Are the dangers true about No-Xplode?

[pd4pd]

I worry because I have 2 bottles coming in the mail. I had the money to spend so I wanted to give it a shot. Yes, I know that there are cheaper products out there that do the same thing but do you guys think that there is any need to be concerned about the safety of the product's 2 ingredients discussed in the article. These 2 ingredients are also in SWOLE.
I am sure that many of the regulars have seen this, it is from Test. Nation

This potentially dangerous ergolytic chemical is Guanidinopropionic Acid (GPA), which binds the creatine transporter and plugs it up so creatine can’t be transported into various tissues (similar to the concept of tamoxifen blocking the estrogen receptor, not allowing estrogen to bind). This is a problem, because most of our tissues can’t make creatine so it has to be transported in, and blocked transporters means a reduction in cellular creatine levels.

Bear in mind that creatine isn’t just a supplement, it’s a naturally occurring substance in our bodies that we need to survive! You know the impact of having 20% more creatine, now imagine having 80% less creatine! GPA induced creatine depletion can not only reduce muscle strength after a mere seven days of consumption (Gagnon et al., 2002), but has also been shown to convert fast-twitch muscle to slow-twitch (Ren et al., 1995)! So this substance might make you weaker and slower!

While these consequences should be enough to make you avoid supplements containing this chemical, there’s also a potentially dangerous side to consider: both our hearts and our brains have creatine transporters!!! Any time you start to mess around with our two most vital organs, it can’t be good. Fortunately, the brain seems to temporarily compensate for decreases in energy supply caused by GPA (O'Gorman et al., 1996), but do we really want our bodies to have to adapt to reduced energy levels? Of course not!

We also don’t want our hearts to be affected by GPA supplementation, but they are! In fact, 3 different studies showed that creatine levels in the heart dropped by 80-87% with GPA consumption in rats (Boehm et al., 2003, Neubauer et al., 1999; Horn et al., 2001). Now you can see why it’s nearly impossible to perform human studies using this substance! Clearly, you have to wonder what the manufacturers were thinking when they approved production of this supplement.

"But wait, there’s MORE! Order now and you’ll get another potentially dangerous ingredient for free!" One particular supplement ("SWOLE") combines GPA with another potentially dangerous substance known as Glycocyamine (G-amine). Sadly, G-amine (also known as guanidinoacetate) has been picked up by a few different supplement companies who obviously don’t do any research on what they’re getting people to ingest.

The reason G-amine is so popular (from a marketing standpoint, not from the consumers’) is because it is the precursor to creatine. Just like Testosterone can come from andro, creatine comes from G-amine. The theory is that you jack up G-amine levels and you get a whole bunch more creatine. The really asinine part is that, you can just directly take creatine!

We can’t take Testosterone due to legal reasons, so we have to find other ways to increase its levels—enter prohormones (among other effective things). But for our purposes, there’s no reason to worry about creatine precursors because we can just take the substance directly. The whole precursor concept is really hot when it comes to marketing to laymen, which is where this supplement takes off.

Unfortunately, consuming this chemical seems to have the undesirable effect of elevating blood levels of a substance called homocysteine, which is a very strong risk factor for cardiovascular disease (Stead et al., 2001). Cardiovascular disease is easily the number one killer in the Western World, and the last thing we need to do is increase our risk for it. Conversely, taking creatine decreases homocysteine levels, raising even more therapeutic possibilities for this supplement. As if to spit on your grave, if you’re supplementing with creatine, G-amine may also decrease its uptake by muscles (Zugno et al., 2003).

Sadly, the FDA has already spoken to the company that produces this "combo of harm," because another of its supplements caused liver damage… you’d think that they would have learned. Unfortunately, these substances aren’t just isolated to a single product—they’re popping up in all kinds of different supplements (including some protein powders)! It’s my opinion that products containing either of these substances should be pulled off the market and the formulas changed, but the FDA can’t do anything until harm has already been done. This means that it’s up to us to spread the word about these substances. Most importantly, before you supplement with something, do your research and KNOW WHAT YOU’RE CONSUMING!

[OULexicon]

Glycocyamine is in a lot of products. I know its in Xpand. So is GPA. I just checked an old container of Satur8, and it was in this product too. I don't know if they still sell that one though. Probably so.

I'll certainly keep an eye out over these ingredients until I know for sure they are safe. Just bought some Xpand though, and will finish off the tub.

[pd4pd]

Glycocyamine is in a lot of products. I know its in Xpand. So is GPA. I just checked an old container of Satur8, and it was in this product too. I don't know if they still sell that one though. Probably so.

I'll certainly keep an eye out over these ingredients until I know for sure they are safe. Just bought some Xpand though, and will finish off the tub.

Thanks for the reply. Yea, I saw that those ingredients are in a lot of products. I think I will be okay doing a 4-6 week stack. I have not heard of anyone waking up on the wrong side of the grass from the products. However, I hope PU and some of the other guys who are pretty knowledgeable respond...just for piece of mind.

[schroeder84]

you really can't be certain if this is propoganda or not. the fact of the matter stands that both noxpolde and swole are fairly new products, meaning long term research just isn't there. i personally think it's bull****. millions of people (including myself) have used either of these products with zero adverse effects....that's all the research i need. i could give a **** about what's tested on rats in a lab by some random anti-supplement dickhead with a phd.

use the stuff...you'll be fine.

[Big Cat]

He is adressing the ingredients, with actual concern surrounding their use, not just those supplements. So he has a valuable point, no matter where he is coming from. I dount G-amine is that hazardous, lots of products raise homocysteine levels , and that is main reason people add anti-oxidants to their stack. Although obviously this isn't a product to be used on a continuous or very frequent base.

I do think the concerns over GPA are legit though, and I'd like to see some input from people involved or merely interested.

Saying you had no adverse affects is sadly not a valid argument, the long term effects of cardiac creatine depletion are not evaluated by you saying you didn't keel over. Not all adverse effects are noticable.

[pd4pd]

He is adressing the ingredients, with actual concern surrounding their use, not just those supplements. So he has a valuable point, no matter where he is coming from. I dount G-amine is that hazardous, lots of products raise homocysteine levels , and that is main reason people add anti-oxidants to their stack. Although obviously this isn't a product to be used on a continuous or very frequent base.

I do think the concerns over GPA are legit though, and I'd like to see some input from people involved or merely interested.

Saying you had no adverse affects is sadly not a valid argument, the long term effects of cardiac creatine depletion are not evaluated by you saying you didn't keel over. Not all adverse effects are noticable.

Thanks Big Cat. Your input is greatly appreciated!

[flokmania]

I love these informing, eye opening threads. All threads need to be this way. Thank you for this info.

[M. Bison]

bump

[Xnutrition]

Ok so this scared me a lil bit, i never really took supplements except for whey and a multi, but i was curious so i took no-xplode to see what the hype was. I really like it, awesome pumps and great vascularity. BUT>> now that i read this i would recomend Universals Shock Therepy, just cause i looked at it and didn't see any GPA or Glycocyamine. It will be my next Supp

[dennis_bodybuilding]

This is a tough question all of us who workout face - is it safe or not? Remember Creatine was thought to be unsafe for years. I don't know about NO. All I know is I've used it for over 2 years and "seem" to be ok. I follow the directions I got from the company - use for 2 months - off for 2 months. I know that my workouts are far less intense when I am off NO -especially since I workout at 5:30 AM. I also know I am literally craving getting back on it and I have only been off it for about 2 weeks. I think there is a good bit of placebo effect here but I do believe the product works. But I don't know if it's hurting me. And I still take it ... am I stupid or what?

[tothelimit27]

This is a tough question all of us who workout face - is it safe or not? Remember Creatine was thought to be unsafe for years. I don't know about NO. All I know is I've used it for over 2 years and "seem" to be ok. I follow the directions I got from the company - use for 2 months - off for 2 months. I know that my workouts are far less intense when I am off NO -especially since I workout at 5:30 AM. I also know I am literally craving getting back on it and I have only been off it for about 2 weeks. I think there is a good bit of placebo effect here but I do believe the product works. But I don't know if it's hurting me. And I still take it ... am I stupid or what?

about as stupid as all of us... to be honest none of us know the long term effects.. your at least cycling like your supposed to.. I know plenty of people that swear by Preworkouts and havent had a break in probably about a year... I would even go over the reccomended time frame now and again.. The way I see it is the majority of us here on bb.com take these supplements to promote a healthy lifestyle which puts us in the gym 4-5 times a week. I believe the benefits we are getting in this lifestyle outweighs any negative side effects that our supplements are creating.... I can only hope ha.

[dennis_bodybuilding]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I guess it's all about moderation - too much of anything can be bad I suppose. I guess I won't worry about that third eye that is growing on the back of my head yet Cheers!