Table of contents
Introduction
Naringin
Hesperidin
Green tea extract
Caffeine
N-Phenethyl-dimethylamine citrate
Forskolin
Paradoxine
Theophylline
Isopropylnorsynephrine
Rauwolscine
Hey guys,
I've seen a lot of requests for a product breakdown on reddit/YouTube/instagram so thought I would have a look and break them down for those who are interested. This breakdown is based on my own research and as such may not be complete or entirely reflect the ingredient. Any views I express are my own and are not intended as an advertisement or endorsement for any particular ingredient. With that being said, lets get into it.
Preface:
These ingredients have a myriad of effects beyond fat oxidisation and lipid mobilisation, I am not covering these effects here as it is beyond the scope of the article.
KEY
Fat Burning: How good it is at lowering fat levels
Scientific backing: How much research has been conducted
Effective dose: How good is Dereks chosen dose
Side effects: What side effects are associated with the ingredient
Over all: My rating
Naringin
Naringin and naringenin belong to this series of flavonoids found in citrus fruits have been found to display strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. Several lines of investigation suggest that naringin supplementation is beneficial for the treatment of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome.[1] Though a lot of these studies have been conducted in rodents [2,3] who's doses would be hard to replicate in humans [4], with doses as high as 50 mg/kg [5] which using me as an example 6,1, 95kg male would result in a dose of 4750mg a factor of 8 higher than the dose in A2 AM.
That being said, the safety profile for Naringin at that dose would be hectic. Doses that Derek uses have sometimes been associated with side effects including
Cough
Dizziness
Headaches
Flushing sensation
Some medication interaction
So I am not putting Derek on blast for not matching the Rodent model dose mg/mg.
Was it worth including? I think so, I don't think anyone reading this is expecting over the shelf fat burners to be a game changer on their own. Rather they are wanting a helping hand to burn an extra few calories while on a deficit to make the most out of the suffering that is a deficit.
Fat Burning ★★
Scientific backing ★★★
Effective dose ★★
Side effects ★★★ (Lower being more side effects)
Over all ★★ (Rounded down)
Hesperidin
Hesperidin is another a flavanone glycoside found in citrus fruits. I wont bother reiterating what I have already said around Citrus derived flavonoids so I'll just jump into it.
This on an initial look is more promising, a double blind placebo controlled trial [9] showed that in combination with caffeine to have a real effect on fat loss. Using 500mg, of which Derek uses 560, showed a significant effect on the subjects BMI vs the placebo. Another study using amateur cyclist also showed at a dose of 500mg to be a fatness promoting dose [11].
Another Study found that Hesperidin helped stimulate the production of Adiponectin, a hormone that is involved in the breakdown on fat cells as well as antagonising a receptor that incenses fat mobilisation (the PPARαreceptor). [12]
Unfortunately like most naturally derived compounds not much is known about long term exposure, tolerance and the appropriate dose. [10]
Side effects can include:
Lowered blood pressure
Some medication interaction
Not a huge list by any means. This ingredient is a no brainer, especially when combined with caffeine like Derek has done.
Fat Burning ★★★(★ when combined with caffeine)
Scientific backing ★★★★
Effective dose ★★★★★
Side effects ★★★★★ (Lower being more side effects)
Over all ★★★★★ (Rounded up due to being combined with caffeine)
Green tea extract
Well golly, if there was ever a fat loss supplement that your mum has probably heard of its this one. Both my sister and my mum have bought these "amazing fat loss pills" before so I must admit before researching this I went in with my sus hat firmly on.
Well, this compound has been highly studied thats for sure, but despite it being highly studied the results are all over the place with different doses, lengths of exposure and trail methods.
Without going into to much depth here are studies showing an increased fat oxidisation while at rest and during exercise. [13,14,15,16,17,18]. What is interesting is that there have been disparities in the findings of these studies. A lot of the ones I have linked mention the potential disparity between Green Tea's effectiveness and ethnicity, with Asian populations loosing up to twice the fat than that of a causation population. To quote:
"It could be suggested that the lack of consistent findings is explained by differences in study populations. Hursel et al. [19] concluded in a recent meta-analysis that ethnicity may influence the effect of GTE on weight loss. On average, studies that used Asian populations found greater weight loss (1.51 kg) than studies that used Caucasian individuals (0.82 kg). This may explain why some studies did not find that GTE intake stimulated fat oxidation, because the majority of studies used Caucasian individuals [20, 21, 22, 23, 24]".
Despite the scientific interest, the actual fat loss seen in these studies isn't astounding, while effective and well worth adding in, its not going to make you ripped overnight.
Dosage, the most common dose for fat loss seems to fall with in the 400-500mg range, so Derek is spot on here.
So what are the side effects:
Binds to Iron
Fat Burning ★★
Scientific backing ★★★★★
Effective dose ★★★★★
Side effects ★★★★★ (Lower being more side effects)
Over all ★★★★
Caffeine
This is a no brainer, you should all know by now that caffeine has been studied to the moon and back and has more scientific backing than anything else on this list.
I'm not going to waste a lot of time on this section dragging top relevant studies to show the various effects but I will just say that Caffeine is an absolutely great fat loss aid due to its appetite suppression, increase of energy and for its acute effect on performance metrics.
I personally use Caffeine to great effect during my cut.
Dereks dose is 300mg which is a mild pre workout dose and less than a large Americana from a coffee chain.
Though their are side effects on high caffeine intake, that wont apply to a dose such as 300mg. Some people are sensitive to caffeine so if you are one of those people I wouldn't take this formula.
Fat Burning ★★★
Scientific backing ★★★★★
Effective dose ★★★★★
Side effects ★★★★★ (Lower being more side effects)
Over all ★★★★
N-Phenethyl-dimethylamine citrate
Otherwise known as Eria Jarensis Extract, it is a stimulant and Neuromodulator on the Central Nervous System (CNS) and provides several mental effects including powerful focus, energy and an increase in general feeling of wellness.[25] This extract was initially made to ride the wave of DMAA after its ban back in in 2013 but has since fallen into obscurity due do its short half-life and lack of research. [27]
Unfortunately there are very little studies on this ingredient, its slim pickings out there.
What we do know is that it is that in can trigger noradrenaline which helps promote fat loss through various mechanisms[26]. But to how much it triggers the release of noradrenaline... no idea, how safe is it... no idea...
Out of all the supplements I have gone through so far this is the most sketchy and not one I would include in a stack.
Honestly, I can't find much more on this. If any keen readers know of any other research I should be aware of please comment below and I will update this section.
Fat Burning ★
Scientific backing ★
Effective dose ★
Side effects ★★★(We just don't know)
Over all ★
Forskolin
Forskolin is an active compound found in the roots of a plant grown nativity in India, it has been used traditionally as a health supplement but gained popularity after being hyped up on dr.oz...
In rats Forskolin is fairly effective, it induced both cyclic AMP production and lipolysis in intact fat cells which will promote fat mobilisation for energy usage. [28,29,30,33]
absolutely bloody useless for fatness in a vacuum [31], BUT and its a big but will be very useful in a calorific deficit which if you are trying to loose fat, I hope you are in. [32]
There is also the promising allude that Forskolin can reduce appetite [34], which is a life saver when in a steep deficit.
What about the dose that Derek uses? Really its spot on, if I where to make a fat loss formula its the exact dose I would use.
Side effects?
Currently non have been observed but long term trails are needed to fully attest to its safe profile.
Fat Burning ★★★★ (Scoring rated on the assumption of a deficit)
Scientific backing ★★★
Effective dose ★★★★★
Side effects ★★
Over all ★★★★ (rounded up, due to assumption it will be used correctly...)
Paradoxine
A fancy name for a fancy sounding extract... the seeds of paradise.
Although I am failure with this ingredient I havn't looked into it before and I am pleasantly surprised. Its mechanism of action is through the activation of brown fat tissue to increase energy expenditure through thermogenesis. [35,36,37,38] As the first proper
thermogen on this list I think Derek has the dose spot on and is right to include this in his supplement.
Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot more research on this compound so although very promising from an energy expenditure standpoint we will have to wait for more research.
Side effects:
Kiver toxicity, but at much higher doses than in Dereks formula [39]
irritation of the stomach, intestine, and urinary system.
Fat Burning ★★★
Scientific backing ★★★
Effective dose ★★★★★
Side effects ★★
Over all ★★★
Theophylline
Theophylline, also known as 1,3-dimethylxanthine, is a phosphodiesterase (enzymes that degrade the phosphodiester bond in the second messenger molecules cAMP[40]) inhibiting drug used in therapy for respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma under a variety of brand names.
Theophylline is structurally similar to caffeine and is a stimulant as well as a cAMP promoter and is actually found in caffeine and back tea naturally. [41,42].
Although no direct research the reason why this in included in the stack is due to the cAMP. cAMP can effectively be seen as a cell signaller [43] to do and plays an important role in glycolysis [44] a cytoplasmic pathway which breaks down glucose.
Despite this I really don't understand why this has been included in the stack. It has numerous drug interactions and is a perception only medication in various countries.
Though I doubt Derek will read this I would very much love to have some clarification on why this was included in the formula.
Fat Burning ★★
Scientific backing ★★
Effective dose ★★
Side effects ★★
Over all ★★
Isopropylnorsynephrine
Isopropylnorsynephrine (aka deterenol) is a pharmaceutical beta-agonist[45] and like the ingredient before is another one I am not a massive fan of. Despite this it is fairly effect in what it does [46,47] as it is antagonises Beta-adrenergic receptors which can significantly aid in fat loss [48].
So if it is so effective, why don't I like it? Because it has been heavily associate with Cardiac arrest[49,50,51,52,53]. Subsequently making it a banned substance in many countries including the UK.
Dereks dose isn't inane but a risk is still present with this supplement, so if you're planning on taking it I would suggest first talking to your doctor. Especially if you have a family history of cardiac issues.
Personally I would omit this from my own stack, for legal reasons as well as for health.
Fat Burning ★★★★★
Scientific backing ★★★★
Effective dose ★★★
Side effects ★
Over all ★★★
Rauwolscine
Otherwise known as Alpha Yohimbine is another stimulant and is a Alpha(2)Adrenergic antagonist [54]. Rauwolscine antagonises the adrenergic receptor system of fat cells, which regulate thermogenesis. The beta subset of the adrenergic receptors can be seen as stimulatory for fat loss as they lead to an increase of cAMP levels.[55, 56] The alpha subset are more suppressive of fat metabolism, in which their activation reduces cAMP levels (specifically alpha-2). Yohimbine is a selective alpha-2 adrenergic receptor antagonist (inactivator).[57]
While being fasted Rauwolscine seems to be beneficial for increased fat loss during cardio or otherwise [58,59,60,61] increasing lipolysis and subsequent fat loss at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg to a straight 10mg. The doses here vary a lot but it all points to the same conclusion that it is a very good fat loss.
Unfortunately, like the ingredient above it is a banned substance again (In the UK) but for different reasons. Yohimbine and Rauwolscine supplementation vary wildly in their purity which has caused health implication for those unaware, especially due to inaccurate labelling from companies.
I suspect Derek has dosed his on the lower end to attempt to mitigate potential issues, a double serving equating to 3mg should be safe even if the extract purity is on the higher end.
Side effects:
Yohimbine and Rauwolscine has been associated with heart attacks and seizures.
So when correctly dosed, it is and incredible fat burner, but the safety issues surrounding it can be problematic.
Fat Burning ★★★★★
Scientific backing ★★★★★
Effective dose ★★★★
Side effects ★★
Over all ★★★★
The only other ingredient is Black pepper extract and that is included to increase the bioavailability of various compounds.
Overall I do this is a good fat burning product when taken earlier on in the day, probably before fasted cardio to maximise the effects of some of the stronger ingredients. Personally I would swap out some of the ingredients or remove some entirely but being held accountable to different laws will mean differentiating ingredient lists.
I hope you enjoyed this break down and welcome suggestions for other products in the comment section below. But for now, I will catch you later!
Cheers,
Harry
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