lately, my gmy-owner came to me and asked if I ever heard of Pyruvat (we use to discuss a lot about supplements, etc). I said no but told him, I’ll do some research. Sounds like this stuff works, does it? Any experiences?
Thanks,
Stefan
Pyruvate is considered to be a major flop by most experts. It’s HMB all over again.
I did an article for Mind and Muscle Power magazine (back when we were helping them out for free ad space and before they closed shop) that covered this topic. The article was never published because they folded. I may rewrite it for T-mag in the future. Anyway, here’s the exerpt from the article that covers this issue:
"Pyruvate-- Back around 1996 pyruvate caused some nipple hardening excitement among the fitness community. In one study performed before pyruvate became available, it supposedly increased fat loss by 48%. It was also supposed to minimize the loss of muscle while dieting, and increase endurance. At one time, pyruvate was even supposed to be a prescription drug! Changes in dietary supplement regulations, however, allowed pyruvate and many other compounds to be sold legally without a prescription. You see what I mean by the nipple hardening excitement it caused, huh? Pyruvate hit the market, everybody tried it and sure enough… no one noticed much, if any, fat loss. What the hell happened?
Several things: the original studies were performed on very obese women who used 36 grams a day. However, when it hit the shelves the recommended dosage was somewhere around 2 to 5 grams a day. If you wanted to take as much pyruvate as was used in the original studies you’d have to spend ten to twenty bucks per day! (Many people also get sick to their stomach at this dosage. Pyruvate also degrades rather quickly so there’s a chance you’re not getting what you paid for if it’s been on the shelf for a while.) These days pyruvate is still being sold, but essentially it was D.O.A. from the very beginning.
The stuff is complete crap…It was hyped a few years ago as the next big thing in weight loss but it turns out to be worthless…The studies they have backing it were all done on overweight women with dosages that are not economical.
I tried the calcium pyruvate form in 1998 when my bodyfat was at an all-time high of about 31%. My daily intake was 10 grams divided into two doses. For two months I lost weight at the rate of one pound per week without any other change in diet or exercise. However, after this initial success I was unable to lose any more weight while taking the pyruvate. Subsequently, I tried the product on several occassions without any success. So why did it work for two months?