Cissus Quadrangularis no longer gives a false positive in drugs tests

A few years ago I wrote about the plant Cissus Quadrangularis (Click here for that write-up).  Last weekend I decided to check up on where we stood with the plant.  So I contacted the UK branch of WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) & got the reply that it now does not give a false positive.  This is great news, but it will probably still be worth checking with your own federation you compete in & probably your own regional WADA office as I'm not sure how recent this is nor how long it will take any updated tests to filter through the system.  I obtained the information from Sarah Foxton at ukad.org.uk (United Kingdom Anti Doping) & I'm not sure if it's the same worldwide, so check first!  Also bear in mind with any supplement the risk of cross contamination is always possible.
I suppose I should take the time to check if there is any update on the research on cissus q as I kind of lost interest when I found out you couldn't compete while using it.
Just thought you'd like an update as this is quite a useful supplement.

Veggies diets, likelihood of death & longevity

This started as post on the messageboard, but it got so long I decided to post it on here....

 Bill Pearl veggie & certainly not paleo (despite the outfit :-) 

Also still alive & still training well into old age

Here's a few abstracts I've been looking at lately.  The question: Are you likely to live longer with or without meat?  I think you may have an idea of the answer to that one, so let's just look at a few I found interesting:

First one is a 7 year study of 10,943, this one is interesting because it is based on people who are 'into health food', so the usual rebuttal of it is clean living veggies V average meat eaters doesn't hold true.  It is likely the meat eaters are 'healthy eaters' too, so it's healthy eating meat eaters V healthy eating veggies.  There was a negative association between being veggie & ischemic heart disease, so the simple inclusion of meat appeared to clog your arteries, also the 'fibre card' that is sometimes played "Oh it's just that veggies eat more fibre" was shown NOT to be true, fibre was not a factor in this study.  There was also an interesting finding that showed regular wholemeal bread lowered mortality from cerebrovascular disease, which is an interesting finding which could be looked into further, lastly it confirmed veggies had lower mortality from heart disease than even health conscious meat eaters! Abstract here (from there you can read the full text for free)

This study compares the components of a veggie diet to beneficial effects - less chance of heart disease, less chance of stoke, reversal of angina & heart disease, less chance of cancer.  The negatives & I quote here "...There are few adverse effects, mainly increased intestinal gas production and a small risk of vitamin B12 deficiency...." So, there is a possibility you may fart a bit more (which can occur at the start but generally decreases as you adapt to the diet) & make sure you take a multi with B12, that was it really, in this study.  I'd also include maybe a focus on getting your omega 3 fatty acids (ground flax, walnuts or hemp seeds first thing & if you want an algae based DHA/EPA pill some other time during the day is an option for hard training athletes & older people).  Again here's the abstract (you can again find the full study for free from there)

Here's the third study that peaked my interest today - this one had a line that jumped out at me, here it is "...Studies have shown a lower than expected death rate in vegetarians with a significant association between meat eating and mortality from all causes in men...", it then goes on to list a whole pile of reasons why being veggie is better.  I could only view the abstract for this one, but that one line kind of says it all for me - you can eat meat, but you have to start facing up to the fact that you are doing yourself harm over the longer term. Here's the abstract for that one.
If it wasn't for the power of the meat & dairy industry I think scientists would be starting to reach a consensus that giving up meat is the way to go for maximum health, both of ourselves & for the planet generally, but so much of the eating of animal products seems to be tied into habit, tradition, money & people having to face up to the fact that not only have they been doing damage to themselves, but individuals from other species & even the planet itself.

Finally this was not a definitive review of the research out there, just a few studies I stumbled across today, there are many, many more that catalogue a plethora of benefits that giving up animal products can bring to a person, just searching through the literature & it jumps out at you the amount of positive research about people who give up animal products, it's kind of sad that the message is lost & people wander off down blind alleys like the whole paleo, Atkins & now those anti-fruit diets that are springing up - science is pretty clear that fruits, veggies & grains are all beneficial for virtually everyone (Ok there may be some people with issues with certain fruits, veggies or grains, but we're talking generally right now), but people still cling to these fad diets that have no basis in fact they use vague things like "Oh people 10,000 years ago ate like this, so it must be right!" - No, even if people did eat like that 10,000 years ago (which isn't proven), they also lived in caves, in extended family groups where the dominant male probably beat the weaker family members into compliance ,lived short, brutal lives & could only ate food they could walk to find.  Does that sound like you (yes, you sitting in front of your computer, having a green tea from India, munching on a pineapple from the tropics, digesting that stew you made with foods from many, many places that was delivered to your door after you ordered it on the internet yesterday).  I prefer research - that shows interesting stuff like a direct link between bean intake & longevity (see here for that one), so paleo-guy how come that bean your avoiding appears to be the best thing you can eat for a long life?  How come Mr Atkins (who died an obese man with heart issues) would have you swear off beans when they force upon you the 'side effect' of a longer life?  Why would you avoid fruit when it is shown to reduce inflammation, increase health, lower the chances of some cancers & have zero negative effects upon the body?  Sometimes you just want to scream "Wake up, you are making yourselves live short lives, hurting the planet & causing the death of other creatures!" the only benefit is a few seconds of a taste as it is chewed, that is it!  The rest is just negatives.  I'm off on one again so I'd better end it there, hopefully you get the idea though.

Cissus quadrangularis: one plant - many answers

Sometimes something comes along that is so good it’s hard to believe. Imagine a plant that has been in safe use for centuries. One that heals bones & joint problems, lessens pain without side effects can aid in the healing of overuse injuries, help solve gastrointestinal issues such as ulcers or acid reflux, is full of antioxidants & vitamins, can help with fat issues. Would you pay for a product like that? Of course you would & to be honest so would a lot of us.
Well you’re in luck because this isn’t some fantasy of an ideal supplement but a real plant that has been in use & is recorded in ancient Ayurvedic texts & has been shown by modern medicine to be completely safe. Cissus quadrangularis is that plant (we’ll call it Cissus from now on just to save the extra typing :-). The science gets a little tricky & much of the reasoning behind what it does is a little speculative, but it gets results, even if the science behind this wonder plant isn’t fully understood. First of all it gives pain relief & anti inflammatory effect at around the level of aspirin or ibuprofen, note the effect is slower to come on, but it lasts & without any side effects associated with these drugs (1,2).
The bulk of the studies on Cissus has been on the repair of bone & these have shown that bone is healed at a highly accelerated rate (3,4,5). Some studies have used cortisol to stimulate bone breakdown & Cissus appears to halt the effect of this hormone on the bones. So, interestingly if cortisol is halted in bone tissue, what about muscle tissue where it has a similar breakdown effect? So, far there are no studies on this possiblity as far I know, but it’s one I have got my eye out for as the implications of a totally safe, natural anti-cortisol product that is actually beneficial is a very real possibility.
One of the primary effects of Cissus is thought to be an increase in collagen turnover, so with increased synthesis & replacement you could expect quicker recover from overuse injuries, cartilage & tendon repair & this seems to be the case through anecdotal evidence although as yet no formal research has been done in this area beyond the probable finding in bone research studies that it seems to be increased collagen repair that seems to be a major factor (3,4,5).
As well as these benefits you also get a product that is packed full of antioxidants & antimicrobial substances (6)
Let’s look at the ‘side effects’ now. First off is fat control. Cissus tends to make you leaner (7,8) The treatment of ulcers & acid reflux (9), it will ease ulcers & reduce or relieve completely acid reflux. There is also anecodotal evidence that after 15-20 days continuous usage there is increased blood flow to the muscles & so bigger pumps. This effect isn’t universal, nor is it proven scientifically, but a certain proportion of users seems to be getting this result, enough reports to make it seem worth a mention.
So basically you get a product that will help control pain with no side effects (for the vast majority of users), will aid bone health, appears to help joints & connective tissue, is packed with usable nutrients, antioxidants & antimicrobials, can aid stomach issues, can make you leaner & might well give you massive pumps. Do you really want anything more from one supplement?
Dosage & type is the final issue I’d like to cover. First of all there are a selection of preparations available out there. The active ingredient is said to be Ketosterone & there are many amounts out there from 5% Ketosterone to up to 50% in some capsules. So, you’d think the higher the dose, the better. But in my view this is wrong. Cissus is a plant extract, like many such products there are a vast number of phytonutrients that work synergistically together to produce an effect much greater than the whole. The purer, higher grade ketosterone lacks many of these nutrients & so could possibly be less effective than the less pure alternative. I would aim at a product around the 6% ketosterone mark myself, it is levels around this purity that many studies have used & so the effects are known & there’s little guess work. As for dosage, between 3-6grams per day seems to have the desired effect (although the very small or very large may need to modify the dosage up or down slightly depending upon their need) . An average sized adult should be aiming at around the 5 gram mark. Take half first thing in the morning & half in the evening. You can take it with food or without. I tend to take it away from food, but I don’t know if there is any reason you should avoid food, but it fits my timing plan well.
Are there ANY downsides? Well, there is one obvious one, & that is taste. It takes a few days to adjust to the taste. Some of you might want to cap them yourselves (or buy pre-made capsules), but realistically if you stick with it for a few days you soon adjust. It smells worse than it tastes, so don’t sniff before you drink! I suppose the other possible bad effect could be you are a non-responder or maybe an allergy, but apart from that I can’t think of any reason not to give it a try.

1 Indian Journal of Pharmacology 1984 Vol 16, issue 3 pages 162-163. An experimental study of analgesic activity of Cissus quadrangularis. SP Singh, N Misra, KS Dixit, N Singh, RP Kohli
2 J Ethnopharmacol. 2007 Mar 21;110(2):264-70. Epub 2006 Sep 26. Analgesic, anti-inflammatory and venotonic effects of Cissus quadrangularis Linn. Panthong A, Supraditaporn W, Kanjanapothi D, Taesotikul T, Reutrakul V.
3 J Indian Med Assoc. 1962 Jun 1;38:590-3. Cissus quadrangularis in healing of fractures. A clinical study. Udupa KN, Prasad GC
4Indian J Med Res. 1975 Jun;63(6):824-8. Studies on Cissus quadrangularis in experimental fracture repair: effect on chemical parameters in blood. Chopra SS, Patel MR, Gupta LP, Datta IC.
5 Indian J Med Res. 1976 Sep;64(9):1365-8. Studies of Cissus quadrangularis in experimental fracture repair : a histopathological study. Chopra SS, Patel MR, Awadhiya RP.
6 J Med Food. 2003 Summer;6(2):99-105. Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of Cissus quadrangularis L. Chidambara Murthy KN, Vanitha A, Mahadeva Swamy M, Ravishankar GA.
7 Lipids Health Dis. 2006 Sep 2;5:24. The use of a Cissus quadrangularis formulation in the management of weight loss and metabolic syndrome. Oben J, Kuate D, Agbor G, Momo C, Talla X.
8 Lipids Health Dis. 2008 Mar 31;7:12. The use of a Cissus quadrangularis/Irvingia gabonensis combination in the management of weight loss: a double-blind placebo-controlled study. Oben JE, Ngondi JL, Momo CN, Agbor GA, Sobgui CS.
9 Journal of Medicinal Food. September 1, 2004, 7(3): 372-376. doi:10.1089/jmf.2004.7.372. Mallika Jainu, C.S. Shyamala Devi.