Product Review: Antaeus Labs BAIBA
Beta-aminoisobutyric acid, or BAIBA for short.
When you exercise, benefits of that exercise are seen in many different organs of the body, not just the muscles that were exercised. These metabolic benefits are the result of "messenger" molecules that are released into the blood stream and travel to other tissues where
the benefits of exercise are realised. One such messenger molecule, or "myokine", is understood to be the amino acid beta-aminoisobutyric acid.
BAIBA is an amino acid that your body produces in response to exercise. After being released into the blood stream, it starts a thermogenic program in fat tissue, raising energy expenditure and reducing weight gain when tested in mice. When mouse or human white fat cells are exposed to BAIBA, some of them become fat-burning "beige" fat cells. Beige (or BRITE) fat cells contain the protein UCP-1 - also known as "thermogenin" because it burns triglycerides to produce heat.
BAIBA is produced naturally by the human body – it’s formed from the catabolism of thymine [1][2] and is also product of exercise-induced PGC1a-mediated amino acid breakdown. [3]
BAIBA increases the utilization of free fatty acids and decreases fat mass in mice. [4]
BAIBA stimulates the differentiation of white fat cells into thermogenic beige/brite fat cells in both in vivo animal experiments and in vitro human stem cell studies. [5][6]
Antaeus Labs Modular Series βAIBA contains just the amino acid BAIBA, in powder form for easy dosing. It's tasteless and odorless, and mixes well with a soft drink or protein shake. It is suitable for both men and women.
Studies suggest BAIBA may:
Increase lipolysis and the beta-oxidation of fatty acids (“fat burning”)
Increase body temperature and energy expenditure
Increase ketogenesis (the production of ketone bodies in the liver)
βAIBA is suited for use by:
Those trying to lose weight, in combination with a healthy diet and exercise regime
Those trying to reap the maximal metabolic benefits from their exercise regime
Those who may be temporarily unable to exercise through injury or illness
Our Review:
Our tester used BAIBA for 6 weeks.
The powder is tasteless, odorless, and mixes very easily in water or any other liquid like a pre workout out or protein shake. The only negative thing about this product is that it doesn't include a measured scooper, so be sure you are able to measure 500mg - 1g worth of powder either with a scale or a 1/4 teaspoon measure.
The first week of usage was at a dose of 500mg on training days and 1g on non-training days. The 500mg was taken post workout with the final meal of the day. The 1g was split up over two meals during the day.
The very first 1g dose gave a noticeably strong thermogenic effect and very slight tingly feeling in the face, similar to that of beta alanine but not nearly as strong. This only occurred once from the first dose.
Our tester immediately noticed an increase in overall body temperate, especially at night, and took his temperature several times a week upon waking and at bed. The average morning temperature (non dosed) was 97.8, the average evening temperature (after 500mg - 1g) was 98.8. Our tester indicated that he normally has a body temp steady in the 97 degree range, indicating that there was in fact a slight increase in thermogenesis.
After 2.5 weeks of dosing as mentioned above, the tester upped his dose to 1g daily. He took 500mg pre workout and the other 500mg post workout with the final meal of the day. On non training days, dosing remained split over two meals. The pre workout dose immediately caused increased sweating during workouts. The tester reported warming up to a sweat much faster and increased sweating during the course of a workout, especially during less intense sessions where he may not have usually broken a sweat prior to BAIBA supplementation.
The most intriguing aspect of our tester is his current diet, which is a reverse diet protocol where he has added 100 calories per week each week of testing after coming off of a cut in which he lost 25 pounds and dropped to 10% body fat from 15% over 4 months. The tester was able to successfully add calories in the form of mostly carbohydrates and a small amount of fat, reduce his amount of cardio AND weight training volume, and has gained 8 pounds in 6 weeks with no change in body fat.
Our impressions given our testers' results through 6 weeks of using Antaeus Labs BAIBA is that BAIBA seems to be effective in inhibiting fat gain and increasing thermogenesis. We believe that this product lives up to its claims and is of high quality. This product would be effective and useful for anyone looking to add lean mass, recomp, or for those who may need to reduce their training volume / cannot train due to injury and wish to prevent fat gain.
Antaeus Labs BAIBA is available for purchase directly through their website: http://www.antaeuslabs.com/
References
1. β-Aminoisobutyric Acid, a New Probe for the Metabolism of DNA and RNA in Normal and Tumorous Tissue. Cancer Res 34, 1381–1384. 2. The excretion of beta-aminoisobutyric acid following thymine and dihydrothymine administration to man. Aust J Exp Biol Med Sci 39, 423–427. 3. PGC-1α-Mediated Branched-Chain Amino Acid Metabolism in the Skeletal Muscle. PLoS ONE 9, e91006. 4. Effects of zidovudine, stavudine and beta-aminoisobutyric acid on lipid homeostasis in mice: possible role in human fat wasting. Antivir. Ther. (Lond.) 9, 801–810. 5. β-Aminoisobutyric Acid Induces Browning of White Fat and Hepatic β-Oxidation and Is Inversely Correlated with Cardiometabolic Risk Factors. Cell Metabolism 19, 96–108. 6. Come on BAIBA Light My Fire. Cell Metabolism 19, 1–2.
