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Lean Xtreme - New & Improved
By Designer Supplements
From the very beginnings of Designer Supplements, Lean Xtreme has been a hugely successful product for improving body composition through cortisol modulation and thyroid enhancement. While the stellar product has become a staple in the regime of many dieters and lean bulkers, even the best things in life stand for improvement. With that in mind, Designer Supplements has reformulated Lean Xtreme? and built upon the enduring 7-OH base that so many love, in order to formulate the next generation in non-stimulating fat burning products. While the original was undoubtedly effective, the new and improved Lean Xtreme targets multiple pathways to assist fat loss while also maintaining adequate testosterone levels and optimizing immune function in order to promote the ideal fat burning, muscle sparring environment.
Cortisol and Glucocorticoids
Cortisol is the body's chief stress hormone, released constantly by the adrenals to deal with day to day stressors and released in excess during demanding situations of mental and physical strain. Whether it be work or finances, romance or illness, life is full of stress for even the most carefree individual and physical training is an additional stressor that may lead to bodily breakdown in an already overstressed environment. Although catabolic by nature, it is through a complex interplay that cortisol is also one of the signals required for any growth process and proper immune function. With this in mind, cortisol obviously cannot be eliminated completely (total lack of cortisol is actually called Addison?s disease and is deadly,) but it can and should be controlled.
Cortisol is synthesized through two major pathways, one from the direct conversion of progesterone in the adrenal glands, the other from inter-conversion with another adrenal hormone called cortisone which takes place in peripheral tissues such as muscle, the liver and blood. For all intents and purposes, cortisone is an inert hormone, however it can be converted to cortisol in the liver by an enzyme known as 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (11betaHSD1). As noted, these pathways are critical for life and are part of the growth cascade from training, however excesses of cortisol can have very detrimental effects.
Though always present in controlled quantities, extra cortisol is released when your body needs to take immediate action, such as the old 'fight or flight' concept. Amongst its many functions, cortisol instructs the liver to release catabolic enzymes that breakdown fatty acids from fat stores and sugar from muscle cells in order to provide quick energy for the organs that need it. Similarly, mental stress can also lead to excess cortisol release, however unlike the fight or flight scenario which elevates cortisol for as long as it is required, the elevation of cortisol tends to be chronic. This is damaging to the body for a multitude of reasons.
The Damaging Side of Cortisol
Cortisol alters the way your body stores fat, essentially increasing levels of what is known as visceral adipose tissue (VAT), or in layman's terms the solid belly fat that overweight men with tend to have. VAT is stored beneath the abdominal wall rather than on top, where the more jiggly fat called subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) tends to reside. Due to its location and
receptor status, VAT is very difficult to lose when cortisol levels remain excessive and the issue is further compounded by cortisol?s effect on the thyroid gland.
As most people know, thyroid output is directly correlated with metabolic rate, governing both muscle building (via protein synthesis) and also fat burning. High stress levels from increased cortisol levels can exhaust the adrenals and adversely effect the pituitary, thereby decreasing the release of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and negatively impacting the release of thyroid hormones T3 and T4. In addition, when dieting the peripheral conversion to T3, the most active thyroid hormone, is blunted as the body detects a lower energy intake and attempts to conserve energy. Putting this together, dieting increases cortisol which further decreases thyroid output during a period when output is already blunted, thus resulting in a slower metabolism, which makes dieting even harder and less effective.
If the story above wasn't damning enough, excessive cortisol comes along with other unique caveats including a pronounced impact on appetite, leaving you constantly hungry (as if dieting doesn't do that already). Additionally, bone density can be affected by excessive cortisol levels which upregulate osteoclastic bone re-absorption and may eventually lead to a condition known as osteopenia or osteoporosis. High cortisol can suppress the immune system, leaving you open to disease and infection (once again, a problem for many when hypocaloric.) Last but not least, high cortisol can negatively affect cognitive performance such as memory and quick thinking.
Introducing the New & Improved Lean Xtreme
The brand new Lean Xtreme is designed to combat all of the issues outlined above, while also enhancing fat loss efforts and lean muscle preservation. The formula comprises of the tried and true as well as the new and advanced. First, 7-OH? for cortisol control and thyroid enhancement. Next, we have added 5-AT, another cortisol controller that works by influencing cytokines responsible for inflammation and cortisol signalling. Additionally, Forslean is added to improve body composition and signal optimal testosterone levels, and green tea extract is included for the myriad of benefits it confers and further immune enhancement.
7-OH (7-hydroxy-dehydroepiandrosterone)
7-hydroxy-dehydroepiandrosterone, better known to many simply as 7-OH, was the sole component of the highly successful original Lean Xtreme. 7-OH is comprised of both the 7-alpha and 7-beta hydroxyl metabolites of DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) in a specific ratio for maximal efficacy. While DHEA itself serves as a precursor to androgens and estrogens in the body, neither of the two isomers of 7-OH can convert to androgens or estrogens but appear instead to convert between each other and another DHEA metabolite called 7-keto-DHEA (5). 7-keto and the two isomers use the enzyme 11betaHSD1 to interconvert, which fortuitously is the same enzyme that converts the relatively inactive cortisone to the very active and potentially catabolic cortisol. Through this enzyme, 7-OH provides competitive inhibition of cortisol synthesis, thereby reducing the overall concentrations of cortisol.
Because of this anti-glucocorticoid activity, 7-OH has positive effect on the immune system (6) and is also thought to have considerable neuroprotective properties due to glucocorticoid regulation in the brain (7). In fact, 7beta-hydroxy steroids are currently being evaluated as novel endogenous neuroprotective aids (8). As an additional benefit, there also appears to be a very definite link between 7-OH and the thyroid hormone T3 (9), further enhancing the positive body composition effects exerted by 7-OH.
5-AT (5-androstene-3 beta, 7 beta, 17 beta-triol)
5-AT, the first new ingredient in Lean Xtreme, is another interesting compound. Like 7-OH, it is a metabolite of DHEA, but unlike 7-OH which works to control cortisol via the 11-beta-HSD-1 enzyme, the full means by which 5-AT exerts anti-glucocorticoid activity is not fully understood. While its mechanistics still require full elucidation, 5-AT appears to be a very potent inhibitor of glucocorticoids (1-3) and their adverse effects through modulation of the cytokine and interleukin systems.
While a multitude of mechanisms are at play, glucocorticoids exert some of their negative effects by stimulating interleukin-4 (IL-4) and suppressing interleukin-2 (IL-2) amongst others. When this cytokine imbalance is maintained in a chronic fashion, secondary to excess glucocorticoids, the milieu is created for ultimate deterioration of the immune system and inefficient repair processes to the damages of mental and physical stressors. 5-AT has been demonstrated in studies to significantly stimulate the production of both IL-2 which assists in T-cell function and interleukin-3 (IL-3) which is essential to the development of all cells of the immune system, including T-cells, B-cells, and macrophages (4). In addition, 5-AT not only stimulates production, but also appears to assist
white blood cell activity (measured by lymphocytes) significantly above its original level (2) in the presence of potential pathogens and mitogens. The previous point is very important in that too much promotion of the immune response could be problematic, but much like the 7-OH effect on cortisol, the 5-AT? effect on cytokines appears to promote balance instead of elimination.
Using both 5-AT and 7-OH in the new Lean Xtreme helps control cortisol via two distinct mechanisms while additionally ensuring a healthy balance of inflammatory cytokines for proper immune function.
09-07-2007, 12:00 AM
