Norcodrene
Hi, my name is CJ. I’m a certified personal trainer, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, and a competitive bodybuilder.
Just like you, I’ve been in the fitness game for quite some time. You’d probably agree that we’ve seen quite a few supplements and diet fads come and go.
But over the years, between all of those fads and overzealous marketing, two things will never change:
- Nothing can replace hard work, dedication, and a killer-instinct mindset.
- Cold, hard, science.
Not theory, not hypothesis, and definitely not “bro-science”… just real-deal, lab-proven, and human-tested science. It might sound simple, but in this industry, facts can easily get lost in the hype and noise.
So when I was first introduced to Norcodrene, which is manufactured by PES, or Physique Enhancing Science, I had to see just how innovative this company really is.
The professionals at PES are different, and Norcodrene is as well. This powerful fat burner is a natural supplement with a legitimate ingredient profile. Norcodrene has several synergistic components that are supported by an impressive body of weight loss and fat-reduction reduction.
It’s time we got serious about weight loss supplements
Because it’s different, I’m going to write to you differently.
This isn’t going to be a “fluff write-up” full of empty hype about energy in a pill. It’s about how properly-extracted ingredients can come together and mobilize fat for you to burn in the gym.
I’m not a marketer – I’m an intelligent athlete – and that’s who I’m writing for.
Read more at: http://www.norcodrene.com
The Ingredient Profile
The Norcodrene Ingredient Label – Click to zoom inThe dosage
Every bottle of Norcodrene has 90 capsules, and there’s a max dosage of 3 capsules per day. Typically you take 1 to 2 immediately in the morning, and one mid-afternoon. This gives you a minimum supply of 30 days per bottle.
Burning fat feels good again!
Norcodrene features all-natural ingredients that are backed by studies performed by researchers at several prestigious universities and labs. Some examples include the University of Michigan Medical Center and the University of Tokyo.
Caffeine
Support fat burning, not side effects
Norcodrene has 100mg of caffeine per capsule.
Right now you might be thinking, “That’s not a lot.” And you’re right. Compared to the competition, it isn’t. It’s basically the caffeine content in an 8oz cup of coffee.
This is one of the reasons we like Norcodrene so much. Our end goal is to burn fat — not get overstimulated.
Sure, you can “feel” all of those products that have a ton of caffeine, but do they actually burn fat? If caffeine is all it takes to lose weight, then all of those coffee-drinking, energy shot shooting people out there would be jacked, right? But that’s just not how it works.
The science:
Caffeine is about the speed of processes in your body: It improves lipid turnover and movement more so than actual fat loss from lipid oxidation. Caffeine causes specific processes to occur in your body more quickly via the central nervous system. But it doesn’t necessarily burn much fat on its own.
In one study, the energy expenditure of volunteers rose 13% — a nice boost — and the turnover of lipids was doubled.[1]
But just because your fatty acids are turning over twice as fast doesn’t mean you’re burning fatty acids twice as fast. You’re just moving free fatty acids around quicker. It’s up to the other ingredients and your exercise program to actually finish the job in burning fat.
The researchers at the American Society for Clinical Nutrition who conducted this study concluded that “Lipid mobilization alone is insufficient to drive lipid oxidation, or large increments in lipid turnover result in small increments in lipid oxidation.”[1]
Performance peaks at moderate dosages (200mg)
The same goes for performance enhancement. In two separate trials, trained athletes were given various amounts of caffeine, from 0mg to 1000mg, which is an extremely high and potentially dangerous dosage.
You may be surprised by the results: The athletes who took 200mg of caffeine performed the best. Those who received 0mg of caffeine performed the worst. The athletes who received the highest dose performed similarly to the first group — those who received 200mg. At higher doses, however, the athletes experienced unpleasant side effects.[2,3]
Conclusion on Caffeine:
It gives some quick energy and we love it, but more is not always better — especially when it comes to lipolysis and athletic performance. Stick with safe dosages, like what’s found in Norcodrene, and let the following ingredients do the rest of the work.
CirsiumPlex™ Blend
Cirsium oligophyllum (whole plant) extract, Japanese thistle (root) extract
The first ingredient in Norcodrene is a blend of two natural plant extracts, Cirsium oligophyllum and Cirsium japonicum (also known as Japanese thistle). While these plants are related, they actually burn fat in different ways.
Effects of Cirsium Oligophyllum
- Promotes bodyfat mass reduction via the beta-adrenergic receptor (explained in the sidebar)
- Increases energy expenditure by up-regulating uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1)
Normally, the beta-2 adrenergic response is reserved mostly for emergency situations (such as the fight or flight response). The body wants to maintain some fat reserves just in case it needs to react quickly. For those of us who are mostly inactive — due to working a desk job, for instance – we rely on high-intensity workouts and proper supplementation to stimulate this level of fat release.
In one study on Cirsium oligophyllum (CO), published by the International Journal of Biological Sciences in 2009, we learn a couple of things:
- The effects of caffeine were synergistic with CO. Taken together, they work better for fat reduction than when taken alone.
- Repeated administration of Cirsium oligophyllum is most beneficial for suppressing fat accumulation.[4]
Cirsium oligophyllum increases the release of free fatty acids[4]
There’s a common belief that the body develops a tolerance to fat burners. The fact is, a good fat burner gets slightly better over time. This positive feedback loop between caffeine and Cirsium oligophyllum makes for continuous improvement as you diet down.
The next ingredient, Japanese thistle, also has a synergistic effect with caffeine.
Recap: The beta-2 adrenergic receptor in action
Lipolysis is the process of breaking triglycerides down into fatty acids and glycerol. Here is how you will get from where you are right now to the point of broken-down triglycerides:
- Cirsium oligophyllum (CO) stimulates the release of epinephrine from your sympathetic nerves.This is like inducing a minor fight or flight response, which is great because your body stores fat for those types of emergencies.
- The epinephrine, as well as some of the CO, binds to adrenergic receptors. The beta-2 receptors are mostly found on fat cells and skeletal muscle.
- As binding occurs, Gs-proteins (stimulatory guanine nucleotide regulatory proteins) activate adenylate cyclase, an enzyme in cell membranes.[5]
- Adenylate cyclase then converts your ATP (the energy molecule) into 3′-5′ cAMP.
- cAMP binds to the regulatory subunit of protein kinase A, which can then release its catalytic subunit.
- Protein kinase A’s catalytic subunit phosphorylates HSL into its active form, HSL-P.
- Finally, HSL-P induces a hydrolysis reaction that then reduces triglycerides into fatty acids and glycerol.
Click for a flowchart of Noradrenaline beta-adrenergic receptor activation
One added effect: UCP1 kickstarting thermogenesis
The released free fatty acids then go on to activate UCP1 (uncoupling protein 1), which helps the mitochondria burn away residual fatty acids. After that, UCP1 becomes deactivated and the cell goes back to its typical state of energy conservation.
The activation of UCP1 is where Cirsium oligophyllum provides a bonus beyond many other beta-2 agonists. By activating UCP1, you get a kick-start on thermogenesis – it helps burn some fat on its own.[6,7]
But in general, you still need to exercise to expel the broken down fatty acids from your body!
Effects of Cirsium Japonicum (Japenese Thistle)
Quite the breakthrough in the profile, Japanese thistle does a major amount of fat burning work via a plant flavone known as cirsimarin.[8] However, the Japonicum plant has other effects as well:
-
Lipolysis and fat burning via cirsimarin
There are several studies linking cirsimarin to fat-burn:
-
PES Athlete Melina Rae showcasing her favorite thermogenic
Cirsimarin is 20 times stronger than caffeine when it comes to lipolysis. Remember from above, caffeine isn’t that strongly lipolytic, so it takes extracts such as Cirsimarin to make the fat burning process happen sufficiently.[9]
-
The primary fat burned by cirsimarin is white adipose tissue (WAT), which is the primary type of fat found in humans.
Not only that, but the effects were in visceral adipose tissue (VAT), which differs from subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) that cirsium oligophyllum burns. When combining these two cirsium extracts, you get the best of both worlds!
Moreover, this study showed that it actually slowed and prevented fat gain – meaning it was anti-lipogenic – in all subjects tested. This fat gain prevention even occurred when the participants had a caloric surplus.[10,11]
-
Cirsimarin has a synergistic effect with cirsium oligophyllum that is similar to the effects of caffeine. Both cirsimarin and caffeine inhibit the processes that slow beta-2 based lipolysis.[12,13] In the sidebar explaining the beta-2 fat burning reaction, steps 3 and 4 are where caffeine and cirsimarin assist in the reaction.
-
-
Several other benefits
There are many other beneficial effects to using Japanese thistle that are not explored in detail, such as
- Improved mental state,
- Healthier blood sugar levels,
- Elevated nitric oxide levels for vasodilation and vascular health,
- Reduced liver stress through improved liver metabolism, and
- Additional antioxidant effects.
For more information on these added benefits, see our article about Norcodrene’s main ingredients.
Bulking Clean with Norcodrene?
The discussion about Cirsimarin’s ability to prevent fat gain brings up an interesting point. Some bodybuilders use fat burners to help them bulk cleanly, but it’s not usually the intended purpose of thermogenic products.
In Norcodrene’s case, Cirsimarin’s anti-lipogenic properties, in combination with other beta-2 activating ingredients, make for an inventive way to trigger muscle growth and get bigger without gaining too much belly fat!
One part (Cirsium oligophyllum) stimulates your body into burning its own subcutaneous fat stores. The other part, (Cirsium japonicum) prevents new fat stores from forming, and burns white fatty tissue.
Together, they form a powerhouse fat-stopping duo unlike anything we’ve seen in a fat burner.
Conclusion
← on the CirsiumPlex
Grapefruit (seed) Extract
Provides Nomilin
It feels like decades since grapefruit juice diets made tabloid headlines. Although those fad diets are dangerous and unhelpful to dieters’ long-term health, it turns out that there are at least some fat-burning properties associated with grapefruit, according to a variety of studies on grapefruit seed extracts.
Nomilin is one constituent behind the fat-burning effects of grapefruit seeds, as it activates the TGR5 pathway.
Effects from the TGR5 pathway
- Fat loss via the complex BAs/TGR5/cyclic AMP/D2/T3/UCP pathway[14]
- Enhanced glucose metabolism
- Vasodilation
Nomilin is one of the strongest TGR5 agonists (or activators) ever found in nature.
In 2013, a researcher that was part of a major study on nomilin claimed that it would be one of the few future ingredients that is completely natural, safe, and effective.[15]
It’s less than a year later, and Norcodrene is now the first fat burner to include this novel extract. Don’t be surprised if you hear about it more over the next few years.
One final reason to enjoy nomilin: It helps the mood-enhancing properties of the next ingredient, amentoflavone, work for a longer period of time.
The TGR5 Pathway targets pesky brown adipose fat
A fat burner for serious dieters needs some form of mental pick-me-up. It’s one thing to diet for a few days. It’s another to stay confident and content on a full 8-week run. To assist, PES brought something new to the table, but it’s not new in terms of research.
Selaginella tamariscina is a leafy plant that contains an extremely beneficial flavonoid, amentoflavone. It’s the first time this mood booster has been added to a fat burner. It is the strongest constituent of the popular mood supporting plant, St. John’s Wort, and is also in the memory enhancer, ginkgo biloba.[16,17]
Overall Benefits of Amentoflavone
Amentoflavone provides several incredible benefits to dieters:
- Stimulates the central nervous system
- Fatty acid synthase inhibition (prevent fat production)
- Improved fat burning when combined with the beta-2-receptor activating ingredients in Norcodrene
The two most critical mechanisms are summarized below:
Mood Boosting Activity
Amentoflavone has been shown to consistently reduce psychological stress during stress testing.[18]
It interacts with your brain’s GABA-A receptor, producing a stimulant effect that induces wakefulness and alertness – something every dieter could use.[19,20]
It also interacts with serotonin receptors by helping them to keep serotonin levels higher for longer periods of time, further providing a feel-good mood.
Synergistic fat-burning through phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibition to prevent the breakdown of cAMP
Recall the sidebar that explains the beta-2 adrenergic response. cAMP and cGMP are good – they promote vasodilation and smooth muscle relaxation by inhibiting PDE and improving blood flow.[21,22]
While some fat burning ingredients increase cAMP levels, amentoflavone is different in that it inhibits PDE, which yields the same end result: more cAMP and cGMP.[23,24]
When combined with amentoflavone, the processes initiated by cirsium and yohimbe will result in having more energy to fuel fat burn, causing more fat loss and vasodilation.
Beyond mood enhancement and fat burning support, amentoflavone also increases muscular strength and endurance and aids insulin sensitivity improvements.
Conclusion on Nomilin and Amentoflavone:
Each of these ingredients burn fat through additional pathways that are not typically targeted by older fat burners.
Together, they combine to enhance your mood and boost your focus, making the difference that you can feel from Norcodrene.
SA2-A – The Secret Yohimbe Extract
Yohimbe is a double-edged sword. There is no questioning its incredible stimulant[25,26], fat-burning[27], and appetite suppression[28] effects. It is even successfully used as an aphrodisiac.
Working on your Alpha-2 Receptors
Unlike cirsium oligophyllum, which works on your beta-2 adrenergic receptors, yohimbe is actually an alpha-2 adrenoreceptor antagonist, meaning that it blocks alpha-2 receptor activity. That is a good thing since alpha-2 receptors inhibit fat burn, suppress the release of norepinephrine / noradrenaline, and provide sedation.[29]
When dieting, it’s nice to tone down the behavior of the alpha-2 receptor, and a properly-extracted yohimbe can do this while leaving other important receptors alone. This is where SA2-A comes in.
Are you ready to join Melina Rae in her summer of shred with Norcodrene?
The problem with bad yohimbe, and the solution with SA2-A
The problem is that raw yohimbe extract varies too much from plant to plant, and some of the older, cheaper extracts cause too many side effects.
Over time, extraction science has gotten better, and top companies like PES can now isolate the proper alkaloid molecules to bring the most benefits with the fewest side effects.
What PES developed was the trademarked SA2-A extract, the cleanest yohimbe extract to date. Using the bark from the Pausinystalia yohimbe plant, they were able to identify additional fat-burning alkaloids not found in yohimbe plants traditionally used in older fat burners.
SA2-A is also the form of yohimbe in Alphamine, the thermogenic drink mix from PES. However, after doing the research here, I firmly believe that Norcodrene is far more beneficial when it comes to fat loss, since there are several ingredients in Norcodrene that aren’t in Alphamine.
Of course, if you’re ultra-sensitive to yohimbe, consult your doctor first. Or, consider starting at the lightest possible dosage – just half of the powder from one capsule.
SA2-A is the clean yohimbe extract that the entire industry has been trying to develop for decades. It’s the missing link: it provides real-deal appetite suppression without the side effects, yet is still quite intense.
By targeting what the other ingredients don’t (alpha-2 receptors), SA2-A ties the Norcodrene formula together.
← Conclusion on SA2-A Yohimbe
Higenamine – Thermogenic Calorie Expenditure
(from Nelumbo Nucifera [seed] Extract)
Last, but certainly not least, is a thermogenic compound called higenamine that is both an effective beta-1 and a beta-2 adrenergic agonist[30,31]. Also known as norcoclaurine, it will work alongside cirsium oligophyllum and yohimbe in initiating a fat-releasing response.
A recent study published in October 2013, performed on young and healthy men and women, showed that higenamine provides a significant increase in circulating FFA and kilocalorie expenditure.[32]
It’s still all about exercise, though — as long as you combine these with a solid workout regimen, you’ll use those lipids for energy and get them out of your system and away from problem areas.
A very safe stimulant
Higenamine was shown to be incredibly safe and well-tolerated in humans, according to a recent safety study published in 2012.[33]
In 2013, another study was performed in which one group took yohimbe and caffeine with higenamine. A second group took yohimbe and caffeine without higenamine. When comparing the higenamine and higenamine-free groups, researchers saw that users experienced either no change or only mild changes to their heart rate and systolic blood pressure. These results demonstrate that higenamine has very minor effects on these cardiovascular markers.[32]
In addition, mice that were heavily dosed with higenamine had no major problems, and they were using a far higher amount, comparatively, than the dosage in any supplement for humans (the equivalent would be a monstrous 12g dose for a human).[34]
Higenamine is naturally occurring and has been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine.[35] It has several plant-based sources, but Nelumbo nucifera is the plant whose seed extract is used in Norcodrene.
PES Athlete and Personal Trainer, Ben Carpenter, from a Norcodrene-inspired photoshoot.
A personal opinion on higenamine
Compared to other newer stimulants added to supplements over the past decade, higenamine’s thermogenic effect seems to be more pronounced for me compared to other stimulants. I’ve loved nearly every supplement that contains this ingredient.
Ingredient Wrap-Up
For me, Norcodrene is like a finely-tuned machine.
For instance, caffeine starts the engine, but its real fat-burning purpose is to help cirsium oligophyllum (CO). CO is in turn aided by the amentoflavone in a similar fashion. As a mood booster, amentoflavone works incredibly well, and has synergy with the other ingredients such as nomilin. Each ingredient works beyond its primary purpose.
Meanwhile, every adrenergic receptor that we want to activate or inhibit is properly hit, thanks to cirsium, yohimbe, and higenamine.
It’s not simple, but I find that I’m far more comfortable with a new supplement when I know how its ingredients work, and when I know there are dozens of research studies backing up their use.
This formulation goes to show that Norcodrene is truly a next-generation fat burner – not just a bunch of caffeine in a bucket like most of the competition we’ve explored.
Want even more information? See the full Norcodrene Ingredients article.
Read more at: http://www.norcodrene.com
