Summer is over and many of you may be feeling the effects of too
many hot dogs and cold barley-based beverages. If you are part of the
aesthetically conscious cohort, then you most likely came into the
summer in phenomenal shape, and you may or may not have maintained this
condition. Regardless of your current condition, the following
information will come in handy for the months to come. The following
article is intended to give you the basic science behind the newest key
ingredients that should be included in a
good fat burning/diet aid
supplement.
Appetite Suppressants:
Making dieting easy on the body and mind
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Slimaluma Extract (Caralluma Fimbriata)
Currently the most innovative appetite-suppressing compound is a
proprietary extract of the herb caralluma fimbriata, a substance
Gencore Pacific Inc. trademarked Slimaluma. It has been through two
clinical trials and was introduced recently into the market. According
to Gencore, caralluma fimbriata is a succulent cactus used for
centuries by locals in India for appetite suppression. In fact, it is
essentially a vegetable of daily use in tribal India. Indian tribes
chew chunks of caralluma fimbriata to suppress hunger when on a day's
hunt and it is used among the labor classes in South India to suppress
appetite and enhance endurance. The clinical efficacy of Slimaluma has
been tested in recent placebo controlled double blind trials published
in the journal
Appetite.
In this investigation the effect of caralluma extract was tested in
overweight men and women. Fifty adult men and women were randomly
assigned to an experimental or placebo group, where the former received
1g of Caralluma extract per day for 60 days. The authors concluded that
caralluma fimbriata ingestion was a
potent appetite suppressant and its
ingestion led to
dramatic decreases in waist circumference (Kuriyan
et al., 2007).
-
Mucuna Pruriens
Mucuna pruriens, which originates from the velvet bean, is an ancient
Indian herb that contains a large amount of bioavailable L-dopa (the
precursor to dopamine). Remarkable benefits have been noted with Mucuna
pruriens ingestion in patients with Parkinson's disease, a disorder
that involves a declining production of dopamine (Katzenschlager
et al.,
2004). Dopamine is a fundamental neurotransmitter that signals areas of
the brain that give you the sense of well being, alertness, motivation,
and focus. It also is a key player in the signaling cascade for growth
hormone (GH) release. Fundamentally, dopamine has been shown to inhibit
hypothalamic somatostatin secretion, which then allows for a greater
stimulatory effect of growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) which
leads to greater release of GH by the pituitary gland. That being said,
with Mucuna pruriens supplementation you will notice greater energy and
focus and the benefits of augmented GH (increases in lean mass,
strength, and decreased fat mass). In addition, the L-dopa in Mucuna
pruriens has been shown to balance norepinephrine and serotonin in the
brain, as well as exhibit potent antioxidant properties. These effects
will augment your sense of well being, help to control food cravings,
and stabilize mood.
Lipolytic and Thermogenic Agents: Making dieting more effective
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Green Tea Extract (Camillia Sinesis)
A good fat-burning formulation should contain caffeine and green tea
extract (standardized for high levels of catechins and EGCG), as the
research is plentiful and conclusive regarding the positive effects of
caffeine and green tea extracts on lipolysis and thermogenesis.
Recently, it was concluded that caffeine and green tea catechins taken
together cause significant increases in metabolism throughout the
entire day and night (Acheson
et al.,
2004). For years scientists attributed the thermogenic benefits of
green tea to its caffeine content alone; however this was not entirely
correct. Biochemically, its effects are due to the interaction between
its high catechin-polyphenol content and caffeine and their synergistic
impact on sympathetically released norepinephrine (NE) (Dulloo et al.,
2000). The synergistic action of these compounds inhibits the
break-down of NE, a key player in fat mobilization, lipolysis, and
appetite suppression. Applied evidence that supports the biochemistry
comes from a number of clinically based studies. For example, in a
recent investigation it was concluded that the combination of regular
moderate treadmill exercise and
green tea extract supplementation
stimulates increased whole body fat utilization; an effect that is
sustained long after the completion of exercise. Green tea extract has
been shown to cause direct increases of lipolysis in the liver and in
skeletal muscle (Shimotoyodome
et al., 2005). More recent and
supporting evidence illustrated that long-term intake of "catechin-rich" green tea extract combined with habitual aerobic
exercise increases exercise endurance because of its positive impact on
fat metabolism (Murase
et al., 2006). Of note, be certain
that your green tea product is standardized with high levels of
polyphenols, catechins, and epigallocatchin-3-P-gallate.
-
Raspberry Ketone (4-(4-hydroxyphenyl) butan-2-one)
Raspberry ketone has been recently implicated as the newest "player" in the fat burning supplement scene. Morimoto
et al.
was the first to report the anti-obesity characteristics of raspberry
ketone supplementation in male Wistar rats. After thorough biochemical
and histochemical analysis they concluded that raspberry ketones impart
substantial impact on the accumulation of fat. It was reported that its
effects on lipolysis are manifested via stimulated metabolism of
adipose tissue and inhibited small intestine absorption of dietary fat
(by suppressing pancreatic lipase activity). They further concluded
that
raspberry ketone supplementation was effective in preventing sugar
and fat induced fat accumulation (Morimoto
et al., 2005).
-
Green Coffee Extract
Green coffee extract is another innovative and interesting compound
just breaking into the fat burning supplement scene. We all know that
coffee contains relatively high amounts of caffeine, but have you heard
of coffee's other main constituent chlorogenic acid? This intriguing
substance is almost completely lost during the coffee roasting process,
but is highly bioavailable in green, unroasted coffee beans. Current
research has shown that green coffee extract significantly elevates fat
metabolism in the liver (as a result of chlorogenic acid) and the
caffeine component suppresses fat absorption. As a result,
green coffee
extract suppresses body weight gain and visceral fat accumulation
(Shimoda
et al., 2006).
Imagine a supplement that incorporates a combination of these
aforementioned science backed compounds into a single formulation.
Well, fortunately the scientists at BioQuest have done there homework
to stay on top of the game. Tetrazene Extreme is a novel and innovative
fat loss product that battles fat accumulation and hunger while aiding
in fat loss from all angles. As always they use standardized extracts
to deliver the highest potency, while maintaining consistency between
doses. Furthermore, their scientific team has added vinpocetine and
huperzine A to Tetrazene Extreme, which ensures dieting sanity and
makes it the most robust formula available to date. With Tetrazene
Extreme you will eat less and make better food choices, and you will
turn up metabolism to burn fat more effectively.
References
Acheson KJ, Gremaud G, Meirim I, Montigon F, Krebs Y, Fay LB, Gay LJ,
Schneiter P, Schindler C, & Tappy L (2004). Metabolic effects of
caffeine in humans: lipid oxidation or futile cycling?
Am J Clin Nutr
79, 40-46.
Katzenschlager R, Evans A, Manson A, Patsalos PN, Ratnaraj N, Watt H,
Timmermann L, Van der GR, & Lees AJ (2004). Mucuna pruriens in
Parkinson's disease: a double blind clinical and pharmacological study.
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
75, 1672-1677.
Kuriyan R, Raj T, Srinivas SK, Vaz M, Rajendran R, & Kurpad AV
(2007). Effect of Caralluma Fimbriata extract on appetite, food intake
and anthropometry in adult Indian men and women.
Appetite
48, 338-344.
Morimoto C, Satoh Y, Hara M, Inoue S, Tsujita T, & Okuda H (2005). Anti-obese action of raspberry ketone.
Life Sci
77, 194-204.
Murase T, Haramizu S, Shimotoyodome A, Tokimitsu I, & Hase T
(2006). Green tea extract improves running endurance in mice by
stimulating lipid utilization during exercise.
Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol
290, R1550-R1556.
Shimoda H, Seki E, & Aitani M (2006). Inhibitory effect of green
coffee bean extract on fat accumulation and body weight gain in mice.
BMC Complement Altern Med
6, 9.
Shimotoyodome A, Haramizu S, Inaba M, Murase T, & Tokimitsu I
(2005). Exercise and green tea extract stimulate fat oxidation and
prevent obesity in mice.
Med Sci Sports Exerc
37, 1884-1892.