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Writer's pictureJordan Devanney

Menopause, hot flushes and fat burners​

This question is actually tough to answer precisely because of a few reasons.


1 - The root cause of hot flushes is not apparent.

2 - The Shear variety of Fat Burners or acclaimed fat burners.


The Question - Are the effects of menopausal hot flushes similar to the thermic effects of fat burners.


The nature of this question means that I can only really often my opinion on these subjects. Hopefully, my answer will be sufficient in providing you with some more insights into these two areas.


So the root causes of hot flushes are not apparent. However, it is believed to be related to a lowering of oestrogen and its effects on the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus plays a vital role in the certain metabolic process and other activities of the autonomic nervous system. It synthesises and secretes neurohormones. The lower oestrogen levels seem to cause a glitch in the hypothalamus causing it to think you are hotter than you actually are and kickstarting your body's way of automatic cooling its self down. Blood flows to the skin for improved cooling and sweat glands start working begins.


( On a side not pretty amazing how your just body regulates its self automatically. I often find my self just amazed how our body works )


Now while I would estimate that hot flushes carry some kind of caloric cost as in our body will be expending energy in order to initiate the process of cooling be it a fault/glitch it is still going through the process. However, how long does it last? How intense is it? I'm sure this varies all the time, but I cannot think it would be an effective way of burning calories. Simply because it is out of control of the individual.


I will come back to this shortly, but for now, we need to have a little look at fat burners.


Now Fat burners are a bit of a shit storm in that so many exist with such variety of ingredients and even the dose of ingredients varies. So we can't compare but I'm no quitter so let's unravel some truths.


In order to lose body fat, you must be in a calorie deficit. Taking a fat burner while being in a calorie surplus is a complete waste of time.


Now I had a little look online for some fat burners and wanted to take a little look at their ingredients and also peoples reviews.


A lot of the reviews went something like this.

*****

"Excellent product I take three capsules before every session, and now my Gym has to kick me out at closing time as I just keep going. I have lost 5lbs in 2 weeks since starting them" Sally.


I wonder how well Sally sleeps considering shes got more stimulants in her body than a junky. Did she lose weight because of the product or that she now trains harder? Was the effect a placebo? Hopefully, this gets the cogs moving.


Anyway, I decided to make a little list of the most common ingredients.

Fat oxidation increase

Caffeine - Research in humans yields mixed results in caffeine effect on fat oxidation. Research indicates that caffeine only increases fat oxidation in lean individuals. 100mg/kg is considered a lethal dose.


Conjugated linoleic acid CLA - CLA's record for delivering positive results is rather inconsistent. Short term toxicity has not been seen, but continuous long term use has been shown to reduce milk fat in woman potentially impairing infant growth.


Ephedrine - Positive results from 5 double-blind controlled trials or 0.9kg per month greater weight loss over a placebo. However, Ephedrine is no longer available for legal use in supplements. Ephedrine intake shows a 2.2 to 3.6 fold increase in the odds of psychiatric and autonomic abnormalities and heart palpitations.


Citrus Aurantium ( bitter orange peel ) - Its isolated effectiveness and safety are still up in the air. Has only been used in conjunction with other substances in tests so we cannot really comment on its efficacy or safety.


Forskolin - This showed to be reasonably effective in one study 5kg weight loss compared to 1kg with the placebo group. However, this study was funded by a company who sell these supplements, while this doesn't mean we should ignore the results we maybe have to take the results with a little pinch of salt. Safety of the substance is unclear as not enough human testing has been done.


L Carnitine - No adverse side effects have been observed but unfortunately never has it's effectiveness as a fat oxidiser mmmm.


Nutrient absorption reduction

Chitosan - Has been demonstrated as an effective hypocholesterolemic compound in rats, but failed as a fat loss agent in humans. Negative effects include reduced calcium absorption and reduced absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.


Phaseolus Vulgaris - An 8-week study showed a very slight increase in weight loss compared with a placebo group but didn't reach statistical difference. Toxicity is insufficiently tested in humans so who knows???


Appetites suppression

Hoodia Gordonii - No peer review human trials that I could find. Toxicity = unknown.


5 Hydroxytryptophan 5HTP - overweight subjects are observed a decrease in fat and carbohydrate intake which provides some evidence for serotonin and appetite. Tryptophan use has been associated with the development of serious conditions such as liver and brain toxicity and with EMS eosinophilic myalgia syndrome a potentially fatal disorder. This doesn't mean you will definitely get adverse effects, but you should certainly be aware of the risks.


Hydroxycitric HCA - HCA by its self hasn't shown any positive effects in fat mass or weight loss. No adverse effects currently seen in human or animal trials.


Other

Chromium - Not effective as a weight loss supplement. Although there have been no confirmed negative effects of chromium, it has been associated with a 24% decrease on teansferrin saturation or iron. Dosages of 1000mcg a day have been associated with rhabdomyolysis and renal failure.


Green Tea - No positive effects of body composition have been seen beyond a placebo effect. Toxicity is unlikely; caffeine sensitive people should avoid overconsumption.


Guggulsterone - No studies examining its effectiveness as a fat loss/weight loss aid.


Medium Chain Triacylglycerol MCT - Increased insulin sensitivity but only a minimal increase in fat loss when compared to a placebo. MCT risk is minimal in healthy individuals.



Right right, I felt this article was slightly doomed to fail because it was simply to hard to compare the two things. But I did think you know what it's a perfect opportunity to provide some education on Fat burners. More specifically how shit they are. Going through all of those ingredients to find results like slightly better than a goddam placebo will hopefully make you realise that you shouldn't waste your money on them. I propose a solution. If every time you think about buying fat burners or find your self on the section of bulk powders where they sell them drop and give me 50 plus 50 star jumps and this is a guaranteed way to burn more calories than those pills will ever do — one more thing before we wrap this up. The thermic or increased sweating effect is likely related to the very high levels of stimulants and the fact that your heart is now beating and 4x its normal rate.


Peace.




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