Home
Supplement Reviews
ATP Science Product Changes + Reviews

ATP Science Product Changes + Reviews

Posted on January 16, 2020

ATP Science are an Australian market leader of Wellness and Sports Nutrition products, helping thousands strive towards wellbeing, peak performance and their desired body composition.

It’s no surprise that there’s a massive and growing interest in nutritional and herbal supplementation. The obstacles that hinder our ability to attain peak health and performance can sometimes feel ever-present.

Whether it's a cold, sore joints or a poor sleeping habits, it's great to know that there's a supplement range with some real solutions.

Even without the vast body of traditional medicine data that literally stretches back thousands of years, there is still plenty of modern peer-reviewed research, published for our perusal, examining nutrients, herbal medicines, single foods and diets.

This body of evidence can be applied to human health, beyond the basic needs of survival and the management of frank disease. With the right biochemical and remedial insight, nutrient insufficiencies, toxins and hormonal imbalances can be ticked off a list that could be entitled striving for the elusive optimal health.

When enough of the jigsaw pieces come together, the illustration can offer some insight into what optimal health, peak performance and recovery and a healthy body composition are all about.

And though the final piece of the puzzle may never be found, the picture is still a lot clearer than a jumbled mess of jigsaw pieces packed away in a deteriorating cardboard box.

Let’s face it, unless we live atop the Himalayan Mountains (after we acclimatize), and spend our days living off the land with knowledge passed on from previous generations, focusing on meditation and being one with the land, absolute optimal health without a blemish may not be realistic in this modern world.

However, progress can always be made. And with a brand like ATP Science to blow a cool wind in your sails, offering quality health information and premium products, you can be sure that more pieces of the jigsaw will fall into place.

Let’s take a look at some of the exciting changes that are happening with the new encapsulated ATP Science products.

ATP Science Ares

If Alpha Mars was a Muse—or Taylor Swift?—concert, it would have sold out ten times over.

This encapsulated testosterone support formula has been a mainstay for countless bodybuilders, powerlifters, CrossFit enthusiasts, weekend workout warriors and countless others experiencing the fateful age-related decline in this potent hormone.

The previous formula, Alpha Mars, contained Shilajit, Tongkat Ali, Fenugreek Seed Extract, Stinging Nettle and Panax Ginseng. The new version, called Ares, contains Panax Ginseng (500mg), Fenugreek Extract (750mg), Stinging Nettle (750mg) and Tribulus Terrestris (4,000mg) per capsule.

In case you’re wondering, Ares is the god of war and made an appearance in the 2017 Wonder Woman film starring Gal Gadot. And though it’s certainly cooler to make peace, declaring war on personal bests can be a smart move.

Although Tongkat Ali and Shilajit have been removed from ATP Science Ares—don’t get the violin out just yet—ATP Science have introduced a new herbal powerhouse: Tribulus Terrestris.

This makes Ares one of the most powerful natural testosterone supporters on the market today. However, this formula’s not all about jacking up testosterone. It just so happens that there are ingredients to also help balance estrogen levels as well.

When it comes to menopausal symptoms, there are plenty of natural herbs and nutrients that can really make a difference. For instance, Panax Ginseng, Stinging Nettle and Tribulus Terrestris are all useful for the management of menopausal signs and symptoms, such as night sweats (even when it’s not hot), hot flashes, irritability and moodiness.

Testosterone is actually a natural female hormone, though it is produced in smaller quantities, and assists with a healthy libido, maintaining lean muscle mass and other roles.

Tribulus Terrestris is a well-known testosterone modulator. If your levels are low, it may help to normalise them. This may not sound overly exciting if you are a young healthy man who wakes up to a pitched tent each morning.

However—fear not!—recent research indicates that Tribulus supplementation reduces muscle damage and improves anaerobic performance in trained male boxers. This effect was believed to be caused by a reduction in IGF-1 Binding Protein 3, which would create an anabolic effect(1).

Stinging Nettle Extract is one of the best natural aromatase inhibitors, which makes it a great addition to any natural testosterone support formula.

Aromatase converts testosterone into estradiol, one of the many forms of estrogen (an umbrella term) in the body. So to slow down aromatase activity means we get to increase the testosterone to estrogen ratio.

Panax Ginseng is considered one of the most potent herbal medicines available today. Though it has been traditionally used to support libido, modern science has indicated a number of benefits, such as reduced systemic inflammation (IL-6), decreased muscle damage, increased insulin sensitivity, improved perceived exertion during training, nootropic and mood enhancing effects (2,3,4).

On top of this, ATP Science Ares contains Fenugreek extract, also known by its botanical name Trigonella-foenum graecum. This herb has been shown to enhance free testosterone levels by 101%, compared to a 49% increase in the placebo group (5).

In this study, published by the Journal of Sport and Health Science, the researchers noted an increase in repetitions to failure for bench press and leg press, compared to a decrease in the placebo group.

ATP Science have created a white-knuckle hormonal support product that is as versatile as it is innovative, with natural testosterone support and even estrogen management solutions.

Adrenal RX

Adrenal RX is the new look Cort RX formulation from ATP Science, still offering four potent herbal medicines, including Curcuma longa (Turmeric), Rhodiola rosea, Schisandra Chinensis and Withania somnifera (AKA Ashwagandha, Winter Cherry or Indian Ginseng).

These herbal extracts offer a range of benefits, one of which is adaptogenic properties. Any herb or nutrient that has an adaptogenic effect helps us favourably respond to a physical, mental or emotional stressors—hopefully not all three at once!

As you can probably imagine, something that has adaptogenic properties can be quite handy, whether you’re looking to run one-hundred metres under ten seconds, deadlift a half-ton or just make it through a busy day at work with a little more dignity.

Then again, hitting the gym with even modest goals—which can still be incredibly personally satisfying—day after day amidst a busy work and family life can, for many, eventually lead to exhaustion, especially when caffeinated pre-workouts are involved.

Though caffeine can help us overcome mental and emotional training hurdles by triggering motivation and energy to train, they can also make it easy to push ourselves beyond what we have the nutritional reserves for.

And over a period of time, whether it be months or years, adrenal fatigue and exhaustion can settle into our all-of-a-sudden not so shiny existence. Quite often this happens when people cycle-off (nothing related to bicycles or steroids here) caffeinated products and realise their natural energy level aren’t so good.

When it comes hormones, few have vilified quite like cortisol. This is one of the main glucocorticoids produced primarily by zona fasciculate cells located in the adrenal cortex.

Though cortisol does have a catabolic effect in the body, I.e., breaks down muscle tissue, too little of this crucial hormone can also be problematic. Cortisol is needed to keep the immune system in check, create anti-inflammatory effects and maintain fluid balance, among other roles.

Evidence is suggesting that there are benefits for an appropriate cortisol secretion during exercise. It actually helps to maintain our blood glucose level and essential amino acid levels.

In fact, it may be a better idea to try and wind up protein synthesis with the use of essential amino acids and natural testosterone supporters, in order to counteract the catabolic effect of cortisol, rather than try to suppress levels per se—unless your levels are elevated during the pre-exhaustion period (6).

ATP Science Adrenal RX offers a range of adaptogenic herbs designed to maintain healthy adrenal gland function, supporting normalization of cortisol levels. In addition, Turmeric offers potent anti-inflammatory effects, which have broad-reaching benefits for the human body.

Turmeric assists with a number of health conditions, including obesity, metabolic syndrome, anxiety, cardiovascular disease risk markers and osteoarthritis, making it the quintessential plant extract (7,8,9,10).

Venus E-Tox

The epically popular Alpha Venus, now called Venus E-Tox, contains some familiar ingredients as well as some new additions, consolidating ATP Science as a top providers of hormonal balancing products.

For the sake of a clear comparison, Alpha Venus contained the following, per capsule, as a proprietary blend:

Broccoli Sprout.
Rosemary Extract.
Chaste Tree.
Kelp.

Each capsule of the Venus E-Tox contains:

Broccoli Sprout.
Rosemary Extract.
Chaste Tree.
Kelp.
Broccoli Seed.
Raphanus sativus (Daikon Radish Fruit).
Levomefolate calcium.

This formulation offers a range of benefits, assisting with the management of estrogen and other hormones. Given the broad metabolic effects of estrogen, Venus E-Tox may assist with PMS, stubborn high fat mass and fluid retention, as well as supporting natural liver detoxification.

These benefits alone have placed this product on the shopping list of thousands, due to the commonality of these complaints.

Venus E-Tox may also assist bodybuilders or anyone seeking an improved body composition, with reductions in fat-mass and fluid retention, due to the detoxification support it provides for the less protective forms of estrogen and their metabolites.

Venus E-Tox also contains the new ingredient Diakon Radish, which contains a range of beneficial phytochemicals, such as Indol-3-Carbinol and Isothiocyanates. Indol-3-Carbinol offers a range of natural anti-estrogen benefits, partially converting to diindolylmethane (DIM) in the body.

Kelp is a fantastic addition to this formulation, as it is perhaps the richest edible source of the essential mineral iodine. Iodine is essential for supporting the thyroid’s ability to produce thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), which contain 4 and 3 atoms of iodine, respectively (11).

This means iodine is actually a structural component of thyroid hormones, along with tyrosine. Iodine is also believed to offer an antioxidant and anti-proliferative effect in breast and prostate tissue (12).

ATP Science Venus E-Tox is certainly an upgrade from the previous formulation. This product will no doubt find a home for countless people looking to improve wellness, performance and body composition.

Z-Mag

There appears to be little change to ZMST, which is now called Z-Mag. This product still contains 100mg of elemental magnesium from magnesium citrate, 2.5mg of elemental zinc, 6.25mcg elemental selenium and 25mg taurine.

What Does Elemental Dosage Mean?

If you’re wondering what the go is with elemental figures and non-elemental, here’s a quick rundown.

There is 100mg of elemental Magnesium in each capsule of ATP Science Z-Mag, provided by Magnesium Citrate. As the Magnesium Citrate molecule is made up of two compounds—magnesium and citric acid (citrate)—the actual magnesium citrate content will be a lot higher in each capsule, perhaps around 200mg.

Therefore, each 200mg of Magnesium Citrate would contain 100mg Magnesium and 100mg of citric acid. And the elemental magnesium content is said to be 100mg.

Z-Mag puts a refreshing spin on a standard ZMA product, using nutrients that are inherently synergistic.

Magnesium is a well-known skeletal muscle relaxant, helping to reduce neuromuscular tension caused by psychological stress or exercise. Signs of low magnesium status are muscle cramps, spasms, twitches and premenstrual cramps.

These vary in severity too, from a simple eyelid twitch to a cramp involving a large muscle group like the quadriceps, which can be painful indeed. The addition of Taurine to this formula may make it useful the muscle pain and tension associated with delayed onset muscle soreness.

Z-Mag also contains quality Zinc and Selenium, both of which have massive consequences for the immune system, tissue healing, thyroid hormones, hormonal status (including testosterone) and much more.

Overall, this formulation will also promote natural energy levels, sleep quality and bone mineral density. And given the commonality of mineral deficiencies in our food, this is certainly a smart formula from ATP Science.

Conclusion

If you were concerned about the ATP Science formulations taking a deep dive in the shallow end, fear not! These products have simply been tweaked to comply with the ever-rigorous Australian TGA, and in some cases the products have been improved upon.

ATP Science are leaders in nutritional and herbal products that offer broad reaching benefits for anyone from wellness seekers to endurance trainers and powerlifters.

There are more product changes coming to the ATP Science range soon, so stay tuned!

References

1. Ma Y et al. Tribulus terrestris extracts alleviate muscle damage and promote anaerobic performance of trained male boxers and its mechanisms: roles of androgen, IGF-1, and IGF binding protein-3. Journal of Sport and Health Science 2017 Vol 6 p.474-481

2. Caldwell L.K., et al.The effects of a Korean Ginseng, GINST15, on perceptual effort, psychomotor performance, and physical performance in men and women. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2018 Vol 17;1 p.92-100

3. Jung H.L.,etal. Effects of Panax Ginseng supplementation on muscle damage and inflammation after uphill treadmill running in humans. The American Journal of Chinese Medicine. 2011 Vol 39;3 p.441-450

4. Ong W-Y., et al. Protective effects of ginseng on neurological disorders. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. 2015, Vol 7

5. Wankhede S et al. Beneficial effects of fenugreek glucoside supplementation in male subjects during resistance training: A randomized controlled pilot study. Journal of Sport and Health Science. 2016 Vol 5;2 p.176-182

6. Hackney AC and Walz EA. Hormonal Adaptations and the stress of exercise training: the role of glucocorticoids. Trends in Sport Science 2013 Vol 20;4 p.165-171

7. Hewlings S.J. and Kalman D.S. Curcumin: a review of it's effects on human health. Foods. 2017 Vol 6;10 p.92

8. Pierro Di et al. Potential role of bioavailable curcumin in weight loss and omental adipose tissue decrease: preliminary data of a randomized, controlled trial in overweight people with metabolic syndrome. Preliminary study. European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences. 2015 Vol 19;21 p.4195-4202

9. Ellulu MS et al. Obesity and inflammation: the linking mechanism and the complications. Archives of Medical Science. 2017 Vol 13;4 p.851-863

10. Belcaro G et al. Efficacy and safety of Meriva®, a curcumin-phosphatidylcholine complex, during extended administration in osteoarthritis patients. Alternative Medicine Review. 2010 Vol 15;4 p.337-344