Ghost Burn Review

Posted on April 1, 2020

 

If you haven’t heard of KSM-66, p-Synephrine, Theobromine or Grains of Paradise before, then you’ve got something in common with 99.99% of the population.

 

Though they sound like words from a heady science fiction novel, they are in fact ingredients in Ghost Burn, each putting a unique therapeutic spin on this thermogenic product.

 

Ghost Burn actually doubles as a solid thermogenic fat-burner and a pre-workout, delivering enough get-up-and-go for you to forget just how sluggish you feel and slap some extra weight plates on the next barbell that comes your way.

 

With some tasty flavours to choose from, including the Warheads flavours Sour Watermelon and Sour Green Apple, this product goes down smooth and delivers a nostalgic experience for anyone who experienced the Warhead candy of yesteryear.

 

Determining what is and what isn’t a pre-workout can be a tricky business. Have you ever looked for a definition before? If not, let me save you some time, because it’s not in there.

 

 

A pre-workout is a product concept that is simply designed to be taken before (pre) exercise (workout).

 

And by this definition, as broad as it is, anything you do or ingest before training is a pre-workout, including a fresh slice of watermelon for some natural citrulline.

 

Technically speaking, kicking your toe on the corner of the bed frame could constitute a pre-workout, though it’s not recommended. It wakes you up and gets the blood pumping, believe me!

 

For most who train, they’re looking for some natural performance enhancement in a pre-workout, also known as an ergogenic aid. And though caffeine is indeed effective, a pre-workout doesn’t necessarily have to include it.

 

Different pre-workouts supports different people in different ways for different exercises and body composition goals.

 

That’s a whole lot of variation!

 

When it comes to Ghost Burn, however, we’ve got a thermogenic product that is designed to enhance focus and concentration, mood and motivation, energy and stamina and above all else fat-burning.

 

Does it get the job done?

 

 

Grains of Paradise

Though this ingredient sounds like some kind of wholesome grain that you might discover whilst holidaying in Hawaii, it isn’t actually that at all …

 

Grains of Paradise, or Aframomum melegueta, is actually a species within the ginger family, along with turmeric and galangal root.

 

This plant has been studied in two small placebo-controlled clinical trials with a focus on how supplementation can impact energy expenditure.

 

One of the studies published in 2013 concluded that Grains of Paradise increases whole body energy expenditure and activates brown adipose tissue ¹.

 

 

The 2014 paper indicated that Grains of Paradise not only increased fat-burning, but also reduced visceral fat accumulation ².

 

Though these were small clinical trials, they were in fact placebo-controlled and the results were statistically significant.

 

This makes Grains of Paradise a worthy inclusion for Ghost Burn.

 

KSM-66 Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha, also known as Winter Cherry, Withania Somnifera and Indian Ginseng, is a remarkable, miraculous and ludicrously helpful herbal medicine. The more scientists uncover about it, the more broad-reaching its benefits seem to be.

 

There is no shortage of Ashwagandha available on the supplementation market today. There is actually plenty of cheap powder that can be sourced internationally, so it’s a good thing to be aware of quality.

 

And when it comes to herbal medicine, the difference in quality between a low grade and high grade herb can be like comparing the latest Tesla to the original concept electric cars that were around 100 or so years ago.

 

Fortunately, Ghost have included KSM-66, made by Ixoreal Biomed from the root of the plant. This product is created without alcohol or chemical solvents, and is rich in a full range of phytochemicals.

 

Ashwagandha has been shown to increase thyroid function in people with underactive thyroids, which quite often contributes to weight gain ³.

 

If your thyroid function is a-okay, fear not. Withania still packs plenty of benefits when it comes to exercise performance and body composition.

 

Research indicates that Withania root can enhance upper and lower body strength and improve overall body composition ⁴. Part of how this herb supports body composition may be through improving mental health and reducing food cravings ⁵.

 

Research is also pointing at Ashwagandha’s ability to reduce cortisol levels in stressed people, and enhance DHEA and testosterone levels in men ⁶.

 

With these benefits, and many more, Withania somnifera is perfectly suited as an ergogenic aid that assists with optimal health, both mental and physical.

 

p-Synephrine

If you’ve been into sports supplements for a while, you’ve probably spotted synephrine on the odd label or two over the years. It has been a relatively common ingredient in fat-burning formations for quite some time now.

 

However, a questions mark has always been lingering around synephrine when it comes to safety, particularly given that it has some structural similarities to ephedrine which was banned back in 2004.

 

In 2017, Phytotherapy Research published a paper by Stohs et al examining the safety of p-synephrine. The researchers concluded that this natural compound does not have any cardiovascular effects at typical dosages, and is not a stimulant, which is good news for this ingredient’s safety ⁷.

 

Earlier rodent research had actually demonstrated a stimulant effect of synephrine. However, this effect has since been put down to the biochemical differences between humans and rodents.

 

p-Synephrine is a natural phytochemical found in Citrus aurantium, a citrus fruit native to southeast Asia, also known as Bitter Orange.

 

Despite the fact the synephrine is not a stimulant, it does have reported benefits when it comes to fat-burning. Research suggests that this natural plant compound increases our resting metabolic rate, thus enhancing energy expenditure.

 

The net effect of this was a modest increase in fat loss, which is really about as much as can be expected from any natural compound ⁸.

 

However, when you’ve got a product that offers a range of natural fat-burners, each offering modest effects …. well, all of a sudden modest becomes something else entirely.

 

Synephrine may assist in accessing fat stores for energy, reducing carbohydrate oxidation as a consequence ⁹. However, the net effect seems to be a total increase in calories burned.

 

 

Chromium & Insulin Sensitivity

Ghost Burn contains a range of other bioactive ingredients, including the ever-potent mineral chromium at a solid elemental dosage of 500mcg per serve.

 

Some of the most crucial roles of chromium is in improving insulin sensitivity, and perhaps even in reducing sugar cravings as well.

 

If insulin becomes more potent at the cellular level, we can access more fat stores for energy. This is because as insulin becomes less effective once it binds receptor sites, on muscle for instance, the pancreas pumps out more to create the same blood glucose reduction.

 

This means blood insulin levels increase for the same cellular effects and the same blood sugar reduction. And unfortunately, insulin, by nature, reduces our ability to burn fat for energy (lipolysis and beta-oxidation) and actually promotes fat storage (lipogenesis).

 

Chromium is one of the many nutrients, along with zinc, magnesium and many more, that helps to reduce high insulin levels, commonly associated with abdominal obesity.

 

Chromium also has beneficial effects on blood triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, making this an important nutrient not just for insulin sensitivity, but also for cardiovascular disease prevention ¹⁰. 

 

 

Burn it Up

This thermogenic fat burner from Ghost also contains a range of other nutrients that support fat metabolism and thermogenesis, such as Carnitine, Choline and Caffeine.

 

Of course, caffeine is one of those ingredients that we tend to understand reasonably well from a completely subjective stand point. I.e., we take it and soon thereafter feel the effects, unless of course your caffeine tolerance is through the roof.

 

Black pepper is an important ingredient that may help to increase the bioavailability of a range of nutrients, essentially enhancing their potency.

 

Finally, Coffee extract has been added, which is a source of natural caffeine and chlorogenic acids. Both of these nutrients have a solid evidence base to support their use as natural fat-burners.

 

In addition, coffee is an excellent source of antioxidants.

 

And at only five calories per serve, containing 1 gram of carbohydrates (excluding the fibre), a serve or two of this product certainly won’t cause any caloric problems.

 

Final Verdict

Ghost Burn is a well thought-out thermogenic powder offering a formulation that not only tastes amazing but delivers on clinical dosages and a range of biological effects.

 

You get more than you bargain for with Ghost Burn—in a good way. You can expect to access more fat for energy, support thyroid health and even reduce insulin resistance, all leading to an increased resting metabolic rate.

 

Additionally, sugar cravings and unhealthy food choices may be curbed, along with a reduction in stress and a boost in mood.

 

The 150mg caffeine in each 7.55 gram scoop of Ghost Burn is equivalent to approximately one strong cup of coffee, making this a moderate stimulant content product.

 

If your caffeine tolerance is seriously high, you might like to take more than 1 scoop, or simply cut back on caffeine for a while in order to re-sensitize.

 

To experience the benefits of any supplements, as indicated in clinical trials, you really need to take the product daily, whether you exercise or not. This is the best way to encourage your biology to respond in the most favourable way.

 

All in all, this product is as effective as it is attractive, with colour schemes and flavours as funky as the beneficial effects that can be achieved through regular supplementation.

 

References

1. Sugita J et al. Grains of paradise (Aframomum melegueta) extract activates brown adipose tissue and increases whole-body energy expenditure in men. British Journal of Nutrition 2013 Vol 110;4 p.733-738

2. Sugita J et al. Daily ingestion of paradise (Aframomum melegueta) extract increases whole-body energy expenditure and decreases visceral fat in humans. Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology. 2014 Vol 60;1 p.22-27

3. Sharma A.K. et al. Efficacy and safety of Ashwagandha root extract in subclinical hypothyroid patients: a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2018 Vol 24;3 p.243-248

4. Ziegenfuss TN et al. Effects of an Aqueous Extract of Withania somnifera on Strength Training Adaptations and Recovery: The TAR Trial. Nutrients. 2018 Vol 10;11 

5. Choudhary D et al. Body Weight Management in Adults Under Chronic Stress Through Treatment With Ashwagandha Root Extract. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2017 Vol 22;1 p.96-106

6. Lopresti AL et al. A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study Examining the Hormonal and Vitality Effects of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) in Aging, Overweight Males. American Journal of Men’s Health 2019 Vol 13;2

7. Stohs SJ. Safety, Efficacy, and Mechanistic Studies Regarding Citrus aurantium (Bitter Orange) Extract and p-Synephrine. Phytotherapy Research 2017 Vol 31;10 p.1463-1474

8. Stohs SJ et al. A Review of the Human Clinical Studies Involving Citrus aurantium (Bitter Orange) Extract and its Primary Protoalkaloid p-Synephrine. International Journal of Medical Sciences. 2012 Vol 9;7 p.527-538

9. Gutierrez-Hellin J et al. Acute p-synephrine ingestion increases fat oxidation rate during exercise. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 2016 Vol 82;2 p.362-368

10. Hummel M et al. Chromium in metabolic and cardiovascular disease. Hormone and Metabolic Research, 2007 Vol 39;10 p.743-751


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