BSN Hyper Shred Review: Where’s The Beef?
As I read the sales copy for BSN’s new Hyper Shred™ fat burner, weight loss and energy pill, specifically…
“Users can expect clean energy and training focus support without the potentially negative effects of more cluttered formulas.”
…. I couldn’t help but shake my head. It’s takes a lot of “cojones” to make a statement like this when your own product jams 14 different ingredients into a proprietary formula that comprises a mere 460 mg. Actually, since we’re told that there’s 180 mg of caffeine per serving, that means we have 13 ingredients to divide into the remaining 280 mg. That’s pretty convoluted. Or to use another word, “cluttered.”
If you’re familiar with the reviews here at UltimateFatBurner.com you’re aware that one of the most common “tricks” supplement manufacturers use is disguising the true amount of key ingredients their product contains by lumping them all together under the “proprietary formula” label. Another is including multiple ingredients at doses that are far too small to elicit any effect (normally referred to as “label dressing”).
Both “strategies” have been implemented at the folks over at BSN with Hyper Shred, who pretty much sleep-walked their way through the development of this formula, which is nothing special; a revamp of a million existing formulas.
What’s in BSN’s Hyper Shred?
There are three core elements to the 460 mg Hyper Shred proprietary blend…
1. Thermodynamic Interfusion: An extraordinary name for a ordinary blend. It contains…
- Caffeine (180 mg): Yes, that caffeine. The stuff you get from coffee, cola, tea, chocolate and so on. It’s a standard, cheap ingredient and in almost every OTC weight loss pill on the planet, and Hyper Shred is no exception. Caffeine provides a boost of energy many people like and has demonstrated mild effectson the metabolism.
- Bitter Orange Extract (standardized for synephrine): Synephrine has been around the block a few times as a fat burner. Since it’s a chemical cousin to ephedrine, it was once thought to be a credible alternative for it after the ban in 2006. Unfortunately, clinical studies on synephrinehave shown it to have statistically significant but nonetheless under-whelming results, meaning it really adds little in the way of value to any product formula, short of the small energy boost it provides.
- Red pepper extract (2% capsaicinoids,Capsimax® brand): There are studies that show red pepper extracts can elevate the metabolism, increase satiety, reduce food consumption and boost fat burning. Only one problem; it takes a LOT to elicit such an effect (we’re talking multi-gram doses here). The amount of red pepper extract used in True Shred is so small, it is unlikely to have effect at all.
- Bioperine: Included for its ability to increase the bioavailability and absorption of certain ingredients.
2. Nootropic Stimulators: In this element of the formula we have undetermined doses of a series of ingredients that work to promote focus, concentration, and mental acuity.
These include bacopa, huperzine, D-L phenylalanine, and a handful of B-vitamins. Both bacopa and huperzine can be helpful for focus if they are included at the right dosage (the data on D-L phenylalanine is contradictory). Whether they are here, is a matter of some debate.
3. Insulino-Composite:This portion of the formula contains 2 ingredients which modify insulin response…
- Banaba leaf (standardized for 18% corosolic acid): Clinical datashows corosolic acid has benefit for non-insulin dependent diabetics. 17 mg of 18% standardized extract would be enough to deliver an effective dose.
- Chromium: Although the clinical data on chromium is contradictory and inconclusive, it does appear to help modify insulin function.
If there’s one positive element of this part of the formula its that neither of these two ingredients need to be present in a significant amount to elicit an effect. Therefore it is possible–but we can’t know for sure—that Hyper Shred does contain an effective dose of these ingredients.
So now that we know what’s in it, what’s the bottom line on Hyper Shred?
A glorified caffeine pill. While couple of the nootropics may be present at optimal doses, and same with the insulin-related ingredients, but we have no way of knowing. And without knowing, it’s impossible to truly assess the value of this product. If the product did contain optimal doses of banaba extract, bacopa and huperzine, you might be able to justify the $40 purchase knowing it’s going to cost you close to that to buy these three ingredients plus the caffeine in isolation–if these were the ingredients you were looking for in a product.
However, when you couple the fact that there’s a mere 460 mg of ingredients in this product with the supplement industry’s tendency to under dose products to “jazz” up product labels, I can’t say I’m too hopeful. Nonetheless, the combination of caffeine, synephrine and the nootropic ingredients at whatever dose means this product will probably work just fine for energy and focus… it’s just hard to justify the cost given the label issues.
