Clenbuterol: reviews, use, side effects, and dangers
Clenbuterol is a non-hormonal anticatabolic that is part of the beta2-agonists, a class of drugs that can cause the muscles of the bronchi to dilate. It has the same effects as a steroid even though it is not from the same family.
Used for some time to treat asthma in humans, but withdrawn from sale for its dangerous side effects, it has become a drug for exclusively veterinary use to treat respiratory pathologies and especially spastic bronchopulmonary diseases in horses(Source).
Considered a doping product, Clenbuterol also called clen, is also used in humans, therefore illegally. For its many properties similar to those of anabolic steroids, it is very popular with high-performance athletes but also, and more recently, among women, for weight loss purposes. The growing demand in parallel markets is of great concern to the medical community, which also deserves to look further into the subject.
What is Clenbuterol and what is its history?
Clenbuterol was originally developed to increase the body mass of animals dedicated to consumption (source) or the performance of horses during horse racing. It is now mainly used to treat certain pathologies of the horse’s respiratory system. Human consumption is prohibited given the many dangers it poses to human health.
Its anabolic properties such as the increase in muscle mass and fat loss make it a very tempting product in the world of bodybuilding and even top athletes use it as a doping agent. The world of cycling is sadly known for its doped champions, followed by the trainer, subsequently sentenced to prison for having used this dangerous product on athletes in the 90s elsewhere part of the list of products banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (source) but also by the Olympic Committee.
A little more recently, it appeared that Clenbuterol is also used with young women who want to lose weight quickly. Hollywood stars have indeed claimed that their body transformation was due to nothing other than Clenbuterol.
What is Clenbuterol made of?
Clenbuterol includes components that, associated, will deliver the desired effects.
Guarana (source): known for its fat-burning properties, it is found in energy drinks usually intended for athletes. It is quite similar to coffee for its stimulating effects and therefore improves physical performance while providing a high level of energy.
Citrus Aurantium (source): it is this component that will activate thermogenesis, a process by which body temperature allows the body to use its fat stores to produce energy, and therefore to reduce mass greasy.
Caffeine (source): just like guarana, it is an effective stimulant to boost our energy levels and has diuretic effects.
Garcinia Cambogia extract (source): fat-burning ingredient that helps boost metabolism and thus increase the circulation of oxygen in the body. We find in the fat-burning food supplement of the same name: Garcinia Cambogia.
Nicotinamide (source): ingredient that will increase the protein synthesis of which muscle mass is mainly composed. This vitamin is particularly known for its fat-burning effects.
How does it work? What are the effects?
Clenbuterol sale stimulates both the heart and the central nervous system, which will cause the same effects on the body as amphetamines. You can buy this product by clicking on this highlighted link. The flow of blood will be facilitated throughout the body, it will also increase muscle congestion. Thus, the lungs will expand and the activity of the heart will increase. This is why athletes will not only notice an improvement in their energy capacity but also in their breathing.
Also, it will stimulate thermogenesis in the body. During this process, the mitochondria present in the cells convert glucose and lipids into energy. When consuming Clenbuterol, the internal body temperature will rise slightly and therefore more fat can be burned. Sweating will therefore be increased during the effort.
Numerous studies carried out in the United States (source), mainly on animals, have shown that Clenbuterol stimulates muscle growth while eliminating fatty tissue.
How Clenbuterol Works and how is Clenbuterol used?
Clenbuterol, known as Ventipulmin, is available as a granule, pill, syrup, or solution for injection. As we mentioned above, it is mainly used to treat diseases of the respiratory tract in animals, mainly in horses. Its legal human use, although of short duration, was known to treat asthma. It is currently prohibited even for this use because of the many side effects (source) that can endanger the lives of patients.
However, many athletes continue to abuse it, as do some women, influenced by testimonials from Hollywood stars who have consumed Clenbuterol. According to a survey conducted in the United States, and from one of the largest poison control centers in the country (source), the majority of people who have experienced serious health problems, or even death, as a result of taking Clenbuterol, consumed it for sports or weight loss purposes.
At what dose do some athletes consume Clenbuterol?
The cycles of taking Clen generally vary between 4 and 6 weeks, for both men and women, with a dose ranging from 0.06 to 0.12 milligrams per day. For comparison, the recommended dose for the treatment of asthma, when Clenbuterol was still authorized, was 0.02 to 0.04 milligrams per day (source).
On the other hand, it is dangerous to take it for 14 days in a row because it could cause saturation of the cortisone receptors, which would induce tolerance which makes it effective. Consequently, taking it alternately, two days ON and two days OFF, would make it possible not to saturate the receptors too quickly. It is also possible to counteract this saturation by taking antihistamines.
Contraindications and side effects
First of all, Clenbuterol is very harmful to the heart system. It can cause ventricular arrhythmia and other much more serious problems such as enlargement of the heart causing a heart attack (source). Over the long term, arterial blood pressure will increase.
