With so many protein supplements on the market today, it is often difficult to know which offers the most complete nutrition at the best price. This is why we here at Bodybuilding Science have compiled a list of the top protein supplements on the shevles today and ranked each of them to allow you to get the most muscle for your money. We are constantly adding and updating this list as new supplements and technologies are being developed. All the prices listed are online prices, as it would be foolish to buy them anywhere else. Continue Reading
Anabolic
Methyl-1-Alpha, also known by its acronym M1A has one main ingredient called Epietiocholanolone. Sounds like some obscure chemical right? Well chances are you’ve heard it called by its other name, Andro. Yes, that’s right; Epietiocholanolone and Andro are in fact, almost the same compound. Legal Gear, the company now infamous for creating M1T has perfected the practice of modifying illegal compounds (like Testosterone in M1T, and Prohoromones in M1A) into legal ones. So those of you who miss Andro may be quite pleased with this product. So we will now investigate the effectiveness, mechanism, and possible side of effects of this chemical.
Androstenedione is a prohoromone. Prohormones are compounds that can be converted by the body into hormones, in this case, in a single step. Most prohormones are banned at this time, but Methyl-1-Alpha has managed to get around this, at least for the time being. While the following effects are not attributed to M1A, it’s reasonable to imply the effects of M1A would be very similar to those of Andro. The people who would benefit most from using Androstenedione bodybuilders, weight trainers, and participants of demanding sports. Due to its incredible testosterone producing capability (as it is chemically only one step away from Testosterone), Andro has emerged as a very popular and controversial supplement.
The producers of supplements often claim their compound can spur incredible growth, boost testosterone, etc. Unfortunately, they often lack numbers to back up these claims. This, however, is not the case with Andro. According to 3 studies compiled by bodybuilding for you, elevated levels of testosterone were found in males receive Andro orally when compared to those receiving a placebo. For more information on the trials, check the link in the works cited section of this page.
But Andro is not controversial as to whether or not it works. Its controversial aspects are the possible negative impact it could have on ones health. There are a number of serious side effects related to Andro use. Because it is a prohormone, possible side effects include: the inhibition of natural testosterone production (shrinking balls), increased estrogen and DHT production (grow boobies and go bald), acne, and elevated risks of some cancers.
The bottom line here is that Methyl-1-Alpha is not a joke supplement to be taken lightly. It is not a protein powder or a creatine, it’s a hardcore prohormone. I urge those of you willing to take the risks involved to do your homework before you begin a cycle. For those of you who aren’t willing to take the risks, you might be better off with something a bit less extreme. Legal Gear lives up to its reputation with this product and you can expect results if you take it. Just remember that nothing comes without some level of risk, and no muscle gain ever came without an ever greater amount of patience and hard work.
(As of 08/07/2006 this product is no longer available, big surprise. You’re too late to get M1A, but you can still get Methyl-1-D, a very similar “Androish” product.)
Methyl-1-D is the latest creation of the Legal Gear company. It is billed as a “hormonal optimizer” and metabolism booster and has several main ingredients, including metabolites of testosterone. Let’s begin, as we always do, but examining the effectiveness of the main ingredients of Methyl-1-D. The bottle lists the active ingredients by their full scientific nomenclature. Maybe it’s to fool the FDA; maybe it’s to fool you. The hormonal optimizer ingredients are 1,4,6-etioallocholan-dione, 3-beta-hydroxyetioallocholan-5-ene-17-one, and Zinc Asparate. Now, these scientific nomenclatures may be confusing, in fact, I believe they are meant to be confusing. Let’s start with the first one.
There is not much information on 1,4,6-etioallocholan-dione. I was only able to find a single scholarly article referencing it, and I have good new for those of you who miss Andro, and were too late to get M1-A. Apparently, etioallocholan, when properly modified, is a precursor to Androsterone, which is a precursor of testosterone. The chemical pathway isn’t as direct as it was with Methyl-1-Alpha, but it’s still effective. There is really a lack of information with this chemical so users beware, but with its association with Andro, you can likely expect similar effects and side effects. On to the next component, 3-beta-hydroxyetioallocholan-5-ene-17-one. Quite a mouth full.
What do we know about this chemical? As you have probably noticed, it has the same base as the previous ingredient etioallocholan. I believe this is simply another preparation of that particular supplement. This is good because it contains two pathways to the same chemical. These are both small modifications of etioallocholan, which allow the body to absorb it more efficiently and eventually transform it into Andro. The last ingredient is Zinc Aspertane. This is basically a harmless supplement thought to support testosterone production. It’s nothing new, it can be found in various quantities in hundreds of testosterone support products. Its effects are well established, but minimal.
Methyl-1-D also has three ingredients that are supposed to boost you metabolism and help you burn some fat. These 3 ingredients are Quercetin, Beta Sitosterol, and milk thistle. Quercetin does have a wide range of health benefits and has been shown to break down fat cells in Petri dishes. However, this doesn’t necessary translate into actual fat loss. While Beta Sitosterol won’t do much to help you burn fat, it has been shown to help lower cholesterol. A good additive to counteract the typical rises in blood pressure and cholesterol associated with a testosterone increase. The final “metabolism booster” is milk thistle. This is another common herbal cholesterol reducer. I guess listing these ingredients as metabolism boosters looks more attractive to the average bodybuilding consumer than “heart support”, but it’s definitely not a bad thing.
Basically Methyl-1-D is the new Methyl-1-A. And just like M1A, don’t expect this product to be around for too much longer. If you want to know more about the benefits and possible side effects of Andro and Andro based supplements. Check out the review for M1A. If you think Methyl-1-D is a good choice for you, the cheapest place to buy it is here.
At first I was very skeptical about ASN’s Humagro. Any product that claimed to contain Human Growth Hormone that wasn’t a couple thousand dollars is usually just plain bogus. The cheapest HGH I know of is Jintropin from China, and even that will run you a grand or so. The difference is that ASN’s Humagro contains a different chemical Continue Reading