X Factor
 

Well, Santa Claus came to town and decided to give me an early present (X Factor) I did find a wealth of reviews Here. It's in pdf format, but the results are there. I know Trouble has a lot to say about this product, and I hope she chymes in here with very simple words!

Here's the description:

The crux of this product is that there is a host of things that I must avoid that would hinder the effectiveness of the product:

Pain medications containing acetaminophen, Ibuprofen, or Aspirin
NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs)
Omega 3 fatty acids
Flax and Fish oil supplements
N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC)
Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)
Avoid the regular consumption of foods known to be high in omega 3 fatty acids or anti-inflammatory nutrients, such as cold-water fish, peanut butter, and sesame, olive or peanut oils.

If you want to read the full description, click Here.

I'll do the 50 days, then that's probably it for me. I say this because I've had great success through the years with the staples: creatine, protein, BCAA's. Hopefully curiosity doesn't kill the cat. ;)

I love when there's patent numbers on the product. Gives me a chance to look up the information and the other patents that are similar.:) Some times my job is actually interesting

just so you know 0311, I'm going to be basing whether or not i use this product solely on your review of it. no pressure :D

I've heard good things, and I cant wait to see what conclusions you come to about it.

The primary action is two fold: by parent compound binding to regulatory genes in brain and certain tissues, and within cells, by action of metabolites (the inflammation inducing kind, so you do not want to outcompete product production by mass overload with omega fatty acids).

Use for very short periods of time - no more than 4-6 weeks.

Use in very low doses adjusted to your body mass (the label recommended doses sound quite high), further digging in the lit is recommended to see what loading rates have been studied for theraputic beneficial effects.

Use with others supps that provide protection against membrane lipid oxidation and help protect liver. Hence, use coezyme q10 and sam-e, with milk thistle, as alternate protection against lipid peroxidation and cellular oxidation from exercise in brain, lung, liver, kidney, skin, and skeletal muscle cells.

Do NOT use if your family has a history of colon or prostate cancer, or has a general history of cancer (esp soft tissue types, like liver, lung, brain, or pancreatic cancers).

Do not use if you smoke, or are cycling on steroids (or have in the last 4-6 months). I would avoid a fatty diet, as this compound will affect fatty acid metabolism in liver, resulting in cholestasis (bile acid buildup) if used for prolonged periods.

I neither condone nor directly recommend against use of this compound. It has beens shown to be important in body mass compositional regulation, but also key for turnover of cells, tissue repair, vascularization of tissues, aging in brain, and cancer metastasis. Its control of biosynthesis and storage and release within cells is as complex as its manyfold actions in the body and brain.

However, be forewarned that should you have certain gene regulatory fuckups that allow cells to express arachidonates on their cell surfaces, and if you develop or have certain small tumors, these will vascularize and migrate from their tissue origin, as this compound is involved in cell tissue adhesion loss (what makes like cell stick together and stay in one place). This is a powerful cell signalling compound that has many, many actions in cells, most recently described in the brain.

Note also that turnover rates refer to unbound parent compound. This is a fat soluble structure that easily partitions into cell membranes and may exert effects for weeks after dosing ceases.

Sorta like swallowing nails to get a little iron in your diet. Risky business.

Be so advised.

The first time I saw an ad for this, my reaction was "What the f***!"

I'll be frank, you couldn't pay me to take this.

There are reasons why the actions of AA in the body are meant to be modulated. Trouble hit on some of them quite well, and yet, I think, was being conservitive. I don't blame her. You could discuss this for weeks before you'd scratch the surface of all the things this stuff does in the body.

If you follow the label advice, I'd think some sides could be expected other than the increased muscle soreness. Maybe some joint soreness. Headaches. Facial flushing (that lasts for hours). Oily skin. Amplified inflammatory reactions in general (something about which I know, having sarcoidosis).

I'm not saying you won't get results. They could be expensive, though, in terms of bodily harm. In any case, don't be overly impressed by the patent numbers.

Yeah, I'd say that about sums it up. I agree. Be wary and cautious, and as you are fond of saying, 0311, May God have mercy on your soul.

And also, good luck, bud.

Can't be any worse than taking steroids, ect. If a one time only 50 day cycle of AA can kill me, then yes, May God have mercy on my soul.

I only wish all those reviews showed time of death! :eek:

I was only being silly, 0311, you know that.

No, I don't think it's gonna kill you, I should have mentioned that :) .

I know you said you were only doing it once. If you're going to lay off the prohibited substances, maybe when your done with it you'll hit the EFA's and stuff heavy. Maybe wouldn't be a bad idea.

The supplements trouble mentioned are definitely something to consider, also. They shouldn't interfere.

Hey now! I didn't take offence to what you said. I value everyone's opinion on this. I should've put a smiley face after that! :)

Definately. 50 days and I'm satisfied.

I'm around 242 lbs. However, I might just use 3 instead of the recommended 4. I'm undecided.

How much do you recommend. I'll take it if you recommend it!

100% natural. Haven't smoked since the Corps.

Thank God I'm the man of steel or else I'd be in for it! 50 days doesn't sound like a lot of time to develop cancer or tumors.

BTW, I'm glad you are here to give some advice Trouble! I appreciate all your scientific advice.

I have some milk thistle in my cabinet right now. I took it when I was on a heavy dose of prednisone for quite a long period of time. I took around 250 mgs 3 times a day. There actually were no changes in my liver values for the duration of treatment, which my doctor was surprised by. I'm not sure if I was on correct dose.

I looked it up in Mosby's handbook and they're giving several different dosage ranges according to what you're using it for (alcoholism, hepatitis). It ranges from 70 mg to 210 mg tid.

What I used was a standardized whole seed extract (standardized to 80% silymarin). The kind that comes in capsule. But many herbalist say you have to use an alcohol tincture. Maybe trouble will have something on this. I guarantee you, most people use the capsules.

It's considered one of the safest herbs out there, but I always point out that you can be allergic to anything. So start out with one dose a day for a few days, then add a dose for a few days, etc. (I didn't though :) ).