Twinlab Ripped Fuel (With Ephedra) Fat Burner Review
Ripped Fuel with ephedra is now discontinued, thanks in large part to the FDA ban on ephedra products, frivilous lawsuits, and a large amount of negative publicity heaped upon ephedra by the mainstream press. I’ve left the original review up for your convenience (I will continue with it in just a moment), but in case you would like to read the reviews of current Ripped Fuel products on the market…
For the review of the current version of Ripped Fuel, click here!
For the review of Ripped Fuel Extreme, please click here!
If you’re interested in obtaining ephedra safely and legally, check out my review of “The Black Market Report On Ephedrine.”
OK, on with the Ripped Fuel review…
Ripped Fuel by Twinlab may not have the “sex” appeal of some of the more visible, aggressively advertised fat burners on the market today (like Hydroxycut, Trimspa, or Xenadrine), but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth considering. In fact, Twinlab’s Ripped Fuel is one of my favorite “oldie but goodie” formulations – nothing too slick, nothing too fancy, just a simple, proven formula that works.
The cornerstone of the Ripped Fuel formulation is the same ephedrine, aspirin, and caffeine stack that forms the basis for the success of most of the more visible, more expensive products. Long used by body builders during their “cutting phase”, the ECA stack has been demonstrated in numerous studies on different occasions to be effective, and (despite the controversy surrounding ephedrine – the most potent component of the stack), relatively harmless for those for whom ephedrine use is NOT contraindicated.In fact, a study published in the International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders (18(2):99-103, 1994) showed the ephedrine/caffeine combination to outperform dexfenfluramine in the treatment of obesity.
Note: Because some people cannot tolerate aspirin, it is left out of this formula. To get full advantage of the “ECA” stack, simply take Ripped fuel with an aspirin. Both ephedrine and caffeine are derived from herbal sources – mahuang and guarana.
Nonetheless, there is some controversy surrounding ephedrine and the herbal-derived ephedra, and I don’t recommend that anyone experiment with a stimulant based fat burner until they read my series of articles on ephedrine here!
Twinlab’s Ripped fuel also contains 200 mcg of chromium picolinate, a supplement helpful for balancing and stabilizing blood sugar levels, as well as 100 mg of L-Carnitine. The L-Carnitine, I’m afraid, does little to improve the efficiency of this formula – the evidence showing this compound improves fatty acid mobilization is pretty spotty at best (and you’d need to be taking 5X this amount to see any chance of results).
Luckily, Ripped Fuel’s foundation is solid, and it is made even more attractive by its very low price – under $20.
Bottom line recommendation?
Very worthwhile considering the price. Sure, some of the newer fat burner compilations might be a tad more extensive, but with the Twinlab’s Ripped Fuel, you’ll get 90% of the benefits and save yourself a few dollars as well!
