ECA was short for Ephedrine, Caffeine and Aspirin. It’s subsequently been demonstrated that aspirin added little to this stack, and we know it can be problematic in some people. Then we had the ECY stack, the “Y” standing for Yohimbe. While this is effective, I also consider it to be downright dangerous and for sure unpleasant. Adding Yohimbe by itself can be a dicey proposition, given it has the most unpredictable dose/response curve in the general population of any nutraceutical IMO. Another topic for another time, but much of this is due to Yohimbe bark extracts having 28 different alkaloids – many of which we know little about.
Instead, let’s look at a much healthier (and effective) alternative; Green Tea Extract – standardized for EGCG or epigallocatechin gallate. Among its MANY beneficial properties, A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that EGCG from green tea can increase fat burning up to 50 percent! Here then, are the EXACT ratio’s you want to construct:
– Ephedrine/Caffeine is best in a 1:10 ratio. For example, 20mg of ephedrine and 200mg of caffeine (NOTE: 25mg effy and 200mg of caffeine is close enough)
– EGCG plus caffeine was shown to be most effective in a 300mg/200mg dose, respectively.
– To arrive at your finished product, you’d ideally have 20mg of ephedrine + 200mg of caffeine along with 300mg of EGCG
This is a MUCH healthier alternative to the straight E/C stack and certainly a safer one, vs.the ECY stack. There’s one caveat though, everyone should be aware of when ingesting Green Tea and in particular, EGCG – you do NOT want to co-ingest it with protein/amino acids. Here’s why..
There’s research showing consuming EGCG w/protein blunts its effects. Researchers at Mastricht University in the Netherlands found proteins neutralize the active ingredients in green tea(1). EGCG is a polyphenol, and polyphenols are easily deactivated by proteins. The process is called non covalent cross-linking, as the polyphenols have a preference for proteins. Even tiny quantities of protein in food have an effect. According to some studies, the positive health effects of tea disappear even if just a dash of milk is added.
(1): Green tea works better without protein
http://www.ergo-log.com/egcgprotein.html
