Brett Sklaw
What
is Xenadrine-RFA-1? What are its ingredients? How does it work?
The prevalence of obesity is increasing at a dramatic rate today
throughout the world. In fact,
approximately 61% of adults in America are considered overweight and 26% are considered obese. This has happened largely because of the poor
dietary habits and sedentary lifestyle of many people in this country. The result of this has been the creation of
numerous weight loss drugs and dietary supplements to try to combat the obesity
epidemic. One such product that has been
created is Xenadrine-RFA-1.
Xenadrine-RFA-1 is one of the many
available dietary supplements on the market.
It is a product of Cytodyne Technologies, the producer of several
dietary supplements for weight loss and muscle enhancement. Xenadrine-RFA-1 is an ephedrine and caffeine
containing substance that works through a thermogenic mechanism to aid in
weight loss.
A bottle of
Xenadrine-RFA-1 contains 120 pills, which is equivalent to one month’s worth of
dosage. Xendadrine contains Citrus
Aurantium, MaHuang(source of ephedrine), Guarana Extract(source of caffeine),
White Willow Bark(source of aspirin), Acetyl L-Carnitine, L-Tyrosine, Ginger
Root, and Vitamin B5. The active weight
loss functioning ingredients are ephedrine and caffeine, with aid from
aspirin. Xenadrine is reported to
cause dramatic weight loss, suppress appetite, preserve lean muscle mass, and
increase energy level. (www.diet-pills-compared.com/xenadrine/Xenadrine-Results.html)
Xenadrine is said to work through a thermogenic mechanism. Thermogenesis is a process in which the
body’s temperature is raised, which in effect causes more calories to be burned
because of excess bodily heat. The body
contains three internal heat regulators: thyroid hormones, adrenergic
hormones(epinephrine and norepinepherine), and the prostaglandin hormones.
Xenadrine-RFA-1 and other weight loss supplements containing the ephedrine/caffeine
combination are said to copy the effects of adrenergic hormones. Adrenergic hormones are important in the
mobilization of fatty acids from storage and enable the use of them for energy,
instead of stored glycogen or sugar. As a result, more heat is released through
the burning of the fats(9 cal/g as opposed to 4 cal/g) and weight loss occurs
at a reported dramatic rate because fat stores are drained. (www.diet-pills-compared.com/xenadrine/Does-Xenadrine-Work.html) Ephedrine is said to have an effect on the
cellular mechanisms that release fat from fat cells. Caffeine is said to stimulate fat burning
through thermogenesis. It also is the
ingredient said to be responsible for mental alertness and energy level. Cytodyne reports that Aspirin raises the
body’s internal thermostat, so that with the increased production of heat from
fat burning, the body doesn’t produce an immune response. The other ingredients are said to boost the
effectiveness of the three main ingredients.
What
claims are made by advertisers?
- “Xenadrine is not only the most
popular weight-loss product currently available, it is also the most
effective.”
(www.musclesurf.com/fatburners1.html)
- “Incredible
fast weight loss.” “Visible Muscle
Tone.” “Improvements within one
week.” “Xenedrine burns fat so
fast, it has suddenly become the best-selling diet supplement in America.”
(www.fast-weight-loss-guide.com/xenedrine.htm)
- “Xenadrine’s phenomenal
fat-burning, muscle-sparing benefits can help you lose body-fat, increase
your strength and energy, and produce visible improvements in muscle tone
within just weeks of use. As a result you not longer have to ask yourself,
‘How can I possibly lose this weight?’
The question now is- how much weight do you want to lose? And when
do you want to lose it?”
(www.musclesurf.com/xenadrinerfa1.html?AID=9209353&PID=1311280)
The
companies seeking to sell their products do cite clinical trials concerning the
efficacy of Xenadrine. However, they
only mention trials which Cytodyne sponsored and so again a source of bias
exists. What do we take away from the
advertisements? Be critical and thoroughly research a product you are going to
buy! Here are some examples for evidence
used to support Xenadrine:
-
A double-blind study conducted by a leading clinical testing
laboratory reported Xenadrine caused “17 times greater reduction in body fat
percentage than an identical group of subjects who used a placebo.”(www.musclesurf.com/fatburners1.html)
-
In a study performed at Eastern
Michigan
University on the effectiveness
of Xenadrine on 20 obese individuals it was
found that “The Xenadrine test subjects lost 524% more total fat and
759% more weight than the placebo group.”
(www.diet-pills-compared.com/xenadrine/Xenadrine-Review.html)
The
Real Deal: What do published scientific studies show about the effectiveness of
Xenadrine? Are there any adverse effects?
In an attempt
to investigate the efficacy and safety of a caffeine and ephedrine mixture on
adolescents Molnar et al(2000) showed support for the weight loss causing capacity
of the supplement. Testing 32
adolescents, divided into a double blind placebo control study the researchers
showed a decrease in body weight of approximately 14.4kg, a decrease in BMI of
approximately 2.9 kg/m2 and a decrease in body fat of about 6.6 kg
when comparing the treatment group to the control. In addition, they observed no significant
difference in adverse events between the groups.
Boozer
et al (2002) discussed the efficacy and safety of herbal ephedra and caffeine
for weight loss in a 6 month randomized double blind placebo trial. Their results showed that there was a
difference in decrease in body weight in comparing the treatment group to the
control group (-5.3kg treatment vs. -2.6kg placebo). In addition, a greater decrease in body fat
was observed in the treatment group. The
treatment group, however, did show an increase in adverse effects including
small changes in blood pressure, increased heart rate, and increased dry mouth. However, there was no difference between the
groups concerning irritability, nausea, chest pain, and palpitations.
In a review of
several clinical studies, Shekelle et al (2003) addressed questions regarding
the efficacy of herbal ephedra and ephedrine for weight loss and athletic
performance, as well as addressing safety concerns dealing with ephedra. The researchers identified 52 controlled
clinical trials, of which 46 dealt specifically with ephedrine’s effect on
weight loss. The results show that a
combination of ephedrine and caffeine only results in modest weight loss of
approximately 2 lbs/month greater compared to a placebo group. It is important to note that the results
published were plagued by methodological problems and therefore to some extent
should not be considered valid. In
addition, the studies show nothing about long term effects on weight loss and
therefore nothing should be inferred about long term effects. In terms of safety, the review study showed
that use of ephedra containing supplements led to an increased risk of nausea,
vomiting, psychiatric symptoms, hyperactivity, and palpitations.
In another study, testing the effect of ephedrine plus
caffeine on plasma lipids and lipoproteins, Buemann et al (1994) attempted to
test the mechanism of thermogenesis and whether or not ephedrine plus caffeine
was effective in causing this to occur.
They found that weight loss did not differ between the treatment group
and the placebo group. However, by week
8 of the study, a decrease in HDL cholesterol could be observed for the treatment
group, likely because of the depletion of fat stores in those taking the
supplement.
However, a conflicting study was published by Bell et al
(1999). This group showed that the
metabolic rate of the treatment group taking an ephedrine and caffeine containing
supplement did not cause sufficiently increased internal bodily temperature in
comparison to a placebo group. It was suggested that homeostatic heat loss
mechanisms offset the increase in bodily temperature, in which case the aspirin
was not doing its supposed job.
Haller et al(2000) did a review of 140 reports of adverse
events associated with dietary supplements containing ephedra. They concluded that in 31% of the cases, the
probable cause of the adverse event was related to ephedra. In addition, of this 31%, 47% of these cases
showed cardiovascular events, while 18% showed central nervous system
events. Therefore, it can be concluded
that ephedrine containing supplements do pose some risk to health.
The picture concerning the safety of ephedrine is thus
unclear. This was further illustrated by Kalman et al(2002), who attempted to
determine the effects of an ephedrine/caffeine combination on cardiovascular
health in adults using a randomized double blind placebo study comparing the
actual Xenadrine product with a placebo. They observed no significant
difference between the two groups in terms of cardiovascular events.
Conclusion: What can be said about Xenadrine and its
efficacy? Is it safe?
At this point you are probably quite confused as to whether
Xenadrine does actually do what advertisers claim and as to whether it is
safe. Some studies show substantial
weight loss while others do not when taking supplements containing the
ephedrine and caffeine combination. In
addition, some show that adverse events are related to the use of these
supplements, while others show no significant difference between the supplement
and a placebo. There is no definite yes
or no answer as to whether Xenadrine works.
It is largely depends on the individual, as everyone responds
differently to different things. Because no or few long term studies have been
documented, the long term effect of these supplements is also ambiguous. This
fuzziness concerning Xenadrine should be reason enough for you to look hard
into whether or not you want to test a supplement that has been shown to cause
some serious problems in some cases.
Perhaps this will make the picture clearer then.
WebMD states, “A weight-loss supplement containing
ephedrine reportedly contributed to the death of Baltimore Orioles Steve
Belcher, who died of heat stroke when his body temperature reached 108
degrees.” (http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/59/66803.htm?pagenumber=1)
Weight loss supplements do
bring with them possible severe consequences, however, this is often obscured
by the messages passed on by advertisements.
Most experts will say that diet pills are not an effective way of losing
weight. If you want to combat a weight
problem, the first place to look is your diet and your exercise habits.
In fact, the US and Canada have begun a sweeping look into the safety of
ephedrine containing supplements in recent months. The effects of ephedrine are similar to
amphetamines or uppers, which causes the heart to beat faster and has profound
effects on the central nervous system. This is certainly a danger. As with any
decision, a cost-benefit analysis is important in deciding whether or not to
try Xenadrine. From the staggering
uncertainty concerning its effectiveness and its safety issues, it seems clear
that the costs probably outweigh the benefits.
References:
Bell, DG; Jacobs, I; McLellan, TM; Miyazaki, M; Sabiston, CM.
“Thermal Regulation in the Heat during Exercise after Caffeine and
Ephedrine Ingestion.”
Aviat Space Environmental Medicine,
June 1999, pgs. 583-8.
Boozer, CN; Daly, PA;
Homel, P; Solomon, JL; Blanchard, D; Nasser, JA; Strauss, R; Meredith, T. “Herbal Ephedra/Caffeine for
Weight Loss: A 6-month Randomized Safety and Efficacy
Trial.” International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, May 2002, pgs. 593-604.
Buemann, B; Marckmann, P;
Christensen, NJ; Astrup,A.
“The Effect of Ephedrine Plus Caffeine on Plasma Lipids and Lipoproteins
During
a 4.2 MJ/day Diet.” International Journal of Obesity and Related
Metabolic Disorders, May 1994, pgs. 329-32.
Haller, CA; Benowitz, NL.
“Adverse Cardiovascular and Central Nervous System Events Associated with
Dietary Supplements Containing
Ephedra Alkaloids.” New
England Journal of Medicine, Dec. 2000.
Kalman, D; Incledon, T;
Gaunaurd, I; Schwartz, H; Krieger, D. “An Acute Clinical Trial Evaluating the
Cardiovascular Effects of an Herbal
Ephedra-Caffeine
Weight Loss Product in Healthy Overweight Adults.” International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders,
Oct. 2002, pgs. 1363-6.
Molnar, D; Torok, K;
Erhardt, E; Jerges, S. “Safety and Efficacy of Treatment with an Ephedrine/Caffeine
Mixture. The First Double-Blind
Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study with Adolescents.” International
Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders,
Dec. 2000, pgs.
1573-8.
Shekelle, PG; Hardy, ML;
Morton, SC; Maglione, M; Mojica, WA; Suttrop, MJ; Rhodes, SL; Jungvig, L;
Gagne, J. “Efficacy
and Safety of Ephedra and Ephedrine for Weight Loss and
Athletic Performance: A Meta-Analysis.” JAMA, March 2003,
pgs. 1537-45.
