Almost eight years ago, pyruvate hit the natural products industry running ...and fast. Since then, it has been touting benefits of weight loss, fat loss, reduced fatigue, increased endurance, lower cholesterol, antioxidant capabilities and more. And just when you thought the news couldn't get any better, recent studies indicate that some of these benefits can be achieved with significantly lower doses about five grams a day!-offering consumers a lot more bang for their buck!
Made naturally in the human body, pyruvic acid is essentially a by-product of energy metabolism of a sugar or starch. However, as James B. Roufs, M.S., R.D., author of "Pyruvate: A Scientific Review and Practical Guide," explains, "pyruvic acid is chemically unstable and can cause nausea and intestinal discomfort when [supplemented] in any significant amounts." Therefore, he continues, it is commonly stabilized by being combined with calcium, magnesium, sodium or potassium, forming a "salt" called "pyruvate."
According to Roufs, 25-years worth of "well-controlled scientific research published in peer-reviewed medical journals has demonstrated that large quantities of this supplemental pyruvate can:
? promote weight loss
? enhance fat loss
? increase exercise endurance
? decrease fatigue
? possibly maintain or even increase muscle mass
? function as a potent antioxidant
? inhibit the formation of free radicals
"The primary reason that pyruvate has received so much attention," asserts Roufs, "is its potential as a weight loss and fat loss enhancer." According to studies performed by premier pyruvate researcher Ronald Stanko, M.D., at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, pyruvate supplementation increases weight loss by 37% and fat loss by 48%.
Furthermore, the publication Virtual Muscle explains, "In separate clinical studies, after resuming a normal diet, subjects taking pyruvate gained back 55% less than those not taking the pyruvate."
Stanko also performed studies demonstrating pyruvate's effects on endurance. "[In] three well-controlled, double-blind, placebo-controlled human studies," says Roufs, pyruvate "was found to...increase muscular endurance 20%. At first glance," he concedes, "a 20% increase may not sound very remarkable ...[but] think of it in terms of running. Let's say the longest you can run at a certain pace is 100 minutes." According to Stanko's findings, Roufs continues, after ingesting the pyruvate, "you could run at that exact pace for 120 minutes."
And pyruvate's many benefits don't stop there. Another University of Pittsburgh study shows pyruvate to lower cholesterol levels in subjects consuming high-fat diets, and several studies have demonstrated its antioxidant capabilities.
However, in most of these studies, researchers used doses ranging from 30 to 100 grams, amounts well above the two to five grams initially being recommended for daily consumption, leaving many consumers to wonder if their pyruvate supplement formulas will work as well.
Hoping to quell any doubts, Stanko recently declared that the enormous amounts of pyruvate used in these studies were unnecessary, adding that positive results could be obtained from doses as low as five grams per day, based on his own still unpublished study.
Moreover, Stanko's claims were supported by a 1997 study conducted by medical doctors and dietitians at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. There, researchers evaluated "the effects of a pyruvate-based formula on weight, body composition, as well as energy and fatigue levels in individuals who were 10-15 pounds overfat," explains Virtual Muscle.
Fifty-three subjects were divided into three groups-a control group, a placebo group and the pyruvate groupand instructed to follow a specific 2,000 calorie-per-day diet as well as a defined five-day-per-week exercise program for six weeks. At the conclusion, there was no significant change in body weight in any of the three groups. However, as the newsletter explains, the pyruvate group lost 4.8 pounds of body fat-equivalent to 12.4% of their original amount of body fat-while the placebo group demonstrated a loss of 0.2 pounds and the control group a gain of 0.1 pounds.
What's more, Virtual Muscle reveals that "the reason their weight didn't change is that they also gained 3.4 pounds of lean body mass. This increase," the newsletter continues, "is in direct contrast to the small gain of 0.4 pounds in the control group and the loss of 0.3 pounds in the placebo group."
And that's not all: the pyruvate group "also experienced an 18% increase in energy levels, which is significantly higher when compared to the increase of only 1.8% found in the control and placebo groups," as well as "a 71 % decrease in fatigue levels, compared to a 48% reduction in fatigue by the placebo group."
If what this newest research suggests holds true, it would seem that a little bit of pyruvate goes a very long way. With benefits of fat and weight loss, increased energy and more available from just five grams a day, pyruvate does offer consumers quite a bang for their buck.
- "Pyruvate: A Scientific Review and Practical Guide" by James B. Roufs, M.S., R.D.
- "The Skinny on Pyruvate: Today's Hottest Fat Burner!," Virtual Muscle, Volume I, Issue 2 "New Late-Breaking Information on Pyruvate," An exclusive update on "The Skinny of Pyruvate" from Virtual Muscle, a publication of the Virtual Muscle Research Network, an independent organization of comprised of pharmacists, nutritionists and fitness experts who coordinate and disseminate information regarding the latest advances in nutritional supplements, ergogenic aids, endurance enhancers and weight control products.
Article provided courtesy of Whole Foods Magazine. Sponsored by Bodyonics
