Ripped Freak Review: A Hybrid Drug Fat Burner?

Ripped Freak Fat Burner Review: øSEARCH SITEe.g. Zantrex 3, Relacore, etc.

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The word is out; Pharma Freak's Ripped Freak is some seriously strong stuff. And I'm not talking "ephedra-stack" strong. I'm talking "rip-your-head-off-and-spit-down-your-throat strong." All the feedback I've received on Ripped Freak to date has been the same... take at your own discretion, this is a powerful product.

So what's the deal? Is Ripped Freak —advertised as a "hybrid drug fat burner"—really the "most powerful bodybuilding supplement legally available in North America? To answer that question, let's first deconstruct some of the sales copy and then take a look at the ingredients. Beginning with the sales copy...

"Hybrid-drug" is a term that's been coined by a team of leading pharmaceutical and organic chemists working in the sports supplement industry. A hybrid-drug is defined as a compound derived from nature that's been organically altered or synthesized to deliver more powerful drug-like effects!"

Sounds impressive, right? Yep, but it ain't true. Never mind the fact that leading pharmaceutical and organic chemists are not working in the sports supplement industry, the term "hybrid drug" is one that is already taken.

And what about this one?...

"... the RIPPED FREAK formula also contains five newly discovered methylated derivatives of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG) from green tea extract."

In case you've forgotten, EGCG is an essential catechin of green tea, to which some of its thermogenic and weight loss benefits have been attributed. What Pharma Freak has neglected to mention here is that these so-called "newly discovered" EGCG derivatives are naturally occurring, and are likely present in other green tea extracts as well. Plus, there's absolutely no indication that the ECGC derivatives are superior to the parent compound for fat loss.

With that said, what's in Ripped Freak? Good question...

1) 5 methylated derivatives of EGCG: As I mentioned already, EGCG is an essential catechin of green tea. And even though EGCG is helpful for weight loss (see J Am Coll Nutr. 2007 Aug;26(4):389S-395S) some studies (see J Am Coll Nutr. 2007 Aug;26(4):396S-402S) have indicated that...

More potent dosages of EGCG may lead to greater effect EGCG may work best when combined with other catechins and stimulants—like those found in green tea.

Unfortunately, there's no evidence to suggest these naturally occurring methylated versions of EGCG are any more effective for weight loss than the parent compound.

2) 1,3-Dimethylamylamine: This compound is also known as "methylhexaneamine." 1,3-Dimethylamylamine (DMAA), is an adrenergic amine that acts as a CNS stimulant. It was originally patented by Eli Lilly as a nasal decongestant in 1944, but largely abandoned until re-introduced as a dietary supplement (Geranamine™) by Proviant Technologies, the parent company of Ergopharm.

Although there's no current research on it, DMAA's gotten mostly rave reviews from users for its effects on mood, focus and energy. A few have reported problems with higher doses, however, so some caution is advised.

Ripped Freak is not the first weight loss product to contain DMMA. Ergolean's AMP, AMP 2 and USP's OxyElite Pro contain it. The launch of AMP garnered a fair bit of mainstream negative publicity, with one expert calling the legality of DMAA into question and saying...

"The chemical structure is similar to amphetamines and ephedrine..."

I've experimented with DMAA-containing pre-workout supplements (i.e., Nutrex's Hemo Rage), and can attest to the potency of this ingredient as a stimulant.

Oh, and one other thing; DMAA has been added to the World Anti Doping Agency 2010 prohibited list, so if you're a competitive athlete, you'll want to avoid this product.

3) 1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6(3H,7H)-dione: A very deceptive way of labeling "caffeine." Caffeine, of course, is a common, albeit relative mild thermogenic, with well-established effects (see Am J Clin Nutr. 1989 Jan;49(1):44-50, Am J Clin Nutr. 1980 May;33(5):989-97). In this formula, caffeine is one of the two allegedly engineered compounds, and is delivered in the "methyl gallate ester" format. When conferring with our scientific and technical advisor Elissa, here's what she told me...

Neither caffeine nor raspberry ketones (the other "engineered" ingredient in this formula) is a majorly impressive thermogenic, so it remains to be seen whether delivering them as methyl gallate esters improves anything. In my opinion, improving the half life and bioavailability of caffeine is more likely to get you/keep you more wired than ever, which isn't necessarily a good thing."

She also sent me this link for a patent which discusses the potential use of methyl gallate esters for improving drug bioavailability. Apparently, it's not completely clear whether this is largely based on in-vitro work and speculation, or whether there are actually drugs with pharmacokinetic data in humans that prove it actually works as claimed. Just because something looks good on paper, doesn't mean it works very well in real life.

4) Red Pepper Ester Stack: Red peppers contain capsaicin, a chemical that gives chile peppers their "heat." The theory is that capsaicin "revs" up your metabolism by creating heat, thus burning off extra calories. However, this study (Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2007 Jan;292(1):R77-85. Epub 2006 Jul 13) says it best...

"Capsaicin has been shown to be effective, yet when it is used clinically it requires a strong compliance to a certain dosage, that has not been shown to be feasible yet."

In other words, in order for capsaicin to have an effect on your metabolism, it has to be taken in doses much too high to make it practical. Delivering several variations of this compound in "ester" format may make it more effective, but there's no evidence to demonstrate this conclusively.

5) Raspberry Ketone (4-(4-hydroxyphenyl) butan-2-one): a phenolic compound derived from red raspberries, raspberry ketones have only really been shown effective in animal studies (you can view the details of the study here). You are not a mouse, and the results of animal studies do not necessarily translate over to humans.

An unpublished pilot study performed on Razberri-K (a patented form of raspberry ketones) demonstrated it enhanced post-exercise fat oxidation, although the results were apparently not large enough to be statistically significant.

Does delivering this ingredient in a "methyl gallate ester" form vastly improve the thermogenic efficiency of this ingredient?

There's no clinical evidence to confirm or deny this claim.

And there you have it... the Ripped Freak fat burner in a nutshell.

As you can see, the claims of "superior fat burning effectiveness" and "hybrid drug technology" is complete nonsense; it's marketing 101.

That's not to say this product isn't going to tear your head off. The combination of DMAA and caffeine in the methyl gallate ester format is likely the culprit here.

One friend of mine—who is comfortable using the full-blown ephedra stack—was unable to finish the product because of the way it made him feel. "Spacey and kind of stoned, and I was getting huge red blotches all over my body", were his exact words to me. He took the two capsule dose only once before a training session that he was later unable to remember. He ended up giving the remainder of the product to another friend, who also gave it up after a couple of doses.

I also received this email recently from a visitor named Brian (nallickbrian At AOL.com)...

"...can you please review/warn people about a new fat burner called Ripped Freak. I took one pill of this as suggested and I thought I was going to end up in the hospital. I was sick, dizzy, and my heart rate was going through the roof. It was one of the scariest products I've ever taken. Not even ephedra affected me like this."

In conclusion, there's no doubt this is a hardcore product. And while raspberry ketones, EGCG and caffeine are moderately helpful for weight loss, the fat burning benefits are extremely exaggerated. Plus, there's little real evidence to suggest delivering a couple of relatively mild thermogenics in methyl gallate ester format improve their efficiency.

Nonetheless, initial feedback indicates this is one product not for the faint of heart. It's definitely not for anyone with underlying health issues, or a newcomer to thermogenics. Be very careful with this one, and should you decide to experiment, absolutely do not exceed the recommended dose.

It would have been nice if Pharma Freak had halved the dose in order to make this product a little more tolerable. By creating such a potent product they are playing with fire, especially if the adverse reaction reports pile up and cause a ban by the FTC.

It might be a smart solution therefore, to create your own version of Ripped Freak. Most of the ingredients in this product are available on their own. For example you could stack 1,3-Dimethylamylamine, caffeine, raspberry ketones, and green tea extract and create a "customizable" product with a dosage that you can tolerate.

 

Have you used Ripped Freak? Share your
comments and read Ripped Freak user reviews / testimonials, click here!

 

 

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How To Avoid Getting Scammed / Ripped Off Buying Supplements Online

Rarely a day goes by that a visitor to either this site or Real-Customer-Comments.com does not have a horror story to relate about some supplement retailer or another. These range from recurring billing scams, to poor or non-existent customer service delivered by unfriendly or downright rude sales reps, to the failure to honor a guarantee or even ship the product in the first place.

Having heard every "story in the book", we're perfectly positioned to advise you on how to avoid being ripped off online. To that end, we've come up with a "to do" list that will help you do just that. And please...

If you find it helpful, please click the FaceBook "Like" button below to share it with your friends, and spread this message to the world!

Let's get started learning how to avoid getting ripped off purchasing supplements online...

1) Always know who you are doing business with: If you don't recognize the company you're considering making a purchase from, always, always, always find out who you are doing business with before you consider parting with your credit card information. Start by checking the "About Us" section of the web site. If that page says something like...

"Here at SomeSupplementSalesSite.com, we are dedicated to bringing you the highest quality supplements manufactured in world class facilities. Our products are backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee..."

... you will want to leave the site immediately.

That's because none of this tells you anything about who, exactly, is "behind" the site. And trust us, there is exactly no good reason why a retailer would want to hide his/her identity. The main reason for doing so is to avoid accountability to you, the consumer.

After all, it's going to be really difficult to obtain a refund or file a complaint if you don't even know who you purchased the product from.

It's entirely possible you're considering making a purchase from a couple of shady entrepreneurs set up in their basement with a computer, a capsule filling machine, a box of plastic bottles and a laser printer (yes, that and a web site is all you need to sell your own supplements. Yes, really).

And that picture of the magnificent skyscraper featured as their corporate headquarters on the "about us" page? A stock photo from BigStockPhoto.com.

And if you can't find out who you are doing business with?

Don't proceed with the transaction.

2) Check to see if the business is listed with the Better Business Bureau: Once you've found out who you're doing business with, see if they're listed with the Better Business Bureau and how they've performed.

3) Do a quick search on RipoffReport.com and ComplaintsBoard.com for the product you're considering (you can also perform a search for the name of the company, should you know it): Both these sites allow consumers to post complaints about products and unscrupulous companies.

If the product you're considering has received a lot of negative comments, you have your answer; don't buy. Keep in mind that new products won't necessarily have any complaints posted yet, so don't take the absence of comments as a "green light."

Here's where it can get a bit complicated: To my knowledge, neither of these sites screen the people who post comments in any meaningful way, so just about anybody can say anything about anyone (last I checked, UltimateFatBurner.com has a listing at ComplaintsBoard, obviously posted by someone who owns or is affiliated with a product about which we've had less than positive things to say).

It's extremely likely some of the negative comments are not genuine; posted by the employees or affiliates of competitors in an attempt to "tarnish" the brand of the product in question, and drive sales to their own products. So you need to use your own judgment, and see if the comments pass the "smell" test. Chances are if there are enough of them, some of them will be genuine, which should provide more than enough information to base your decision.

Also, check our own Biggest Scam Retailers page; we have many of the worst offenders and their products listed here.

4) Give no credence to testimonials: Even when 100% genuine, testimonials are highly suspect. They are always anecdotal, and need to be taken with a grain of salt, as most people simply don't recognize the large number of factors which may or may not be contributing to their success and/or failure with any product.

The problem is that online, there is no way to determine which testimonials are genuine, and which are not. They may be entirely manufactured by the retailer. Or, the retailer may "cherry pick" the comments they receive and only post the "good ones", leading to an artificially positive view of their product.

What if you find reams of seemingly positive comments strewn across related web sites? Again, it's impossible to verify them. And it's easy for a retailer to create the illusion of a great product.

If I wanted to, for instance, I could go to a web site like this one, and for about $50, hire 300 people to post a comment and a link on any blog or forum I like, "saying" exactly what I want them to say. For a few hundred dollars, I could certainly make it appear ANY product was all the rage.

The other possibility is that the web sites featuring the positive comments are owned by the same retailer; this happens ALL the time. Check out the article, "Who's Reviewing Your Weight Loss Supplements" for more on this.

5) View product recommendations with skepticism: In the vast majority of cases, the web sites making the recommendations are either owned by the manufacturer or retailer of the product they are recommending, or they receive a huge commission on referred sales. And while there's nothing wrong with earning a commission on products made in the genuine best interest of your customer, I would argue that recommending vastly overpriced and under-engineered products to your visitors for a huge commission hardly falls into that category.

See the article "Who's Reviewing Your Weight Loss Supplements" for more information on this.

6) Approach "review" sites with skepticism: This ties into #6 above; most "review" sites are entirely bogus sales or commission generating vehicles.The information they offer is always extremely generic, they may reference clinical studies, but they never dissect them or link to them to see what they actually say.

If you're not sure whether the "review" site you're checking out is genuine, ask yourself these questions...

Is this web site recommending a product that is only available online? Is this product vastly more expensive than comparable, readily available commercial products? Does this web site provide a live link to the clinical studies they reference and do they dissect them for you, discussing the pros, cons, and possible shortcomings?

If you answered yes, yes and no you've got a bogus review site...

Recommending products only available online: This prevents you from buying the product at your local Wal-Mart, keeping your money in their pockets. Recommending vastly more expensive products: These products aren't expensive because they contain "advanced" formulas (if you've read our reviews you'll know their ingredients profiles are similar to, or inferior to, readily available products). It's because of the 30-50% commission built into the products. This artificially inflates the price, and ensures there are hordes of eager promoters. No links to clinical studies and dissection of them: As an example, a product we reviewed recently cited a positive clinical study to validate one of the ingredients included in its formula. As we pointed out, the study may have been positive, but it was "under-whelming"; just slightly over 2 lbs lost in 6 months. Whoops. That's the part they "forgot" to mention. It's one thing to say a positive study exists, it's another to explain it in context. Big difference.

7) Avoid any offer that allows you to try a product for free: I really should have these words flashing in text THIS HIGH, in bold red, so you don't miss it, or underestimate how critical this is. Because this isn't what you think it is—a good faith demonstration of a manufacturer's confidence in his/her product—but a means to enroll you in a recurring billing program.

The goal of the "free trial" program (also called "negative option billing") from the retailer's perspective is to obtain your credit card, so you can be billed repeatedly on a monthly basis for fresh refills of the product. Here's the important point...

Most people added to such programs do not know they are signing up to participate in them.

Yes, the fact that you are "participating" is usually revealed, but it's often in very small print or hidden away in a dark recess of the web site somewhere. Even if you are aware of the terms and conditions of such an offer, it's almost impossible to cancel your trial in accordance with the agreement. And then, it's almost impossible to get the retailer to stop billing you. Our visitors have told us the only way to get the charges stopped is to have your bank cancel your credit or debit card and reissue you a new one.

Seriously.

If there's ONE thing you get from this article, please let it be this: Do not—under ANY circumstances—sign up to try any product for free.

For complete details on this, check out our video on the "free trial scam."

8) Recognize the difference between editorial and advertising: It's perfectly reasonable for reputable web sites to feature advertising on their pages. This serves to offset the cost of maintaining the web site and to pay contributing authors or staff. This may be an unfortunate reality, but it is reality nonetheless.

Sometimes however—perhaps because of the relative "newness" and "novelty" of the Internet—visitors perceive the advertisements as receiving an endorsement from the web site featuring them.

Don't make this mistake; it's not the case.

Always recognize the difference between editorial and advertising. If a print publication features a Budweiser or a Smirnoff ad, most people don't assume the publishers condone or endorse alcoholism, spousal abuse or drunk driving. In other words, just because an ad resides on a trusted online resource, doesn't mean the webmasters condone or endorse that service, product, or retailer.

We've had people accuse us of being unethical because on occasion the ads generated by our providers (Google, Chitika, Netseer, etc) will run contrary to the message delivered in our editorial material. What would be unethical would be to write editorial material supportive of the advertising material for the express reason to elicit click throughs (we only get paid when someone clicks on an ad).

If the editorial material we present contradicts that of the advertising, what better way to call attention to the difference between editorial and advertising?

So there you have it...

8 ways to avoid getting ripped off buying your supplements online. Follow these tips, and your credit card will remain safe and sound!

If you liked this article, be sure to click the "Like" button below; tell
your friends on FaceBook and spread the word!

UltimateFatBurner.com is proud to offer you hundreds of science-based supplement reviews. If you know the name of the product you want to investigate, or you want to browse a list of all the supplements reviewed on this site (includes vitamins, body building supplements, functional foods, fat burners etc), this is the option for you. Click the "Search Supplement Reviews" link directly to the right to be taken to a new page where you can search and/or browse listings. Alternatively, you can use the search box at the top right of this page. If don't you know the name of the product you are looking for, but are instead looking for a product recommendation based on certain preferences or symptoms, slide your mouse over the text to the right and drill down until you find the option that best suits your needs. Click on that option to continue.UltimateFatBurner.com has a growing inventory of informative videos. If you prefer getting your information in video format, this option is for you. Not sure where to begin? Why not start by investigating some of our most popular pages? Because the nutritional supplement industry is very loosely regulated, it is a fertile breeding ground for fraudulent behavior. UltimateFatBurner.com features three "Walls of Shame"; the first highlights companies that have poor ratings with the Better Business Bureau and established track records of poor customer service and deceptive billing tactics. The second highlights a list of companies that have used the threat of lawsuits to attempt to get us to remove or alter our reviews. The third lists companies have violated copyright laws by stealing our content and passing it off as their own. Have you been ripped off by a supplement company? Were you treated poorly, ignored, refused a refund, overbilled or billed on a regular monthly basis without your consent? You're in the right place. Just move your mouse to the right, and in one swift quick click, we'll show you how to complain to the appropriate authorities, as well as provide you with some crucial "need to know" information to prevent anything like this ever happening again. A successful weight loss protocol includes a smart diet and exercise program. We've reviewed many, but this selection contains a few of the better ones worth investigating.

Legend: Place your mouse pointer over each icon for an explanation of each accompanying heading. Place your mouse pointer over each title heading to "drop down" additional options. Click on the one that interests you (not all titles have additional options; in this case click the heading in question).

Since 1999, our visitors have been trusting our science-based reviews (why should you care about science?) to provide them with the real skinny on weight loss, dieting, and sport nutrition supplements. Unlike our competitors, our mandate is not the sale of supplements (we are fans of good products though, and will make a recommendation should the circumstances merit), it's the education of our visitor... you!

UltimateFatBurner.com is supported by advertising, not by product sales. This allows us to present a real, unbiased synopsis of each product we review. And check our real visitor comments too. These aren't the manufactured testimonials that you'll see elsewhere on the Net. They are real comments from real, often angry people -- visitors who have used these products, and often, aren't too darn happy about it.

View the original article here