Why not use American pre-workouts?

Lately, it is a trend to talk publicly about anabolic steroids and their impact on health. Someone builds a career on publicly promoting them, someone else is all aboutbut in his old age he realises it was wrong and writes a book about it.

But when I go through all these anabolic videos, I notice that nobody cares much about American pre-workouts. While there are no official statistics, in my experience so far they are much more commonly abused than anabolic steroids. And that's why we'd like to focus on them in today's article, and based on scientific studies to highlight why it's better to stick with European pre-workouts.

The bogeyman called DMAA

The imaginary centerpiece around which this article will revolve is DMAA. This ingredient is in fact the main controversial substance you will find in American pre-workouts. Just look at the ingredients of the very popular Jack3D. In fact, apart from the aforementioned 1,3-dimethylamylamine, you'll find exactly what you'll find in European pre-workouts. Namely Arginine AKG, creatine monohydrate, beta alanine, caffeine and Schizandra chinensis extract.

Although the last mentioned ingredient may seem somewhat unfamiliar and artificial, it is an extract ofextract from the Chinese caneberry, the fruits of which contain mainly malic, tartaric, citric and ascorbic acids. In our body, cane peat has mainly stimulating, antidepressant and immune-boosting effects. But most importantly, it is health-safe. So the rest of our article today will be devoted solely to the issue and controversy of DMAA.

So where is the problem?

As you are probably used to from our articles, we always try to provide two different views on each topic.two different perspectives on the subject, whether they are positive or negative at first glance. And so it will be in the case of the DMAA. This substance, of course, has many positive effects for which it is, after all, used. But there are equally significant negatives. After all, as soon as the first one appears after taking a supplement with it directly related deathsone must be cautious. And that is why we should start with the negative effects.

1. DMAA can damage the kidneys

Since the negative effects of DMAA could be found aplenty, let's discuss only the most important ones. And among them, the risk of kidney damage must not be missing. In fact, in 2013, 36 patients taking the DMAA-containing supplement OxyElite Pro were hospitalized. As reported by expert recordstwo patients required liver transplants and one even succumbed to the effects, all of these athletes were not taking any supplements other than the aforementioned dimethylamylamine supplement.

2. DMAA can cause bleeding in the brain

Cases of bleeding in the brain are not uncommon with DMAA products either. Aside from the not-so-relevant caseswhere brain haemorrhage has occurred when DMAA is combined with high levels of caffeine or alcohol, there are still situations where DMAA hasn't had a chance to interact with anything and still cause brain bleeds in young healthy men. It's also worth remembering that the last case mentioned involved the use of of the supplement Jack3D, which is very popular and often offered on various social networks.

3. DMAA can cause vomiting and nausea

Again, we come to the OxyElite Pro supplement, which we have already talked about once in our article. This time, however, we mention it in connection with nausea, vomiting, and increased heart rate. These are exactly the same effects, according to available data 15% of users of this supplement have observed.

4. DMAA can cause a positive doping test

While this information probably doesn't interest most of you, it's definitely worth notingt take into account that taking these supplements can cause you to have a doping control positive results for amphetamine. Therefore, although manufacturers often state that DMAA is a safer alternative to ephedrine and pseudoephedrine (and that these substances do have similar effects), it won't help you cheat a doping test either.

5. DMAA can cause headaches, panic attacks and seizures

When I was doing research for the creation of this article, I discovered a number of relevant articles referencing scientific studies. And frankly, that would be enough to fill a book. But it's also worth noting that, according to the available information, DMAA also causes seizures in a relatively high percentage of users headaches, seizures and panic attacks.

And why is that?

You will have noticed that at all points we mention that DMAA "may" cause these and these problems. And we do this primarily because of the lack of any large-scale scientific studies looking at long-term or regular supplementation with pure DMAA. When anyone is interested in this substance, it's usually in the context of whole supplements that contain several active ingredients. And if there are multiple cases of brain bleeds, it's certainly good to mention that for the sake of the comprehensiveness of the article, but it's certainly not somehow generally applicable.

Either way, the fact remains that there are no records of any cases of brain hemorrhage after using supplements.under strict EU criteria, anyone has been hospitalised, had permanent consequences or even died. And that is the fundamental difference between European and American pre-workouts.

Does DMAA have any positive effects?

If the list of negatives that DMAA-containing supplements can cause hasn't put you off so far, we can take a look at the positive properties of this substance. Very common effects are, of course, the stimulant effect, which is similar to that of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, the ability to boost metabolism, but also the improvement of short-term memory. Let's take a look at these positives in a little more depth.

1. Helps you burn excess fat

While it's probably not primary for most users, the results of studies point to the ability of this substance to burn fat. They prove it expert findingsthat have found that in addition to reducing body fat and overall weight, adultafter 14 days, the DMAA group also developed a significantly reduced appetite.

2. Works as a good stimulant

The most obvious advantage is, of course, the stimulant effect that DMAA has. And according to some studiesit can even raise blood pressure without significantly affecting the heart rate. This would mean in practice that taking this substance as such can make youvery effectively "kick-start" you, but at the same time there is absolutely minimal risk of, for example, a heart attack.

However, you must still not forget that the vast majority of such supplements contain caffeine, which no longer has similar effects, and therefore there are probably cases where a supplement Jack3D has caused a heart attack.

To take or not to take?

There is a very good business going on with American kickbacks in various social media groups. So it's no problem to get them and have them delivered to your home. The question is whether you will get the "real", i.e. the American version, or the "fake" one, which is intended for the European market and no longer contains DMAA at all. Either way, expect an extremely high price for which you can buy several European supplements.

While the choice of whether to invest in these supplements or avoid them is up to you, from personal experience I absolutely do not recommend it. Even ignoring all the health risks mentioned here, US supplements have a very unpleasant "range", so after the workout it is very common to have a lack of appetite, absolute exhaustion, feelings of vomiting and much more.

And that's it for this article, if you have any questions or commentsDon't hesitate to ask in the comments, we'll be happy to answer!

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Why not use American pre-workouts? (Video)