Greed has caused a lack of innovation in products. I've seen people call various forms of amino acids "instantized" when all they've added is some form of acid. Vitamin C could even be used for this. Brilliant science, right? The acid helps bring the aminos into solution...a little bit. I'd imagine this has something to do with the fact that anyone who has the knowledge to really fuel production of new products is going to apply that knowledge to something with more income potential than the supplement industry. The supplement industry itself, however, has become nothing more than its own bottom line. There is even an ephedra product out now BRAGGING that their product contains NO EPHEDRINE ALKALOIDS. In other words, they're bragging that it doesn't have any active compounds in the product.

For the record, ephedra is just a species of plant. It's basically a weed. Ephedra viridis is a plant in the ephedra genus that grows in many areas of the United States. Ephedra viridis contains NO ephedrine alkaloids.

The ephedrine alkaloid is a beta agonist with sympathomimetic properties. THAT is what works. The word ephedra just describes a type of plant! Ephedrine itself is banned. This means that any ANALOGUE of ephedrine – due to the "analogue rule" - is also illegal for production and sale as a nutritional supplement. Any product that contains any alkaloid of ephedrine cannot be sold.

There are many variations of the phenylethylamines, though. People have been going right at PEA (Phenylethylamine), but the problem is that PEA has an extremely short active half-life in the body. It’s the backbone of all major psychoactive stimulants, but on its own it won't provide a ton of benefit.
There are ways to increase the bioavailability of PEA by increasing its mode of action in the synaptic cleft, but it’s tough to find chemicals to do this which aren't already unavailable for use as a nutritional supplement.

We have a sympathomimetic chemical that has never been produced before, but is stronger than any stimulant currently or formerly on the market. We also have non-metabolizable forms of racemic amino acids that produce growth-promoting and nutrient-storing effects in the body.

The company I'm partnering with is the company that brought Waxy Maize to the market. While other companies have been scrambling to find suppliers for their Waxy Maize, we've been busy finding the next level of high molecular weight carbohydrates. We have two new high molecular weight carbohydrates to introduce to the market, one of which is extremely high in beta glucans - an ingredient with strong immuno-protective properties.

Instead of a Q&A this week, I have something to say about the “little things.”

Lately I've been receiving lots of emails and questions about very minor aspects of training and dieting - things such as whether people should avoid diet sodas for their supposed potential to elicit an insulin response, or avoiding sugar free products for similar reasons.

In the grand scheme of it all, these things don't matter. In a sport where most people don't even do the major things that improve performance, worrying about minor things like this just overcomplicates everything and provides no benefit to your own progress.

Should we write an article about aspirin's ability to displace tryptophan from binding proteins, thereby freeing up more tryptophan for serotonin synthesis? Of course, increases in serotonin have been shown to cause rats to reduce their selection of carbohydrates without affecting their selection of proteins. This is true, and a reduced desire to ingest carbohydrates would be good when trying to lose weight. But, one slip-up on the diet is going to cause an effect ten times greater than what this minor effect could create.

Here's a little information about aspartame. Aspartame is a dipeptide that liberates its phenylalanine when digested, AND phenylalanine can be converted to tyrosine through phenylalanine hydroxylase, AND tyrosine is a precursor for nor-epinephrine and epinephrine, which most stimulant fat burners are based on....

BUT, we must also remember that elevated levels of circulating L-tyrosine can be shown to actually DECREASE levels of nor-epinephrine in plasma, likely because of the central increase in catacholamine levels produced from that same tyrosine - because increased central adrenergic activity has its action by decreasing peripheral sympathetic tone.

BUT, lest we forget, elevated circulating tyrosine levels have arousal effects compatible with the general arousal properties of catecholamine, WHEN catecholamine systems are first activated.

So, IF you've already achieved sympathetic nervous system to a sufficient amount, AND you ingest aspartame, you will get an increase in nor-epinephrine, which is likely to increase fat burning. Just make sure you didn't have an increase in parasympathetic tone before the ingestion of the aspartame.

Of course, you could always trust aspirin's competitive binding properties to raise serotonin levels, thereby decreasing your appetite for carbohydrates. But, don't forget that injection of serotonin into the hippocampus of rats can cause lethargy, resulting in reduced activity and reactivity - not good when dieting.

What this all means is...IT DOESN'T MATTER.

ONE piece of cheesecake, ONE slip-up on the diet, ONE skipped session of cardio, ONE lackluster weight training session, ONE incredibly stressful day, or any other thing that people don't seem to worry about is going to cause a MUCH greater negative impact on your progress than any potential for sub-physiologic insulin secretion from diet sodas.

Keep that in mind.