Thermonex has been discontinued by BSN in favor of a newer product, "Hyper Shred".
BSN’s Thermonex fat burner is one of two weight loss products produced by the company (the other is Atro-Phex).
BSN makes many popular products including Cell-Mass, NOXplode, Nitrix and Syntha-6 to name but a few (I’ve used many of these BSN products myself, and have always been happy with them). I’ve also reviewed another of their weight mangagement offerings, “Cheater’s Relief” (you can read that review here!).
Despite claiming that Thermonex boasts “the most advanced thermogenic weight loss formula to arrive on the supplement market in years”, this formula isn’t particularly revolutionary. The majority of the ingredients are pretty common.
That’s not to say this isn’t a very potent product that will deliver some results. However, those of you with a caffeine sensitivity may want to avoid this product altogether—or at least start your dosage with a single pill twice a day to assess your tolerance. That’s because there’s well over 300 mg of caffeine per serving of Thermonex.
That’s from caffeine, and the caffeine content of both the green tea and yerba mate (standardized for 25% “xanthines”) also included here.
Let’s take a closer look at the Thermonex ingredient label.
What’s in it?…
1. Caffeine: There’s a ton of the stuff here, as I just indicated. Caffeine’s fat burning abilities are well-documented, and as such, it’s a no-brainer addition to any fat burner (see Am J Clin Nutr. 1989 Jan;49(1):44-50, Am J Clin Nutr. 1980 May;33(5):989-97).
When combined with green tea (as it is here!) caffeine’s effects may be even more powerful (see Obes Res. 2005 Jul; 13(7): 1195-204).
Nonetheless, this may be more caffeine than many can handle, so new users would be wise to heed these instructions from the label:
“Begin using half the recommended dose (2 capsules 2 or 3 times daily) to access your tolerance. To avoid sleeplessness, do not take within 4 hours of bedtime. “
2. Green tea (reviewed here): There’s 375 mg included in this formulation, which contains 243mg total catechins and 112mg EGCG.
Green tea is one of the few fat burning ingredients that shows genuine promise for weight loss. (see Mol Nutr Food Res. 2006 Feb;50(2):176-87, Am J Clin Nutr; 81:122-129, Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity. 2000 Feb;24(2):252-8, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1999 Dec;70(6):1040-5).
A good addition to this formula, no doubt about it!
Other ingredients in this formula are not nearly as promising, however…
3. Octopamine: A trace amine for which only limited evidence for weight loss benefits exist. Additionally, octopamine is readily broken down by the enzyme monamine oxidase so is likely to have low oral bioavailability. Therefore it’s questionable whether the amount included in this formula has much effect at all.
4. Advantra Z®: A patented Citrus aurantium extract standardized for synephrine, an ingredient often referred to as “ephedra’s chemical cousin.” You’ll find many web sites and weight loss products touting the amazing weight loss benefits of synephrine. Unfortunately, the clinical data to validate these claims is in very short supply. For instance…
This study on “The Safety And Efficacy of Citrus aurantium for Weight Loss” concluded…
“An extensive search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, and the Cochrane Collaboration Database identified only 1 eligible randomized placebo controlled trial, which followed 20 patients for 6 weeks, demonstrated no statistically significant benefit for weight loss, and provided limited information about the safety of the herb.”
This one (Obes Rev. 2006 Feb;7(1):79-88) had this to say…
“While some evidence is promising, we conclude that larger and more rigorous clinical trials are necessary to draw adequate conclusions regarding the safety and efficacy of C. aurantium and synephrine alkaloids for promoting weight loss.”
Check out the full review of synephrine for more information!
5. Evodia rutaecarpa (98% evodiamine): Evodia rutaecarpa is a Chinese plant. Its fruit contains evodiamine, a compound alleged to help with weight loss by increasing the body’s production of heat, as well as reducing the body’s ability to store fat (evodia sports many of the same characteristics as capsaicin, the chemical that gives hot peppers their “heat.”)
The problem is, these claims haven’t been scientifically proven in humans. There have been some promising “in vitro” studies and some done on rodents, but the jury is still out on whether this product has positive weight loss effect for humans (see this PubMed extract for more details).
6. Naringin (reviewed here): a grapefruit extract that serves as a source of fiber, an antioxidant, and supposedly inhibits the actions of the enzyme cytochrome P450, which may be associated with obesity. Also extends/improves the effectiveness of some ingredients.
7. Yerba Mate: a source of caffeine and other xanthines (compounds similar to caffeine). It may inhibit the activity of the monamine oxidase enzyme, increasing the activity of octopamine (such as it is) in this formula.
Thermonex also contains l-tyrosine, diiodotyrosine and iodotyrosine—all thyroid hormone precursors.
Thermonex’s real weight loss benefits lie in its caffeine and green tea content. While a few of the other ingredients do show some promise, their benefits have not been conclusively proven.
And of course, there’s no peer-reviewed, double-blind study performed on Thermonex itself, so we can’t assume this blend of ingredients has any sort of synergistic effect.
Is it worth trying?
For what it’s worth, Thermonex is pretty reasonably priced, when purchased from an online discount retailer (a bottle of Thermonex costs about $26 on BodyBuilding.com). While it’s too “stimmy” for my taste, this might actually be a plus for those with a greater tolerance than mine (it was, after all, developed with the bodybuilding market in mind – a group that tends to appreciate stimulants more than the general population, due to their effects on workout drive and intensity).
If you’re one of those people, it could be worth giving Thermonex a look. Otherwise, check out our recommendations page.
