite nootropic formulas. It just has that extra “something” that feels good. At this point, we’re unsurprised that it’s in Orange Brainwash, because they’ve hit on nearly everything else we enjoy too!

• Caffeine Anhydrous (150mg)

  

  The world’s favorite drug is also a powerful cognitive and performance enhancer.

  Caffeine really is a fascinating compound, not matter how many times we write about it or use it. It’s a CNS stimulant, performance enhancer, and nootropic all in one. It wakes you up, motivates you to get to work, then improves your productivity and performance in the gym.

  In other words, caffeine is generally just awesome, and the dose used in Orange Brainwash is equally perfect for a nootropic supplement. At 150mg per serving, this is just the right amount to awaken your brain without overstimulating you to the point that you’re chasing your own tail around the office.

  The question is how this is going to feel pit against 200mg L-Theanine. 150mg is the safe play for all nootropic users. Any more than that and you’re getting into pre workout or strong energy drink territory, which isn’t exactly the goal here!

• SerinAid (100mg)

  Not seen frequently enough for our liking, SerinAid is a premium form of phosphatidylserine (PS) developed by Chemi Nutra, yielding 50% of the compound by mass. That means in each 100mg serving contained here, you’re getting 50mg worth of phosphatidylserine.

  What’s phosphatidylserine, you ask?

  PS is a fat-soluble amino acid found in the brain that aids cognitive function. Research studies have shown it improves depression and declining mental function in the elderly.^[18,19] And, it also can offer some anti-anxiety and anti-stress benefits too.^[20,21]

• AstraGin (50mg)

  Developed by NuLiv Science, AstraGin is a proprietary combination of panax ginseng and Astragalus membranaceus added to supplements to improve its absorption and utilization by the body. It’s been tested (and shown to be effective) with a wide range of compounds, including some very well-known ones in creatine, citrulline, and beta alanine.^[22]

• Theobromine (50mg)

  

  Taken from the patent application, this is actually about its antitussive effect, but shows that it certainly lasts a while.

  Dubbed caffeine’s “younger, weaker” brother, theobromine is a methylxanthine compound present in coffee, tea, and cocoa. Theobromine isn’t nearly as stimulating as caffeine, it provides a much smoother, longer-lasting energy. Where it does shine over caffeine is that it improves blood flow and oxygenation to the brain.^[23] FYI, some research indicates that daily caffeine usage can actually restrict blood flow to the brain and reduce gray matter.^[23] Pairing this alongside caffeine ensures you get the mood, focus, and energy-elevating benefits of caffeine without the vasoconstriction that can impact cognitive performance.

• Huperzine A 1% (200mcg)

  Finally, we have the indirect acetylcholine booster, Huperzine. Frequently paired alongside Alpha GPC, Huperzine is a nootropic that inhibits acetylcholinesterase, the enzyme that degrades acetylcholine.^[25] Using it in conjunction with Alpha GPC (or any other choline source) provides a two-pronged attack that not only increases levels of acetylcholine, but also ensures it hangs around for a good long while, yielding long-lasting focus.

  This compound also exerts some neurogenerative and neuroprotectant qualities as well,^[26,27] which is all the more reason it makes for a great addition to Orange Brain Wash.

Flavors Available

Controlled Labs has absolutely knocked it out of the park with this formula!

Orange Brainwash has just launched and with the debut comes three flavors you’ll surely find appealing:

Controlled Labs Brain Wash Knocks it Out of the Park

It’s been quite a while since we’ve covered anything from Controlled Labs, but you know that when they pop on the scene, it’s going to be good…really good.

As long-time BBcom forum junkies, Controlled Labs has a special place in our heart. They were innovators on the EAA scene, their flavors were fantastic before it “mattered”, and they are a company that provided great service. So we get excited whenever CL puts out a new supplement… but we get really excited when they put one out that has basically every single one of our favorite nootropic ingredients!

Orange Brain Wash is certainly a powerful productivity and cognitive booster that sits right alongside many of our other top nootropic supplements. The dosing is there, which is something lacking from so many of the top nootropic supplements listed in stores like Amazon. The one area we may add a touch more oomph is on the caffeine side, but we need to try it before going down that road.

If you’ve been looking for a cognitive booster but not sure where to go, you’ll certainly be pleased with Orange Brainwash. We consider this an intermediate-level nootropic that should please basically everybody.