If you're a huge geek video game fan like us, you probably experience little energy slumps from time to time—and I'm not talking about Donkey Kong's bananas. In this article, discover all the essential recommendations for selecting the best gamer food supplement.
In this article:
- The problem
- Efficacy of food supplements
- What is a gamer food supplement
- Our selection
The best food supplements for gamers
| Products | Sugar Level | Caffeine | Verdict |
| Madmonq | - | High | Effective, but too much caffeine. |
| LevlUp | High | High | Too much sugar and caffeine, to be avoided. |
| Booster X | - | - | Effective for long-term health, but taste could be improved. |
The gamer's problem
You're passionate, so when you play, you give it your heart and soul.
But then, at some point, you realize that the sun set a long time ago and you've been playing all night.
Your eyes sting, a headache sets in, and your reflexes are at an all-time low.
Worse, this pattern repeats, and you feel tired every day; your energy is completely drained.
Your Ki bar is as empty as Son Goku's after a Meteor Smash in Dragon Ball FighterZ...
The solution for energy slumps
So, what should you do when you hit a slump?
- One solution would be to take a little Viagra, but beyond the pun, that won't help us
🍆
- Another widely accepted idea would be to have a Red Bull or a biiiiig coffee, or maybe a Mars bar packed with sugar and away you go (#ad1996...)
If you're willing to give up your potential new Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 to spend money on a drink that contains basically caffeine and sugar... then good for you.
But on our side, we're team "healthy" and long-term vision. Our mantra is a healthy mind in a healthy body, if you know what I mean...
First off, one solution is to equip yourself with anti-blue light glasses.
That's not the topic, but if your eyes sting and you get headaches from looking at screens, it can help. An article here to help you
And to get back to food supplements, when you see the habits of great sports or eSport champions, maybe it's not such a bad idea to follow their example a little.
Are food supplements useless (or effective)?
You will often hear that food supplements are useless.
That's not entirely false... but it's not entirely true either.
(Thanks, Einstein, for the advice, you're really not going out on a limb there!)
Before thinking about food supplements, you must first make an effort regarding the 3 pillars of good energy and health:
- Excellent balanced nutrition and good hydration (often forgotten). Careful of the trap, Red Bull does not count as hydration, you clever clogs.
- Remember to get regular physical activity. The oldest, healthiest centenarians in the world in Okinawa (the famous "blue zones") don't do any "sports"! They have physical activity during their day and therefore don't even know the concept of "working out."
- Getting good sleep, which is linked to 1 and 2. In our team, we use smartwatches or Oura rings quite a bit to track our sleep.
If you eat a pizza with 3 beers every night at 11 PM, it's no surprise you're tired!
Caution > The best food supplement is not a magic pill and won't change anything if your basics are bad.
So what is a food supplement for?
As the name suggests, a food supplement is a SUPPLEMENT.
What does that mean?
Simply that even if you are very consistent with the 3 pillars above, the food supplement provides the right dose of what you might be missing in your diet (nutrients, vitamins, for example).
Athletes and e-athletes often consume them to improve their performance!
Gamer food supplement: what is the difference?
There are many types of classic food supplements, depending on the effects you are looking for:
- 💤 Better sleep
- 🧠 Improved memory
- 🎯 Increased concentration
- ⚡ Energy boost
- etc.
But then... a food supplement "for gamers," what's the difference?
Is it just marketing?
Sometimes yes, but if you learn to decipher the labels, you will be able to clearly identify that real gaming supplements have that little extra something.
A food supplement designed specifically for gamers is a set of vitamins and nutrients that have a very precise function, dosed in a mix of ingredients that you would have trouble finding in a single standard food supplement.
The effects of a gamer food supplement
A special gaming food supplement will therefore aim to improve and support:
- Concentration
- Energy (and countering fatigue)
- Reduction of stress
- Taking care of your eye health subjected to very specific efforts, not to mention exposure to blue light (did we already mention our super glasses 😁?)
It should be noted that food supplements, whether designed for gamers or not, are subject to ultra-strict standards, especially in France.
Check carefully before buying a supplement that it complies with regulations, and be wary of products that don't play the transparency card, or are produced abroad.
Ingredients of gaming food supplements
Here is a list of the most classic ingredients.
Manufacturers choose based on several criteria because it is not necessary to include them all!
- For eye health, the most classic ingredients are vitamins (vitamin A, B-group, vitamin C, vitamin D), Omega-3 contained for example in flax, blueberry, selenium, copper, zinc, lutein, and sometimes ginkgo biloba. We wrote an article specifically on food supplements for the eyes (click)
- Reduction of stress: Magnesium, sometimes some plants like valerian, B-group vitamins
- Energy boost: Vitamin C (often via Acerola or Guarana), Ginseng, Spirulina, Propolis, and Pollen.
- Concentration: Vitamins B5 and B12, turmeric, iron.
Beware, because you will find many brands that add caffeine: the short-term effect is a nice kick, but it is followed by a drop that tires you even more.
Caffeine is not good for the body, so adding it to a food supplement won't help you much in the long term.
Worse, some offer supplements loaded with sugar!
Without mentioning the harmful effect of sugar on your body, at the price of food supplements, it's sometimes treating customers like mugs 🐷
Finally, try to prioritize natural food supplements as much as possible!
What type of food supplements (Drink / Tablets / Powder) should a gamer take?
Honestly, it will primarily be a matter of personal preference.
However, pay attention to the composition.
In the form of a drink or powder, the food supplement may be combined with sugar. In the form of tablets, the composition is generally much healthier, but as always, a glance at the label doesn't hurt!
The best food supplements
Alright, now that we've said all that, what do we do?
Well, we're going to examine the most well-known gamer food supplements on the market.
Spoiler alert.
Horus X offers a food supplement.
We have included it in the ranking below with its qualities and flaws, to be as transparent as possible.
If you want to take a look, it's here.
Our verdict on MadMonq
One of the most famous in France, you've probably already come across it somewhere.
We like:
- A dedicated formula specially designed for gamers. Here, we are far from your auntie's food supplement.
- Research-backed ingredients that are effective in both the short and long term, much less sugary and much healthier than the rest of the competitors. They didn't do things by halves.
- The new formulation with a better taste (?) We had tested the previous version which had a fairly strong taste; they must have adapted the taste for this new product!
We don't like:
- The caffeine dose (155mg) which is not explicitly displayed. That the coffee is organic is one thing, but the dose is quite intense (equivalent to 2 espressos).
- Labels in English, seems non-compliant with French Regulations?
What we think of: LevlUp Gaming Booster
Undoubtedly the best-selling brand internationally, a benchmark in the field.
We like
- Many flavors
- Much less sugar than in energy drinks
We don't like
- Presence of Dextrose, a sugar with a high glycemic index, so not great...
- The very high caffeine dose (more than 3000 mg of caffeine per 100g of Levlup, i.e., 250mg per dose = about 3 espressos)
- In reality, it is much more of an energy drink equivalent than a real food supplement...
What we think of Booster X
We like
- A simple and effective composition, designed for gamers
- Time-release active ingredients and positive long-term effect
- Proven efficacy developed in collaboration with a laboratory
- Market authorization by the DGCCRF
- Much less sugar than in energy drinks
- Very little caffeine, the only presence being found naturally in Guarana
- 100% natural ingredients.
We like less
- Few ingredients related to vision. Our main focus on this first version is tone and energy boost.
- Presence of pollen. Pollen is a superfood, known for its energetic and fortifying properties, but should not be consumed if you are allergic.
- Taste could be improved.
Final thoughts
First and foremost, balance your nutrition and lifestyle; it's the best thing you can do.
If needed, clearly identify what you are looking for in a supplement, and head towards the least sugary and least caffeinated solutions, with as many natural ingredients as possible.
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Tell us in the comments if you have a different opinion or if you have another supplement to recommend .
See you next time!
Comments
Un grand bravo pour le rédacteur car même si l’article est long, le rédacteur arrive à capter notre intention en utilisant son sens de l’humour et ça nous donne toujours l’envie de continuer à lire.