I take a pre workout stimulant called jack3d, which its main active ingredient is 1,3 dimethylamylamine. There have been reports of heart attacks etc due to this product. If you take it as suggested, there should be no issues unless u have a medical condition. So, the FDA cracked down and it was taken off the shelves for a while. I don't believe it had ever been FDA approved. So my question is...for those who understand chemistry well, is this truly harmful to me? It is a caffeine derivative. I weight lift and this stim helps with focus and energy mainly.
And therefore, like caffeine, it is a vasoconstrictor. Swelling is caused by dilation of blood vessels, so a vasoconstrictor counters this effect. The most common use of vasoconstrictors is for respiratory ailments, since they typically manifest swelling of the tissue in the nostrils, bronchi, etc, reducing the diameter of the passages and thereby making breathing difficult.
But an obvious side effect of vasoconstrictors is an increase in blood pressure, since the diameter of the blood vessel is reduced, forcing the heart to pump more energetically.
To take a vasoconstrictor while exercising may place stress on the heart. Be sure to keep one eye on the pulse monitor of your treadmill (or whatever machine you're using). If it doesn't have one, buy your own or switch to a gym that has them.
If you all agree it is harmful then I will stop taking. But, when the FDA approves drugs like Viagra and the like...I have to wonder what its motive is for pushing to ban this product?
But Viagra and other ED medications are
vasodilators. By increasing the diameter of the blood vessels in the male organ, more blood is pumped through them, causing the surrounding tissues to expand. The effect is not local, and men with respiratory ailments often find that Viagra causes the tissue in their nostrils to swell so that they have to breathe through their mouth. This is not altogether inconsistent with the desired primary effect, so they rarely complain.
This is exactly the opposite of vasoconstriction. Other than the aforementioned respiratory effect, the only other side effect of vasodilators is low blood pressure. This is not a common problem so it's generally ignored after the patient is given a thorough physical exam. If the problem occurs it's not going to cause a disaster so long as he stops taking it.
I'm not a doctor. If you were a member of my family I'd probably figure that the risk of Jack3d is low enough that you should be allowed to make your own decision. But please do a proper risk analysis. Find the statistics on deaths and lesser but still bad consequences, and decide if that risk is worth the benefit.
I exercise regularly and I don't use any drugs to affect my workout--except caffeine if it happens to be a day when I've been naughty. (Caffeine is a dangerous drug for me and I've been a recovering addict for fifty years.) Some days I feel like Superman, other days I feel like a slug, and I just settle for whatever level of workout I get on a given day.
So if you were a member of my family what I'd really ask you is why you think you need a supplement. Just go to the damn gym and do the best you can. Being there provides the benefit. You don't have to spike it with drugs.
I have to ask if one of the things in the back of your mind is weight loss. If it is, I'll tell you the secret to successful weight loss: do it sloooooowly. Don't try to lose more than one or two pounds a month. Figure out what the maintenance diet is for your target weight and start eating it. Then when you reach your target you'll already be eating the right amount. You won't have to start eating more, and get such a buzz from the extra food that you start overeating again.
Also, by going on a starvation diet you tell the Caveman inside you (a few hundred generations of evolution is not enough, we're all still Cavemen) that there's a famine! So your body starts becoming more efficient. You sleep more, lose nervous habits, move more economically, and your digestion becomes more efficient. If you do this more than about once or twice in your whole life, your Caveman says, "Hell, this is a rotten place we live in; the food supply is unreliable." So your body goes into
permanent famine mode and you'll be able to gain weight on really tiny meals. I know a woman who is 5'7" and not petite, and she gains weight on 1300 calories. Too many years of dieting!
