Epicatechin 250mg High-Strength
Natural Antioxidant & Myostatin Inhibitor - Epicatechin 250mg
$48.00
Epicatechin is a potent natural flavonoid found in green tea, recognized for its powerful antioxidant and myostatin-inhibiting effects. Formulated at high-strength 250mg per serving, this supplement may offer athletic performance enhancement as well as therapeutic support for various health concerns. Benefits may include increased blood flow and nitric oxide levels, improved insulin sensitivity, appetite suppression, lower cholesterol through antioxidant activity, enhanced blood pressure regulation, and more elastic skin. Epicatechin also shows potential anabolic, muscle-building properties owing to its possible myostatin-inhibiting abilities.
NOTE: Product is not shipping to Canada, pending NHP listing.
Enhanced Nitric Oxide Production. Epicatechin has been shown to improve Nitric Oxide (NO) production, boosting athletic performance and lowering blood pressure.
Muscle Growth and Strength. Through improved NO production as well as Myostatin inhibition (a muscle growth regulator), Epicatechin has shown improved muscle growth, strength and endurance.
Blood Glucose Regulation. Very similar to dark chocolate benefits, Epicatechin increased insulin sensitivity and glucose dispersal. Key benefits of this are faster muscle recovery, diabetes prevention, and a decrease in unwanted body fat.
LDL Cholesterol Improvement. Epicatechin has been shown to reduce cholesterol levels and blood pressure through NO production and antioxidant activity.
Benefits of dark chocolate without calories. “To get 150 mg of epicatechin per day you would need to eat about 120 g of the most epicatechin-rich chocolate bars, and more than 200 g of most dark chocolate.”
* All individuals are unique. Your results may vary.
Epicatechin – The Dark Force Behind Dark Chocolate
What is epicatechin? Epicatechin’s structure looks similar to other known catechins like the popular EGCG from green tea, but it has a whole new batch of benefits and properties
Cocoa extract and several other foods have been found to have a number of bioactive compounds, also known as flavonols, which have a unique ability to improve both health and performance. Of the many flavonols found in the cocoa extract, one particular flavonol known as epicatechin appears to stand head and shoulders above the rest for its health and performance-boosting properties.
Epicatechin is more formally known as (-)-epicatechin, pronounced “minus epicatechin”. It is most prevalent in natural sources of cocoa, ranging from 1.5-2.8mg of epicatechin for every gram of cocoa. The “darker”, more pure, and less processed the chocolate is, the higher the concentration of flavonols inside.
When ingested in efficacious amounts (as discussed in the dosage section below), epicatechin provides benefits such as
increased blood flow and nitric oxide levels,
better insulin sensitivity,
appetite suppression (based on a new study published in August 2016!),
lower cholesterol levels (due to antioxidant activity),
improved blood pressure,
more elastic skin,
and it even has potential anabolic (muscle-building) properties, with possible myostatin-inhibiting abilities!
Each of these benefits is discussed in the benefits section below.
Therapeutic uses of epicatechin in diabetes and cancer
Epicatechin is a natural flavonoid found in green tea. It has been reported to possess an immense antioxidant effect which contributes to its therapeutic effect against a handful of ailments. In this review, we discuss its therapeutic role in the management of two of the most important human diseases; diabetes and cancer. The consumption of epicatechin has been shown to reduce blood glucose levels in diabetic patients, while its anti-cancer effect was attributed to its antioxidant properties, antiangiogenic and direct cytotoxicity to cancer cells. Although the exact mechanism of action of epicatechin is still being explored, there is no doubt that it is a promising candidate as an alternative. The significance of this review is to highlight the importance of the usage of natural products (in this case, epicatechin) as an alternative for the treatment of two potentially fatal diseases which are diabetes and cancer. The aim of this review is to educate the scientific community on the role of epicatechin in ameliorating the effects of diabetes and cancers on humans while understanding the potential mechanisms of these aforementioned effects.
Does dark chocolate’s epicatechin content promote muscle growth?
A recent study has revived the supplement market’s interest in a compound called (-)-epicatechin, a molecule found in chocolate. This molecule is claimed to be a myostatin inhibitor. Myostatin deficiencies are well known for their biggest side effect: greatly increased muscle mass without the major side-effects associated with anabolic steroids. Hindering myostatin’s actions would be able to replicate this effect. Myostatin is a myokine, a kind of regulating molecule released by muscles. The ‘opposite’ of myostatin is a myokine called follistatin. Unlike myostatin, which suppresses muscular growth, follistatin indirectly promotes muscle growth because it hinders myostatin signaling.
While there are a few supplements that are known to interact with myostatin signaling (like sulforaphane), none had been tested in the context of human supplementation, until now.
This recent study examined the effects of (-)-epicatechin when supplemented by people.
3 Benefits of Myostatin Inhibition + Risks & Side Effects
In both humans and animals, myostatin is a hormone that acts as a sort of “brake” that tells muscles to stop growing, which helps to prevent them from getting too large. This is important because past a certain size, adding more mass to muscles doesn’t actually make them stronger – and muscles that are too large are also more vulnerable to damage. Over-developed muscles can also get in the way of other important organs, reducing their size and impairing their functions.
Myostatin is active during multiple stages of the life cycle. Before birth (during embryonic development), myostatin determines the total number of muscle fibers an individual will have.
As an adult, myostatin controls the way that existing muscle fibers grow based on diet, physical activity, and age.
Exercise directly impacts myostatin levels – especially resistance exercise that specifically focuses on increasing muscle strength.
In humans, myostatin levels also often increase with age, which may contribute to the loss of muscle mass during aging.
Myostatin levels are significantly higher in patients with diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and multiple sclerosis, which all involve the significant loss of muscle mass. Therefore, inhibiting myostatin may help prevent the loss of muscle in these diseases.
Myostatin is produced by the muscle tissue of the heart, and damage to the heart causes it to be released into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, myostatin reaches the muscles and causes them to weaken over time. As a result, patients with heart disease often also experience symptoms of muscle atrophy (muscle loss).
