Performance · June 12, 2012

Cyvita Does It Work? Review Of Evidence

Longer, stronger, more frequent erections. These are the claims made for Cyvita, a male enhancement / erection supplement. To backup these claims it's said that Cyvita is clinically proven in a study published a medical journal. Does Cyvita work? Is Cyvita a scam? I've been asked these questions by a lot of people and the study mentioned on TV commercials got my attention too, so let's review Cyvita and see what's going on.

Cyvita Ingredients

When I went to Cyvita.com, I noticed some words printed in parentheses in small letters under Cyvita. The words are:

Propionyl l- carnitine Hcl
Acetyl l- carnitine Hcl

This tells me that Cyvita is composed of a compound called carnitine. Cyvita just has different forms of carnitine. On the FAQ page of the website, it's said that Cyvita is composed of :

Glycine Propionyl l- carnitine
Acetyl l-carnitine

How much of these ingredients are in Cyvita? They don't tell us, but when I called their customer service number —which is actually a call center and not the Cyvita company—I was told that one pill has 2000 mg (2 grams) of this proprietary blend.

Carnitine does a lot of things. For example it's an antioxidant. We actually make carnitine naturally and it's found in milk and meat too.

Carnitine also helps us make energy by taking part in the fat burning process. This is the very reason why carnitine is also found weight loss supplements. It's debatable though if carnitine supplements help people lose weight.

On the FAQ page of the Cyvita website there is a list of the benefits of Cyvita. However these benefits are for carnitine and not Cyvita itself. Cyvita may indeed have the same benefits, but as far as I can tell, Cyvita itself has not been tested so I can't say either way if it does or doesn't.

Cyvita Research

Cyvita commercials speak of clinical proof that the product works, but the Cyvita website does not list any studies. So, I went searching and this is what I found…

Study 1 . Carnitine verses androgen administration in the treatment of sexual dysfunction depressed mood and fatigue associated with male aging.

This is this the study mentioned in Cyvita commercials. In the commercials, they say that an independent study was published in The “prestigious medical journal of adult urology”.

However, there is no publication called “the medical journal of adult urology.” If you Google this phrase in quotes, almost everything you see has to do with Cyvita!

The study Cyvita talks about actually was published in the Journal of Urology. I cannot locate any publication called the medical journal of adult urology.

Tip. If you look at the full text of the study, the words “Adult Urology “ appear on the upper right corner of the study. I'm guessing this may be what confused those who put together the commercials and website for Cyvita.

This study was published in 2004. It involved 120 men age 60 to 74 years. The study lasted 6 months. Men were randomly split into 3 groups:

Group 1 got 160 mg testosterone per day
Group 2 got 2 grams each of Propionyl l carnitine and acetyl l carnitine (4 grams total)
Group 3 got a placebo (starch pill)

Results.

Both carnitine and testosterone improved various heart functions and nighttime erections.
Carnitine appeared to be significantly better than testosterone at improving nighttime erections.
Men getting carnitine also scored higher on an erection quality test called the ” international index of erection function.”
Carnitine did not raise testosterone levels
Neither testosterone or carnitine raised PSA levels
The placebo had no effect

Study 2. Another carnitine study was published in 2005 . It is titled: Acetyl-L-carnitine plus propionyl-L-carnitine improve efficacy of sildenafil in treatment of erectile dysfunction after bilateral nerve-sparing radical retropubic prostatectomy.

Sildenafil is the technical name for Viagra.

This study was also published in the Journal of Urology and was also headed by the same researcher (Cavallini G) as the investigation reviewed above. This may be the second study mentioned in Cyvita commercials.
This study consisted of 96 men who had radical prostate surgery. The men were split into 3 groups:

Group 1 consist of 33 men who received a placebo
Group 2 consisted of 32 men . These men got 2 grams each of acetyl l carnitine and propionyl l carnitine (4 grams total) per day plus 100 mg Viagra if they needed it.
Group 3 (35 men) received only Viagra.

The group numbers add up to 100, so I'm guessing 4 men dropped out of the study.

Results. Basically this study found that carnitine helped Viagra work better.

Who Makes Cyvita?

The product website says the company is called Cyvita LLC. According to the Better Business Bureau Cyvita LLC is located at 4910 Longley ste 101 Reno NV 8950-7933.

If you Google this address you may see that it's the same address as that given for the weightloss pill called Zylotrim, a supplement I've reviewed previously. This address actually corresponds to a fulfillment company called Innotrac which is the company that ships the product.

This is also the same address given for the enlarged prostate supplement, Prosvent.

Here is what the address of Cyvitta LLC looks like from Google street view. According to the BBB, Cyvita LLC was started on 9/13/11 and has a rating of D. See the BBB file for updates and additional information.

Is Cyvita a Drug?

The name Cyvita sounds like a drug and I think even the box has a “pharmaceutical look” to it, but Cyvita is a dietary supplement and not a drug. That’s one reason why ads for Cyvita often mention “no prescription” needed.

How to Contact Cyvita

To order Cyvita, the product website lists this number 800-944-2810. To reorder Cyvita call 800- 968-1387. This is the same number as listed on the BBB website. I recommend calling this second number if you want to speak to a human being. Remember that when you call, you are speaking with a call center and not Cyvita LLC.

When I called their customer service number, before I could ask any questions, they asked for was my last name and zip code. I declined to give them that information.

How To Order Cyvita

People can order Cyvita either by calling the phone numbers listed above or by going to the Cyvita.com website. If you order on the website, there is a box you must check, saying you have read Cyvita terms and conditions. Be sure to read that page. When I did, I noticed this very strange statement in the Terms and Conditions page of cyvita.com:

“THIS SALE AGREEMENT AND ARBITRATION CLAUSE DOES NOT ALLOW CLASS ARBITRATIONS EVEN IF THE NAF PROCEDURES OR RULES WOULD. YOU AGREE THAT, BY ENTERING INTO THIS SALE AGREEMENT, YOU AND CYVITA ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION.”

If understand this correctly, it looks like if you order Cyvita on the website —and if anything bad ever happened—you are waiving your legal right to take part in any class action lawsuits against Cyvita in the future and waiving your right to have a trial by jury.

I have also noticed this statement at the bottom of Cyvita TV commercials as well.

What's up with that? I have never seen a statement like this before on ANY supplement website or commercial.

I'm sure this is “cover your butt” talk, and after I thought about it, kind of makes a little sense. Here's why. When you sell a product —that has not been tested—to millions of people, somebody, somewhere, may eventually have a problem-and want to sue. Heck, lawsuits still happen even when a product has been tested.

Still, I'm uneasy with these words. I don’t waive my right to sue if I buy a bottle of aspirin or if I buy a bottle of 5 Hour Energy either…

If you ever did decide to pursue things legally, instead of a trial, you would have to go through an arbitration. I found this statement on the Cyvita Terms and Conditions page:

“ANY CLAIM, DISPUTE, OR CONTROVERSY (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE, WHETHER PREEXISTING, PRESENT OR FUTURE, AND INCLUDING STATUTORY, COMMON LAW, INTENTIONAL TORT AND EQUITABLE CLAIMS) arising from or relating to this Sale Agreement, its interpretation, or the breach, termination or validity thereof, the relationships which result from this Sale Agreement (including, to the full extent permitted by applicable law, relationships with third parties who are not signatories to this Sale Agreement), CYVITA's advertising, or any related purchase SHALL BE RESOLVED EXCLUSIVELY AND FINALLY BY BINDING ARBITRATION ADMINISTERED BY THE NATIONAL ARBITRATION FORUM (NAF) under the Code of Procedure of ARBITRATION-FORUM.COM (the “Code”) in effect at the time the claim is filed. The Code is available at http://www.arbitration-forum.com or can be obtained by calling 1-800-753-9448.”

I don't know if this same stipulation about waiving legal rights occurs if you call them on the phone to order it. I recommend you ask about this if you order Cyvita by phone.

How Much Does Cyvita Cost?

If you order Cyvita, on their website, you are buying a 1 week supply for $19.95 and then you get a week supply for free (so you must first pay $19.95 to get the free week supply).

Then, 12 days later, you will be sent a 30 day supply of Cyvita for $59.40 per month as part of their autoship program. You will be sent a 30 day supply of Cyvita every 30 days unless you cancel. You need to call 1-800-968-1387 to cancel the autoship program.

Cyvita is on Amazon for those who want to compare prices and avoid the autoship program

Cyvita Side Effects

As far as I can tell no study has specifically looked at Cyvita to see what its side effects might be. I'm not aware of any Cyvita side effects as I write this. The two studies previously mentioned above did not show any harmful side effects either.

That said, here are some possible side effects of carnitine based on other findings.

Carnitine might reduce thyroid hormone levels. This may be a problem for people who take thyroid medications.

Carnitine may increase the action of some blood thinner medications.

Whether Cyvita might do the same thing, I do not know. Ask your doctor about Cyvita if you take any medications or are not “healthy.” To their credit, this caution is also mentioned on the Cyvita website.

How Long Until Cvita Works?

Cyvita makes no specific claims about how long it takes to work, but if we assume that the studies quoted in Cyvita commercials are representatives of Cyvita itself, then I'd guess it might take 6 months before men notice a difference. I admit I could be wrong on this. Cyvita recommends taking 3-6 tablets per day with water and waiting at least 30 minutes before eating to get “optimum results.” Also see my review of of the male enhancement supplement, Androzene, for more info.

What do you think?

About Joe Cannon

Joe Cannon, MS has been investigating supplements and teaching people about them since the 1990s. He holds an MS in exercise science and a BS degree in chemistry and biology. He uses science to evaluate supplements. He's the author of several books including the first book about exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis. He's been quoted in the New York Times, Shape Magazine, and The Daily Beast. He trains personal trainers, speaking to thousands each year, and has even lectured to NASA.

Learn more about Joe Cannon here

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