Any side effects from X-Factor?

[getbustered]

From what I've read on these forums X-Factor looks like a more dangerous supplement to take than PH's!! The research and chemical make-up of it won't, but the side effects sure seem to.

Okay, I would like some clarification before I begin this debate. Are you truly speaking of PHs? Let's discuss the options here.

PHs would be speaking of pro-hormones, which require an enzyme in the body to convert to an active steroid. Examples would be 1,4AD, and the now banned 1AD and 4AD.

DS or Designer Steroids refer to the newer generation of steroids for sell, generally OTC, and generally methylated, which were not developed or researched extensively for medical use. These are what we find in abundance on the market today.

Traditional AAS would be referring to things that are generally injectible (although there are exceptions such as Anavar, D-Bol, etc.) that have been around since the 1940's and 1950's and are heavily studied in the pharmaceutical world.

Now, which would you like me to compare to X-Factor? I will try to give a pro/con view of each option you are wanting to see.

[getbustered]

No, the success of your company's product is hilarious. Your own sponsored study showed zero lean mass nor fat loss benefit, even after rigging the study.

Yet we are supposed to accept that this product is:

best non-hormanal bulking agent available!
great for cutting!
ultimate pre workout pump!
cures gum disease!
somehow increases muscle gains by increasing inflammation, and at the same time is anti-inflammatory!

Not to mention, if any of this were true, you could get the same AA by mixing a few eggs into your shake - with the added benefit that cholesterol provides in active weight training individuals.

But wait, don't do that, cholesterol is bad for you! But AA is only bad for sedentary people!

Your product and your claims are a joke and I'll continue to point out that fact at every opportunity.

Bill has discussed the parameters of the study extensively on this site and others. It was in no way "rigged" as you claim. In fact, MN is planning a second study as we speak.

Now, does any of this matter to you? Nope. I would ask again what your agenda is? Consumer advocacy? Don't think so or you might spend time outside of bashing X-Factor.

If you want to seriously debate X-Factor's efficacy, I'm up for it as are many others. However, my main point of contention with you in this thread is that you blatantly lied about having seen bleeding gums posted 3 other times. How do I know you lied? Because it hasn't been posted before, unless you are counting Leonidas300's post in which he was wondering why the bleeding STOPPED? Now, good day.

[xBORKOx]

Xfactor increases strenght but what about the gains? That study showed only strenght but no gains...yes i know strenght goes hand in hand with muscle gain but what is the mechanism of gaining muscle?

[cal62887]

No, the success of your company's product is hilarious. Your own sponsored study showed zero lean mass nor fat loss benefit, even after rigging the study.

Just so everyone knows what you're referring to.. here is the full study:
https://beardocs.baylor.edu/bitstrea...ts_masters.pdf

Here is the response:
http://www.forum.bodybuilding.com/sh...&postcount=202

I apologize for jumping in, but I did feel it necessary to respond to this. First, here are my comments with regard to the study.. I will address some of your stronger accusations in my next post.

As you know, the Baylor study was finally published. I have to say on behalf of Molecular Nutrition that we are extremely excited to see this paper finally hit the medical books. This study is the first one of its kind with arachidonic acid, and we had some great findings, and some very promising results to follow up on. For those unfamiliar with exactly what we saw during the study, let me rundown the results.

Raw Data:

First, with regard to the raw data, the arachidonic acid group had higher numbers on all measures relating to body mass, strength, and performance. This includes Total body mass, DEXA lean mass, Leg press 1RM, Bench press 1RM, Wingate average power, Wingate anaerobic endurance, and Wingate relative peak power. The AA group also noticed higher levels of prostaglandins PGE2 and PGF2alpha, lower levels of inflammatory cytokine IL-6, and had no changes in any of the markers of safety.

Significant Findings:

Those key measures that reached the level of "statistical significance", the ultimate threshold for legitimacy in a medical study, were 1) increased peak anaerobic power over the 50-day study, 2) reduced IL-6 (inflammatory marker) at 25 days, and 3) no adverse effect on any of the markers of safety during the 50 day study.

Statistically Strong Findings:

Increases that reached the level of being considered "statistically strong" findings were increases in bench press 1RM, increased average anaerobic power, increased anaerobic endurance, reduced IL-6 levels at 50 days, and increased prostaglandin production.

On Statistical Significance:

If the AA group did better on every measure, why is this not reported? In a non-publishable paper such results often are. But to enter the medical literate, the reviewers must be sure each result was not one of chance. After all, one group will always outperform another in a 2-group study. Statistical significance is required, which tries to assure mathematically that an observed relationship could not have occurred by pure chance. The threshold is usually a "95% confidence interval", which means that there was a 95% probability that the relationship between the variables was valid, and only a 5% or less probability it could have been a chance finding. A statistically strong finding is usually one of 80% CI or better. Statically strong trends are generally not reported in published papers, but, as in our case, are often reported in conferences and early abstracts to inform other scientists that this is an area worthy of more research

The arachidonic acid study was a small study. It was the first of its kind, and funded by Molecular Nutrition at a time when the product was still very young and our resources very limited. With these constraints we opted to fund a study with only 15 participants in each group. We knew going in that it would be difficult to reach statistical significance in small groups like this, as inter-individual variability might easily blur the strength of the data. But we were resigned to study it as best we could. In our case, we had great overall numbers, but it only took a couple of people in the placebo group to make good gains to drop below the threshold of statistical significance on many measures. This is one of the reasons it is much better to fund studies with large groups. As the populations increase, the effect that individual variables may have on the outcome (mathematically) can be reduced.

With the great success we've had with X-Factor and arachidonic acid licensing in recent months, we are in a much different position now than we were 2.5 years ago, and are preparing for another much larger study at the present time. We've also been working on some new strategies for our next phase of testing. In addition to using more participants, we are also looking at ways to better homogenize the groups. We'd like to work perhaps with more experienced athletes/bodybuilders to minimize placebo gains, and are even contemplating an adaptation period to training, as one of the drawback with the present study was that all individuals had to conform to a new weight lifting routine, which in of itself often stimulates growth.

Overall this first study, even thou small, still gave us some incredibly great findings. We had some strong statistical trends on some very key measures, and even some statistically significant gains worthy of publication in the medical literature! For a first crack at a study of this sort, I have to say that it sure ain't bad. Of course an out-of-the park homerun would have been better, but we can expect only so much on our first small study. If we gained anything from this it was that 1) we did see AA increase performance strongly enough to reach statistical significance, even in a small study 2) AA supplementation produced statistically strong trends on many other measures of performance, supporting the need for another, more thorough study, 3) we reinforced that AA supplementation was perfectly safe, and 4) we noticed a statistically significant reduction in IL-6 levels, a central regulator of inflammation.

If you ask me, the IL-6 data was the single most important finding of the study, and worth every penny we spent on it. Beforehand, it was a very commonly held belief that AA supplementation would increase inflammation. We now have proof to the contrary, and even that it reduces inflammation. With the safety data on AA supplementation now overwhelming, and the performance data very strong, we really believe we are on the doorstep of a recognized "huge" breakthrough in the science of muscle growth and supplementation. As nearly all people who use it can attest, arachidonic acid can be an amazing anabolic supplement. We know that we've developed something extremely big here with AA, and look forward to funding more research studies into this nutrient.

I'd also like to commend Baylor for their hard work and dedication to the project!

Here are other threads discussing this same exact topic

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...light=response
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...light=response

Now since Ill assume you've seen those responses, I'll just avoid that conv. since it'll get nowhere with you./

Not to mention, if any of this were true, you could get the same AA by mixing a few eggs into your shake - with the added benefit that cholesterol provides in active weight training individuals.

Here is another list of AA rich foods. By all means, give it a shot, log it, and I'll even subscribe to it.

Inspired by another thread, I conducted a search to find the foods most rich in arachidonic acid(and near zero in omega 3s). This is what I have found:
Chicken Heart 43 mg per heart
Chicken Giblets, 132mg per 28 grams
Beef pancreas, 226mg per 28 grams
Beef brain, 1756 mg per 391 grams
Beef Kidneys, 64,4 mg per 28 grams
Pork Pancreas, 121mg per 28 grams
Pork Heart, 76,3 mg per 28 grams
Lamb liver, 2898mg per 322 grams

**Bane

[getbustered]

Thank you cal. I'm in class and while debating in between work is fun, I don't have time to go post-hunting. Good work.

[cal62887]

Thank you cal. I'm in class and while debating in between work is fun, I don't have time to go post-hunting. Good work.

Eh... I just like to provide links to support what I'm saying... otherwise unproven claims are worthless

[J2jud]

From what I've read on these forums X-Factor looks like a more dangerous supplement to take than PH's!! The research and chemical make-up of it won't, but the side effects sure seem to.

I am very surprised that you would say this. If you are to compare today's so called "PH's" with X-Factor in terms of side effects then you are very wrong to say the least. Let's take a look at the side effects of todays PH's: liver damage, kidney damage testicular atrophy, loss of libido(sexual dysfunction), aromatization of testosterone into estrogens, hair loss, longer periods of time to stop bleeding (clotting), gynecomastia, cardiovascular disease, depression, high blood pressure(hypertension), and headaches. I could go on further but I think I've said enough. Case closed.

A supplement company's dream: a placebo with actual side effects! No wonder the other companies are licensing it; best thing since yohimbine.

A placebo huh? Why do users become repeat-users that continually make gains in strength and muscle? Your bashing is very weak.

[calinkaos]

I noticed during weeks 3-5 of taking X-factor my muscles started to bruise. The bi-ceps and abdominal muscles mainly. It would accure the day after I lifted that muscle group. I have taken many supps and other AAs and never had bruising like this.
The nose bleeds I have had as well. I had a few while doing cardio and wind sprints, thought it was from over inhalation while running but now that others have noticed it maybe it is something to look into.

[cal62887]

I noticed during weeks 3-5 of taking X-factor my muscles started to bruise. The bi-ceps and abdominal muscles mainly. It would accure the day after I lifted that muscle group. I have taken many supps and other AAs and never had bruising like this.
The nose bleeds I have had as well. I had a few while doing cardio and wind sprints, thought it was from over inhalation while running but now that others have noticed it maybe it is something to look into.

Bruise; as in your skin is discolored and blood is seeping into tissue surrounding your biceps and abs?

Is that correct? ... I'm just trying to understand what's going on.

Nonetheless if you're experiencing negative side effects, the safe thing to always do is to stop taking whatever supplements you're taking and heal up. How far into the X Factor cycle are you?

[calinkaos]

Bruise; as in your skin is discolored and blood is seeping into tissue surrounding your biceps and abs?

Is that correct? ... I'm just trying to understand what's going on.

Nonetheless if you're experiencing negative side effects, the safe thing to always do is to stop taking whatever supplements you're taking and heal up. How far into the X Factor cycle are you?

It discolored but was not painful. my friend whom recommended it to me said the same thing happened to him and he wasnt to concerned. we both finished our cycles without any other problems. I only had the few nose bleed during my high intensity cardio but they subsided. I still think the product was good, i had great gain and lost BF as well so I am not knocking the product, but the side effects are still very similar and should be looked into.

[The Gasman UK]

Muscles were sore for 2 weeks then calmed down. Acne increase on shoulders.

Same here !!

[theBOSS516]

I've read in a few cases that people have suffered from insomnia is there any thing that can be done to prevent this or help reduce the effects of it? Thanks

[cal62887]

I've read in a few cases that people have suffered from insomnia is there any thing that can be done to prevent this or help reduce the effects of it? Thanks

Hey, i just responded to your other thread, but I'll say it here too.


Push the last dose back a couple of hours before bed and it may subside. Insomnia isn't all that common on ARa, but it is a potential side effect. ZMA may also help.

[caut1on]

a c n e

[cal62887]

a c n e

a p p l e c i d e r v i n e g a r



Seriously. Try it.