Mind Lab Pro vs. Lumonol pits two leading performance-driven brain supplements against each other.
When you look at these two nootropic stacks, by appearance alone, you might think they were related. Similar sleek, clinical-looking design with a sheen of quality. In formulation, they share a common goal, too: Enhancing overall brain functions to supercharge cognitive performance.
While there is no DNA link between these two stacks, they both rank among our Best 5. But which one is superior? Which one boosts the whole brain more effectively? Let’s find out in this in depth comparison “versus” review…
Table of Contents
Tale of the Tape
Mind Lab Pro |
vs. |
Lumonol |
||
Ingredients | Doses | Ingredients | Doses | |
Vitamin B6* (as BioGenesis™) | 2.5 mg (125% DV) | Vitamin B12 (Methylcobalamin) | 250 mcg (4166% DV) | |
Vitamin B9* (as BioGenesis™) | 100 mcg (25%DV) | Focus Blend | 515 mg | |
Vitamin B12* (as BioGenesis™) | 7.5 mcg (125% DV) | Phosphatidylserine | ** | |
Citicoline (as Cognizin®) | 250 mg | Acetyl L-Carnitine | ** | |
Bacopa monnieri (as full spectrum extract 24% bacosides with 9 bioactives) (aerial parts) | 150 mg | L-Tyrosine | ** | |
Lion’s Mane Mushroom (full spectrum) (fruit) | 500 mg | Noopept | ** | |
Phosphatidylserine (as Sharp-PS® Green from sunflower lecithin) | 100 mg | Energy Blend | 430 mg | |
N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine | 175 mg | Panax Ginseng | ** | |
L-Theanine (as Suntheanine®) | 100 mg | Hordenine | ** | |
Rhodiola Rosea (3% rosavins and 1% salidroside) (root) | 50 mg | Guarana | ** | |
Maritime Pine Bark Extract (95% proanthocyanidins) | 75 mg | Memory Blend | 170 mg | |
Ginkgo Biloba | ** | |||
Alpha GPC | ** |
Round 1: Formulas
Mind Lab Pro by Opti-Nutra is called the Universal Nootropic because it is designed to boost the whole brain.
The idea is, by optimizing brain energy, brain chemicals, brain circulation, brain protection, brain regeneration and brain waves, Mind Lab Pro promotes an overall state of enhanced cognitive performance. Whether you need focus, concentration, attention, memory, mood, or something different, Mind Lab Pro’s universal approach can deliver the cognitive benefits that you need.
- The bonus: Mind Lab Pro helps enhance brain health, so it helps your long-range cognitive outlook as well as your immediate mental performance needs.
Lumonol is presented in a similar way, “engineered to elevate overall cognitive performance.”
Like Mind Lab Pro, Lumonol was created to be a far-reaching stack – with 10 ingredients compared to Mind Lab Pro’s 11. It reminds us of Alpha Brain in a few ways – but when it comes to formulation, the similarity lies in the way they divide up their nootropics. Lumonol does so over three blends:
- Focus blend
- Energy blend
- Memory blend.
Each of these blends has a proprietary dosage, much like Alpha brain – hiding the dosages of each individual ingredients.
Mind Lab Pro and Lumonol share three ingredients: vitamin B12, phosphatidylserine, and L-Tyrosine.
Both have a strong ingredient team, even the ingredients that don’t match target similar pathways, and may be expected to produce similar brainpower results.
The biggest difference between these two formulas is that Lumonol uses a racetams and a caffeine source: Noopept and Guarana.
On its website, Mind Lab Pro goes out of its way to explain why they do not use racetams and caffeine. In a nutshell, they feel that racetams are not that well understood, and may have harsh stimulating effects. They avoid caffeine because they do not consider it a true nootropic, citing the fact that its stimulant activity can be erratic, side effect riddled, and may be followed by a crash.
Instead, Mind Lab Pro includes L-Theanine, which modulates Alpha brain waves (a bioactivity that Lumonol does not touch), which has relaxing, focus-sharpening benefits that can actually make caffeine work better.
When it comes to formulation strategy, is difficult to pick a winner between these two leading stacks.
But judging by their shared goal of overall brain enhancement, Mind Lab Pro emerges as the winner.
Lumonol is for focus, energy, and memory, which is great. But Mind Lab Pro is designed to boost those same cognitive functions and more. Also, there is a sophistication to Mind Lab Pro’s avoidance of stimulants and racetams that is simply better for overall brain health and long term function.
Both of these performance driven stacks feature expert design for noticeable brainpower benefits, but our choice for the winner of this round is just a little more complete and a little more advanced:
Round 1… Mind Lab Pro.
Round 2: Dosages
If you have read our guide on how to buy a good supplement, you know Best 5 does not approve of proprietary blends because they hide the dosages that consumers deserve to know. As great as Lumonol is, it’s reliance on proprietary blends is a troubling drawback.
Lumonol does reveal their Noopept dosage — 15 mg — on their website, although it is omitted on the label. The one dosage that they do show on the label is vitamin B12, in an advanced methylcobalamin form at a very large 250 µg serving. That’s 4166% of the daily value for vitamin B12. Mind Lab Pro on the other hand supplies 7.5 µg of vitamin B12; 125% of the daily value.
Unfortunately, that is where direct comparisons between these two products dosages must end, due to the fact that Lumonol uses proprietary blends.
Mind Lab Pro shows dosages for each of its 11 ingredients right on the label. Let’s consider a couple as best we can against Lumonol.
- Mind Lab Pro supplies 100 mg of phosphatidylserine; Lumonol supplies phosphatidylserine as part of a 515 mg blend combined with three other ingredients
- Mind Lab Pro supplies a choline donor city choline at a dosage of 250 mg; Lumonol supplies Alpha GPC, a lesser choline donor, as part of a 170 mg blend that it shares with ginkgo biloba.
Guesswork is never good when it comes to dosages on a nutritional supplements label. (Just ask OptiMind)
Despite that, we are giving some benefit of doubt to Lumonol much as we have done with Alpha Brain. The dosages of its blends look sufficient and we bet a good number of their ingredients hit a beneficial dosage — even if they don’t tell us what it is.
But with Mind Lab Pro there is no guesswork. They are completely transparent. But more importantly, the dosages that they show are strong across the board – each and every single one is in clinical range for some type of brain benefit.
Round 2… Mind Lab Pro Wins.
Round 3: Ingredient Quality
Mind Lab Pro® is in the midst of building a nootropic dietary supplement empire on the foundation of top-shelf ingredients. Their formulation includes branded ingredients (Cognizin®, Sharp-PS®, and Suntheanine®), standardized herbs, a specialized form of Bacopa monnieri that is calibrated for exact bioactive nootropic compounds, and a superior Tyrosine form called NALT.
In addition, Mind Lab Pro’s formula updated in 2017 to introduce BioGenesis™ B vitamins, which are grown in a laboratory to produce nature-identical whole food structure that is easier for the body to absorb and utilize.
While Mind Lab Pro is buzzing with all these bells and whistles, advanced forms, premium forms, cutting-edge nutritional breakthroughs – Lumonol falls flat.
To give credit where it is due, there methylcobalamin form of vitamin B12’s active and highly effective, and should be considered a premium form. Noopept is also a trademarked nutrient, and is special in its own right. Everything else though is a plain nutrient form that is just not as good. And when it comes to ingredients that these two formulas share, the difference in quality shines through:
- Mind Lab Pro uses Sharp-PS® Green, a sunflower lecithin derived form that is eco-friendly.
- Lumonol uses plain PS. We have no idea where it came from. Probably soy.
- Mind Lab Pro uses N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, the active, preferred tyrosine form for brain health
- Lumonol uses plain L-Tyrosine, a cheaper, harder to absorb form.
- Mind Lab Pro uses Cognizin Citicoline, a global leader in citicoline research and advancement backed by abundant human research
- Lumonol uses Alpha-GPC, a choline donor in the same class as Citicoline, but not as effective or wide ranging in its brain support
This Mind Lab Pro vs. Lumonol round is very easy to call – but then again, our winner in this round has yet to be defeated in terms of ingredient quality…
Round 3… Mind Lab Pro Wins.
Round 4: Price
Mind Lab Pro | VS. | Lumonol | ||
1 Bottle (30-day supply) | $65 | 1 Bottle (30-day supply) | $59.97 | |
Price Per Capsule | $1.08 | Price Per Capsule | $1.00 | |
Price Per Serving | $2.17 | Price Per Serving | $2.00 |
Round 4… Lumonol Wins.
Round 5: Mind Lab Pro vs. Lumonol JUDGEMENT
This battle is a resounding victory for Mind Lab Pro. But we don’t want to be too harsh on Lumonol. Both of these supplements get strong reviews. Both are among the best five you can buy in the nootropics category , largely due to to the strength of their respective formulations, which feature excellent combinations of some of the best ingredients available. Both of these smart pills can improve multiple aspects of cognitive performance.
When you really look at the details, however, Mind Lab Pro sets itself apart in a big way. Sophistication of design, ingredient quality, ingredient choices, transparency – all of these little details ultimately make a big difference, firmly positioning Mind Lab Pro as the superior brain boosting stack
Leave a Reply