A Tale of Two Products
Thermo Detonator is a natural weight management (fat burner to you and me) supplement from U.K based company Grenade.
This product’s unique selling point is that it was supposedly first designed for the military and has been so successful for those elite boys and girls that it’s now found its way to us everyday members of the public.
Thermo Detonator cites its goals as helping not only to burn fat but also control appetite, boost energy and increase mental alertness, all things that armed forces around the world are usually famed for.
So it sounds like a grenade, it’s even in a capsule dispenser that looks like a grenade, but is it capable of blowing us away in definitely not the same way as a grenade?
Well weird as it may sound it depends which country you’re in.
The U.K and U.S recipes are vastly different due to the Regulated Substances Act in the respective countries. Here we’ll look at both approaches and try to gauge which army, and now population is getting the best deal.
We give a full run down of the ingredients later in the article. For now … the scores
Ingredients (U.K = 64% U.S = 41%) – A tale of two continents really. Except for the risky combination of the otherwise brilliant caffeine with bitter orange extract, the British version of Thermo Detonator is actually pretty good ingredient wise; good doses of green tea and cayenne pepper give the supplement a really impressive thermogenic kick, add to that a promising appetite suppressant and the additional fat burning quality of green coffee bean and you’ve got a really strong looking line up.
The dangers of bitter orange extract have to lose it several points though. Then you’ve got the same product in a different country, wrapped up in a proprietary blend with just about every fat burning component, good bad and indifferent, thrown in. A case of quantity over quality. The lack of clarity, addition of unproven ingredients plus increased chance of side effects lose the U.S version even more points.
Both U.S and U.K versions are priced in the mid-range and widely available, allowing you to shop around. It’s the potential for nasty side effects from the bitter orange extract and caffeine that stop the British product in particular being superb value; there are similarly priced alternatives available without the risk.
You could argue the U.S version is even better value as they’ve chucked the kitchen sink in component wise, but at the end of the day we want a burner where everything plays its part, that’s not the case here.
Testimonials on the Grenade site are disappointing. Multiple and glowing, but with no pictures or specific case background; only first names , short comment length statements and a star rating system. Ideally you’re looking for much more detail.
The risk of bitter orange extract is alluded to on the packaging; it is advised that you take no additional stimulants while consuming Thermo Detonator, carefully gauge your dose initially and avoid altogether if under 18 or pregnant, so there is disclosure. However the inconsistent approach to proprietary blends is puzzling.
Normally the main reason a brand gives for concealing ingredients within a blend is so it isn’t ripped off by another company, yet that can’t be the case here because in the U.K the full dosed recipe is out in the open. Odd.
Grenade is run from the British city of Coventry by husband and wife partnership Alan and Juliet Barret. With their wide range of products including other fat burners and workout supplements they are reaching a global market, have a team of high performance athletes happy to appear under their banner and are generally very reputable.
It’s only a few puzzling discrepancies between the American and European product that denied them top marks.
Thermo Detonator recommends you take 2 capsules in the morning on an empty stomach and then another 2 four or five hours later. Because of some of the potent ingredients we’ve mentioned it suggests if you experience adverse effects you half the dose initially and build up. As a rule of thumb 3-4 capsules a day is preferable to keep fat burning effects working consistently throughout the day.
The bitter orange extract is a real problem for both U.S & U.K versions of this supplement. In conjunction with caffeine it can cause anything from unpleasant but relatively minor symptoms like headaches and vomiting, to more serious issues such as dangerously high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes. Maybe those brave men and women in the army are used to risking their lives but I doubt many normal people are that keen.
Users in the U.S should also be mindful of the yohimbe in their recipe. If Thermo Detonator strays above the safe limit of 0.2mg per kg of bodyweight (and thanks to the proprietary blend we’ve no way of knowing) then consumers are liable to experience anxiety, hypertension or stomach problems.
Thermo Detonator is available from a variety of online supplement stores for around the $35 (£25) region for a one month supply.
Let’s start with the U.K version first. In Britain no proprietary blends are used, in true military style all ingredients are lined up ready for inspection. Let’s cast an eye over them first and then compare with the U.S additions/change of tack.
Brilliant choice and superb dosage; green tea contains a certain amount of caffeine – the benefits of which we’ll come onto in a minute – but its real fat burning power lies in the catechins within it which release norepinephrine. This is a fat burning hormone which raises your body temperature automatically, helping to burn more calories, and then cool you back down again, naturally expending more energy and burning fat.
This thermogenic process is obviously in large part what gives Thermo Detonator its ‘Thermo’ and there are few more effective ways of getting that. One cup of green tea is enough to burn 5.7g of fat so it’s great to see this brand going for it with an ideal 500mg.
Our first real obstacle here. Thermo Detonator was marching along very nicely and now it has trod on the metaphorical landmine. Besides possibly a small boost to energy, bitter orange extract doesn’t really contribute a whole lot to the fat burning process, but if ineffectiveness was the only problem we might be able to gloss over it its inclusion more easily.
The fact is that in the right combination and the wrong people, bitter orange extract has the potential to cause severe side effects, potentially life threatening in fact. That’s why, as encouraging as is to see 500mg of green tea included, it’s equally worrying to see an only slightly smaller dose of this at 420mg. On the plus side though, bitter orange extract is only really a health risk when combined with a sizable amount of stimulant, so maybe it’s not all that b…
Caffeine
Ah. 225g of caffeine, now we might have a problem. If we were taking caffeine on its own merits this would be another brilliant inclusion. It significantly improves metabolism speed helping you to burn through fat much quicker and gives a proven burst of energy to keep your workouts going when otherwise you may be fatigued due to low calorie intake.
225g would even be a good amount, perhaps a little over the ideal but nothing serious. Until that it is you chuck it in a supplement next to bitter orange extract. Caffeine is great standing alone, but as part of this duo the risk-reward ratio is way off.
200mg of cayenne pepper has us back to the premium ingredients. The capsicum in any hot pepper lends a welcome kick to supplement smart enough to include its thermogenic effects. This is one of the few ingredients which can match green tea in terms of efficiently raising the bodies temperature and then regulating it again and burning shed loads of calories while doing so, even while your rest.
Green tea and cayenne pepper make a fantastic team when it comes to melting that unwanted fat.
Phenylalanine
The basis of the U.K version claims regarding the suppression of appetite rest on this ingredient. Phenylalanine is an amino acid which in clinical trials has shown ability to trigger production of a hormone called cholecystokinin, crucial for telling the body when it is full. Not quite the stellar c.v. of some of the other components but far from useless and a worthy addition.
Back to the really strong players now. Green coffee bean’s unique contribution comes from helping to speed up the breakdown of glucose in the liver, before the body gets a chance to use it as energy. Robbed of this source, stored fat cells become the next ideal candidate to be burned, keeping you going and shedding the excess at the same time; a great choice.
U.S Differences
Not only are there several more additions to the recipe in the U.S, but weirdly this version embraces proprietary blends, meaning no individual ingredient is given an amount. This is even weirder given its European counterpart’s welcome openness. Not so much standing to attention in this case, more crawling camouflaged through the undergrowth.
All the components here are listed as part of 775mg Grenade Thermo Detonator Proprietary blend.
Grapefruit Extract
Grapefruit is well known as a useful natural fat burner and the reason for this is thought to be because it contains several polyphenols, the most vital of these being Naringenin, Narinjin, and Nootkatone. Time and again in research grapefruit has shown an ability to help us shift unwanted weight, especially when teamed with the metabolism speeding effects of caffeine. All in all this ingredient is a good add on, even if it is impossible to tell how big a part it plays.
Evodiamine
In rats this ingredient appears to have the capacity to emulate the thermogenic effects of capsaicin, but there appear to have been no human studies which reflect a crossover so this ingredient still has a fairly big question mark over it.
Yohimbe Bark Extract
Yohimbe is a perfect example of why proprietary blends cause unnecessary problems. In the right dose this component can be an effective appetite regulator, but go beyond the 0.2mg for each kg of bodyweight recommended amount and again you are at risk of unpleasant side effects. This is where knowing the exact volume of yohimbe would be really helpful but thanks to the proprietary blend system we’re denied this reassurance.
Raspberry Ketones are similar to Evodiamine in that all their promising results have come from rats. What research has been done on humans has found that thanks to the sizable scaling up needed to get the same effects as our furry genetic cousins we would need to consume massive amounts. Way more than the entire volume of this blend. As a result this choice is literally a waste of space.
Cocoa Bean Extract
The flavonoids in cocoa bean were recently linked to increased fat oxidation in mice, but again no research has been carried out to see if the effect can be mirrored in humans, this leaves cocoa bean extract on disappointingly shaky ground again evidence wise.
B-Pheneythylamine Hcl
This compound is known to cause a short but sharp increase in neurotransmitters epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, giving you a great burst of energy useful in the gym and which may well spur you on to lose fat the old fashioned way;. However in terms of direct fat burning effects in the mould of green tea, cayenne pepper etc. this ingredient has nothing to offer.
Coleus Forskohlii is an Ayurveda herb which, in stark contrast to the previous ingredients has been clinically trialed thoroughly for its potential weight loss qualities, not without success. It has shown it is able to increase Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate, speeding up the rate of fat loss. There is little question that Coleus Forskohlii has some influence on more efficient fat loss, or at least the prevention of unwanted weight gain. An increasingly rare high spot then.
Yerba Mate
Yerba Mate is native to a variety of South American tree and as well as containing caffeine and related stimulant theobromine, some early evidence suggests it may also lower the body’s cholesterol, but this needs to be explored more fully before we can say for sure. Until then it is essentially here to bolster the energy and metabolism boosting powers of the caffeine.
DMAE
An increasingly popular supplement thanks to the possibility it may enhance cognition by increasing levels acetylcholine in the brain. If true this would also contribute to a raise in energy levels and possibly a sharpening of focus while working out. In 1991 a study found that DMAE, ginseng, vitamins and minerals did increase subjects’ capacity to exercise, the obvious problem being it’s unclear which ingredient was the deciding factor. As with so many of Thermo Detonators American additions, the jury is still out.
So as it turns out a Thermo Detonator review is really two reviews;
A clear British product with just about everything in it you need to burn fat, but a real and unnecessary risk of serious side effects.
And it’s American equivalent with just about everything in it full stop, including lots of stuff you don’t, in undisclosed amounts and with just as much risk to health.
Will it burn fat? Very possibly, but there are supplements out there which will do it much more safely and proficiently.
