Arachidonic Acid (as in Animal Test) Questions

[w_llewellyn]

Some of you may know me as the developer of arachidonic acid as a sports nutrition ingredient, which is one of the key components in Animal Test. Its been a while since I've been on the forum, and noticed you guys have been doing a good job of keeping organized running threads on key topics. I thought I would start an Arachidonic Acid questions thread, since there has been a lot new research over the past several years concerning this key anabolic EFA.

We have, of course, known for a while how important arachidonic acid is to muscle growth. What has been changing is our understanding of this EFA other areas. For example, we no longer see a need to restrict omega 3 intake. The two efa types may even compliment each other a bit. We have also made progress in our understanding of the importance of omega 6 efa's in cardiovascular health, cognitive health.. Maybe some progress in Dosing/stacking.. ARA really is an amazing muscle building ingredient, and I will keep doing my best to educate people on its potential.

I will keep coming back periodically to update this thread as questions come up. So fire way if you have any.



Best,



William Llewellyn

[naturalguy]

Awesome to have you here Bill. You are certainly a wealth of knowledge on the subject.

[w_llewellyn]

Awesome to have you here Bill. You are certainly a wealth of knowledge on the subject.

Thanks NG. I am always eager to talk about it, especially lately. So many good studies have come out over the past few years. I know you and the Universal team are very knowledgeable on the science behind the ingredients as well, so you probably have things covered. I am here though if anything comes up.

Best,

[music_man185]

does arachidonic acid still cause your skin to become very oily? i took a AA product a few years ago (x factor), and my skin was very oily for the whole cycle. i got acne very bad.

[J-Dawg]

Thanks for stopping in Bill. A common question that we get here is--Can I stack Animal Test with Animal Omega? I know there has been some new research showing that supplementing with EFAs (like in Animal Omega) can actually be quite effective with an arachidonic acid containing product like Animal Test. Maybe you could go into further detail on the benefits?

[LittleSpartan]

if AA like Test causes acne,
would avoiding eating too much oily food be wise ?
but then again
we need healthy fats to maximize the effects of testosterone right ?
i am guessing its acne vs t-boost

[w_llewellyn]

does arachidonic acid still cause your skin to become very oily? i took a AA product a few years ago (x factor), and my skin was very oily for the whole cycle. i got acne very bad.

It does happen. Not for everyone, but some do report it. It is probably linked to increased sensitivity of the androgen receptor, so in a way tied to it's anabolic effect.

You can try a lower dose. It tends to be effective on doses less than we usually recommend with XF, especially when taken in combination with other supplement ingredients.

[w_llewellyn]

if AA like Test causes acne,
would avoiding eating too much oily food be wise ?
but then again
we need healthy fats to maximize the effects of testosterone right ?
i am guessing its acne vs t-boost

There are probably some ways to clean the diet a bit. I am not really an expert on the implications on diet on sebaceous glands, acne, etc, but the is always a lot of talk about diet effecting them. In some respects though, you summarized the point well. If you are sensitive to changes in hormone activities, you will probably always be faced with balancing benefits vs. Side effects when taking supplements that work on hormones. FWIW, I find people often get desensitized to these changes as they get more used to them.

Remember that a moderate intake of both omega 3 and omega 6 fats is important for health. No matter what, we don't want to drastically restrict any of the essential fats.

[w_llewellyn]

Thanks for stopping in Bill. A common question that we get here is--Can I stack Animal Test with Animal Omega? I know there has been some new research showing that supplementing with EFAs (like in Animal Omega) can actually be quite effective with an arachidonic acid containing product like Animal Test. Maybe you could go into further detail on the benefits?

Yes, you definitely touched on a good point J Dawg. I think there is some merit to this combination. For one, a recent study in Japan underlined what we had been noticing for a while, namely that moderate omega 3 intake doesn't seem to appreciably antagonize arachidonic acid - not enough to block its anabolic effects anyway. At first I was always recommending a temporary reduction in omega 3s just in case, but some people notice additional benefits on metabolism, joints, etc. with the combination, so I am no longer really discouraging it. There is some speculation there may be a synergy too, but too early to say for sure.

I think you can always get to a point where the anti inflammatory effects of EPA/dha override the effects of ARA. It probably takes more than a normal level of supplementation though. I'd probably recommend a couple of caps a day while taking an ara supplement. It wont hurt, and it is probably good we keep a good balance anyway. You can always adjust the omega 3s a little up or down depending on how you respond after a couple of weeks.

[Optimus Prime]

So is animl TEST a test boooster and if sos, what does AA do exatly???

[w_llewellyn]

So is animl TEST a test boooster and if sos, what does AA do exatly???

One of the activites of AA is to increase androgen receptor concentrations. Since it supports the immediate anabolic biochemical changes in the muscles after exercise, AA works well in a wide variety of stacks, though its effect on androgen receptors may give it particular synergy with ingredients that support testosterone release.

I cant say everything about what Universal's r&d team had designed into the formula. Clearly it is solid though, and works very well.

[ontheEDGE]

Are there any negatives to AA? Such as taking it too often, or without cycleing it?

[LittleSpartan]

There are probably some ways to clean the diet a bit. I am not really an expert on the implications on diet on sebaceous glands, acne, etc, but the is always a lot of talk about diet effecting them. In some respects though, you summarized the point well. If you are sensitive to changes in hormone activities, you will probably always be faced with balancing benefits vs. Side effects when taking supplements that work on hormones. FWIW, I find people often get desensitized to these changes as they get more used to them.

Remember that a moderate intake of both omega 3 and omega 6 fats is important for health. No matter what, we don't want to drastically restrict any of the essential fats.

thanks dude
u just killed my paranoia
imma load up on omegas!

[w_llewellyn]

Are there any negatives to AA? Such as taking it too often, or without cycleing it?

AA is converted to pro-inflammatory compounds by the body as needed. If you have any inflammatory disease, or are in bad metabolic shape (insulin resistant, diabetic, etc.), the body may shift its use of AA to exacerbate certain symptoms.

AA has been pretty heavily studied, and there is nothing in the data that suggests a moderate increase in AA (by healthy individuals) for extended periods of time would have negative health implications. The only consideration, though, is that there seems to be certain health benefits with having a higher intake of Omega 3 fatty acids in your diet. I think, just for general health, it would be good advice to supplement with omega 3s daily, and keep a higher intake of O3s going year round. You can take breaks, if you will, where you cycle AA for the anabolic benefits, going back to the O3s heavier supplementation as a staple for the health benefits. This is what I would recommend, anyway.

Plus, AA seems to work very well in cycles. It seems, like everything, the body gets used to the higher AA levels if you stay on it for long periods of time. I think 2 good cycles per year is a great program, maybe 3.

[ontheEDGE]

Great, thanks for the reply.

[J-Dawg]

Here's the results to a new ARA study that was done on an elderly population in order to see if it would affect clinical parameters involved in cardiovascular, inflammatory, and allergic diseases.
http://www.lipidworld.com/content/10/1/241/abstract

Conclusion: These results indicate that ARA supplementation, even at a relatively high dose, does
not increase ARA metabolites, and suggest that it does not induce cardiovascular, inflammatory or
allergic diseases in Japanese elderly individuals.

[Back To Basics]

William L used to post here

That's pretty awesome ! Would be cool if he would post here more often.

[Tiger]

Here's the results to a new ARA study that was done on an elderly population in order to see if it would affect clinical parameters involved in cardiovascular, inflammatory, and allergic diseases.
http://www.lipidworld.com/content/10/1/241/abstract

Conclusion: These results indicate that ARA supplementation, even at a relatively high dose, does
not increase ARA metabolites, and suggest that it does not induce cardiovascular, inflammatory or
allergic diseases in Japanese elderly individuals.

Awesome thread guys - keep it up!

Any more studies that can get posted?

[BigChrisF]

Here's the results to a new ARA study that was done on an elderly population in order to see if it would affect clinical parameters involved in cardiovascular, inflammatory, and allergic diseases.
http://www.lipidworld.com/content/10/1/241/abstract

Conclusion: These results indicate that ARA supplementation, even at a relatively high dose, does
not increase ARA metabolites, and suggest that it does not induce cardiovascular, inflammatory or
allergic diseases in Japanese elderly individuals.

I think it should be noted that the Japanese diet is usually rich in anti-inflammatory foods such as fish relative to Americans and are not as disposed to inflammatory conditions.

[J-Dawg]

Had to bump this thread. Meeting with the man himself tomorrow!

[J-Dawg]

Here's a cool Arachidonic Acid update. New Study: ARA may reduce Alzheimers plaque buildup: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25881896