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DOSES AND CYCLE RECOMMENDATIONS:
DNP is not a drug for everyone, definitely not the beginner who
just wants to lose a couple of pounds to look better with the
shirt off Without proper education on its use, DNP can be
deadly.
There are 2 forms of DNP currently on the market, pure
crystalline (100% dry) DNP, and powdered DNP (usually 5-10%
moisture). The crystalline version is stronger and more
effective, but more caution needs to be used while using it. It
acts much faster, and the side effects also subside faster as
well.
Users recommend between 2-6mg/kg-bw (for men) and the half of it
(for women) per day for crystalline DNP and 4-10mg/kg-bw for
powdered DNP. A beginner should always start off at the low end
to assess tolerance. Trying this for the first time 2 weeks
before a competition can be disastrous. A 220lb man is 100kg
exactly. This means that if he is a first time user of
crystalline DNP then he should take 200mg per day. It is
suggested to stay with this dose for at least 3 days to keep it
safe, then slowly increase the dosage. 400mg/day can be used,
but never take it all at once. Always split up the doses as far
as possible, so for 400mg/day that would mean taking 1 capsule
(200mg) every 12 hours. Only on rare occasions should someone
attempt 600mg/day with the crystalline capsules unless it’s used
by a very experienced user and all the vital signs are closely
monitored.
Cycle length depends largely on the individual. At first it was
thought that a DNP cycle should be limited to 10 days at the
most because the thyroids shuts down and t4 to t3 conversion in
the liver becomes nil, however, this is not the case. 10 days is
a very arbitrary number. A person taking 200mg/day would have
almost completely normal thyroid function at day 10 whereas if
s/he took 600mg/day, t3 would be non existent after 3 days.
While the t3 hormone plays a very large role in determining fat
loss, it should not be a big concern while on DNP because the
fat burning capabilities of DNP will more than compensate for
the suppressed t3 levels. An advantage to suppressed t3 levels
is that the body will burn much less muscle while still burning
fat on DNP. Normal t3 and thyroid function is restored within a
week of stopping DNP.
Ok, so how long should you do it? It is suggested to play around
with it and just go by how your body feels. It is not a bad idea
to just take 2-3mg/kg-bw for 3-4 weeks. This causes less side
effects and will have the same overall effect, but it will just
take a bit longer. After you get used to 2-3mg/kg-bw, then
another option is to up the dose by 1 cap and carrying that out
for as long as your body can handle it because fatigue and a
host of other side effects will eventually overtake you. If 2
caps/day is still too mild then repeat the above step with 3
caps per day spread out into 8-hour intervals.
Because of some water retention caused by DNP, users typically
find that they look their best 4-7 days after finishing their
cycle when the water has normalized.
For competitors:
Take the last DNP capsule 8 days prior to the competition date.
Carb deplete after 3 days after the last cap. Carb load
immediately 2 days prior to competition and stop fluid intake.
This should allow for excellent glycogen super compensation
within the muscles for a fuller look.
The effects & Symptoms of a 2 weeks DNP Cycle:
Day 1 - No symptoms, you might feel some carbohydrate cravings or temperature elevation.
Day 2 - Decreasing T4-T3 conversion.
elevation of you temperature, and you will notice some heat radiation.
Days 3-5 - Your body temperature is elevated, with all the
expected effects from using DNP.
With some water retention.
Days 6-10 - Definite water retention with other symptoms. You
will feel fatter
due to having "flatter" muscles (glycogen depletion) and holding water.
Day 10 - The intake of last DNP dose.
Days 11-12 - Your system is getting rid of DNP slowly with the
present of all symptoms.
Days 13-14 - Water will leave your body. Try to use a mild diuretics
to help it.
You will probably notice perceived greater
muscular and
cardiovascular endurance.
4 days After the final dose you will look at your best.
The storage of glycogen will be compensated now and the water retention should be gone.
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DOSES AND CYCLE RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Carb deplete for 3 days prior to DNP because DNP will take a
good 2-3 days to deplete the body's glycogen stores before it
can efficiently burn stored fat.
2. Once on DNP eat an isocaloric diet (33% prot, 33% fat, 33%
carbs) and keep the calories at around maintenance level.
Restricting carbs will put the body in a state of hypoglycemia
and can be dangerous to the health and also the mental well
being. DNP also mimics insulin in that it shuttles glucose into
the cells in the absence of glucose. This is great for fat
burning, but when carb intake is too low the blood glucose can
be at dangerously low levels as well. a more experienced user
can switch up this ratio a bit. Either way it won't make a huge
difference because it's mostly about the total calorie
consumption.
This is what I'm proposing to be the optimal DNP diet (for a
high dose short cycle(s) and the end of a low dose extended
cycle only):
50% carbs, 35% protein, 15% fat. It's not a misprint; carbs
are essential for DNP to work properly. Keep in mind that it’s
only the percentage that changes and not the total calories.
From this point it will get a bit complicated, but read over it
a few times and you will get the gist of it. We will also try to
keep it as simple as possible.
When fatty acids are broken down they need to be fed into an
energy cycle for a complete break down so that more can be
broken down later. The beginning of this cycle is called the
citric acid cycle. Fats enter the citric acid cycle as a
2-carbon molecule called acetate and to start off this cycle it
needs to bind to another 2-carbon molecule called oxaloacetate.
Without enough oxaloacetate this cycle cannot proceed. With
little oxaloacetate this cycle is slowed down, thus fat burning
is slowed down. Where does oxaloacetate come from? Several
sources, but the main one is from pyruvate, the end product of
the first step of glucose (carbohydrate) metabolism. Without
enough glucose in the blood, fat burning becomes very
inefficient.
This is not to say the more carbs we eat the more pyruvate we
can generate, therefore the more fat is burned. We only need
adequate levels of pyruvate to supply the citric acid cycle of
the necessary starting material for fat to enter, and then it
will eventually proceed to be completely oxidized in the
electron transport chain.
Don’t worry about eating too many carbs while on DNP because
these carbs cannot be stored and are immediately used for fuel
to try to replenish cellular ATP. While keeping the calorie
level at maintenance level, it would be most beneficial to eat
about 55% calories from carbs, 35% protein and 10% fat (mostly
unsaturated). It may be optimal for fat burning to raise the
carbs a bit more, but the protein should be high enough so that
muscle catabolism is kept at a minimum when DNP creates the huge
calorie deficit in the body.
The least effective form of dieting while on a DNP cycle is a
fat diet, or ketogenic diet, but the high amounts of fat helps
to slow gastric emptying, so you feel more satisfied for a
longer period of time. This is one reason why I first
recommended the isocaloric diet to beginners who may have
trouble controlling their appetite while on DNP.
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SIDE EFFECTS:
Heat- you will feel very hot while taking this. It is very
similar to jogging a slow pace all day long, so be prepared
to sweat a little. In some people a lot of sweat is not too
uncommon. Body temperature will rise to about 101 degrees
and sustain there. This is not too out of the ordinary. This
increase in core body temperature causes a vasodilation
effect throughout the body to help cool you off. However,
evaporative cooling with the aid of vasodilation will not be
effective when the surrounding environment does not allow
for proper cooling. For example, being out in the summer sun
when it's 90 degrees and high humidity can cause you to
rapidly overheat to dangerous levels. Avoid hot environments
at all costs. Stay indoors if you choose to use it in the
summer and only go outside briefly when it's absolutely necessary. Dehydration can cause the body to
not regulate temperature properly and rapidly overheat as well.
Drink 1-3 gallons of water daily depending on DNP dose.
Water retention- this is very closely associated with heat. When
the vasodilation occurs due to the rise in body temperature,
blood vessels expand, causing an increase in blood volume and
subsequent water retention. Also, an increased blood volume
leads to decreased pressure, which would lead the body to try to
store more sodium and cause even more water retention. All the
water retention will subside within a week after stopping the
DNP dosage, but often sooner than that. Popular diuretics are
not very effective against DNP induced water retention because
these diuretics mainly focus on one aspect of diuresis and that
is suppression of the anti diuretic hormone (ADH), but the cause
of water retention from DNP is independent of ADH. While
diuretics will get rid of some naturally stored water, it isn’t
getting rid of enough water that would make a competitor
presentable on stage and would put the user in jeopardy of death
or serious health complications due to potassium depletion.
Lethargy- This is the biggest problem associated with DNP and is
somewhat associated with the insomnia that I will cover later.
As you have learned DNP depletes the body of ATP and without ATP
you have no energy. It literally feels like you are jogging a
marathon all day long without a break. Of course the extent of
the lethargy will depend on the dose, but it is not uncommon for
people to be almost bed ridden. Walking to the kitchen to get
food will be a chore. Even eating the food can become very
laborious. This will subside within 24-36 hours of stopping the
doses.
Insomnia- sleeping will be very difficult for some people, not
because of the familiar central nervous stimulation experienced
with ephedrine and caffeine supplementation, but because it gets
so hot. Many people including myself find it very difficult to
sleep when we are sweating in our beds. The best way to combat
this is to sleep with 2 fans from both sides of the bed and the
air conditioner cranked up. Obviously if you have a significant
other that you sleep with then it would be wise to sleep in
separate beds for parts of the cycle.
Shortness of breath/ rapid breathing- this is common when the
dose is at the upper limits. The breathing will seem like you
are jogging even while you are sitting down and doing nothing.
It will seem like you can never catch your breath. Doing
anything active will make you even more out of breath and this
can become dangerous. When breathing becomes irregular, you
should avoid doing any aerobic or strenuous activities. This
means no working out (not like you’ll have any energy to do so
anyway).
Dehydration- a very serious side effect. If hydration levels are
not adequate it can predispose the body to severe overheating
and possibly death. Water needs to be replenished on the order
of 1-3 gallons per day.
Electrolyte depletion- this is caused by excessive water and
salt loss through sweating. Drinking water will replace fluids,
but not electrolytes. Best way to replenish salts is to drink v8
juice. This can lead to a host of other problems if not remedied
including excessive lethargy, low blood pressure, poor cardiac
function, nausea, diarrhea.
Nausea- This is a common side effect that afflicts roughly
around 30% of the users. There could be several causes to this:
dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, low blood pH, and other
unknown (by me) mechanisms.
Diarrhea- possibly due to electrolyte imbalance and undissolved
DNP that passes onto the large intestine causing osmotic
imbalances. If this becomes too problematic the only thing to do
is just to decrease the dosage or stop completely.
Headache- largely due to dehydration. In most people, forcing
down a liter of fluids will alleviate the headaches.
Dry/ sore throat- I don’t know the cause of this one, but it is
pretty common among users and seems to manifest itself the most
during sleep and may contribute to the insomnia.
Allergies/ dermatitis- this is relatively rare. I've been in
contact with nearly 500 people who have used DNP and I would
estimate about 30-40 of them have experienced allergic
reactions to DNP. The allergies manifest themselves first as
phantom itches (itching without any rashes or redness)
around the torso in some people. It will later develop into
rashes and or hives around the body and possibly spread to
the face, neck, lips, and scalp area in severe cases. Any
over the counter or prescription allergy medication (anti
histamine) will cure the allergies. Also if you're allergic
to DNP it doesn't mean you can't
use it in the future. Allergies to DNP seem to have a tolerance
factor. It first gets worse, then better with successive cycles.
So if you are allergic, stop immediately and start again 7-10
days later and repeat until you are no longer allergic to DNP
anymore. Allergies are also dose and length dependent.
Yellow vision- This is even more rare than allergies. VERY few
only have experienced this out of all the people who have used
DNP in the past. It seems to be most apparent when you look at a
white surface and yellow spots will appear on the white that you
see. It’s not sure what exactly causes this, but it doesn’t seem
to harm anything and goes away within 1-2 days of stopping the
doses.
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PREVENTION/ CONTRAINDICATIONS:
1. Never start your first cycle with an optimal dose. Always
play it safe and start low.
2. Never use DNP if you’re going to be in a hot environment for
an extended period of time.
3. Never take any diuretics while on DNP. This includes
excessive alcohol. While mild diuretics like alcohol will make
you much more uncomfortable and hotter, a harsh diuretic like
lasix will kill you when taken with DNP.
4. If oral temperature rises to 103 then discontinue use until
temp is completely down to normal.
5. Do not attempt to work out very intensely. When it’s hard to
find the energy to go to work, don’t push yourself thinking you
can get a good workout in. Long cardio sessions can be
especially harmful for your health. It would also raise cortisol
levels through the roof and will be very catabolic to muscle.
Don’t sweat the cardio when on DNP because DNP will make you
burn fat. Stay away from the treadmill!
6. If allergies arise take some allergy medication and if that
isn’t strong enough then stop the doses for at least 10 days
before restarting.
7. Watch your electrolytes. Carry a bottle of v8 juice with you.
One 8-ounce serving of v8 has 900mg of potassium compared to
35mg of potassium in 8 ounces of Gatorade. Aim for 3000-5000mg
of potassium (not all from v8) per day. Fresh meats and
vegetables also have a lot of potassium in them. Sodium is very
important too, but is usually not hard to get in the diet.
Magnesium can be obtained from supplementation.
8. Hydration. Not only will proper hydration levels make you
feel better and prevent overheating, but it will also make the
cycle more effective at burning fat.
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RECOMMENDED SUPPLENMENTS WITH DNP:
Antioxidants - one of the most effective will be the fat soluble
vitamin E. Users recommend 800 to 1000 iu of vitamin E per day
of the cycle to combat the host of free radical damage caused by
increased fat oxidation.
Glycerol - this can be important to help maintain muscle
hydration and prevent catabolism. It comes in liquid and can be
bought over the counter. Take 3-4 tablespoons per day.
Potassium citrate - if blood acidity becomes a problem then
potassium citrate can help buffer the acid. About 2-3 grams will
be very effective, but 1 gram will do the trick as well.
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CONCLUSION :
DNP is the most effective fat burner and perhaps the most
complicated drug in the bodybuilding community and should not be
taken to lightly by average dieters striving to lose a couple of
pounds. The side effects are serious and numerous, but if used
correctly, none of the side effects are permanent. Despite these
numerous side effects people still use it because it works when
nothing else will. We hope this article sufficiently educated you
on DNP. If you choose to use it please do so with caution and
use this and other literature as a guide to help you on your way
to a new physique.
Good Luck and Be Safe
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DNP is Ames negative, and does not promote tumors. See for yourself at http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/dinitrop.html
reports on health risks. While there have not been human
studies, animal studies found no cancers caused by DNP
administration. It is considered a toxin because it causes
nausea, sweating, and weight loss.
Reports on health risks from external exposure. In other words,
don’t get it in your eyes, or on your skin if you’re allergic.
Pretty elementary stuff.
Animal study documents shows a 64% increase in metabolism. "These
findings confirm that DNP effectively increases metabolic
rate...".
Other studies (link deleted here)
is not available anymore (sorry)
finds that DNP did not activate liver enzymes (MAT) associated
with liver damage
"Comparative study of toxicity of 4-nitrophenol and
2,4-dinitrophenol in newborn and young rats." Koizumi M,
Yamamoto Y, Ito Y, Takano M, Enami T, Kamata E, Hasegawa R.
Division of Risk Assessment, National Institute of Health
Sciences, 1-18-1 Kamiyoga, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 158-8501, Japan.
This study found that DNP can induce death in overdosed amounts,
but that up to that point no toxicity was evident, nor were
there any abnormalities in physical development.
"Phenol toxicity and conjugation in human colonic epithelial
cells." Pedersen G, Brynskov J, Saermark T. Dept of Medical
Gastroenterology, Herlev University Hospital, Copenhagen,
Denmark.. This study found that DNP has a toxic effect on cells
of the colon, with "toxic" defined in two ways: first, it
interfered with metabolism (this we know - it’s the intended
effect of DNP users!) and second, it interfered with bowel
inflammation (not a health risk. This is caused by osmotic
effect, with the worst result being softened stools and gas).
"Mechanisms of bacterial resistance to macrolide antibiotics."
Nakajima Y. Division of Microbiology, Hokkaido College of
Pharmacy, 7-1 Katsuraoka-cho, Otaru, Hokkaido 047-0264, Japan.
This study found that antibiotic-resistant bacteria could be
thwarted with DNP. "the extent of the accumulated drug in a
resistant cell increases as much as that in a susceptible cell
in the presence of an uncoupling agent such as…2,4-dinitrophenol
(DNP)."
"Absence of Crabtree effect in human melanoma cells adapted to
growth at low pH: reversal by respiratory inhibitors." Burd R,
Wachsberger PR, Biaglow JE, Wahl ML, Lee I, Leeper DB.
Departments of Radiation Oncology, Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas
Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107, USA.
Check this out—DNP actually helps make melanoma tumors easier to
attack by increasing ratio of oxygen consumption to lactic acid
production, while glycolysis remains the same. "Therefore, tumor
acute acidification and oxygenation can be achieved by
exposure…"
"New insights in the cellular processing of platinum antitumor
compounds, using fluorophore-labeled platinum complexes and
digital fluorescence microscopy."
Molenaar C, Teuben JM, Heetebrij RJ, Tanke HJ, Reedijk J.
Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Leiden University Medical
Centre, The Netherlands. DNP is used as a control in tests of
antitumor cells because it does NOT bind to cell DNA, nor
promote tumors, yet its staining abilities enable tracking of
the uptake of antitumor drugs.
Specific inhibition of breast cancer cells by antisense poly-DNP-oligoribonucleotides
and targeted apoptosis." Ru K, Taub ML, Wang JH. Department of
Biochemistry, State University of New York, Buffalo 14260-3000,
USA Are you ready for this? DNP actually INHIBITS (!!!) breast
cancers! Yes, not only does it NOT promote cancers, it’s being
recognized as a cancer-fighter/blocker. "Two membrane-permeable
and RNase-resistant antisense
poly-2'-O-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)-oligoribonucleotides (poly-DNP-RNAs)
have been synthesized as inhibitors of human breast
cancer…fluorescence assay indicates that the targeted antisense
inhibition by poly-DNP-RNAs leads to apoptosis of SK-Br-3 cells
but does not affect nontumorigenic MCF-10A cells. The control
poly-DNP-RNAs with random or sense nucleotide sequence are
completely inactive." Plain English? DNP is being synthesized as
an anti-cancer compound, because tests show that it blocks
mutagens but does NOT affect non-mutagenic (healthy) cells, and
has no RNA effects on them.
"Heat shock protein induction by certain chemical stressors is
correlated with their cytotoxicity, lipophilicity and
protein-denaturing capacity." Neuhaus-Steinmetz U, Rensing L.
Institute of Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, NW II
University of Bremen, Germany. The thermic effect of DNP induces
protein synthesis (heat shock protein, or HSP, synthesis). In
fact, it’s quite GOOD at it: "ASA, DNP and CCCP induced HSP at
lower concentrations than substances with a similar
lipophilicity…"
"Comparative effects of the metabolic inhibitors
2,4-dinitrophenol and iodoacetate on mouse neuroblastoma cells
in vitro." Andres MI, Repetto G, Sanz P, Repetto M.
National Institute of Toxicology, Seville, Spain. In this study,
DNP’s observed effect was an increase in metabolism (duh!),
while the other toxins compared to it had harmful in vitro
effects but no increase in metabolism.
"Inhibition of uncoupled respiration in tumor cells. A possible
role of mitochondrial Ca2+ efflux." Gabai VL.Medical Radiology
Research Center, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Obninsk.
DNP not only does not cause tumors, but it inhibited their
respiration by 20-25% compared to controls.
"Amsacrine-induced lesions in DNA and their modulation by
novobiocin and 2,4-dinitrophenol." Shibuya ML, Buddenbaum WE,
Don AL, Utsumi H, Suciu D, Kosaka T, Elkind MM. Department of
Radiology and Radiation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort
Collins 80523. In this study, researchers found that DNP
abrogates—or disrupts—cytotoxicity in hamsters (using cancerous
cells). They expected to find that DNP would interfere with
anticancer treatments, but instead found that DNP increased
their effects. They state, though, that they cannot claim a
proven effect of DNP on anticancer treatments yet, although they
do agree that treatment with DNP actually enhanced the effects
of the DNA regenerative therapy of anticancer chemotherapy.
"Induction of endonucleolytic DNA cleavage in human acute
myelogenous leukemia cells by etoposide, camptothecin, and other
cytotoxic anticancer drugs: a cautionary note." Kaufmann SH.
Oncology Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
21205. The authors warn that certain anti-leukemia drugs
resulted in "extensive DNA degradation." BUT(good ol’ DNP to the
rescue!), "Preincubation with dinitrophenol abolished the
effect…"
"[Dependence of the nature of the action of metabolic inhibitors
on ribosomal RNA synthesis in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells on
cell integrity]" [Article in Russian] Akhlynina TV, Buzhurina
IM, Panov MA, Rozovskaia IA, Chernaia NG. DNP actually inhibits
the synthesis of RNA in carcinoma cells. In other words, it
helps cancerous cells commit suicide. "Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
synthesis in the intact Ehrlich ascite carcinoma cells is
selectively inhibited by papaverin (ED50 = 0.01 mM),
2,4-dinitrophenol (DPN; ED50 = 5 microM), and actinomycin D
(ED50 = 0.1 microgram/ml)."
"Autocatabolism of surface macromolecules shed by human melanoma
cells."
Bystryn JC, Perlstein J. Cancer Res 1982 Jun;42(6):2232-7. This
study finds that DNP helps
melanoma cells die (autocatabolize) while other cells are
unaffected.
DNP does not cause liver damage: "Their analyses demonstrate,
beyond a doubt, that the liver does not suffer any damage in the
course of dinitro treatment." (Biological Study of Dinitro Drugs
in Humans By Dr. Jacques Bell. Bell, Jacques. 1939. Etude
biologique des produits dinitres chez l'homme. Medecine.
19:749-54. Translation © 1996 Robert Ames)
Also: "Experimental studies on animals do not show toxic effects
of dinitrophenol on the kidney. Anatomical-pathological
examinations of animals, even those which died from a massive
dose of dinitrophenol, do not reveal any important anatomical
changes, except a small degree of cytolysis. Clinical documents
are not abundant, but, on the whole, do not seem to demonstrate
that dinitrophenol is toxic for the kidneys."
"Dinitrophenol has almost no action on the blood cholesterol.
(Grant and Schube".
"it doesn't seem that dinitrophenol at usual clinical doses is
likely to harm the kidneys."
"Dinitrophenol is remarkable for its absence of effect on the
cardio-vascular system...dinitrophenol is absolutely devoid of
toxicity for the heart."
"Dinitrophenol does not attack cell tissue albumin and does not
determine the fat loss to the expense of the muscles, contrary
to thyroxine."
"dinitrophenol offers this precious advantage that the cessation
of its use at the slightest appearance of signs indicating an
imminence of intoxication results immediately in the arrest of
those symptoms." (Professor Pouchet)."
Interestingly, one medical theory on a health ADVANTAGE of DNP
is that the slight increase in thermogenic temperature simulates
the fever a body induces during a viral attack. The body
increases itsheat to protect organs but kill viruses, and some
theorize that DNP can do the same thing, thus killing viruses in
the body. In this mechanism, DNP may have an immune-enhancing
effect.
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