Champion Nutrition’s WipeOut Fat Burner Review
Update: “WipeOut” is, apparently wiped out… Champion no longer lists this in its product catalog.
WipeOut™ is Champion Nutrition’s “4-Stage Fat Burner” that is claimed to ignite the metabolism, maximize “thermo heat generation” (whatever THAT means) as well as providing down regulation support. I don’t remember seeing a true “fat burner” from Champion before, and if that’s the case, this represents their first offering in a competitive marketplace.
How does WipeOut™ measure up? Let’s have a look at the formula…
Each two pill serving delivers the following…
1. The Thermogenesis Stack: Provides 600 mg of the following ingredients…
a) ThermaSine™: A proprietary blend created by Sigma-Tau. It consists of the the amino acid lysine bonded to l-carnitine fumarate. Since lysine is a carnitine precursor, there’s some theoretical value here; delivering carntine with its immediate precursor could be considered a “back up” system, if you could guarantee that the additional lysine actually converted to carntine. However, since lysine can be used in a wide variety of metabolic processes, this is not necessarily the case.
Regardless, there’s no evidence to indicate the fumarate form of carnitine is any more useful for weight loss than the regular stuff. And, if you check the carnitine review, you’ll see the clinical study results are inconsistent. Plus, the dosage used in the referenced studies is many, many times what is used here. Even Sigma Tau’s patent doesn’t reveal anything about this ingredient’s miraculous fat burning effects, only that this particular form is more easily handled.
b) Citrus Aurantium: Standardized for synephrine. Although the amazing weight loss benefits attributed to synephrine by retailers have long since been disproved by clinical studies, it’s still a pretty common ingredient in weight loss products. The most positive study I’ve seen (Obes Res. 2005 Jul;13(7):1187-94) concluded…
“CA (citrus aurantrium) alone increased thermogenesis, on average, by 4% (52), a response that is statistically significant but not necessarily clinically significant, representing an average 1 kg over 6 months.”
Check the full review for more information on synephrine.
c) Theobromine HCl: A caffeine related alkaloid found commonly in chocolate, theobromine is a stimulant, although it is less potent than caffeine. And while there is some evidence to indicate caffeine does offer some thermogenic (fat burning) effects, the same cannot be said of theobromine. Its benefits for weight loss are mostly speculative, based on its similarity to caffeine.
d) Cayenne: Usually standardized for capsaicin or capsiate (an analogue of capsaicin). Capsaicin is the chemical that gives chili peppers their “heat.” The theory is that capsaicin “revs” up your metabolism by creating heat, thus burning off extra calories.
There are several animal studies (see J Appl Physiol 95: 2408-2415, 2003, Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2001 Dec;65(12):2735-40, J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2001 Aug;47(4):295-8) that bear this theory out, and a couple of human based studies as well (see Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2001 Sep;65(9):2033-6, Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2006 Dec;70(12):2824-35).
However, this study (Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2007 Jan;292(1):R77-85. Epub 2006 Jul 13) says it best…
“Capsaicin has been shown to be effective, yet when it is used clinically it requires a strong compliance to a certain dosage, that has not been shown to be feasible yet.”
e) 7-Keto® DHEA: A metabolite of DHEA; a steroid hormone produced naturally by the bodies of both men and women.
The good thing about 7-Keto® is that it displays no apparent side effects (i.e. no conversion to testosterone or estrogen, and no effect on the sex hormones).
What’s promising about this ingredient is its positive effect on thyroid hormone levels in obese people — again, without any adverse effects of any kind (see Journal of Exercise Physiology, Volume 2, Number 4, October 1999, J Nutr Biochem. 2007 Sep;18(9):629-34. Epub 2007 Apr 5, Current Therapeutics, (7):435-442 2000).
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to determine if WipeOut™ contains the amount of 7-Keto shown useful in the studies—200 mg, given in two divided doses.
2. The “ECA” Stack: I had a hard time suppressing a chuckle over the name of this complex—the three ingredients here are a far cry form the original ephedra / caffeine / aspirin combination that gave this stack its name. That said, the “ECA” stack contains 600 mg of the following…
a) Caffeine: On its own, caffeine is a decent thermogenic with demonstrated benefits for weight loss (see Am J Clin Nutr. 1989 Jan;49(1):44-50, Am J Clin Nutr. 1980 May;33(5):989-97), although some data indicates it offers greater benefits to lean individuals that those who are overweight (see Am J Physiol. 1995 Oct;269(4 Pt 1):E671-8).
The combination of caffeine and green tea present in this formula is a good one, and has been shown to encourage even greater weight loss (see Obes Res. 2005 Jul;13(7):1195-204).
b) Green tea extract: There is a growing body of evidence that suggests green tea may be helpful for weight loss. A large part of these benefits can be attributed to a catechin called epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG for short. In this formula, Champion Nutrition doesn’t reveal if the green tea extract is standardized for EGCG, and if so, how much. It’s value, therefore, is difficult to determine.
c) White willow bark: Back in the days of the real ECA stack, white willow bark was sometimes used in place of aspirin, as a natural source of salicin. In this formula, it won’t do much for you… unless you have a mild headache, of course.
3. Mood And Focus Support: This contains 100 mg of DMAE, an analog of the essential nutrient choline which appears to have an effect on mood and behavior.
So there you have it; Champion Nutrition’s WipeOut™ in a nutshell.
How does it measure up?
Well, WipeOut™ suffers from a big problem common to many similar products on the market; individual ingredient amounts are not revealed, nor is the potency of the various standardized extracts. Green tea, caffeine, and even the 7-Keto® could all be present in doses high enough to conform to the various positive clinical studies, but we just don’t know for sure. If they are, it’s possible you would receive enough benefit from this product to justify the cost.
But who knows?
At the same time, the value of most of the ingredients in the Thermogenesis Stack is either minimal or speculative at best. So while this is not an extremely expensive product, in my opinion, there are simply more effective and better formulated products available in the same price range.
