Guanidinopropionic Acid
A creatine analog. GPA has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity and glucose clearance in animal experiments. It’s often added to creatine transport formulas for this reason…despite the fact that it also inhibits creatine uptake and – in higher amounts – depletes creatine phosphate in muscle cells (which is why other GPA analogs have been investigated as anti-diabetic/anti-obesity agents).
D-Pinitol
Also known as Inzitol™ and 3-O-methyl-D-chiro-inositol. D-Pinitol is known to enhance creatine uptake in skeletal muscle, due to its insulin-like properties. However, in the one human study performed, a dose of 1.0 g (500 mg taken twice per day), was used to achieve this effect. Women w/PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) sometimes use D-pinitol as an alternative to the closely related D-chiro-inositol, to treat insulin resistance and other characteristic metabolic symptoms.
Beta-Sitosterol
A plant compound with a structure similar to cholesterol. It has therapeutic uses for reducing serum cholesterol and treating the symptoms of benign protstatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate).
Beta-sitosterol is one of the plant sterols used in functional foods designed to reduce serum cholesterol (margarine, yogurt).
Pueraria lobata
See Kudzu.
Kudzu
This is the common name for Pueraria lobata. Kudzu is a vine that’s an invasive plant pest. Just like soy, it contains the isoflavones daidzein, daidzin, and genistein, which have antioxidant and weak estrogenic activities.
