Eight Weeks on Moderate Doses of Erythropoietin (EPO) Build a Bigger Mitochondrial Engine and Shed Some Body Fat, but is That Really Worth Taking the Risk?
Image 1: These EPO containing Recormon vials are highly popular in the French Pyrenees ;-) Fatty acid oxidation is certainly one of the buzzwords in the supplement industry. Interestingly enough, it is mostly used very indiscriminately for all sorts of physiological processes which are sometime more, sometimes less related to the actual process of β-oxidation, in the course of which the acetyl CoA are liberated from their original molecular bond. In fact, the majority of the currently available "fat burners" (those neat little pills with tons of fat liberating, but not burning stimulants in them) has no effect on the efficacy of this process. In previous posts, as the one on irisin and the utility of exercise induced increases of PGC1-alpha , I have already hinted at the importance of "building a bigger engine", or, more formally, increasing the oxidative capacity of your mitochondria in your individual battle against your love handles and the global battle a...