Preposterone
Paul forwarded a note to me from a reader today, asking me to look into a couple of supplements from a company I’d never heard of before: EP2. The supps are marketed through GNC, so, I ambled on over to there to check out the product labels – as they weren’t available on the company site.
One of the supps, “Andritest,” really blew my mind. Here’s the label…
I had to do a double take – because I could NOT get over what I was seeing…
I’ll let EP2 tell the story here, for a moment…
ANDRITEST™ has been clinically evaluated using the Gold Standard method of research – a randomized, cross-over, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Previously-trained test subjects consumed either a single-dose of ANDRITEST™ or placebo and were evaluated over a 12-hour period. ANDRITEST™ subjects significantly increased total testosterone by a 376% change over the placebo group in only 12 hours…
A 376% change? Now, most reasonable people would think a “376% change” would mean a 376% increase…but, that ISN’T what EP2 means by this number.
The label actually tells the story…if you stop looking at that 376% number on the front and actually LOOK at the graphs provided on the back. A bar graph displays a T increase of ~6%-7% in the placebo group, and a ~26%-27% increase in the Andritest group…and this is where that 376% comes from.
Now, how do you manage to get 376% from what appears to be – at best – a less than 30% increase in T over baseline?
Easy!!! 376% is actually the percentage difference in the percentage change between the two groups!
Get it???
If you don’t, I don’t blame you. In other words, the (approximate) 27% increase in the Andritest group is 376% bigger than the (approximate) 7% increase in the placebo group.
No, really…
Of course, this number completely obscures reality. Assuming the figures are legit, it appears the test actually measured a (presumably) statistically significant, but not-all-that-massive T increase in the Andritest group over baseline. Yes, it was bigger than the one the placebo group had, but still not very big when considered in real terms. So, EP2 massaged the data to extract a bigger, much more impressive-looking number.
There was about a 27% increase in total T over baseline in the Andritest group. Period. This is confirmed by the other graph, which displays an increase in T from approx. 400,000 pg/dL to 519,000 pg/dL. Those are BIG numbers, but the actual increase is still less than 30% over the starting value.
Hey – wait a sec…those ARE big numbers, aren’t they?
Too big. Something’s not quite right with those units, methinks. 😀
Problem is, clinical lab measurements of total T done here in the US typically use units of NANOGRAMS per dL (deciliter) – not PICOGRAMS – which are a thousand times smaller. Thus, using picograms makes the numbers 1,000X bigger – lol. This is a trick I’ve written about before…looks good on a label, I suppose, but makes it tougher to “see” the numbers in realistic terms.
So let’s whittle them down to size…by using the correct units. In clinical laboratory terms, we’re talking about an increase from approx. 400 ng/dL to 519 ng/dL.
And 519 ng/dL is hardly “jacked” – the normal reference range for testosterone varies slightly from lab to lab, but 241 ng/dL – 827 ng/dL is the one used on my husband’s blood tests from the Life Extension Foundation. 519 ng/dL is well within normal range for testosterone.
So, in 12 hours, Andritest elevated an average T level to a somewhat higher, but still very average T level.
Big deal.
I love this statement about Matt Spino, Chief Marketing Officer of EP2:
Through EP2 he plans to act as a consumer advocate in a market crowded by over-hyped marketing, over-hyped ingredients, deceitful labeling and other unethical business practices. Further, it is his goal to be the voice for the consumer and provide honest information…
If Matt really wants to strike a blow against “deceitful labeling” – perhaps he should start with his own product.
And If I were a man looking for a significant T boost, I’d pick up a bottle of Novedex XT from bodybuilding.com – costs less and is more effective to boot.
