How do thermogens work?

[Tarheel]

Stuff like DNP, ephedra/ephedrine, and clen? I know they raise the average body temp, but how, what is the neurochemistry behind it?

Clen is a beta-3 agonist, are all of those listed above beta-3 agonists? The end results and side effects of all of them seem similar, so what are the differences (I'm mainly concerned in how they work, not the differences in the results).

 

[GodOfThunder]

The advantage of intracellular mechanisms of action such as this is that a tolerance to DNP cannot develop. To make a long story short, DNP makes the process of ATP formation very inefficient. Why is this important? Because ATP is the energy unit needed to drive all our biochemical reactions in our body that is necessary to keep us alive. The cells in our body constantly need energy (ATP) to stay alive. The amount of ATP needed to keep a person alive depends on his/her basal metabolic rate. By making ATP formation inefficient, a person’s basal metabolic rate can increase indefinitely, but for practical uses, basal metabolic rate can safely increase by 30-50% without putting one’s life in danger. It is not unheard of for people to lose up to one pound of pure fat per day while on DNP.

If you’re not familiar with ATP, it’s what the Calories that are stored in carbs, fats, and proteins are eventually turned into. In other words, the energy that is stored in the macromolecules are transferred to the ATP molecule, but DNP disrupts this process. Instead of making ATP from macromolecules in the presence of DNP, the potential energy is just turned into heat. This is very significant because ATP levels in the body will quickly diminish and cells want to replenish that storage by breaking down more fats, carbs, etc. As you can see, a patter quickly develops where ATP levels will constantly be below normal and the body will always be trying to burn more fats, carbs, and proteins to help replenish the ATP levels. This is no different than doing aerobic exercises such as jogging, biking, etc, except while on DNP, the body is doing the aerobic exercise non stop 24 hours a day.

As quoted from the Guru's Manual.

 

[Nelson Montana]

Clen and ephedrine don't raise body tempeture enough to cause a themogenic effect. (Even though ephedrine based products are advertised as "thermogenics.") Ephedras weight loss properties come mostly from the suppressed appitite effects. Of course, the body adjusts quikly and results in a slower metabolism so you just hold on to more fat in the long run.

Clen is essentially an intense version of ephedrine. It too will decrease appitite but also raise HR so that you are essentially burning more calorie through CNS stimulantion, which BTW, feels really lousy --- shakes, tremors, tingling fingers, restlesssness etc. Experienced users will also tell you it works less and less effectively each time you use it.

"Thor" gave a good explanation of how DNP is a different animal. "Aerobics 24 hours a day" is a good analogy. And it's the reason DNP has been the literal death of some people. So if you're dying to get ripped, you just may succeed. Anyone who uses DNP is a fool.

 

[Tarheel]

Thanks for the replies, really cleared things up.

Can anyone explain a beta-3 agonist vs beta 1 and beta 2? I have read that all fat burners are non-specific, meaning they work on 2 or 3 of the binding sites. What other compounds work on beta 1 and 2 sites, because most all fat burners seem to be concerned with just beta 3. What are 1 and 2 sites for?

Where else on the net can I find information concerning this? Would a Steriod Bible or big thick book of anabolics have anything about this? Does The Bodybuilding Truth have detailed info like this, if so I may have to purchase it.