For those of you unaware, there's a company named Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals that's absolutely taken over the diet and weight loss industry. They have several top-rated fat burners, including the legendary Lipodrene and the hugely popular HydroxyElite (which is an OxyELITE Pro clone).
Ionamin: The Fat Burner in the General Store
Those fat burners are mostly sold online and in supplement stores, but Hi-Tech Pharma also has several products mostly sold in pharmacies and general stores as well. So if you're coming to us on your mobile phone from one of those stores, wondering what this Ionamin product is, then buckle up because you're in for quite the weight loss experience.
We've covered our fair share of quality fat burners here on the PricePlow blog over the years. In that time, we've seen ones with ridiculously high stim loads, and others that have none at all (that go a more herbal route). However, lost in the myriad of high stim or no stim burners are the ones that slide nicely into the moderately dosed products, right where the general public wants them.
Ionamin from Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals just so happens to be one of those premium fat burners with a "medium" amount of caffeine, clocking in at a modest 150mg/capsule.
Don't think that's enough to be effective? Just wait till you see what else it's coupled with - don't let that caffeine number fool you. This is going to bring a ton of energy to your day and is worth trying if you and your diet need a kick in the pants!
The breakdown is just ahead, but first, take a moment to check the best deal and sign up for PricePlow alerts because a few stores do sometimes carry it online!
Ionamin Ingredients
Ionamin is a pretty potent fat burner that contains a unique mix of lipolytic agents and mood elevators to keep you happy as a clam even on your lowest calorie days.
Note: Doses listed below are based on 1 capsule.
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Senegalia Berlandieri Extract
Alternatively referred to as Acacia Rigidula extract, Senegalia berlandieri contains 150mg worth of various PEA (phenylethylamine) alkaloids, which include:
- Methylsynephrine
- B-Phenylethylamine
- N-Methyl-B-Phenylethylamine(NMPEA), and
- N-Phenethyldimethylamine
Research using the extract suggests it's more effective than 30mg of ephedra when it comes to weight loss.[1,2] Plus, you'll also experience a significant boost in mood due to the PEA alkaloids contained in Acacia Rigidula.[3,4] The end result is a bang up first ingredient that helps make dieting more tolerable by improving mood and overall energy levels during the day.
Get ready for energy!
If you're new here, then you can expect some serious energy from this ingredient. It's why you never take two tablets at once -- the "zip" and mood enhancement it provides is quite intense!! So if you've been in a bit of a slump in your diet, or in your life in general, check out Ionamin for this ingredient alone. It's absolutely wild, but definitely not for those who are too stimulant sensitive.
Meanwhile, don't forget to eat! The appetite suppression is on point with this ingredient, but that doesn't mean you want to avoid eating your fruits, vegetables, and high-protein diet!
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Synephrine HCl
Synephrine is one of many energy boosting, fat burning alkaloids found in Citrus Aurantium, a.k.a. bitter orange. Among the various alkaloids, Synephrine has been proven to be a safe, effective alternative to ephedrine.[5]
In the body, synephrine functions as a strong beta receptor agonist[6,7] that triggers lipolysis, a process whereby your body burns fat for fuel. Additionally, synephrine elevates your metabolic rate without also increasing your heart rate or blood pressure.[8]
A key point to remember is that synephrine increases your metabolism without any sort of exercise! So you can basically chill on the sofa all day watching TV and still burn fat!
When ephedrine alkaloids were pulled from the market, synephrine was one of the other similar ingredients, but definitely not as strong. Still quite effective though!
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Theobromine
Derived from the cocoa plant, theobromine is best known as the "feel good" ingredient in dark chocolate that imparts a slight euphoria into chocolate fiends. Molecularly, it's quite similar to caffeine, and has been dubbed caffeine's "younger brother."
Theobromine does indeed act as a CNS stimulant in the body, though not to the extent of caffeine. However, the boost in energy from theobromine is much smoother and longer-lasting than it's harsher and harder acting brother.[9]
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Green Tea Extract
The magic of Green Tea in general is well known by the public. It's loaded with a plethora of high-powered antioxidants as well as a wide range of health-promoting catechins, the most well-known of these catechins being EGCG.
Also known as Epigallocatechin gallate, EGCG has been shown to induce lipolysis.[10,11] What's even better is that these fat-burning properties are further enhanced when it's used alongside caffeine[12], as it is here. Unfortunately, we're not quite sure what standardization Hi-Tech is using here, so while you're definitely getting some EGCG, we're just don't know the quantity.
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Isopropylnorsynephrine
This compound is also known as Octopamine and is another alkaloid found alongside Synephrine in Citrus Aurantium. It also happens to be found in the human brain where it exerts stimulatory effects similar to that of its relative, synephrine. Aside from boosting energy, octopamine promotes fat burning by inhibiting the uptake of glucose in fat cells (adipocytes) by blocking the beta-3 adrenoceptor.[13]
Furthermore, octopamine activates the ɑ-1 adrenergic receptors which directly stimulates lipolysis (a.k.a. fat-burning)![14]
One thing to be aware of though, octopamine is on the WADA banned substances list, so if you're a drug-tested athlete, you need to avoid this ingredient
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Naringen
Most likely you've heard of Naringin over the past couple of years due to the emergence of the "grapefruit diet" that grabbed headlines. It's one of the many bioactive alkaloids contained in grapefruit and has been shown to provide mild weight loss effects.[15]
However, Naringin tests far better as an energy booster than a weight loss ingredient due to its characteristics as a PDE (phosphodiesterase) inhibitor.[16] In case you weren't aware, PDE enzymes inhibit the body's own natural energy production in the body.[17] Basically what happens is, is that Naringen inhibits the enzymes which inhibit energy production, so by inhibiting the inhibitor, you ultimately end up with MORE energy! Sound complicated, but you get the picture.
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5-Methoxytryptamine HCl
5-Methoxytryptamine HCl, a.k.a. 5-MOT, is a naturally occurring compound that works together with serotonin to keep it promote its longevity in the body. This may not seem like a big deal for a fat burner, until you realize that serotonin not only gives you a mood boost, but also helps suppress appetite![18]
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Yohimbine HCl
While most of the ingredients covered thus far actually induce lipolysis in the body, Yohimbine works slightly differently. See, "Y" HCl is a strong alpha receptor agonist that actually helps prevent the body from storing fat. Basically, it not only aids in preventing excess fat storage, but also significantly reduces feelings of hunger[19,20], especially when taken on an empty stomach.
Those of you sensitive to yohimbe / yohimbine, don't worry. This is the last ingredient in the proprietary blend component of Ionamin. We'd estimate that there's approximately 1.5mg, which is generally tolerated well by most and effective, yet that amount won't carry with it anxious side effects of higher doses.
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Caffeine (150mg)
Caffeine has been listed apart from the main prop blend, so that you'll know the exact dose in Ionamin, which is very moderate by fat burner standards. 150mg is roughly equal to 1-½ cups of coffee. This amount gives you a nice uplift in energy without sending you into the jitters or setting you up for a harsh crash later.
You may be curious why include caffeine at all in a fat burner when there's already so many other lipolytic enhancing agents. Put simply, caffeine works synergistically with many of the ingredients in Ionamin which enhances their effectiveness leading to better results from your fat-burner run.
Plus, it doesn't hurt that caffeine packs many benefits on its own such as improved mood, increased energy & alertness, and fat burning![22,23]
Sounds like Fastin!
Yep! If you've ever heard of the Fastin fat burner, which has a few studies performed directly on it,[1,2,21] you'll notice that this is extremely similar. Those Fastin studies got their PEA alkaloids from acacia rigidula, and showed fat burning potential greater than ephedrine when dosed well enough!
Dosing
Take 1-2 tablets in the morning and 1 tablet after lunch. Do not exceed 4 tablets daily.
Takeaway
Too many instances of fat burners today rely on excessively high amounts of caffeine to trick people into thinking they are actually "working." In reality, a quality fat burner is about moderately dosed caffeine coupled with proven lipolytic agents like synephrine, EGCG, and the like. The PEA alkaloids from Senegalia Berlandieri Extract take things to the next level, bringing a new kind of energy you just have to try.
So rather than continue to pound in loads of caffeine time after time, shift your focus into the overall formula of a fat shredding supplement and see just how good an appropriately caffeinated fat burner performs.
If you've found us from a local store, and aren't sure to buy, our suggestion is to definitely give this a shot. But don't let that caffeine number fool you -- get ready for some serious energy to come from the supporting ingredients!!
References
- Jacobs, Patrick; "The Acute Metabolic, Hemodynamic, and Psychological Effects of Fastin-XR, A Commercial Product; 2012; Retrieved from https://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/ENR/Acacia-Fastin-XR-study.pdf
- Jacobs, Patrick; "The Acute Physiological Effects of Acacia Rigidula"; Presentation at the 2012 Arnold Sports Festival; March 2012; Retrieved from https://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/ENR/TheAcutePhysiologicalEffectsofAcaciaRigidula.pdf (backed up at https://www.webcitation.org/6e8bE22ix)
- Ekkekakis P1, Petruzzello SJ Acute aerobic exercise and affect: current status, problems and prospects regarding dose-response . Sports Med. (1999)
- Szabo A1, Billett E, Turner J Phenylethylamine, a possible link to the antidepressant effects of exercise . Br J Sports Med. (2001)
- Preuss, HG, et. al; "Citrus aurantium as a thermogenic, weight-reduction replacement for ephedra: an overview;" Journal of Medicine; 2002; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21480414
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21537493
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16436104
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21537493
- https://hyper.ahajournals.org/content/56/5/839.full.pdf
- Effects of the long term ingestion of tea catechins on Energy Expenditure and Dietary fat oxidation in healthy subjects
- Wang Y, Yang Z, Wei X; Sugar compositions, α-glucosidase inhibitory and amylase inhibitory activities of polysaccharides from leaves and flowers of Camellia sinensis obtained by different extraction methods . Int J Biol Macromol. (2010)
- Westerterp-Plantenga MS, Lejeune MPGM, Kovacs EMR. Body weight loss and weight maintenance in relation to habitual caffeine intake and green tea supplementation. Obes Res 2005;13(7):1195-1204.
- Visentin V1, et al. Dual action of octopamine on glucose transport into adipocytes: inhibition via beta3-adrenoceptor activation and stimulation via oxidation by amine oxidases. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. (2001)
- Flechtner-Mors M1, et al. In vivo alpha(1)-adrenergic lipolytic activity in subcutaneous adipose tissue of obese subjects. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. (2002)
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21288350
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15729616
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10409121
- Compton, DM, et. al; "An examination of the effects of 5-Methoxy-n, n-di(ISO)propyltryptamine hydrochloride (Foxy) on cognitive development in rats"; Psychological Reports; June 2006;https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16933659
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10409121
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/1576
- Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals; "Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals Announces Thermo-Rx® brand Acacia Rigidula Extract Clinical Study Results"; PRNewsWire; April 2, 2015; Retrieved from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hi-tech-pharmaceuticals-announces-thermo-rx-brand-acacia-rigidula-extract-clinical-study-results-300060532.html
- Zwyghuizen-Doorenbos A e.(1990) Effects of caffeine on alertness. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1990;100(1):36-9.
- Smith A. Effects of caffeine on human behavior. Food Chem Toxicol. 2002;40(9):1243-1255.