The other day, T-Nation published another advertisement article for their toxic and useless supplements. This time it was about the active toxic substance forskolin from the herb coleus forskohlii — and they have pushed this crap many times before in several different advertisements disguised as “scientific” articles.
Well, as with all misunderstood “natural” toxic compounds, forskolin has been studied since 1981 in vitro to better understand the cellular processes governed by cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP.) As for applications, it’s been suggested to aid in asthma and other respiratory disorders as well as weight loss and possible muscle building. And that was why I myself experimented with it in the early 2000’s, while I was working in the industry and still suffered from bad asthma and recurring ‘diseases’ (of which all I cured with our species-appropriate, species specific diet in 2018.)
However, back in 2005 all I got from it was restlessness, increased body temperature, irritation in the eyes, increased heart rate and skin irritation. All signs of acute poisoning. Still, I pushed on for months as I felt warmer and more wired, as in a possible “fat burning” effect. It all came to a crashing end though as the skin irritation turned into big blemishes and edema, and the dermatologists I consulted thought that I had some kind of non-existing Rubella/Roseola virus.
Since then, Forskolin supplements have become more refined, purified and are administered in much smaller dosages. However, it’s still the exact same toxic compound, and most of its effects simply come from acute poisoning where the body has to switch from whatever it was battling with to put all resources into neutralizing the new immediate threat, that of the forskolin wreaking havoc in your body. Thus, a lot of symptoms from current ailments will be lessened or even go away while your body is breaking down and removing the toxic forskolin. The exact same mechanics as seen with all plant extracts, herbs, “natural remedies,” medicines, and drugs. And while this is happening, and your body is in a fight or flight response, some chemicals might trigger other reactions in your body, be it positive or negative, it’s still a very damaging scenario.
Let’s see what T-Nation spews out this time.
“Lazy people want a pill that allows them to enjoy the benefits of diet and exercise without having to do any of it. Well, we’re not there yet. But there is a legal substance that comes closer to that goal than anything else. It’s derived from the herb, coleus forskohlii.”
So, if it comes close, your readers are what exactly, only semi-lazy?
Well, no matter if it’s legal or not, all chemical extracts and compound comes with side effects, and while some drugs such as anabolic steroids or SARMS tries to mimic hormones, hormone stimulating peptides or agonists that increases the release of said hormones, these herb-extracts are simply toxic compounds as in defense chemicals produced by plants to kill anyone stupid enough to try and consume them. The reaction you get from herbs and plant-extracts are from acute poisoning and the interaction of poorly understood chemicals.
“The active ingredient is called forskolin and it can do a variety of things for the body that you normally can’t get without dieting and exercising. It does this primarily by stimulating the production of the enzyme adenylate cyclase, which increases levels of a cellular messenger called cyclic AMP, or cAMP for short.”
Keep in mind that everything that has to do with cells is based on a theoretical model, and that also goes for the mechanics of cAMP — as you can not observe a living cell in its natural environment. You cannot even observe a cell in vitro, in a test tube, not until you’ve killed it, drenched it in solvents, and photographed it with a vaporizing electron microscope.
With that said, current “science” believe that Cyclic AMP (cAMP) is a second messenger molecule that plays a crucial role in various cellular processes, including signal transduction, gene regulation, and metabolism. Again, keep in mind that genes, DNA, RNA, mRNA, and such things are also speculative theories based on models that cannot be verified by real life interventions.
“In turn, elevated levels of cAMP have the following physiological effects:”
- “Increased thyroid secretion of T4 (increased fat burning).”
Increased release of thyroxine (T4) will skew the balance of the thyroid hormones, simulating the condition of hyperthyroidism. While it increases metabolism, as in increasing energy expenditure, it also means that everything within the body runs faster, as in increased aging. Heart rate will go up, taxing your cardiovascular system, body temperature will go up increasing the risk for hypertension, dehydration, heart-related illnesses, and disruption of physiological processes such as enzyme activity and protein function. High levels of T4 can cause muscle weakness, mood changes, and age your skin, changing its texture, making it less elastic.
So, you might “burn” a little more fat from this ‘fight or flight response,’ equivalent to skipping a short workout every week, but at what cost?
- “Increased testosterone levels (increased muscle, sex drive, fat burning).”
Well, this was observed in extremely unhealthy and obese males. And they think that the effect came from stimulating the production of hormone-sensitive lipase, which releases fatty acids from adipose tissue. These saturated fatty acids from the adipose tissue in turn influenced the synthesis and secretion of testosterone in the testes, as saturated fatty acids and cholesterol are needed for the production of testosterone. In other words, these obese test subjects were so unhealthy that simply making more saturated fats available in their bloodstream increased their production of testosterone by a tiny bit. Well, this would have happened on any kind of ketogenic diet and/or by simply introducing more human-specific animal-based foods in their diets.
Will this happen to anyone who takes this toxic forskolin? Nope.
- “Increased production of protein kinase (which leads to increased levels of hormone-sensitive lipases (HSL), which helps break down triglycerides).”
This can be a useful effect if your diet sucks, as in consuming carbohydrates and fats in the same meal, (consuming carbohydrates is simply stupid, period) and you have a problem with triglycerides. However, no matter the mechanism, lowering triglycerides a tiny bit while poisoning your body is not a good bargain. Simply fix your diet instead.
- “Increased protein synthesis in skeletal muscles.”
According to two sketchy studies. However, the understanding is very limited and simply increasing protein synthesis will accelerate aging. And again, you are seriously poisoning yourself, and for what, a few extra grams of muscle tissue in a month, a year?
- “Increased activation of brown adipose tissue (more fat burning, although through a different mechanism).”
They ‘believe’ it activates brown adipose tissue by directly activating adenylyl cyclase, leading to increased cAMP production and subsequent activation of protein kinase A. However, higher levels of adenylyl cyclase than normal has been linked to neurological disorders, imbalanced neurotransmissions such as changes in mood, cognition, and behavior, and to cardiovascular issues such as hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, and heart failure. Again, not that great of a bargain.
- “Lowered blood pressure (healthier cardiovascular system).”
This is due to blood vessel dilation from acute poisoning. It’s not a good thing. And that’s why the results from several studies are very mixed. Those suffering from ongoing healing, as in inflammation of their cardiovascular system might see a drop in blood pressure as their bodies stop the ongoing healing (inflammation) to deal with the very toxic forskolin. Those without these issues will not notice any drop in blood pressure.
- “Inhibited platelet aggregation (less clotting).”
This is from the same vasodilating effect as mentioned above. It’s not a good thing. And for those who have blood coagulation problems or are taking blood thinners, this could be very dangerous and life threatening.
- “Increased vasodilation (more blood flow).”
Yes, I mentioned this. It’s from acute poisoning, as in a fight or flight response. It’s still not a good thing. The effect might be desirable, but not the circumstances or how it was achieved. It’s like an insomniac desperately wanting to fall asleep, so he bashes his head against the wall until he passes out. Objective achieved, but not exactly in a healthy and undamaged way…
- “Increased bronchodilation (more airflow through the lungs).”
This is due to the fact that cAMP has a relaxing effect of the airway smooth muscles, and it’s also partly due to the fight or flight response, as the body perceives danger from being poisoned, making you more able to escape the situation. Again, an effect that might be desirable, but at what cost? Being stressed and in a fight or flight response all the time? That will give you some serious cardiovascular- and heart problems down the road.
Well, that was quite the list of effects. Some might seem desirable, but hardly what you bargained for considering the health risks and the damage you will do. It’s like making a deal with the devil.
“Now if you were to take one of those lazy people mentioned above, put them on forskolin for a few weeks, and then give them a physical, they’d show improvement on several medical parameters just by taking a couple of capsules a day. But imagine what could happen if somebody combined exercise with forskolin.”
Well, considering that most of the effects are from acute poisoning, as in a fight or flight response, a stress-induces response, and that many of the effects are extremely damaging to our physiology — including cardiovascular and heart-relating damage, neurological damage, increased aging, and so on — I do not want to speculate what happens to someone who is also stressing his or her body to the extreme with exercise and likely following a retarded “fitness diet” with a lot of toxic plant-based foods high in carbohydrates and poisonous vegetable/seed oils. It does not paint a pretty picture.
After that, T-nation proceeded to quote some studies, many of which I already covered above. And of course, they are all totally meaningless as the miniscule effects in loss of body fat or the tiny increases in muscle mass has to be put in perspective to the extreme damage done to their bodies through poisoning themselves with forskolin.
And then they proceed to a “FAQ“ with questions such as if you need to cycle Forskolin, where they say no, explaining that forskolin is what is known as a “post-receptor” agent – it bypasses the beta-receptor and directly stimulates the aforementioned adenylate cyclase. According to T-Nation, that means that the fat-burning effects of forskolin along with some of its other beneficial effects, continue unabated. All you need to do is take two softgels twice per day.
Well, that is some really dangerous recommendations. Take a poison daily for as long as you like? Well, it will at least line their pockets with money while bringing the “health care” system a bunch of new customers.
Seriously though, do not touch any of these herb supplements. All plants are toxic as they are full of defense chemicals, compounds that are meant to hurt and even kill those who try to consume the plant. And it is these defense chemicals that are studied, as these are the only chemicals that create noticeable reactions and effects in our bodies. It’s frikkin’ common sense not to consume such toxic things.
All you need to be healthy and perform your best is to follow our natural species-appropriate carnivorous diet of animal-based foods. And if you still have health problems after a few years due to all the previous damage you have done, there are other much safer options than toxic herbs or plant extracts. I will cover that in the future and/or you can consult me if you need specific help.