2,4-Dinitrophenol DNP In The World Of Bodybuilding
Originally used as an ignitor for TNT as well as a pesticide, researchers at Stanford University discovered that DNP causes weight loss in 1933. The late pioneer bodybuilding Dan Duchaine wrote about DNP for fat reducing weight loss and DNP has been used in the hardcore bodybuilding underground for fat and weight loss for decades.
Compared to other thermogenic, fat reducing, and weight loss agents such as the epederine/caffeine/aspirin (ECA) stack would boost the user’s metabolism 3% or the Clenbuterol/Cytomel T-3 stack which would boost metabolism 5-10%, DNP was seen to raise metabolism up to a relatively controlled 50% making DNP a seemingly miracle supplement. While clen/t-3, ECA, and others significantly raised the body’s temperature, DNP raised internal temperature 2-4 degrees F.
The main problem with DNP is its severe side effects. Exercise during a DNP cycle should be kept to light workouts. DNP has not been seen to cause cancer, but death is a posibility if DNP raises the user’s body temperature too high as there is not limit to how hot DNP can make the user’s body. The lethal dose of DNP is only 4 times the dose that is effective in losing weight and fat loss.
DNP is not an appetite suppressant, so a user will be hungry, and DNP users will especially crave carbohydrates due to glucose inefficiency. Some users may be allergic, and less than 1% of women who used DNP in the 1930’s for fat reducing and weight loss developed cataracts which led to the 1938 FDA 2,4-dinitrophenol DNP ban as a weight loss drug.
DNP since has been used off and on with scrutiny from within and outside the bodybuilding industry. Protesters of DNP note that DNP is not a forgiving chemical. Understanding what the effects, risks, and limitations of the substance are before trying to acquire and use DNP promote their hopes to deter potential DNP users, but the effectiveness of DNP to help with fat reduction and ultimately weight loss is hard to deny. A danger is the fact that DNP has a cumulative effect with a 36-hour half-life. DNP takes up to 48 hours to flush from a user’s system. Many bodybuilders adapt the “more is better” theory to their use of DNP severely increasing their risk of harmful side effects and possibly death.
Weight Loss with DNP – Scientifically Speaking
DNP accomplishes the astounding boost in metabolic rate via inhibition of the F0F1 ATP synthase molecule, located in the inner wall of each mitochondrion. While the electron transport chain still functions to pump hydrogen ions into the inter-membrane space, the coupling of the proton gradient to ATP production is rendered impossible by DNP. As a result, ATP production is dramatically reduced, and the energy is instead thrown off as heat. This results in an astounding production of heat; when using dinitrophenol, the athlete will radiate so much heat that it is uncomfortable to be within any proximity of them. Luckily, this heat does not fully contribute to body temperature increases, and is instead thrown off from the entire body surface, particularly the head. As a result, adequate doses of DNP will usually only elevate body temperature by about 1-1.5?C. This is a good thing for your central nervous system and other delicate tissues. If the heat produced by ATP contributed in a more direct matter to body temperature, effective doses for fat loss would cause body temperature increase. Nonetheless, overheating is a very real danger.
Dinitrophenols are a class of manufactured chemicals that do not occur naturally in the environment. There are six different dinitrophenols. The most commercially important dinitrophenol, 2,4-di-nitrophenol (DNP), is a yellow solid with no smell.
2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) is a supplement commonly used for fast and extreme weight loss in high-level bodybuilders (but is now gaining popularity with the general pollution as well). It is originally used as an explosive, a pesticide, as well as a range of other industrial processes including- dye, wood preserver, herbicide and photographic developer.
It was discovered to cause rapid weight loss in 1933 by Stanford University researcher Maurice Tainter who subsequently marketed the drug as an over-the-counter dietary aid (1, 2).
DNP works by decreasing the efficiency of cells to produce ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) (3).
This causes the mitochondria to use more energy to create ATP, thus, increasing the metabolic rate and increasing caloric expenditure which leads to weight loss (4).
Imagine that every step you took cost you 11-33% more energy. That’s why DNP is so magical at burning calories.
After a series of deaths in 1938 that were directly linked to DNP toxicity, the USA, UK, Canada, France, and other countries banned the sale of DNP products and listed it as extremely dangerous (5, 6).
In 1981 it made a reappearance when a product called Mitcal became available via private practice – however, the comeback did not go well and many side effects, as well as one death, were reported. In 1986 the physician who was administering the drug was convicted of drug law violations and finally jailed for fraud in 2008 due to unsubstantiated medicinal claims.
In recent years, there has been a resurgence of DNP use, largely in the bodybuilding community. Consequently, over 10 deaths related to DNP have been reported since the early 2000’s (7, 8, 9).
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