Generally, when we talk about fat loss, we're either talking about thermogenic agents such as the old ephedrine/caffeine/aspirin stack, or anorectics that make you have about as much interest in food as you do in Nickelodeon's "Gilligan's Island" marathon. There are, however, other weapons to use against fat?some more effective than others?but it looks like nutritionist Will Brink may have stumbled on a novel new method.

Will's weapon is called Metabolic Thyrolean?, and it "attacks" fat in a whole new way. In simple terms, when your body senses that you're in a period of calorie deprivation, it puts the kibosh on the conversion of a certain thyroid hormone (T4) into another form of that hormone (T3). Why is that a bad thing? Well, T3 plays a large part in how much zip there is in your metabolism, and it's about five times as effective in keeping the metabolism revving like a Grand Prix racecar as T4. Therefore, when T3 levels decline, your fat losses slow considerably. Thyrolean may actually prevent or slow that conversion, thereby keeping the metabolism high.

Thryolean also works in another way. It prevents diet-associated reductions in natural levels of neurotransmitters. And, if you can keep neurotransmitters like epinephrine and norepinephrine, along with dopamine, high, you have an even better chance of fighting dieting-associated reductions in metabolism.

Of course, this is a highly technical subject and I've only scraped its fat-hating surface. Read Will's article about Thyrolean and find out why it might be an exciting new product to add to your fat-fighting arsenal.

As many of us have learned all too well, losing fat is a lot easier said than done. More importantly, however, is the fact that it's not all that difficult to lose weight?in the form of muscle, water, fat, and bone?by starving yourself. The trick, of course, is keeping the muscle while losing the fat. That takes a great deal more thought and planning to achieve. The distinction between fat loss and weight loss has been missing for too long in the mainstream media and it's one of several reasons that explains why we have a population of overly fat, confused people.

The intent of this article isn't to go over rehashed information on topics you've all read about before, such as ECA stacks, Peptide FM, reduced carbohydrate and/or CKD diets, flax oil, and/or various other supplements and dietary tricks for fat loss. (FYI: I was, as some of you might remember, the first "nutritional theorist" type to bring flax oil to the attention of bodybuilders and other athletes for the purpose of fat loss. What you may not know was that my first article on the use of flax oil was turned down flat, and that one editor told me I was crazy for pushing the idea of taking in extra fat from flax oil to lose body fat. Of course, years later, that editor went on to run one of the most popular websites on the internet, and if I could think of a word that rhymed with "testosterone" I would use it...but I digress.)

Anyhow, the point of this article is to discuss a potentially promising new product that could help the hard training bodybuilder or general fitness buff realize their goals of reduced body fat while keeping the hard-earned muscle mass.

Fat Burners or Fat Blockers?

Before we talk about specific ways to combat fat, we should first look at the fat-loss supplement market to understand what makes Thyrolean a little different. When it comes to fat loss supplements, there's a large array of products claiming to do all sorts of wonderful things. From melting fat away to making you a sex symbol, these products promise just about everything.

Though the number of products on the market can be confusing and diverse, most can be divided into two basic groups: "fat blockers" and "fat burners." Fat burners, as they are called, generally refer to products that contain thermogenic compounds such as ephedrine and caffeine (the EC combo), etc. Fat blockers, however, work by hopefully blocking the uptake or digestion of fat so it's excreted before it ever gets stored as body fat. Chitosan is a good example of a product sold as a fat blocker.

As most people who have used a good fat burner-type product based on the EC combo know, they do work well, but their effectiveness wanes with time. Besides, not everyone can tolerate the effects of these stimulants. As far as fat blockers are concerned, there's far less research on them in people?especially athletes?and in my view, they offer far too many drawbacks to make them a viable choice for the hard training bodybuilder. Besides, there's nothing wrong with some fat in your diet!

That brings me to Metabolic Thyrolean, which is neither a classic fat burner or fat blocker.

Effects of Reducing Calories on Metabolism

We all know that you have to reduce calories to some degree to get the body to give up some fat. And, the body responds to a decrease in calories by slowing down the metabolism. The thyroid gland, of course, is a major player in this regulation of metabolic rate. When the body senses a reduction in calories, there's a reduction in the conversion of the thyroid hormone T4 to the more active T3, thus slowing down the metabolism and potentially reducing the effectiveness of the diet. T3 is about five times more active than T4, so if T3 levels are reduced, so is the metabolism.

This is one of several mechanisms by which the body can reduce metabolic rate and it's one possible reason diets fail to be effective after a short period of time?thus forcing the person to restrict calories even further. This begins a vicious cycle. Therefore, anything that can reduce, or delay, this reduction in thyroid hormones should have positive effects on fat loss.

It's interesting to note that there's been research showing that people whose bodies reduced T3 output the quickest actually preserved more lean body mass (LBM). However, I don't put a lot of stock in that research because 1), they weren't doing anything to protect LBM such as increasing their protein intakes, training with weights, etc. and 2), in my own experience with athletes using thyroid medication, LBM wasn't lost when the levels of T4 and T3 were kept in the "normal" range (as defined by blood work). Others might, however, propose an LBM preserving mechanism by which the body reduces T3 output when calories are reduced, but that hasn't been my experience with athletes. I have, of course, seen plenty of shit-for-brains bodybuilders take handfuls of thyroid meds pre-contest because they were too lazy to diet. Meanwhile, I sat back and watched them shrink up like gonads in a freezing cold pool...not a pretty sight.

Another important point to know about metabolic rate and thyroid hormones:

Most of the conversion of T4 to T3 takes place in the liver. People who are well fed have high levels of ATP storage. When we diet, ATP stores decline and the liver appears to be the main sensing organ involved in this process. If liver ATP declines, the body senses this and adjusts thyroid output.

Consequently, conversion of T4 to T3 slows. In other words, the conversion of T4 to T3 is partially dependent on the ATP status of the liver. Therefore, anything that can maintain liver ATP should fool the system into thinking it's "well fed," thus hopefully maintaining adequate thyroid output. So far so good, right?

So it stands to reason that by ingesting non-caloric ATP substrates, it's possible to maintain liver ATP levels without adding any calories to the diet, thus allowing that person to maintain a higher metabolism. Translated, you take in stuff that can be made into ATP, thus fooling the system into thinking you are eating plenty of food, only the stuff you take in doesn't have any caloric value.

Studies have confirmed that using a combination of mixed phosphates (the "P" in ATP) can increase the metabolism and maintain T3 levels in people who were on a diet.^1,2 However, these people didn't actually lose much weight, which sort of brings me to another point. Though thyroid is clearly essential for the regulation of metabolic rate/weight loss, there are many, many factors that have to be considered, such as GH, UCPs, insulin levels, neurotransmitters, leptin levels, estrogen levels, and about a hundred other variables, so people shouldn't view thyroid output as the be-all and end-all of fat loss. It is, however, clearly important and a worthwhile angle to pursue.

There's another interesting angle as it relates to compounds that can affect thyroid hormones. Namely, certain plant-based herbal extracts have been shown to stimulate the uptake of iodine and, consequently, the output of thyroid hormones.^3,4

Probably the best known plant extracts believed to stimulate thyroid output are guggul lipids, which contain the active ingredient called guggulsterones. Besides increasing thyroid output, guggul lipids have also been shown to reduce cholesterol levels dramatically, which is a known effect of increased thyroid activity. Consequently, it appears that this plant extract has several uses.⁵ However, the exact way in which guggulsterones increase thyroid output isn't fully understood at this time.

The Neurotransmitter Connection

Another important point concerning down-regulation by the body in response to a lowered caloric intake is the effect it has on neurotransmitters in the brain. As the logic goes, when the body takes in less substrate, levels of certain important neurotransmitters slide downward, thus reducing the rate of metabolism. If the body doesn't get adequate levels of certain amino acids?the ones that are the precursors of these important neurotransmitters?the metabolism slides down. It's basically that simple (with some biochemical twists and turns that I've chosen to leave out).

This is a natural way for the body to slow down the metabolism and find a new set point. That is, fewer building blocks for brain chemicals means a slower metabolism and the person is again forced to eat even less food, leading to another vicious cycle. Can you say "muscle loss" and "catabolism?"

What if you added back the building blocks for these important neurotransmitters in a supplement, again fooling the system into thinking you're taking in enough food? One of the most important building blocks of the neurotransmitters responsible for maintaining metabolic rate is the amino acid L-Tyrosine. L-Tyrosine is the direct precursor to stimulatory neurotransmitters such as epinephrine and noropenephrine (i.e. adrenaline) as well as certain thyroid hormones and dopamine. L-Tyrosine is also considered a non-carbohydrate ATP substrate.

There are quite a few other important functions of L-Tyrosine as it relates to the metabolism and our ability to "burn" fat, but that's getting beyond the scope of this article. Of particular interest, though, some studies have shown that tyrosine improves the thermogenic effect of ephedrine-based fat burners and acts as a natural stimulant as well as a natural appetite suppressant.

That brings us back to the new product called Metabolic Thyrolean (that's what we were talking about, remember?). It's through the pathways mentioned above that this new product attempts to keep the metabolism from shutting down in response to fewer calories. That is, Metabolic Thyrolean contains mixed mineral phosphates in the correct ratios to maintain liver ATP and therefore maintain a higher metabolic rate. It also contains the correct amount of guggulsterones to stimulate the thyroid gland, in addition to containing L-Tyrosine to supply the body with the direct precursors to the brain chemicals that keep one's metabolism up and running while dieting.

This is a new approach to fat loss and, in my view, is a far more targeted approach to fat loss than other products on the market. Metabolic Thyrolean also contains hydroxy citric acid (HCA), which has been shown in some studies to block the enzyme (ATP-citrate lyase) responsible for converting carbohydrates into stored body fat,⁶ though a recent study disputed its ability to help with weight loss. HCA may also enhance thermogenesis and act as an appetite suppressant.

Metabolic Thyrolean is not a stimulant and works through different mechanisms and pathways than that of the ephedrine and caffeine-based fat burners. To sum it up, Metabolic Thyrolean should assist fat loss from three angles:

1) Reduction of active thyroid hormones that occurs when a person diets.
2) Reduction in metabolic rate that occurs when a person reduces their caloric intake.
3) Reduction in certain neurotransmitters that occurs from low-calorie diets.

Research with Metabolic Thyrolean

Did you get all that? The theory sounds great, but does the stuff really work? I mean, how many times have we read an article on some product thrown together, using a few studies done on rats from God-only-knows-what-country, only to find out there's no real research on the product in real, live humans? Well, you don't have to worry about that with Thyrolean. A clinical study involving Metabolic Thyrolean was recently completed, and it will be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal in the near future.⁷ This was a prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 18 people. Each person was put on an 1800-calorie diet. They were also required to work out for three days per week (45 minutes of circuit training and aerobics, which isn't very strenuous by anyone's standards). After six weeks, the study found that the group receiving Metabolic Thyrolean lost three times more fat than the placebo group or control group (9.4 pounds of fat lost for the Metabolic Thyrolean group versus 3 and 2.9 pounds, respectively, for the placebo and control groups) without changes in LBM between groups. These results would suggest that Metabolic Thyrolean is about as effective as the fat burner-type stimulants and a lot more effective than products such as pyruvate.

If these study results translate well into the "real world," than I'd expect Metabolic Thyrolean to be an effective and useful diet aid to bodybuilders and "normal" people alike.

What I find particularly interesting about the subject is that the separate research on phosphates, guggul, HCA, and tyrosine has been less than impressive for weight loss. With that in mind, it would appear from the results mentioned above that there's some synergism taking place between the ingredients. I think the synergism is taking place between the guggul and the phosphates, but it's unclear.

As an interesting side note, the study also looked at something called a "Profile of Mood States" (POMS) test and found that the people taking Metabolic Thyrolean were less prone to fatigue and had better mood scores than the other groups.

Patents, Real World Results, and the Mother-in-Law Test

I'm a stickler for real world results. So, I got a case of the product and gave a few month's worth to some friends who were of varying ages, sexes, and weights. So far, the feedback has been positive, with most people reporting varying amounts of weight loss and increases in energy levels. Even my mother-in-law tells me how good she feels on the product, and the weight she's lost has been consistent with the results of the study. So far so good. It's a good thing to keep ones mother-in-law happy...

As many of you might have noticed, this is an industry of knock-offs and rip-offs. One company has already attempted to knock off Metabolic Thyrolean. In order to prevent this, a composition patent has been filed for Metabolic Thyrolean, and it's expected to be approved shortly (it's a "Patent Pending" product now). My understanding is that the company who makes it (Prolab Nutrition) plans to fully enforce the patent, using legal action, if necessary, after the patent is approved (not that it will stop the no-brain knock-off artists of the supplement world from trying, of course).

Getting the Most From ECA Fat Burners

It's my belief that this product should make the ECA-based fat burner-type products work more effectively. Though future research is needed to confirm my hunch, I have a strong feeling that combining Metabolic Thyrolean with herbal-based fat burners will improve the efficacy of these products.

So, if your fat burners aren't working like they used to, this product might very well kick the fat loss process back into gear. If you don't like the ephedrine-based fat burners?for whatever reason?that's okay, the study showed that Metabolic Thyrolean appeared to work fine by itself. But, if you use herbal fat burners, you might get a real boost by combining them with this product.

Make no mistake about it, the ECA-based fat burners work very well for fat loss, but I have a hunch that they'll work even better if mixed with Metabolic Thyrolean. If you try this combo, feel free to contact me and let me know what happened. You should try the combination for at least 6-8 weeks before making your assessment of its effectiveness.

Conclusion

It's my feeling that Metabolic Thyrolean will work best in people who've had their metabolisms slow down from a reduced-calorie diet that's lasted longer than it should have?that is, people whose bodies have responded to the lack of calories by some or all of the mechanisms talked about above. I do think it would help, at least to some degree, anyone embarking on a fat loss program, but I won't make any promises at this time. However, with the exception of a few pharmaceuticals, nothing will remove fat if the person doesn't first initiate some lifestyle changes.

Where to Buy Metabolic Thyrolean?

Metabolic Thyrolean is manufactured by Prolab Nutrition, and they've agreed to give a special discount to all Testosterone readers. So if your interested, call 1-800-776-5221.

About the Author

Will Brink is a columnist, contributing consultant, and regular contributor to various bodybuilding publications. He can be reached at PO Box 480, Newton, MA 02459, or at the www.brinkzone.com website.

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References

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2) Kaciuba-Uscilko-H; et al, J-Physiol-Pharmacol. 1993 Dec; 44(4): 425- 40
3) Tripathi-YB; et al, Planta-Med. 1988 Aug; 54(4): 271-7
4) Tripathi-YB; Malhotra-OP; Tripathi-SN, Planta-Med. 1984 Feb(1): 78-80
5) Nityanand-S; et al, J-Assoc-Physicians-India. 1989 May; 37(5): 323-8
6) R. Nageswara Rao, K.K Sakariah, Nutri. Research, 8:2, 1988.
7) D.Kalman, C.M. Colker, J. Antonio, G.C. Torina, W.D. Brink, Q., Shi. "Effects Of A Guggulsterones Extract-Phosphate Salt Based Product on Body Composition and Energy Levels in Overweight Adults." Medicine n Science in Sports n Exercise. Vol. 31, Number 5 (S), 1999, and J. of Current Therapeutic Research [In Press.]