Novel Thermogenic at The Vitamin Shoppe

Triple Release Caffeine Complex – 300 mg

Altered Phyisque kicks it off with a triple blend of long-lasting caffeine, which brings novel ingredients like MitoBurn, ZinjaBurn, and Adipogenix along for the ride.

Let’s start with the kick of energy — it comes from a blend of caffeine anhydrous, ZumXR delayed release caffeine, and ZumXR extended release caffeine – three forms of caffeine that have been stacked in a specific ratio for optimal pharmacokinetic profile.

In other words, this blend is formulated to give you the upside of caffeine while mitigating the downsides. First, you’ll get a fast-acting hit of energy from the anhydrous form, which most supplement users are used to. But the fun’s only just starting: A second jolt of caffeine arrives later on thanks to the ZumXR delayed release, and finally, a longer-lasting sensation from the ZumXR extended release arrives to provide a more gradual taper as caffeine leaves your bloodstream.

Overall, this makes for a gentler experience on both the front and the back end – caffeine blends like this are generally preferable to most users.

1. Instant release caffeine anhydrous – 225 mg

   The world-famous stimulant caffeine is renowned for its ability to stimulate the central nervous system.^[1] It’s widely used for enhancing mood, sharpening focus, improving athletic performance and making the user feel more energetic.^[2] Caffeine fights fatigue by inhibiting the action of adenosine, a byproduct of ATP breakdown that builds up while we’re awake and eventually makes us feel tired.^[3,4]

   But caffeine also gives us energy in a more literal sense – it increases the rate of cellular metabolism by inhibiting an enzyme called phosphodiesterase, which is responsible for breaking down a messenger molecule called cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP).^[2,5-8]

   Beyond energy: Caffeine for weight management support

   This is why it’s great to include in weight management supplements – caffeine is particularly good for burning fat.^[9] Some studies have found that caffeine can increase fat burning rate by as much as 50%,^[10] and a 2020 meta-analysis of 19 studies found that increased fat oxidation during exercise occurs with as little as 3 milligrams caffeine per kilogram of bodyweight.^[11]

   In terms of caffeine’s effects on weight management, there’s a significant correlation between the thermogenic response to caffeine and body weight loss.^[12,13] A 2019 meta-analysis analyzing 13 randomly controlled trials demonstrated that increased caffeine intake leads to a mean reduction in weight, body mass index, and fat mass, and several of the studies cited use less than Altered Physique’s dosage!^[14]

   

   Altered Phyisque comes in a box (with the bottle inside – bottle pic is below)

   On the cognitive side, caffeine can improve attentiveness, alertness, reaction time, and working memory.^[15-17] Most of us know this sensation, but how can we prevent the crash? By smoothing out the lift:

2. ZumXR delayed release caffeine – 50 mg

   ZumXR delayed release caffeine gives the added benefits of caffeine anhydrous, with a time lag between ingestion and absorption. The idea behind this is to have another release of caffeine just as the above caffeine anhydrous begins to wane in effect — ZumXR delayed release caffeine picks up the slack!

3. ZumXR extended release caffeine – 25 mg

   ZumXR extended release caffeine is designed to begin taking effect more quickly, but with a slower rate of absorption. This is a relatively small dose compared to the other two forms of caffeine, but is here in the background to make the overall energy curve a little gentler.

In theory, this blend is built to help mitigate any potential crash, and we’ve anecdotally found that these blends are successful in that goal.

Next, it’s time to amplify some exercise-based signals in the body:

Mitoburn L-BAIBA (L-β-aminoisobutyric acid) – 500 mg

MitoBurn is a trademarked form of L-β-aminoisobutyric Acid (L-BAIBA or BAIBA) developed by NNB Nutrition, a sponsor of this article.

NNB Nutrition has finally brought us a trusted and tested form of L-BAIBA, which we call an “exercise signal” that kickstarts incredible metabolic processes! It’s known as MitoBurn and it helps kick-start the ‘exercise program’!

As a myokine, BAIBA has signaling effects in your body. During exercise, BAIBA is naturally created from the branched-chain amino acid valine by your muscles.^[18] BAIBA tells your cells to initiate several metabolic adaptations that help your body withstand the stress of exercise, and recover better afterwards.^[19,20]

BAIBA can help trigger mitochondrial biogenesis, which can ultimately convert white adipose tissue (WAT) into brown adipose tissue (BAT).^[21-23] Since BAT is metabolically active while WAT is not,^[21] having more BAT compared to WAT can translate into a faster metabolic rate.

Converting WAT to BAT can come with a number of key benefits, including:

• Faster fat burning^{[18,21,22,24,25]}
• More ketone production^[26]
• Improved blood lipids^[18,25]
• Higher bone density^[27]
• Better kidney function^[28]

Beta-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA), induces beneficial effects on lipid homeostasis in mice.^[25]

This all happens naturally in the body when we exercise, but by supplementing more L-BAIBA with MitoBurn, we’re attempting to amplify these exercise-based signals. Exercise is still, of course, recommended for dieters!

The process of converting WAT to BAT

There are two key mechanisms involved in WAT-to-BAT conversion: PGC-1 alpha and PPAR alpha.^[21,29]

1. PGC-1 alpha triggers mitochondrial biogenesis, the generation of new mitochondria, in your body’s adipose cells.^[30] This is actually what differentiates WAT from BAT: while WAT appears translucent under a microscope because it’s largely devoid of mitochondria, BAT is so jam-packed with mitochondria that they block enough light to make BAT look dark brown (hence the brown in brown adipose tissue).
2. PPAR alpha, on the other hand, is what actually feeds lipids and other energy substrates to the mitochondria inside your BAT cells.^[31]

MitoBurn (L-BAIBA) has flipped the fat burner niche on its head by supplying more of this exercise-based signaling molecule to dieters

Taken together, these two effects – more mitochondria through PGC-1 alpha, plus higher mitochondrial activity through PPAR alpha – can speed up a person’s overall metabolism.^[31] And as we’ll see, these effects will synergize with the grains of paradise also included in Altered Physique.

The L-isomer of BAIBA is preferable

Supplement manufacturers had been trying to bring a BAIBA supplement to market throughout the 2010s, but there were many stumbling blocks. For instance, only the L isomer of BAIBA is bioavailable to the human body – the other two isomers, D/R-BAIBA, don’t have the metabolic effects we seek.^[18,24]

NNB Nutrition cracked the BAIBA code, not only developing a pure active L-BAIBA, but also making it stable for supplements. They named it MitoBurn, and it’s been one of the most popular novel weight management support ingredients since 2019 or so — perfect for the BodyTech Elite line.

ADIPOGENIX Rose Extract (Rosa multiflora) (flower petal) std. to 60% polyphenols (240 mg) – 400 mg

Rose extract contains bioactive constituents that have been identified as potential anti-obesity agents.^[32]

Animal studies show that rose extracts can significantly decrease visceral fat in mice, even without causing changes to caloric intake.^[32] One particular compound in rose extract, trans-tiliroside, appears to inhibit fat gain, decrease liver triglycerides, and improve glycemic control through stimulation of PPAR-alpha (which we covered in the previous section).^[32]

Clinical trials in humans have shown that rose extract can help discourage abdominal fat gain,^[33] and improve certain obesity-related markers of cardiovascular health like fasting glucose and serum cholesterol.^[34,35]

ADIPOGENIX is a Rose Extract standardized to 60% polyphenols — so the 400 milligrams of material here provides 240 milligrams of potent polyphenols. This is some solid dosing, especially if you can get in all four capsules (yielding 300 milligrams of total caffeine) in an entire day. It’s not frequently used in the realm of sports nutrition, making for a uniquely powerful weight management aid in Altered Physique.

Hesperidin – 100 mg

Hesperidin is a flavonoid that occurs naturally in citrus fruits like oranges and lemons.^[36]

It’s been identified as an agent that can increase the secretion of cholecystokinin (CCK), one of the hormones your body uses to suppress appetite.^[37] In higher doses, it appears to stimulate several key metabolic pathways like PPAR-alpha, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC).^[38,39]

In animals, hesperidin feeding appears to improve blood cholesterol and fatty liver by inhibiting both the synthesis of cholesterol and absorption of dietary cholesterol.^[3] It also inhibits certain genes associated with adipogenesis.^[4]

Like ADIPOGENIX, we don’t see hesperidin in as many weight management supplements as we would like. Since many dieters are looking for appetite support, it may certainly help BodyTech Elite’s customers reach their goals.

ZinjaBurn (Dehydrozingerone) – 100 mg

Looking to try this potent ginger extract? NNB Nutrition’s ZinjaBurn is a unique way to target AMPK!

ZinjaBurn, also developed by NNB Nutrition, is a special form of dehydrozingerone (DHZ), a close analogue of curcumin.^[40] Many people take curcumin as an adjunct for weight management^[41] thanks to its antioxidant properties,^[42,43] and DHZ is basically a more bioavailable form of curcumin.

For instance, ZinjaBurn solves many of the absorption problems that plague curcumin^[44,45] — it’s both more water-soluble and more fat-soluble than curcumin.^[46]

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)

Dehydrozingerone appears to upregulate AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase), as demonstrated in a 2015 preclinical trial where DHZ-treated mice gained 15% less fat in response to an obesogenic diet, compared to a control group.^[47] They also had significantly better glycemic control and insulin sensitivity.^[47]

A summary of the benefits of Dehydrozingerone use.^[40]

This is important — AMPK is of particular importance for having a fast metabolism — we often refer to it as the “we need energy now” enzyme. It basically regulates the amount of energy your cells absorb and burn for energy,^[48] particularly in key tissues like muscle, fat, liver, and pancreas.^[48]

AMPK is also involved in managing your body’s balance of WAT and BAT. Activation of AMPK can trigger mitochondrial biogenesis,^[49] thus helping spur the conversion of WAT to BAT. Since AMPK is typically downregulated in obesity,^[50] targeting AMPK has been identified as a potential strategy for managing or preventing obesity.

The AMPK boost is very promising for ZinjaBurn, and once again, it’s an ingredient we don’t see in many fat burners. If you’re noticing a trend here, you’re not mistaken — Altered Physique is very unique, and is definitely not a “me too” cookie-cutter style weight management supplement we see from far too many brands and retailers.

Grains of Paradise (std. to 12% 6-paradol (6 mg)) – 50 mg

Grains of paradise supplementation has been shown to significantly reduce visceral fat levels.^[52]

Also known as aframomum melegueta, grains of paradise is a relative of ginger that’s often used as a black pepper alternative in cooking. But more importantly for us, it also has some research-backed weight management effects, especially when standardized to contain 12.5% of its constituent 6-paradol.

While other compounds can increase your body’s conversion of WAT to BAT (recall our MitoBurn L-BAIBA discussion above), 6-paradol stimulates metabolic activity in existing BAT.^[51] This was shown in a study where 19 healthy men between 20 and 32 years of age took a 40 milligram dose of grains of paradise extract (less than what we have here) compared against a placebo. The researchers found that the grains of paradise group had a higher metabolic rate than the placebo group!^[51]

Another study found that grains of paradise can decrease visceral fat in women,^[52] which is great since visceral fat is a particularly harmful type of fat linked to inflammation and insulin resistance.^[53]

WAT to BAT: How to Boost Thermogenic Brown Adipose Tissue with Diet, Exercise, and Supplements like NNB Nutrition’s MitoBurn and grains of paradise

All in all, we’ve long been very bullish on the combination of MitoBurn and grains of paradise, and are happy to see both of them in Altered Physque. But the burn isn’t over yet:

Capsimax capsicum fruit extract (Capsicum annuum L) (extract) (std. to 2% capsaicinoids) – 25 mg

Capsaicin is a bioactive constituent of cayenne pepper that’s been identified as a thermogenic agent, helping to increase the amount of energy your body burns through thermogenesis.^[54] It may also suppress appetite, making dieting potentially easier.^[55]

One study found that 6 milligrams of capsaicin, less than 25% the dose used in Altered Physique, was enough to cause significant reductions in body fat over a 3-month period!^[56] Interestingly, it may also increase pain tolerance,^[57] which could help with working out.

In some people, capsaicin can increase blood pressure and heart rate,^[54] so keep an eye on that.

Rauwolscine – 1 mg

Also known as alpha-yohimbine, rauwolscine is an alpha-2 antagonist that can seriously amplify energy.

This is a class of compounds that can help activate fight or flight mode by triggering adrenaline and noradrenaline receptors. Knock-on effects of this adrenergic activity can include appetite suppression,^[58] fat loss,^[59] enhanced focus,^[60] and adipogenesis inhibition.^[61]

Are you ready to feel the heat? Take 4 capsules in the morning and get ready for it!

Next to the 300 milligrams of caffeine in four capsules, this is the other stimulatory compound that dieters will almost assuredly feel. Again, if the stimulant load is too much, remember that you do not need to take all four capsules at once! Start with 2 capsules to assess.

Huperzine A – 25 mcg

In the brain, the alkaloid huperzine A helps support levels of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter we often call the “learning neurotransmitter” thanks to its central role in learning and memory consolidation. Huperzine A indirectly boosts acetylcholine levels by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase, the enzyme the breaks down acetylcholine.^[62] So it helps keep acetylcholine around longer.

Because of its impact on acetylcholine levels, huperzine A is most often taken as a nootropic supplement,^[63] and is particularly good at protecting neuronal mitochondria from oxidative stress.^[64]

Finally, a couple of B-vitamins are included:

Vitamin B6 (as pyridoxine HCl) – 5 mg (294% DV)

Vitamin B6 is needed by your body for the manufacture of important metabolic coenzymes like pyridoxal 5′ phosphate (PLP) and pyridoxamine 5′ phosphate (PMP). Both PLP and PMP are implicated in hundreds of different metabolic processes, including protein metabolism.^[65]

Vitamin B is also important for neurotransmitter synthesis, hemoglobin production, immune function, and homocysteine regulation.^[65]

Vitamin B12 (as cyanocobalamin) – 1,000 mcg (41,667% DV)

Vitamin B12 is important for for homocysteine metabolism, DNA synthesis, red blood cell production, and cognitive function.^[66,67]