RapidCuts Shredded
Pros
- Kitchen Sink Formula
- Proven Ingredients
- Very Affordable
- ALLMAX is Legit Quality
- US and International Formulas
Cons
- Perhaps Underdosed in some Areas
- Yohimbine might not agree with Anxious people
- Different Country - Different Formula
AllMax RapidCuts Shredded Review – “Extreme fat loss…Pure unadulterated fat-shedding potency…Rapid, accelerated fat-shredding power.”
The company that manufactures RapidCuts Shredded – Allmax Nutrition – radiate more marketing hype from their receptionist’s toenail than most manufacturers manage from the entire workforce.
Basically, lots of shredding, melting, igniting and mind-blowing apparently happens when you take their fat burner.
Intense, huh?
Allmax describe RapidCuts Shredded as a “true all-in-one fat burner”. The bottle highlights one of the ingredients more than others:
– 98% pure N,N-Di-Methyl-Tyramine Hyperlytic Compound
That sounds purdy shreddy, melty, ignity and mind-blowy…what is it?
I’ll get to that in the ingredients section. First, let’s see what – aside from the obvious – RapidCuts Shredded is supposed to do for you.
By The Way: There’s a different formula for RapidCuts Shredded depending on where you live in the world. That’s because some ingredients aren’t approved for use in some countries.
America is a bit less strict (in certain cases) and so you’ll generally find the US version of a product to contain some compounds that are a little more controversial. This doesn’t mean they are dangerous per se, but you might want to be a bit more cautious when using them.
In this case, Yohimbe, N-MethylTyramine, and the aforementioned N,N-Di-Methyl-Tyramine are the main exclusions from the non-US version.
I’ll expand on this later, but it’s worth noting because if you’re specifically looking for the main ingredient on the RapidCuts Shredded bottle that you may have seen in a bodybuilding magazine or website, you probably won’t be able to get it if you don’t live in the States.
AllMax RapidCuts Shredded – US Formula – What Does It Do?
The formula contains 17 ingredients – seventeen – in what Allmax coin “Clean Label Protocol: Complete Declaration”.
Ugh! That means they display all of the ingredients and their associated inclusion dosages, rather than hide information in proprietary blends.
That’s 100% a good thing because proprietary blends are nothing if not a cheeky, not to mention easy, way of duping customers into paying through the nose for under-dosed crap.
Another thing Allmax plugs is their use of “sustained release thermogenics”.
Thermogenic ingredients are basically those which stimulate the nervous system, raise core temperature and force the body to expend extra energy trying to regulate the heat.
Much of the fuel for that process is supposed to come from fat stores. Thermogenics definitely work to an extent, but the fat loss mechanism is also where much of the over-hyped, exaggerated claims of “igniting” fat stores comes from.
By adding them in sustained release capsules the thermogenic compounds make it to the site in the intestine where they are most readily absorbed, and thus have the most effect.
Not only that but they are released/absorbed over a sustained period, allowing for a longer time of effect and ensuring less powder gets wasted.
In the case of thermogenic stimulants, this also flattens the spike effect on the central nervous system, which as you know can result in a crash afterwards.
Ingredients – Allmax RapidCuts Shredded – USA Formula
Much emphasis is placed on the inclusion of a 20:1 Pure Cinnamon extract known as Cinnulin PF, as well as Green Coffee extract and Ashwagandha.
These three ingredients feature in both US and International versions of the product. Green coffee bean extract (GCBE) is a trending ingredient in weight loss supplements.
It’s supported by scientific research but at present, the industry is the major stakeholder in that research and independent investigations are few. The results from clinical intervention studies with green coffee are therefore likely exaggerated.
Each bottle contains 90 capsules (servings) for a 45 day supply at 2 caps per day. For the daily total quantities, double the below amounts. Here’s the full US formula:
- 200 mg – Green Coffee extract
- 190 mg – Caffeine anhydrous
- 63 mg – Ashwagandha
- 30 mg – Olive powder
- 27 mg – Di-Caffeine Malate
- 25 mg – Yerba Maté extract (as Naturaté™)
- 25 mg – Green Tea extract
- 19 mg – Naringin extract
- 17 mg – Guarana extract
- 16 mg – Hordenine HCL (N,N-Di-Methyl-Tyramine Hydrochloride)
- 13 mg – Cayenne extract
- 12 mg – Korean Ginseng
- 10 mg – Cinnamon extract (as Cinnulin PF®)
- 5 mg – Kelp powder
- 4.5 mg – Yohimbe
- 3.6 mg – N-Methyl-Tyramine HCl
- 2.5 mg – Black Pepper
- 12 mg – Niacin
- 43 mcg – Selenium
- 60 mcg – Chromium
At first glance, that looks like a lot of ingredients at small doses, perhaps too small to do anything. It’s only once you combine them into similar compound groups, and then double those doses (for the full daily dose of 2 capsules) that it starts to make more sense.
By example, the formula contains Naringin extract at 19mg, Hordenine at 16mg and N-Methyl-Tyramine (NMT) at 3.6mg. All three are stimulants which increase each other’s effects on adrenaline production.
All are probably* effective at small doses, but combined and then doubled you have almost 75mg of a powerful extract.
*there just isn’t enough research to nail down the effective doses of these compounds.
Hordenine
Hordenine, by the way is the ingredient described as the 98% pure N,N-Di-Methyl-Tyramine Hyperlytic Compound, which I mentioned in the introduction at the top.
It’s a fairly under-researched compound but it’s been known to have some effect on the central nervous system since the 1930s (Action of hordenine compounds on the central nervous system – 1938)
Later research on guinea pigs and more recent studies on rats suggests it is a noradrenaline re-uptake inhibitor.
That would fit with the theory that it should be synergistic with other stimulants that boost adrenaline (epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepinephrine). Those others increase adrenaline while hordenine keeps it in circulation for longer.
A study in 1990 involving horses certainly corroborated the theories, given the subjects experienced effects clearly related to adrenaline increase.
The thing with hordenine is that there isn’t much data to go off. It looks as though modern scientific research – at least in the context of fat-burning stimulants – has focused more on its cousin compounds such as synephrine, hesperidin, octopamine
Other Stimulants in the Formula
Of course, naringin and hordenine are not the only central nervous system (CNS) stimulants in the RapidCuts Shredded recipe.
Caffeine in various forms
Caffeine features in the form of caffeine anhydrous, di-caffeine malate, yerba maté, guarana, and at very small amounts in the green tea and green coffee extracts.
Supplement manufacturers like AllMax believe that having several sources of caffeine, with different release timings can extend both the cognitive benefits and the fat burning benefits.
The process tends to work best if you do not consume caffeine habitually. That means reducing your coffee and energy drink intake to as little as possible, or zero, so that the different forms of caffeine in the fat burner have more effect.
What’s also true is the need to cycle off caffeine every once in a while – perhaps after 8 to 12 weeks – for a couple weeks to “reset” your caffeine tolerance level.
Yohimbine
We’re not done with stimulants. In fact, this one could be the most potent for a lot of people.
RapidCuts contains a refined form as well, standardized to 98% yohimbine HCl.
Yohimbine is bioactive that has the lipolytic (fat burning effect) and it’s relevant at very small doses. At the 2 capsule daily dose, you’re looking at 9 mg of yohimbine HCl.
By itself that’s not necessarily that big but given the presence of so many other stimulants in the formula, it’s potent enough.
Yohimbine’s fat burning effect is quite unique because it targets a specific receptor site on fat cells. And the type of fat cell it targets make up the majority of fat accumulation on the hips and thighs.
It’s as close as you’ll get, with our current knowledge, to a substance that actually targets love-handles and upper leg fat – those “stubborn” fat stores that are often the last to go otherwise.
Important note on Yohimbine: there are a couple of potential drawbacks to using Yohimbine.
It has been known to cause anxiety and even to induce panic attacks in users, especially those who are pre-disposed to such problems. It’s important therefore to take it slow with yohimbine and discontinue use if there are any signs of these symptoms.
It’s a powerful stimulant and may potentially cause some unwanted side effects such as elevated heart rate, nausea, hyper-stimulation, tremors, nervousness and so on. These are the probable triggers of the anxiety symptoms as well.
There are 2 pills for the full daily dose of RapidCuts, so I definitely recommend starting with a single pill to assess your tolerance. If that goes well for a couple days then perhaps increase then.
Most importantly, you should be sure you are in an good state of physical and mental health before embarking on an intense weight loss effort that includes powerful stimulants such as these.
Ashwagandha – Withania Somnifera
An Ayurvedic herb that’s beginning to appear in fat burners from a lot of the companies is Ashwagandha.
Ayurveda is the name for traditional eastern medicine, particularly from the Indian sub-continent and other parts of Asia. The herb is part of a family of cognitive boosting, stress reducing compounds called adaptogens.
Ashwagandha has a high content of withanolides, the bio-active molecules to which the herb’s benefits can be attributed.
Taken before an acute stressor, such as exercise or an exam it can help reduce the associated anxiety. As a daily supplement it can improve general well-being and feelings of vitality, and of course help reduce the stress of daily life.
What’s even more interesting is that Ashwagandha can help reduce cravings by regulating cortisol, one of the stress hormones responsible for emotional binge eating.
During calorie restrictive diets, the same mechanism can cause people to break their protocol and overeat – another reason for ashwagandha’s inclusion in the formula.
AllMax RapidCuts Shredded – Standard USA Formula – Takeaway Points
It might look fairly over-hyped and almost as though AllMax have simply tried to cram too many ingredients into those 2 little capsules.
However, those ingredients stack well on top of each other to form a potent combination.
RapidCuts Shredded, the US version, contains quite a few CNS stimulants that may have an additive effect on one another, or in the very least exert some form of synergistic effects.
With that comes a word of caution: you must take it steady with these ingredients, especially if you have stopped using any stimulants for a week or two in preparation.
I recommend taking one capsule to begin with, not the 2 capsule serving that amounts to the regular daily total. Try a couple days on 1 pill and see how you feel.
If you are at all concerned about the potential for anxiety side effects or panic attacks then I suggest you look for fat-burning supplements that don’t contain yohimbine. Again, if you have a history of these conditions then it’s best to avoid anything that’s highly stimulatory, including yohimbine.
Aside from that, if you are in good general health and you are looking for one of the industry leading products in the fat-burning / weight loss / diet pill category, AllMax RapidCuts Shredded is one of the stand-out supplements today.
Non-US Allmax RapidCuts Shredded International Formula
International formulas are nearly always a stripped-down version of the regular formula with some other ingredients to replace those that are regulated more strictly than in the US.
I looked at the Canadian version for reference and found the differences were kept as minimal as AllMax could probably manage.
Yohimbine, N-Methyl-Tyramine (NMT), Green Tea, Yerba Maté and Hordenine are all absent from this formula.
Two ingredients appear on the international formula that don’t feature on the US label: Cranesbill powder and Hordeum extract.
Cranesbill Powder
Cranesbill powder is an extract from the root of the Geranium maculatum plant.
Geranium extracts received attention in the last decade because of the persisting belief that the plants contain a natural form of DMAA (1,3-Dimethylamylamine), which in-turn has been touted as a potent, and potentially dangerous, stimulant.
DMAA has since been removed from circulation and any company manufacturing supplements with it are at the mercy of the FDA in the US, and their counterpart agencies in other countries.
The association of the seemingly innocuous plant and the stimulant arose from the discovery that one variety, Pelargonium graveolens, contains trace amounts of geranamine, which then became known as DMAA. Few other geranium variations contain even trace amounts according to some research.
The companies putting it in their fat-burners were found to be adding a synthesized version of DMAA and not an extract of any form of geraniums. They got the slap on the wrist for making PEDs, the products were removed from circulation, and life went on.
These days, you might see a geranium extract in fat-burners, but all they contain are methylxanthine compounds, which are in the same family as caffeine and theobromine.
It’s not particularly potent, and it’s nothing that some other natural sources of caffeine cannot do, but there’s still that lingering connection between the plant and DMAA that won’t go away.
I can’t tell you if that’s why AllMax have included it in the international formula here, but I’d put money on what they’d say, and it would definitely include the word methylxanthines.
Hordeum Seed Extract
The hordeum variation AllMax have included in the international formula for RapidCuts Shredded is hordeum vulgare.
Hordeum vulgare is barley. Barley is one source of Hordenine, the compound included in the US formula.
Without knowing what proportion of the hordeum seed extract could be considered hordenine, we can’t know the efficacy of the extract. There are however some clues in the relative doses included.
The US version contains 16mg of Hordenine HCl, where the International version contains 11mg of Hordeum extract.
Considering hordenine is found at about 0.2% of hordeum vulgare, the parent barley plant, chances of this being a potent source of hordenine are not high, especially considering the dose of the Hordeum vulgare in the international formula is lower than that of the Hordenine HCl in the US one.
Non-US – Allmax RapidCuts Shredded International Formula Takeaway Points
The international formula has some key ingredient exclusions compared to the US recipe, but then hasn’t really made up for them with the lacklustre Hordeum and Cranesbill exrtacts.
You definitely lose out on some of the intensity of RapidCuts Shredded if you can’t get hold of the US version.
That said, if you would have been a little wary of the yohimbine, hordenine and NMT then the international formula might be a better fit for you, not that you have a choice anyway.
Wrapping Up Allmax RapidCuts Shredded
It’s important to look at the formula you are going to buy, because it may differ from the one you think you are getting.
That’s not just because of the geographical differences as discussed above, but because of the different versions that are released over time. The store you are purchasing from might not have the most up-to-date release.
The current US formula contains a lot of ingredients – seventeen in fact – and they have been included in smaller doses than perhaps they would be in isolation, but this has been done for the stackable effect.
I have mentioned a few precautions throughout the review, but I’ll summarize them here:
Yohimbine is a potent stimulant and can cause some associated side-effects, including over-stimulation (rapid heart rate etc.). It can also cause symptoms of anxiety and may even induce panic attacks, especially in people pre-disposed or susceptible to such problems.
In fact, yohimbine is a reference drug used in scientific studies that investigate anxiety, stress and panic disorders to actually trigger those issues in the subjects.
On it’s own, it can be strong, but it has even more potent effects when used in combination with other stimulants.
Hordenine is an under-researched compound relative to others in the same category, and even the same family. It is thought to be a noradrenaline (norepinephrine) re-uptake inhibitor and as such should act synergistically with other stimulants that boost catecholamines in the central nervous system.
My advice to you: If you currently suffer from stress, anxiety, depression, or panic attacks, stay clear of anything containing (1) yohimbine and (2) anything containing a lot of stimulants.
Similarly, don’t take a product a product like this if you have a medical condition or are taking medication, especially for heart related issues or anxiety/depression. Some of the ingredients will not go well with prescription medication.
Talk to your doctor if you are unsure about anything.
If you are in good overall health and want to give RapidCuts Shredded a bash – and who can blame you – then take a single pill on the first day or two to assess your tolerance levels.
Finally, in order to get the most out of the product and to reduce chances of any side-effects, don’t consume any other stimulants, including coffee and energy drinks. If you consume them habitually (daily) then you will have built a high tolerance to them which dulls their effect.
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