Finally, the truth about Ecdysterone!

[IncredibleHulk]

I found this interesting over at AST Research's website:


Q:
Recently, I have been reading a lot about
the supplement, Ecdysterone. However, I
realize that you do not sell this supplement
and I try only to use your products since I
feel you are at the top of the supplement
industry. Are you planning on introducing
this product or are you researching it? I
would appreciate any insight that you can
give me.

A:


I'm afraid you are hearing the same old song
that supplement companies sing over and over
again. Another new supplement with a lot of
wild claims about it. All the claims are made
with insinuation that there is research to back
them up.

Ecdysterone or is plant sterol. Sterol not
steroid. Plant sterols are natural evolutionary
substances manufactured within plants that
provide nutrients primarily to insects and some
small animals.

To date there is no valid research indicating
that 20 Beta-Hydroxyecdysterone
(Ecdysterone) provides any legitimate anabolic
(muscle building) effect in humans. Absolutely
no published research. What little research
there is on this compound is devoted to insects
and rats. That's right - insects.

Most of the animal studies were performed on
maturing (growing) rats or disease inflicted
rats. Most all of these studies were performed
in Russia and were crudely designed and the
methods used for data collection and control
were poor at best. The rat studies also used
dosages that are equivalent to about 500
milligram dose for an average human. That
equals about 12 to 15 capsules daily of the
stuff I've seen on the market.

Sterols were promoted heavily in the 80s' but
quickly fell by the wayside simply because they
didn't work. They didn't work then and putting
them in a bottle with a new label isn't going to
make them work now. Ecdysterone is a sterol
that has hormonal effect in insects. Promoting
it as an anabolic supplement for human use
void of any legitimate research is a disgrace
that no legitimate company and certainly no
scientist would endorse.

Here at AST Sports Science we can produce
and sell any supplement we want. But you'll
notice that we do not sell a supplement just
because it's "hot" or being hyped heavily by
the magazine/supplement companies. We
produce supplements that produce results. We
don't dig up obscure research and try to justify
why we are pushing a new product. We let the
science dictate our product development and
in doing so have and continue to produce state
of the art performance supplements that
produce results.

Sit back and watch the hype thicken on
ecdysterone supplements. The companies will
run their ads and shovel the bullshit. Resist the
urge to be taken in by these snake oil
companies that insist on stealing your money.
Then as time passes and the hype fades watch
as this worthless garbage retires to the
supplement junkyard.

In the meantime look at the science. Stick to
the supplements that are scientifically
supported. Supplements that produce what
they promise. We'll continue to push the
envelope on researching new performance
supplements, nutrition, and training methods.
We'll continue to let the science guide our
product development. And we'll also continue
to keep you informed on the supplement
quackery that so many companies rely on to
keep them afloat.

big ups you saved me some money actually i was willing to skeptically try it... now you can forget about it! thanks

[CONTRACTION]

To add to that Hulk, EAS has jumped on the bandwagon with their new product "Muscle Drive HP". That's pretty sad since EAS always did research in the past...times change I guess. Straight off of EAS sight:


"Muscle Drive™ HP contains a blend of Whey Protein Isolate and Whey Protein Concentrate with added ingredients to enhance the overall effects of protein. Similar to Methoxy Factor™ HP, Muscle Drive HP contains the potent combination of methoxyIsoflavone and ecdysterone to support protein synthesis, nitrogen retention and muscle tissue repair. Additionally, it contains glutamine and glutamine peptides (a source of glutamine) to enhance cell volume and recovery from intense exercise. To help support all of the processes certain B complex vitamins and other minerals are added. It should be used by the person looking to increase their lean body mass and for those looking to decrease bodyfat. It is suitable for both men and women over the age of 18."

Big hype huh? Especially since it contains methoxy and ecdysterone. Would you pay $49.95 for 28 servings? This is what they said about ecdysterone:

"Q: How does Muscle Drive HP work?
A: This is a great question. Without getting too detailed, Muscle Drive HP is designed to maximize two key physiological processes involved in building muscle and losing fat-nitrogen retention and protein synthesis. Included in this formula is a highly potent ecdysterone extract that may help increase nitrogen retention and protein synthesis. Also included is methoxyIsoflavone, another highly potent compound that may help decrease protein breakdown and improve muscle tissue repair. Together, this dual action complex helps to support your bodies’ regulatory mechanisms of protein necessary for the growth and repair of tissues. Furthermore to enhance the benefits of Muscle Drive HP we have added 24 grams of a combination of whey protein isolate and whey protein concentrate."

Sounds like the biggest find in supplement history! http://www.elitefitness.com/ubb/smile.gif

Note that they said ecdysterone & methoxy are highly potent. Sounds stronger than Organon Redi-jects!!! Hee, Hee!

Be wise guys, use only tested and researched products...

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[This message has been edited by CONTRACTION (edited April 23, 2001).]

You know what ? I just whent to the AST site and they are the same as everybody else. They feed you the same line of bull shit about why other companies product do not work and are junk and you get no results but, yet they turn around and do the same selling routine about how there products are the absolute best and you can't do with out! Then they claim to have all the real scientific facts and everyone else is false. Finally every page you're on they try to shove the products in your face constantly. Yeah I admit I take edcysten but I'm to the point now with as much research and reading and weighing out the common knowledge from the fades and all I can say is unless you plan on juicing, going natural you don't need all this shit! A good whey protein powder w/ glutamine at the absolute most is all you will need and that's only for what it is a suppliment to aide your diet not replace it! Diet and training are two most important and the more quality protein you take in the better the gains maybe not like juicing but never the less the better, so screw all the suppliment companies they can kiss my ass I'm going to gain just as much with out them and save my money and loose the headache! weeeeeeew!!!! Damn that felt good!

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[This message has been edited by Kryp2o (edited April 24, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Kryp2o (edited April 24, 2001).]

[BackDoc]

Well, I guess we can say that we have at least one detractor from the supplement industry.


Anyway, moving way way back to the ecdysterone issue, here's something I found earlier today from another message board from someone saying that ecdysterone cannot be utilized by mammals at all. I checked out the research article and sure enough it's legit.


"Identification of ligands and coligands for the ecdysone-regulated gene switch."
Saez E, Nelson MC, Eshelman B, Banayo E, Koder A, Cho GJ, Evans RM.

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.

The presence of ecdysone molecules in the plant kingdom is nearly universal. Plants use ecdysteroids as natural insecticides, yet ecdysteroids are completely innocuous in mammals. Despite their steroidal skeleton, they have no teratogenic, sex-hormonal, anabolic, or analgesic properties. Moreover, humans consume large amounts of dietary ecdysteroids without such effects. For example, fresh spinach contains over 100 µg/g of 20-hydroxyecdysone. In rats, daily administration of 2 g/kg of ecdysteroid for 35 days has no effect on serum chemistry or organ weight. Ingested ecdysteroids survive the acidic conditions of the stomach, are quickly taken up, are promptly removed from the bloodstream, and are disposed of primarily through biliary excretion into the intestine.

I agree with AST 100% on this one.

[patro]

Kryp2o

You said, "A good whey protein powder w/ glutamine at the absolute most is all you will need..."

So which whey protein powder with glutamine is the best?

Thanks. I need some now, but don't know what to get.



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EVERYBODY HAS THEIR OWN AGENDA

[rancid]

as for proteins, the best is a mixture of whey, casein and egg, in a ratio of 50% whey, 30 % casein and 20 % egg, as for the glutamine, glutamine peptides added to this mix would be the best ones to use, also don't discount flax seed or hemp seed oil! these ingredients would make your shake a real anabolic drink.

[IncredibleHulk]

Well the best protein by far would be VP2. Your body will absorb just about all of it! Unfortunately it costs too much for me to buy. Casein and Egg are nothing more than low grade protein sources. You would only want casein at bedtime. Because during the course of the day you should be eating/drinking a high quality protein source every 3 hours! I noticed the bodybuilding magazines are pushing casein lately so I'm assuming that's why your thinking it's a "quality" protein but it's not.

[Belial]

IH- I thought egg had one of the highest bioavailabilities of all protein.

It's just given a bad rep, from what I hear.

[bignate73]

Originally posted by Belial: IH- I thought egg had one of the highest bioavailabilities of all protein. It's just given a bad rep, from what I hear.

eggs as a food have the highest(100), next source being whey(104+).