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Permalink Reply by World Natural Sports Org on May 25, 2010 at 10:26pm

Hi Linda Ann,
Thank you for your question.

When it comes to fat burners, generally any over the counter product sold by a reputable supplement company will be legal for you to use in your contest preparation.

Banned substances would include any prescription or illegal stimulants, thyroid medications such as L-thyroxine, cytomel, or synthroid, etc; and prescription beta-2 agonists such as clenbuterol.

Although they are not likely to result in a positive test for a banned substance, I would recommend avoiding the new products claiming to have ephedra in the formulation. Instead of containing ephedra from the Chinese ma huang herb as the original ephedra products did, the products currently on the market claiming to include ephedra alkaloids actually contain extracts from the brazillian herb Sida Cordifolia. Although the Sida Cordifolia herb has been shown to include trace amounts of ephedra, extracts from the plant have not been shown to have the same effect as the ma huang herb. In fact, Sida Cordifolia has actually been shown to act as a central nervous system depressant which may reduce the amount of fat your body will naturally burn.

Thermogenic fat burners, and Thyroid optimizing supplements sold by major supplement companies should be considered free from banned substances, unless they had some trace cross contamination or a problem with contaminated raw materials. In recent years, there have been some companies whose products have tested positive for unlabeled substances, but this is not the norm.

The main issue with fat burning supplements is assessing your personal tolerance to the stimulation effects.
You should never use a thermogenic or central nervous system stimulating fat burner if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, or a thyroid condition without discussing in depth with your doctor before use.

When you begin the use of any fat burner, start at a lower than recommended dosage and assess your tolerance. It may take several days or weeks for your tolerance to build to the point that you can take the recommended label dosage of some products. If you have any unexpected side effects or issues when taking a fat burner, stop immediately and discuss with your doctor.

When used as directed and in moderation, over the counter fat burners can be very effective additions to your diet and training routine, but they must be used wisely and according to the label directions.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Michael Elias
WNSO Executive Director
WNSO Pro

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Permalink Reply by Linda Ann Deschene on May 26, 2010 at 5:10am

Thank you for replying so quickly, you have been very helpful.

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