Grown in India, Guggul is a tree which exudes a resinous sap out of incisions that are made in its bark. This resin has been used for centuries as part of India's traditional medicine called Ayurveda. In our modern world of advanced chemistry, this resinous sap is processed and purified, and then standardized for a given amount of its active constituents-Z and E Guggulsterones. These two compounds are plant sterols with a high degree of human bioactivity and are known to affect many biological processes.

Bodybuilding, being a sport of aesthetics, is not only concerned about building solid muscle tissue but also reducing the amount of fat deposits. You might weigh 240 pounds and have a tremendous amount of muscular development but if you have two inches of subcutaneous fat all over your body you won't look all that great. You definitely won't be aesthetically pleasing and some people might even call you Doughboy. Well, if you're anything like the Guggul tree you won't want to be called names so you'll work hard at looking your best. Fortunately, in the case of fat loss, Guggul understands your dilemma and is right there to help you meet your goals.

I first became interested in Guggulsterones when I noticed a few studies on their thyroid stimulating properties. I discovered that Guggulsterones have a direct stimulating action on the thyroid gland through some or the other enzymatic mechanisms.* With this information in hand, I immediately went out and obtained some standardized Guggul from my herbal supplier. This Guggul product was made from a yellowish powder and was claimed to be standardized to 2.5% Guggulsterones. I gave it to various people to test its effects on body temperature and fat loss. To my surprise, no one experienced any type of dramatic results on this product-even at high dosages.

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My next step was to study how the Guggul was processed and to make sure I was getting the best material. After much research, I discovered that there are two ways of processing Guggul. One, using a solvent to extract the Guggulsterones, produces a weak yellowish powder. The other produces a more effective coffee looking brown powder and is naturally processed according to ancient Indian practices. The product that I initially obtained was the weak, yellow solvent extracted Guggul.

In hopes that there was a difference in effectiveness between the two types of extracts, I decided to obtain the brown powder. To my utter surprise, I discovered that nearly every product on the market was made from the yellowish powder-the coffee looking extract just couldn't be found! In desperation, I decided to do a search in India in hopes of finding the required extract. After much ado, I found the elusive brown Guggul extract and I immediately ordered some for sampling.

This time when I gave it to people to try, something totally different occurred. Instead of having a minimal response, the Guggul extract caused its users to break into a sweat and feel very hot.* Upon taking their body temperatures, some of these people noticed a dramatic increase.* Amazingly, a few people reported body temperatures as high as 101 degrees.

What does all of this mean? First, only purchase a product that is made with a high potency, natural extract. Not only should the label indicate this fact, but it can be personally verified by opening one of the capsules. The material inside should be dark brown in color and have an odor similar to a mixture of coffee and raisins. Next, the warm/hot feeling, the sweating, and the rise in body temperature that was experienced are indeed a confirmation of Guggulsterone's thyroid stimulating ability.* This is good news for those of us trying to lose weight-especially adipose tissue/fat stores.*

When the thyroid gland is stimulated, it produces more thyroid hormones such as thyroxin. These thyroid hormones have a profound effect on the rate of metabolism including a direct catabolic effect on adipose tissue. Practically, this means that Guggulsterones will stimulate your thyroid to produce more thyroid hormones which in turn will raise your metabolic rate and burn more fat!* Guggulsterones by themselves work very well for fat loss but I have found a combination that is nothing short of amazing-Guggulsterones and an ECA stack such as Adipokinetix. We already know that Adipokinetix is an extremely effective fat burner but it does its work outside the realm of the thyroid.*

It made sense to me that if one could combine the fat burning effects of the thyroid hormones with that of the adrenergic hormones (e.g. adrenaline) something very dramatic would result. Also, interesting is the fact that ECA type stacks tend to decrease the amount of thyroid hormones circulating in the blood over time. Guggulsterones do a great job of inhibiting this reduction, thus keeping all physiological fat burning systems operating at a maximum level.*

The final ways that Guggulsterones can benefit in the fight to burn fat is in ketogenic diets and growth hormone use.* Over time, ketogenic diets tend to reduce the thyroid's effectiveness by reducing the conversion of T4 to the more potent T3.

Who can benefit from this? Hmmm!!! Well, as far as I can tell, nearly everyone. There is not a single person I know that would not like a better complexion. Let me guess - nobody is laughing at Mr. Huggulee Guggulee! Indeed, he might have a funny name but in my book he's a hero. Where else can you find a compound that will help you lose fat, and at the same time improve your complexion?* I've looked long and hard and have yet to find even one competitor.

Oh yeah! Before I forget, the dosage one should take is 30-60mg three times per day with meals.

Always remember though to find a product which contains the naturally extracted, brown powder Guggul! My final advice then is to go out and find this guy, shake his hand, and then reap the host of benefits that he brings.

Check out other products containing guggulsterones: