Ciltep is without a doubt one of the more popular nootropics around.
This ‘brain fitness’ supplement claims to help you with:
- Sharper thinking
- Mood
- Focus
- Mental energy & motivation
But does Ciltep really work?
Well, the promises are there, but it ultimately all comes down to the ingredients. That’s what we’re going to focus on in this Ciltep review.
We’ll also check for side effects, benefits, and dosage instructions to get the full picture of how this nootropic works.
Pros and Cons
If you’re looking for a quick overview of the good and the bad things about Ciltep, here we have just that.
While it might help you with general health, Ciltep is not the best nootropic we’ve seen.
Some of its ingredients are pointless for brain support.
It’s not all bad, however. The doses are in safe ranges, and some ingredients will most certainly support your bile production in the liver. Ciltep also seems to help protect your neurons from oxidative stress.
But it doesn’t do much more than that.
Who Makes Ciltep?
Ciltep is one of the many products of the company Natural Stacks.
Founded in 2013, Natural Stacks has been around in the supplement industry for several years now.
They claim to “leverage patented technology and breakthrough research to create the absolute best natural brain supplements.” These include everything from caffeine to dopamine brain formulas.
Natural Stacks also promises that “results can be felt on the first dose.”
You may ask, are these claims backed by science, or are they just empty promises? Luckily, checking the ingredient profile will give us the answer to this question.
Benefits
Nootropics like Ciltep work by boosting specific pathways in your brain. These include hippocampal blood flow, brain cell protection, and neuron to neuron signaling.
However, Ciltep also claims to help you with:
- Focus
- Motivation
- Cognition
It’s also worth noting that Ciltep doesn’t use any caffeine. Some users will love this, and some won’t. It all depends on how sensitive you are to stimulants.
Ingredients
There are a few familiar ingredients in Ciltep’s formula.
The odd thing is that you won’t usually find these ingredients in nootropics. Simply because they target other areas of health, such as liver and fat loss.
While these benefits are great, they’re not really the goal of this supplement.
Still, you’ll be glad to hear that Ciltep’s formula is safe and transparent. The facts on the label are laid out for you to see, which we consider an excellent policy.
On the other hand, it’s always best to say no to proprietary blends that hide crucial dosage facts.
Vitamin B6
An essential ingredient with many small benefits for your body.
Vitamin B6 is found mostly in animal foods, and it helps your body with a variety of things. From the production of brain chemicals to maintaining healthy testosterone levels.
But unless you’re on a strict vegan diet, it’s not that easy to be deficient in vitamin B6. That’s why you might not notice any benefits from taking it. (2)
Artichoke Extract
Supports bile production and helps the liver work better.
It’s quite odd to see artichoke included in a nootropic. Besides helping you digest fats, there’s very little that this plant can do for your brain. It’s definitely not our favorite ingredient in a nootropic supplement. (1)
Acetyl-L-Carnitine
Antioxidant.
Acetyl-L-Carnitine is a great brain health ingredient. While you probably won’t see any noticeable benefits from it, Carnitine protects your cells from oxidative stress. And it’s quite useful at that – some studies show that ACLAR can even prevent the methamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity. (3)
L-Phenylalanine
No evidence to support any nootropic benefits of this ingredient.
This is an amino acid found in plentiful amounts in food. If being deficient in vitamin B6 is hard, then a deficiency in L-Phenylalanine is even less likely to occur.
Again, the only benefit you might gain from this kind of ingredient is if you’d eat a strictly plant-based diet. In which case, it could help with the production of dopamine. Even then, we lack studies that show a clear link between Phenylalanine deficiency and reduced dopamine production. (4)
Coleus Forskholii (Forskolin)
Rodent studies show that it can support brain health.
Ciltep has some unusual ingredient choices in its formula. This trend continues with Coleus Forskholii. This ingredient promotes fat loss and testosterone boosting in men. Some animal studies do show that Coleus Forskholii helps with certain things brain-wise, but it’s not overly convincing at this point. (5)
Anything Missing?
Ciltep’s formula feels like unfinished business. It only has a couple of effective ingredients. The rest isn’t that great.
Some of our favorite ingredients missing from Ciltep include:
- Lion’s Mane Mushroom
- Rhodiola Rosea
- L-Carnitine
- Huperzine A
- Cat’s Claw
- Phosphatidylserine
So, does this mean that Ciltep’s formula is terrible? Far from it!
The ingredients are mostly well-tolerated. Some of them work to bolster your antioxidant defenses in the brain, and some might even help you with fat loss. It’s just a bit odd that this benefit comes from a supplement categorized as a ‘nootropic’.
How to Take (Dosage)
The dosage of Ciltep is 3 capsules per day. The instructions on the label state to take it all in one go. If you wish to start low and safe with just one capsule, you can do that too. Make sure not to take more than three caps to avoid any potential side effects.
Side Effects of Ciltep
Although Ciltep’s formula isn’t the strongest one we’ve seen, it’s one of the safer ones out there.
It’s well tolerated by most users and uses safe ingredients in safe doses. So there’s nothing to say in that regard, other than bravo to Natural Stacks!
Price and Value For Money?
Ciltep belongs more in the pricey range of nootropics. Specifically it costs around $48 per bottle, depending on where you buy it.
Now, this wouldn’t be a big deal if the product had enough servings. But as it turns out, one bottle only has 60 capsules. This means that if you take the recommended 3 caps per day, you’ll have to buy a new Ciltep bottle every 20 days.
For us, this makes it a pretty disappointing value for money. Had it at least included better ingredients, then we would definitely consider it.
Ciltep Review Conclusion
So that was our Ciltep review. This nootropic has a few good ingredients like ALCAR, but that’s about it.
The dosage is also quite weird. With 3 caps per day, you’ll go through an entire Ciltep bottle in less than 3 weeks.
This product claims to help boost your motivation, focus, and mood. But it’s hard to believe it can do all of that.
It does have some ingredients which help to support your liver health, fat loss, and antioxidant activity in the brain. But not much more.
>>Further reading: Mind Lab Pro Review – Is This the Ultimate Nootropic Formula?