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A REVIEW OF CALORAD FOR WEIGHT LOSS:
Up to 30% of the weight lost on a typical calorie-restricted diet may consist of lean muscle. This is not good. Since one pound lean muscle burns approximately 50 calories per hour while at rest, and fat burns no calories, lean muscle loss should be avoided at all costs by dieters. Up to one pound of lean muscle is lost for every three pounds of weight loss on a typical calorie-restriction (or "starvation") diet, and this is why many dieters experience a slowing of their metabolic rate. This slowing of metabolic rate results in the "yo-yo effect" or cycles of weight loss and gain experienced by most dieters.
As a nutritionist, I originally became interested in Calorad® because the manufacturer did NOT require or encourage calorie counting, meal replacements, or otherwise restricted diets, and claimed no muscle loss with over 95% of product users. In fact, the manufacturer cited lean muscle GAINS in up to 30% of Calorad® users, while maintaining a gradual over-all weight loss.
I researched the product and found that Calorad® is a clear, liquid food supplement (but NOT a meal replacement plan) with a slightly off-taste, and containing 14 calories, 4 grams of protein, 0 grams of fat and 1 gram of carbohydrate per 1-tablespoon serving. Calorad® contains no herbal or chemical stimulants. The "active" ingredient in Calorad® is collagen hydrolysate (hydrolyzed collagen) which is extracted from either certified Canadian beef or fish (the fish version is Kosher). The product is inspected for purity, packaged into 1/2 liter bottles, and has a shelf-life of approximately 1 year. The source of collagen is connective tissue found between the meat and skin (in cows) and between the flesh and bone in fish. The hydrolyzed (pre-digested) collagen in Calorad® is not remarkably different from the collagen supplied by gelatin products such as Jello®, however is somewhat more refined and concentrated, and is made primarily from type-2 collagen, whereas gelatin products may have a mixture of all types and qualities of collagen.
Twenty-four percent of the dry protein weight of the human body is collagen. Collagen is essential for the suppleness of the skin, and helps to maintain the strength and integrity of joints. How, then, can ingesting this product facilitate weight loss?
When I initially contacted Essentially Yours Industries (the manufacturer of Calorad®) they had only two weight loss studies on the product on file. Neither were “rigorous scientific studies” (i.e. investigator and patient-blinded and placebo-controlled studies), and neither had been published in a peer-review clinical journal. The manufacturer, however, claimed a success rate of about 85% after 3 months of Calorad® use.
While I understood that lean muscle gains could be beneficial in weight loss (this is why exercise is beneficial in any weight loss plan), I could not see how consuming 1 tablespoon of a product containing 4 grams of protein and 14 calories with 7-8 ounces of water at bedtime could facilitate weight loss by building muscle. This skepticism was rapidly overcome when I observed at least a half dozen friends and acquaintances achieve a significant weight loss with the product (one lost over 50 pounds in 3 months), many of whom claimed improvements in muscle tone. Notable treatment failures included my wife, Lynn, who did not lose any weight on the product, but 3 years later continues to take it on a daily basis because of improved sleep and energy while on Calorad®.
I have subsequently become a distributor of the product, established a website (www.nutritionadvisor.com) and have probably provided the product to over 3,000 customers to date. I believe that Calorad’s success rate may be slightly exaggerated (in my experience about 60% of users claim success after 3 months, versus the manufacturers' claim of 85%), however many users of the product swear by its effectiveness, and continue to use it on a daily basis to sustain weight loss.
WEIGHT LOSS ON CALORAD AND THE 3-HOUR PRE-BEDTIME FAST
Weight loss while on the product is unlikely due to the requirement that the product be taken on an empty stomach (the manufacturer suggests restricting food intake for 3 hours prior to bed-time, when Calorad® is to be taken). This hypothesis is borne out by observational studies I have seen in weight-loss involving periods of fasting during the day to cut caloric intake. Most patients make up for these periods of fasting by increasing food consumption at other times. Additionally, there is data that suggests that “grazing” on food during the entire day may result in lower caloric intake than eating three designated meals. We intend to investigate this effect in a future clinical study mentioned later in this article.
MY THEORY OF CALORAD’S MODE-OF-ACTION:
I believe that the product works with Human Growth Hormone (HGH) by a mechanism of action that is similar to the way that insulin works with glucose at the cellular level. A diabetic lacks insulin and his cells are starving even though they are bathed in a sea of glucose. Glucose (sugar) levels rise in diabetes, but in the blood only. The cells of a diabetic are starved for glucose because this glucose is unable to be efficiently absorbed by the cell. A severe diabetic must receive insulin to live. Insulin is the “carrier molecule” that facilitates the entrance of glucose into the cell. Similarly, HGH levels decline as we age, and I believe require collagen as the carrier molecule into the cell. Since Calorad® supplies collagen, and has been associated with lean muscle gain on a scale which clearly exceeds the caloric and protein content of the supplement, the collagen in the product may be facilitating the entrance of HGH into the cell, where muscle-building and protein synthesis may be stimulated. HGH levels are highest during the first 40 to 90 minutes of sleep, and the manufacturer of Calorad® claims that the product is most effective when taken on an empty stomach right before bedtime. An empty stomach would facilitate rapid absorption of the collagen proteins into the bloodstream where they would be available to facilitate HGH absorption into the cells of the body during the first hour-and-a-half of sleep. This might account for both the muscle gain and weight loss seen with the product.
OTHER BENEFITS OF CALORAD
Several studies have been published (and are available on my website) suggesting benefit of the product among people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (a study published in the
Journal of
Science) and Fibromyalgia and TMJ pain (a study published in the Journal of Carniomandibular
Practice.)
We are currently beginning final preparations for a clinical study we hope to launch at Ohio Northern University which will include balance-beam hydrostatic weighing of participants to confirm fat loss and lean muscle gains among young female athletes taking Calorad® for 90 days. If you are interested in the results of this study, or in participating in a future study, please call us at: 800-378-1578.
Steven P. Petrosino, Ph.D., FACPN
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