Metabolife,
Metabolift, Metabo-death!
 This
is going to be lengthy. I want you to understand the
potential benefits and the potential perils of these NEW Fat
Burning supplements.
Several years
ago a research study was conducted and published in the Journal
of Obesity. It tested the weight loss value of a drug
combination. The drugs tested against a placebo were
caffeine and ephedrine. The group taking the actual
drugs lost more weight, and that's where this whole thing
began.
Today, years
later, I can tell you of the 39-year old woman who took her
fat burners just as her trainer recommended . . . and died.
Heart failure. I can tell you of Dan Duchaine, the "steroid
guru" who earned a name for himself selling "Ultimate
Orange," a drink mix targeting bodybuilders with promises
of explosive energy. It's "secret" ingredients,
caffeine and ephedrine. Dan suffered a stroke from ephedrine
several years ago and in the year 2000 died of . . . natural
causes? I can also tell you of the new drug addicts.
These are athletes and dieters alike who can no longer function
without their three-a-day doses of their caffeine and ephedrine
formulas.
Let's take a
look at the mechanisms of these drugs so we can understand
why they became massive sellers. Caffeine, as we know,
is a stimulant. It also has a slight diuretic effect.
Ephedrine is a bronchodilator. It used to be sold over
the counter as an asthma medication. It is also a stimulant.
When you put the two drugs together, they increase norephinepherine
production decreasing appetite. They elevate your heart
rate measurably. They cuase you to excrete more water.
Will you lose weight? Of course! You're appetite
is reduced so you're eating less. Your heart is beating
more times so you're burning more calories. You find
yourself eliminating more water. These drugs also combine
to slightly increase body heat which further increases caloric
burn. Does that mean you're burning fat effectively
and enhancing your metabolism in the long term? Absolutely
not!
The power of
the product sales lies in three areas.
First . . . marketers
have done an incredible job. In fact, one of the newest
thermogenic formulas, Zymax, is sold through direct mailing
of a bogus magazine entitled "Plastic Surgery."
The fake magazine plays up the miraculous virtues of this
new supplement. It uses obviously computer retouched
photography to show miraculous before and after results and
then leads people right to a call to action . . . Order Zymax!
Secondly, the
pounds lost on the scale lead users to believe "it's
working."
Thirdly, there's
an addictive property to caffeine. There's also an addictive
property to ephedrine. Put the two together and you're
dealing with an addictive compound quite adept at causing
your natural adrenal production to be compromised. When
users develop a tolerance to the raciness of the drugs, frequent
and increased dosages lead to a dramatic loss of "energy"
when the drugs aren't taken. It's classic addiction
. . . except . . . it's 100% legal and sellers are making
a fortune.
Just so you know
what products I'm referring to, I'll give you a partial list.
Hydroxycut, Thermadrene, Thermocuts, Metabolife, Xenadrine,
Metacuts, and scores of other "thermogenic formulas"
are all very simply combinations of caffeine and ephedrine.
The side effects
of caffeine and ephedrine range from headache and tremors
to stroke and death. While the great majority of users
will not die, some people will. In fact, some of the
most likely individuals to be lured into using these products
are obese individuals with tendencies toward hypertension
. . . and these are the people at the greatest risk!
I want to take
a moment to say something that might surprise you. I'm
not 100% opposed to the sale and use of these products.
I am, however, in favor of truth, and if they're being sold
as safe, natural, or miraculous, honesty is being passed over
to sell products. I've worked with many athletes who
have used caffeine and ephedrine in the weeks leading up to
a competition to shed additional fat. I'd always encourage
these athletes to use the products sparingly, never more than
50 mg of ephedrine in a day, never more than three consecutive
days of use, and never more than four weeks of use without
eight weeks of recovery time to follow. Most users of
these thermogenic products would find those dosages ridiculously
low in comparison to the amounts they're using. By passing
the point of tolerance, not only are most people lessening
the potential benefit, but they're increasing the associated
risks.
Despite my openness
to controlled use of these products with knowledge, I find
that most users haven't any true need for these products.
If they'd only learn to eat supportively and exercise effectively
they could achieve far greater results than these products
could ever promise.
Another public
mistake is the belief that because they're sold in stores
legally, they must be safe. The manufacturers often
put the words "herbal" or "natural" on
the labels to further propagate this mistaken belief.
Drugs come from herbs! Cocaine comes from an herb.
Morphine comes from an herb. Caffeine can be extracted
from guarana, Kola Nut, and Green Tea. Ephedrine is
a derivative of Ma Huang or Ephedra. If the ingredients
are standardized versions of those herbs, the active ingredients
are . . . you know by now . . . caffeine and ephedrine.
Let me point out one incident that might have you re-thinking
the "if they sell it it's safe" idea.
A
Story From Deep in the Heart of Texas
Short Version:
The state of Texas banned the sale of ephedrine. Well . .
. they were about to anyway. Supplement manufacturers pulled
some political and financial moves and all of a sudden Texas
backed off. Ephedrine sales in Texas continue.
The longer
version of that story will no doubt prove eye-opening:
It was 1997.
Texas Governor George W. Bush appointed a new health commissioner,
Reyn Archer. After several ephedrine related deaths and over
1,000 reported health problems tied to this substance, Archer
moved to restrict sales of supplements containing ephedrine.
A few months after the "firm" decision, Archer met
behind closed doors with some supplement manufacturers. It
seemed, out of the clear blue sky, he was suddenly wide open
to implementing new rules which gave pretty close to free
reign to ephedrine sellers.
Archer is a physician,
and appeared to be taking a bold stance fueled by health issues.
Isn't it odd that he all of a sudden became an ally of those
who sell that substance he was protecting his public from?
The publicly
released "rumor" was that the ephedrine industry
threatened legal action and they had some evidence to support
its safety. Interestingly enough, there's an odd coincidence.
You've seen Metabolife by now. It's everywhere. You've probably
seen the stores or the kiosks in the shopping malls. The President
of Metabolife is a 46 year old San Diego businessman by the
name of Michael Ellis. Thanks to aggressive marketing, he
built his ephedrine based empire into a company that did $600
million in sales last year! Stop for a moment and think about
that. $600 million! Selling an addictive stimulant! Are you
starting to get a sense that Reyn Archer's flip in policy
might have had something to do with . . . not safety . . .
but . . . money? Then we're on the same track. This gets even
better.
10 years ago
Ellis was making money. No, not $600 million, but quite a
nice amount. He was arrested in the process of generating
this money. You see, his path to wealth, at the time, was
the operation of a methamphetamine lab! He was manufacturing
and selling a highly addictive illegal stimulant . . . using
. . . guess what . . . as the raw material. Did you guess
. . . ephedrine? Ding! (That's the sound of the "you're
correct bell.)
So, here's the
actual sequence of events. Archer makes his decision public.
Ellis spends some money to retain some lawyers who are pretty
well connected in Texas government and some lobbyists who
contribute a good amount of money to Bush's campaign fund.
Would it surprise you if I told you that Michael Ellis is
now a significant Bush contributor? Would it surprise you
if I told you that Ellis, the lawyers, and the lobbyists all
now stand to gain significantly by the sale of ephedrine,
that they, en masse were responsible for over $40,000 being
funneled to G.W. Bush, and that shortly after, ephedrine got
the AOK from the Texas health commissioner who was sternly
opposed to its sale?
So, while these
products may have some value, random use and overuse are not
only risky, they're going to backfire and the only ones who
will benefit are those money making moguls who are cashing
in on the public's inability to separate truth from marketing.
I'm glad you
found the Fitness Truth. Consider yourself protected.
Related Pages:
Xenadrine
Ephedrine
Synephrine
Other Pages Worth
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