Arachidonic Acid: X-Factor vs Egg Yolks?

[zootreeves]

For myself and those of you who might be interested i've done a bit of a comparaison between Arachidonic Acid content in eggs and X-factor by muscular nutrition. I'm not a nutritionist or qualified to make and recommendations, so take what i say at face value.

So I'm assuming the content of Arachidonic Acid of eggs: (sources below)

at the high estimate:
195mg per yolk

low estimate:
65mg per yolk

duck eggs:
445mg per yolk​

Quantity of Arachidonic Acid 4 pills daily X-factor:

250mg x 4 = 1000mg Total​

How many Chicken Egg yolks needed to match this?

High Estimate:
1000 / 195* 2 = 5.12 yolks

Low Estmate:
1000 / 65 * 2 = 15.38 yolks

How Many Duck Egg yolks? (Sourced from one of the links above)
1000 / 445mg = 2.24 yolks
​

Cost wise:

X-Factor:
100 Softgels for $45 (nutraplanet.com)
100 * 250mg = 25g total per bottle
25g / $45 = 0.55g/$

Chicken Egg Yolk:
High Estimate:
Tesco.co.uk Big and Fresh box of 10 eggs = £1.98 = $4.12
195mg per yolk * 10 = 1950mg per box
1.95g / $4.12 = 0.47g/$

Low Estimate:
Tesco.co.uk Big and Fresh box of 10 eggs = £1.98 = $4.12
65mg per yolk * 10 = 650mg per box
0.65g / $4.12 = 0.16g/$

Cheap Eggs: (High est)
Tesco Value Eggs Minimum Weight Box Of 15 = £1.28 = $2.66
195mg per yolk * 15 = 2925mg per box
2.92g / $2.66 = 1.09g/$

Duck Egg Yolk:
891 mg per yolk
Tesco Finest duck Eggs = £2.28 for 6 = $4.75
445mg * 6 = 2670mg per box
2.67g / $4.75 = 0.56g/$
​

From this (assuming my calculations are right) both Duck eggs and chicken eggs can be comparable in cost to x-factor as a source of AA. Of course there is a downside to eggs, you get more fat/cholesterol, but then also you get more protein.

So I regularily consume 5-6 eggs per day just for natural bulk, does that mean i'm on an equivalent X-factor cycle? Or is there another ingredient in X-factor which makes it more potent? Maybe i might even switch to duck eggs and see if there is any difference.

Regardless i'll still be trying an x-factor cycle soon. Feel free to comment/flame etc..

These estimates are per 100g (Including egg white, although AA is only found in the yolk). I'm estimating 100g is about 2 eggs.
Sources Arachidonic Acid per 100g/egg.

390mg - jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/125/10/2528
375 mg - food-allergens.de/symposium-vol1(2)/data/birds/birds-composition.htm
163.1 mg - ps.fass.org/cgi/reprint/84/1/167.pdf
130mg - cbc.ca/marketplace/webextras/bed_eggs/egg_stats.html?bed_eggs]CBC.ca - Marketplace​

 

[nycste]

interesting writeup, there are a few of us here currently on Xfactor and also bumped our egg consumption up...

would love to see some replies

 

[jUnit]

I just started my first xfactor cycle on monday using bulk powder, I am eating at least 1 dozen whole eggs a day and steak just as recommended. I already feel it working, I'm much more sore then I usually am and I got a pump all day long, tmrw is my first off day since I started, I thinkthe pump will stay through then. I weigh the most I have in probably 4 months, 188. I can start seeing abs showing, which hasn't happened in a long time and veins in my arms popping out that have never popped out before, long after my workouts are done... today was arm day and the pump was so big that it hurt my forearms really bad where I could barely complete my preachers.... I love this stuff, looking forward to seeing big gains!

 

[Steveoph]

Looks like you did your math consistently, not sure if there were any assumptions made that are false. I haven't looked into XFactor/AA products too seriously. Looks like some good math though, and could prove interesting.
I wonder what the bioavailability is in eggs vs. the caps. Eggs are pretty natural, and if it's like egg protein it should have an almost perfect score.

 

[Whacked]

Nice write up. Props!

do you AA consumers only take AA PWO. I was thinkingabout running it this way as to avoid any lipid profile or cardiovascular risk.

 

[nelix]

I wonder how much AA steak contains, my diet is steak, eggs, greens...

 

[Cellardude]

I wonder how much AA steak contains, my diet is steak, eggs, greens...

I remember reading bout how much steak has. 160mg of AA per 8 ounces of lean steak. Not exactly sure if thats accurate.

 

[EasyEJL]

Also with the eggs, part of the question is if cooking damages AA. from what I read, hard boiled does very little damage, breaking open the yolk while cooking (scrambled) does the most damage, over medium or easy is close to boiled.

I've been using the 65mg number, and eating 16 eggs a day, generally 4 over easy and 12 hard boiled. breakfast today was eggs over easy on top of a tilapia fillet with some seasoned salt. yum!

I got my 65mg from Egglands Best nutritional department.

http://www.egglandsbest.com/

i've stopped using their eggs actually so as to avoid the omega 3 content, but I believe that its accurate.

 

[zootreeves]

I wonder how much AA steak contains, my diet is steak, eggs, greens...

Values for Steak and liver from jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/125/10/2528

Beaf steak (Minced Steak is cheaper)
£9 = $18.7353 per 1kg
So 200g steak is equal to about 1/4 of an X-factor pill
350mg of AA per 1kg
0.35 / 18 = 0.019g/$

Pig Liver
£1.88 = $3.91 per 1kg
200g Liver = 2.35 X-factor pills
2940mg per 1kg
2.940 / 1.88 = 1.56g/$​

Liver appears to be a very cheap source, but personally i can't stand it.

Edit: Maths

 

[EasyEJL]

hmm now what about beef or chicken livers?

 

[nelix]

I wonder if the AA content of liver tabs is very high? I wonder if someone might release some liver tabs standardized for AA?

So far my diet looks to contain about 2 or 3 grams... And I figured I just had doms cause I have been training hard, but come to think of it, I am sore as hell.

 

[EasyEJL]

does anyone know which fat AA is? I mean when the fats are in the numeric notations 20:4 etc

Nevermind, I found it, its 20:4, n-6

 

[Cellardude]

I wonder if the AA content of liver tabs is very high? I wonder if someone might release some liver tabs standardized for AA?

So far my diet looks to contain about 2 or 3 grams... And I figured I just had doms cause I have been training hard, but come to think of it, I am sore as hell.

AA is a patented omega 6 fatty acid. gaspari paid to have the right to use AA. I think paying to get AA standardized for liber tabs or what not would make it super expensive considering that AA is basically owned by molecular nutrition.

 

[EasyEJL]

hmm damn, 80g of calves liver has 261mg of undifferentiated 20:4 fatty acids

100g of chicken liver has 508mg!

 

[EasyEJL]

http://www.nutritiondata.com/ has some excellent quality data btw

 

[Cellardude]

thanks for the source. I was just about to ask.

 

[Cellardude]

intresting Chicken heart has 43.2 mg of AA per heart. Gotta eat it raw though. :lol:

 

[EasyEJL]

looks like i'm buying some chicken liver tomorrow.

 

[Cellardude]

20:4 undifferentiated 720 mg 100g chicken heart raw
20:4 undifferentiated 610 mg 100g chicken heart cooked,simmered

Looks like the AA content does decrease with it being cooked. I could check eggs as well but im pretty sure it would apply.

Easy 20:4 refers to AA or 20:4 n-6 does? On the web it just said 20:4 refers to AA.

 

[Cellardude]

can of fish oil from sardines
20:4 undifferentiated 3828 mg

Downside is 2000 calories of fat for the 4mg of AA.

 

[zootreeves]

V nice site, good find EasyEJL.

Looks like Liver, Brain, Heart, pancreas (yum), egg yolk, fish oil and salmon seem to be the most abundant sources (Top 1000, 999 Foods Highest in 20:4 undifferentiated<br>(based on levels per 100 grams)). Assuming 20:4 undifferentiated is the same as 20:4 n-6

 

[nelix]

I wonder how much Now brand Salmon oil contains... Hmm

 

[Steveoph]

Nutritiondata is an awesome site. The best part is if you're whipping up a recipe, you can add all the ingredients to the pantry, set it to the # of servings you made, and then you can print a label with the complete breakdown, right down to the minerals if you want. So massive chicken stew --> 6 Containers, Print labels and you've got some easy meals with all the numbers!

 

[Cellardude]

wow. didn't know that! I was attracted the breakdown of nutritions in each foods. fullness vs nutrition. And a breakdown of fats carbs and protien. The detailed list of fatty acids and other details is very nice as well. better than any other calorie count website ive seen.

 

[EasyEJL]

Easy 20:4 refers to AA or 20:4 n-6 does? On the web it just said 20:4 refers to AA.

Yum pancreas and oats for breakfast!

20:4 n-6 is AA, but the undifferentiated includes 20:4 n-6 and20:4 n-3. So I dunno how much of any of these is 20:4 n-3. no way to tell from there.

 

[zootreeves]

Eicosatetraenoic acid 20:4 (n-3) is an omega 3 acid, which your supposed to avoid while supplementing x-factor. I'm confused about the data on nutritiondata because it refers to 20:4 undifferentiated as eicosatetraenoic acid and it's common name as arachidonic acid. Any expert on here who can clarify?

NutritionData.com About Fats and Fatty Acids
Eicosatetraenoic acid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[EasyEJL]

well look, about 4 others also fall in as eicosatrienoic acid. it does have that under systematic name, so perhaps AA falls into that "category" ? it does bind with same receptors...

 

[EasyEJL]

i've been sitting here waiting for 7am to come so the grocery store opens so I can go buy chicken livers btw.

 

[eatingisfun]

AA is a patented omega 6 fatty acid. gaspari paid to have the right to use AA. I think paying to get AA standardized for liber tabs or what not would make it super expensive considering that AA is basically owned by molecular nutrition.

I'm not sure how you can patent a naturally occurring fatty acid. My bet is that the patent is really on the extraction method.

 

[zootreeves]

The Patent is on selling/marketing it as a muscle buiding supplement (i think). You can still by it directly from manufacturers

 

[eatingisfun]

The Patent is on selling/marketing it as a muscle buiding supplement (i think). You can still by it directly from manufacturers

Yeah, you're right.
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6841573.PN.&OS=PN/6841573&RS=PN/6841573

It's funny, they mention in their patent that using pro hormones to increase muscle mass is also patented :icon_lol:

 

[Skigazzi]

I'm not sure how you can patent a naturally occurring fatty acid.

(Edit - Zootreeves beat me to it )

I thought it was a patented by MN for a specific use of AA , namely to increase lean mass or something like that.

Syntrax sells it as a test booster, but they are being sued my MN regardless.

Im not sure why someone like NOW can't just sell AA with no claim other than its a dietary supplement, or a Omega 6 'blend' high in AA content. Probably because there is no real healthy lifestyle use of it, as most health professionals would not recommend mega dosing it.

AA is added to baby formula, and Im sure MN is not getting a royalty on that, so there is likely an avenue that one could take, perhaps adding it to a protein mix? I dunno.

 

[Rodzilla]

sorry if I missed this, but what size egg?

 

[EasyEJL]

i believe the number is 65-70mg per large egg

 

[Rodzilla]

i believe the number is 65-70mg per large egg

Thanks mayne.:afro:

 

[John Smeton]

I like the duck egg information!

 

[uubiduu]

what do you think of pig's liver as food rich in ArA? (870mg/100g) or lard (1700mg/100g)? Any health concerns?